John 19.1-16
19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die,because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace.“Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
I Peter 1.18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ
I Peter 1.19 NASB
Philipps For you must realise all the time that you have been “ransomed” from the futile way of living passed on to you by your fathers’ traditions, not with some money payment of transient value, but by the costly shedding of blood. The price was in fact the life-blood of Christ, the unblemished and unstained lamb of sacrifice
John is showing us Jesus’s sinlessness and how He was the perfect forever sacrifice for our sin. How He submitted to totally unjust charges. He was innocent. John presents Jesus as the Lamb of God. We know He was the Lamb slain from the foundations of the earth. Revelation 13.8
He told us it would happen to us. Who gave Him the most amount of problem. The religious leaders!
Matthew 5.10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
They did this to the Spotless Lamb of God, they are going to do it to us...
About His spotlessness...
1. The Old Covenant Requirements Leviticus 1.3
1 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
3 “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord.
God deserves our best.
Give of your best to the Master...
Our sins need to be atoned with the best.
The death of an innocent animal showed Israel the reality of sin.
How infinitely more Christ Jesus...
2. Jesus Christ is The Mediator of the New Covenant. Hebrews 9.13-15
High Priest and Sacrifice put to death by sinful men.
Jews, Pilate, Roman Soldiers ... all of us!
We can see Pilate facing the Truth. Jesus was innocent in his eyes. But infinitely purer than he could have imagine. He had no sin.
Hebrews 9.13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
He left us with emblems of His body and blood. As oft as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me.
We remember His sacrifice. Both elements point to His brutal death.
3. Jesus’ Attitude In Submitting to Death As The Lamb of God is to be in us!
Philippians 2.5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;
7 rather, He made Himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;
7 rather, He made Himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Submit to Him.
His likeness shining forth in us.
Letting Him defend you/ vindicate you while you pray for them.
Serving Humbly.
What happens when we are falsely accused?
We protest. We have rights. We will stand for the wrong and the next things we are doing is defending ourselves and we are far away from Christ.
Young pastor to Moody, “People in my congregation are saying horrible things about me.” Just make it your business to see that none of what they are saying is true.”
Proverbs 12.16 Fools show their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.
The cross and the trials of Jesus leading up to it teaches us how to handle personal injustices.
How did He do it... reverent submission to His Father.
He humbled Himself.
The key to laughing at offenses, or at least living with them.
What did He tell us?
The Blessedness of being persecuted for righteousness sake.
Not our doing.
Rejoice.
Be glad. Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Present sufferings... the Glory to be revealed in us.
You are in good company!
The prophets... Jeremiah, Daniel, Habakkuk
Matthew 5.43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
If Jesus the Spotless Lamb of God suffered, so will we as His followers! He calls us to love those who hate us. Perfect Love, that is our goal, to be like Jesus.
