December 24, 2010
Central Truth
The pain, shame, and violence of the cross of Jesus Christ were the perfect will of the Father from all eternity, not the result of man's thirst for blood. God is in complete control of all of the storms and struggles of our lives.
Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." (John 19:11)
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews 1 19:7 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 12, 14, 31, 38 answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic 2 19:13 Or Hebrew; also verses 17, 20 Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. 3 19:14 That is, about noon He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
People know me as a pretty optimistic and peaceful person. Some people may think peace and happiness come from ideal external circumstances.
Others sadly seek happiness in all the wrong places. Compulsive drinking, gambling, lustful relationships, and hoarding material things are vain, yet common attempts to gain confidence, peace, and significance in the midst of struggles and pain.
I guarantee you that my life has been anything but ideal. I was abandoned by my father, rejected by friends, terribly hurt by family, and unsure how we would pay bills at times . . . and that's just a taste! The only reason I’ve been able to maintain a positive attitude, keep my sanity, and actually have enough in me to give to others is because of the amazing truth that Jesus reveals in John 19:11.
Jesus didn’t respond to Pilate to save Himself. Instead, He revealed that God the Father had ordained and purposed the present circumstances for eternal reasons—that was the only reason He was being subjected to such vile treatment.
Jesus—God in human flesh—endured the pain, shame, rejection, and violence of the cross with inner peace, confidence, and faith, knowing that His Father was in control of absolutely everything!
I asked God to be my Father through Jesus Christ years ago when I realized my earthly father would never be there for me. God showed up in my life in a very real way. I don't deserve what I have: joyfulness, peace, kindness, sanity, and love for others. I know that the sovereign God, Creator of heaven and earth, loves me enough to die for my sins and even to count the hairs on my head! So now I'm free and confident enough to laugh in the face of my storms!
Why? Because greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4), and because I know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)!
1. Have you felt out of control of your circumstances in the past? Do you feel this way now?
2. Does this out-of-control feeling tempt you with sinful compulsions? If so, what are they?
3. How does it feel to know that God is in complete control of your pains, problems, and predicaments?
4. How does it feel to know that Jesus experienced your struggles, can relate to your pain, and will bring His perfect plan out of the good AND the bad in your life?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Pilate posted a sign over Jesus when He was on the cross, what did it say (verse 19)?
2. What did the priests want Pilate to change the sign to say (verse 21)?
3. What is the difference between these two statements?
4. Why do you think Pilate would not change it?
5. Take an opportunity this week to tell someone who Jesus is!