In our text before us, we have been given a glimpse into the heart of men and of God, and what we find is loyalty. Loyalty is found in the heart of every human being. Whether it be a loyalty to self and sin, or a loyalty to Jesus Christ, the fact of the matter is that we all, at one point or another, have to make a decision about who or what we will serve.
In John 19:1-37, we find four different loyalties. Pilate- who was loyal to his fears; Jews- who were loyal to their religion; John- who was loyal to Jesus; and Jesus- who was loyal to His Father’s plan.
Whatever we are loyal to will reflect in our actions, our actions will determine our lifestyle, and our lifestyle will determine our effectiveness for Christ. In each of the characters set before us, the loyalty of their heart was reflected by their actions. All of these people gazed upon Jesus, and were forced to make a decision. So it is with us all. We all must gaze upon Him, for He is a marvel, and a wonder; but with our gazing comes the responsibility of choice. We must either chose to stay and die with Him, or walk away. Jesus said “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily” (Lk. 9:23).
Pilate- A man loyal to his fear
The irony of Pilate’s situation is that he also gazed upon the Truth, and yet he asked Him, “What is truth” (Jn. 18:38). Pilate himself also saw that Jesus was an innocent man. In 19:4,6 he stated that he found no fault in Jesus. He also tried to release Him by offering the crowd a choice to either free Jesus or Barabbas, thinking that they would surely not chose to release a murder over this innocent man Jesus. His plan failed, and the Jews chose Barabbas (Jn. 18:40). Pilate then had Jesus flogged, and brought Him before the crowd again, thinking that after they saw His poor, beaten condition, their bloodlust would be satisfied (19:1-5). Instead, the chief priest shouted to crucify Him. He tried to then reason with them, but they would have none of it. Pilate then started to become afraid. He went back into the Praetorium and questioned Jesus. Jesus last words to Pilate were “You would have no power at all against me unless it was given to you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin” (19:11). After Jesus spoke this to him, the scripture says that from this time on, Pilate sought to release him (19:12). However, the Jews also spoke to Pilate, and cried to him that if he let Jesus go, he would be no friend of Caesar (19:12). After Pilate heard this statement, he made the decision to hand Jesus over to them.
Pilate was faced with a choice to either do what he knew was right, or save himself. Pilate allowed his fear of the crowd and of Caesar to overcome him. Because he did not “know the Truth” he was unable to stand for it in the end.
Questions:
1) At this point in your life, are you being loyal to your job, worldly possessions, the opinions of men, or any other earthly thing instead of being loyal to God’s way of living?
2) Is there a situation in your life right now in which you are being tempted to let any type of fear stifle your witness for Christ?
3) Which fears or anxieties hinder you from having the courage to be totally committed to Christ?
4) At this time, truly examine your heart, are you really willing to make a decision for Christ that may cost you pain, suffering, or inconvenience?
The Jews- a people loyal to their religion
Pilate, an uncircumcised gentile, was able to see that Jesus was an innocent man and that there was no fault in him, but God’s chosen people accused Him of blasphemy. The hatred and unbelief of the Jews and their religious leaders caused them to see Christ as a blasphemer and a lawbreaker instead of the sinless, spotless, Lamb of God. As stated earlier, Pilate found no fault in Him, and tried to release him. The Jews, however wanted Him crucified, their reason is found in vs.7 “We have law, and according to our law, He ought to die, because He made himself the Son of God.” The Jews had become so blind and legalistic, that they missed the fact that Jesus was the very fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. They were accusing the very God who wrote their Law of blasphemy! They had become so rigid, that the very Law that was meant to bring them to Christ became their God. They had lost the concept of communion with a Living God. They were so hung up on technicalities and traditions that they missed the very message of the Old Testament. They were big on Moses and Abraham, but not God! They missed the relationship with God that the men who they so highly esteemed had. The Jews claimed that they had God as their Father, but Jesus told them that if God was really their Father, they would love Him, and because they did not, this proved that they were doing the will of their real father, Satan (Jn. 8:41-47).
Religion- it blinds the eye, burdens the soul, leads to bondage, and quenches the Spirit. Religious Spirit quenchers- you will find them on every church pew in America. They will be sure to cross your path. They stare down their pious nose at your poor, pitiful condition. If only you could be as they! Oh how different our churches would be if we all just adhered to the religion of the Spirit quenchers! They mean no harm, for they believe that they are doing the will of God. The chief priest also thought that they were doing God’s will when they killed Jesus.
Jesus came on the scene as the fulfillment of God’s revelation to men. However, the religious leasers were still stuck in the past, and did not comprehend the present moving of the Spirit through Jesus. Even though the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove at His baptism (Lk. 3:22) and Jesus claimed to do miracles by the Spirit (Matt. 12:28), the religious leaders still denied Him as the promised Messiah. It is the same way with today’s Spirit quenchers. They miss what God is doing now, because it is different than what he was doing in the past. We are called to press on and pursue our high calling in Christ by forgetting the past (Philippians 3:12-13). The past moving of God is to increase our faith for His future movements. You cannot put new wine in old wine skins. Jesus was hated by the religious leaders because He was fresh. God’s movements will always be new and fresh; there will also be those religious Spirit quenchers who wish to silence the uprising of God. “But let God arise, and His enemies be scattered” (Ps. 68:1).
Though the religious leaders thought they silenced Jesus when they killed Him, all they did was add gasoline to the fire, because on the day of Pentecost, there were 120 more just like Him! Jesus was and is accomplishing more in His dearth, than He did when he was limited to just one body! And so it will be, every time the religious Spirit quenchers try to put out His fire, God has a way of dousing it with gasoline.
Questions:
1) In your own estimation, are you a religious Spirit quencher? How about in God’s estimation?
2) When was the last time you allowed the Holy Spirit to teach you something new through Scripture?
3) Do you see your way as always being right?
4) Ask God to show your areas in your life where you are committed to your own ideas rather than God’s, ask forgiveness, and allow Him to change you.
John- a man loyal to his Lord
Along with John, the scripture says that Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, were all at the cross with Jesus. The reason I want to focus on John is that he was the only one of the twelve disciples that we know of who was at the cross when Jesus died (Jn. 19: 25-27). He was also referred to as the beloved disciple (Jn. 13:23). The scripture records in Matt. 26:56, that all the disciples fled and forsook Him. But now, we see John coming back to Jesus side, after all the others had gone. It was also during these hours before Jesus death, that Peter denied Him.
However, in this scene at the cross, we see a picture of courage and loyalty in John. Though he fled in the garden, he was now at His masters side. John, though he was probably fearful of all that was happening, did not let his fears overcome him. His love and loyalty to Jesus drove him back to the cross. So it is with us. Our love and loyalty to Jesus will drive us to His cross. It is there, at the cross, that we look upon love personified. We gaze upon Jesus and see God, in a bloody beaten body, bearing all of our sin and shame, and calling us to die with Him. He is calling us to die to our selfish way of living.
It is because we are so rooted in self that the true abundant life is lacking in our lives. Jesus told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Lk. 9:23). We must lose our life in this world in order to truly find it. “For what profit is it” cries Jesus “for a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul” (Lk. 9:25). Just as Jesus suffered, we are also called to this. The ultimate act of Jesus obedience was the ultimate act of suffering! Serving God is not always fun. Paul tells us in Romans 8:17 that we should suffer with Him- “…and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and Joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” If we want to share in God’s glory, we must also share in His suffering. Philippians 3:10 expresses Paul’s attitude toward suffering. “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.”
Our sufferings may take many shapes and sizes, but whatever it may be, we can be sure that Christ knows how to help us endure it. “For we do not have a great High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all ways tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16). So, let us, like John, find our way back to the cross, and gaze upon Jesus, and never stop pursuing Him.
Questions:
1) Have you ever ran from obedience, but later repented and did what God asked you to do?
2) Is your attitude like Paul’s in the since that he wanted to be conformed to Christ death and share in His suffering?
3) Are you at this present hour going through any trials? If so, what is God teaching you?
4) What has God taught you from your past trials?
Jesus- a man loyal to His Father’s plan
God’s plan for Jesus to bring glory to Himself by suffering and dying for the sins of the elect was set forth before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). Nevertheless, Isaiah gives us a more detailed account of God’s plan for Jesus. In Isaiah 53 the prophet tells us that He would be despised and rejected (vs. 5), a man of sorrow and grief (vs. 5), He would bear our sorrow and grief (vs.4), He would be crushed and wounded for our sin (vs. 5), oppressed and afflicted (vs.7), He would die for sins (vs. 8, 10), and make intercession for transgressions by bearing our sin (vs.12). Also, in Isaiah 61:1-2, Jesus is said to be anointed to preach the good news to the poor, heal the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and open the prison to those who were bound.
Jesus accomplished all of the things He was sent to do. He did healings and miracles, cast out demons, preached to the poor, and healed those who where broken hearted by sin and religion. However, there was one thing still left undone; He had not yet born the sins of the world.
The cross was Jesus final task to complete all the Father had sent Him to do. He had been faithful to God and His ministry, and now it was time for His final triumph. Jesus had to go to the cross; if He did not, than His coming was in vain. All the miracles and healings were to show that He was the very one He claimed to be- the Messiah who was to be given as a covenant between God and His elect. The cross is the finishing point, the place where all the things that Jesus was to accomplish came to an end. Thus, in John 19:28, it is recorded that “Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst’.” He had accomplished what God called Him to do. He had born the sins of the world on the cross, and now He was able to cry with a shout of victory “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30) and give up His spirit. The sin debt of God’s elect had now been paid in full by the offering of the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
Jesus was loyal and faithful to what God called him to do all the way from beginning to end. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross and despised its shame, and now, He is seated at the right hand of God (Heb. 12:2).
In Hebrews 12:1, the author encourages us to lay aside every weight and sin that entangles us, and to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We are to throw off whatever will hinder us from being faithful and obedient to God and His plan for our lives. We must also run with endurance, the same race that Jesus ran- one of faithfulness. We must do as He did; let us endure and lay down our lives for the joy that will be before us when we hear “Job well done my good and faithful servant.”
Questions:
1) If you were to grade your faithfulness to what God has called you to do on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, where would you be?
2) What tactics does Satan use against you to take your eyes off Jesus?
3) What sin or weight keeps you from fully obeying God?
4) Are you willing to give your all to be loyal to God and His task? If not, why?