John 19 reminds me of my college years. I had to work to pay for school and scrounge to survive. It was among the most painful and rewarding times of my life. I experienced humbling defeat, and the sting of rejection, but ultimately everything led to the success of graduation. Today’s chapter looks beyond rejection. After not getting the answers he wanted, “Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged”. The soldier’s cruelty is understated as they “twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head” and mocked Him as they “slapped Him in the face”. This was likely a brutal beating. After seeing the Jews gather, Pilate brought Jesus outside and declared, “I find no basis for a charge against Him”. We read, “The chief priests and their officials…shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’” Pilate wanted no part in the squabble, insisting “You take Him”. But again the crowd protested, “He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God”. Pilate became “even more afraid”. He feared Rome learning he was losing control of Jerusalem. Hoping to find a political solution, Pilate came back inside and spoke to Jesus; why “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free You or to crucify You?” Jesus reminded the politician, “You would have no power over Me… not given to you from above”. Any leader that forgets they have a higher authority will make self-serving decisions. Pilate desired to set Jesus free, but instead he listened to the crowd; “Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar”. Hearing this, Pilate “brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat” to render his judgment.
Pilate addressed the crowd, “Here is your King”. The unimaginable response from the Jewish Chief Priests was “Crucify Him! We have no king but Caesar”. 1 Samuel 8:7 describes God’s reaction when the Jewish Nation first demanded an earthly king in order to be like other nations, The LORD said to Samuel the Priest, “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their King”. That choice always produces a painful experience. “Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified”. The Passover Lamb was selected and prepared.
Jesus carried His own cross to “Golgotha” which means “the Skull”. “There they crucified Him” between two others. Against the Jewish protests, Pilate prepared a marker declaring His crime, “JESUS OF NAZARATH, THE KING OF THE JEWS”. Mary, the mother of Jesus stood near the cross. Jesus gave John the responsibility to care for her, “Woman, here is your son”. It is hard to imagine the sorrow, grief and uncertainty as they watched His torturous death. We read “knowing that… Scripture would be fulfilled… Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit”. His followers saw only destruction and humiliation. The Priests did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the special Sabbath, so the soldiers were ordered to insure all were dead. “One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water”. Later, “Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus”. Accompanied by Nicodemus, the two of them wrapped the body in strips of linen, with the spices, in accordance with Jewish burial customs. They stepped out from the crowd, knowing this action marked both men as “followers” and certain persecution. Nearby, in the garden was “a new tomb… Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation… they laid Jesus there”. Most there believed this was the end. The chapter ends here, but the story does not. It is during the darkest times in life that we need to know that graduation day is coming. The blood-stained cross proceeded the empty tomb. Friend, it is often the intensity of today’s sorrow that prepares us for the resurrection day ahead.