[0:00] Would you honor me by going in your Bibles to the book of John, John chapter 19. And this is Easter Revival, and there's so much that's on my heart. To be honest with you, I have really had the book of Habakkuk on my heart with different things that are going on.
[0:13] And I'm just so grateful that through it all that the God of heaven is in total control. But we look during this time of year, and we look at the Passover tomorrow night. And we're going to look at Matthew tomorrow night and preach just a simple message on a lamb, a loser, and the Lord's Supper.
[0:27] And I'm looking forward to sharing just some sweet thoughts there with you. But tonight as we look at John chapter 19, we're going to look at verses 1 through 5. And I'm just going to share a few things with you, and I pray to be an encouragement to your hearts.
[0:38] But John chapter 19, verse 1, the Bible says, Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe.
[0:50] And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again and said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him.
[1:00] Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. Being blind in one eye, I have always been challenged with seeing things, you know, when they want to show you the picture within the picture.
[1:15] Years ago in the malls, it was very popular to walk through the discourse there, and there in the center part, they would be selling different things. And one time was incredibly popular.
[1:28] They would have like these purple and blue pictures that had all those like dots in them. And they said, If you stare at it long enough, then a picture will form. Four days later, I'm standing there.
[1:39] And I'm telling you, there's no picture forming at all. I cannot see it. And I asked somebody one day, and I was like, I can't do this. And it was really sort of starting to bother me. And then they found out that I am literally blind in my right eye.
[1:50] And I was like, Well, you don't have both eyes to be able to. And then he started using kind of Tracy Pauver terminology, you know, with nurses. And I'm like, Forget it. It's not worth it. Amen. But have you ever looked at a picture and missed it?
[2:04] You ever been going down the road or maybe hiking or been in a yard and somebody points and says, Look at that. Look at that. And you're looking and you're like, I missed it. I don't see it. And of all the scenes in the Word of God, it is rather amazing to me that you and I stop off during this time of year.
[2:21] And a man that is not even saved looks to a varied group of people and he says to them, Behold, the man. And everybody was looking at the same thing.
[2:35] But they all saw different things. And it's amazing that we can lift up Jesus Christ all around the world. Behold, the man. There is Christ Jesus.
[2:46] And isn't it rather amazing of what everybody sees when they look at Christ Jesus? Tonight I just want to share just some simple, simple thoughts with you on Behold, the man.
[2:57] Would you pray with me? Father, we love you so much. Love this church. We are forever indebted to Brother Austin, Miss Betty. Lord, their influence and impact in my life and Stacy's and our kids.
[3:07] We are humbled by the love that's in this church. We walk in and our heart is flooded with emotion. Some of the most trying times in our life. Lord, this church was there to lift us up and to encourage and to strengthen us.
[3:22] We are forever indebted to this ministry. And now, Father, we must say we're indebted to you. We have within our possession this evening the word of God. We do not deserve this word.
[3:34] We're not any better than anybody else. But somehow, someway, Father, we have in our possession the entire completed testament, old and new, of Jesus Christ. And I pray, Father, that you'd help us to get out of the way that men might see you.
[3:46] And, Father, we would leave change. God, help us to never come to church and leave the same way as we came in. Do a work within our lives, for we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. The hour of the Savior's suffering has come.
[4:00] His friends have forsaken him. The soldiers have taken him. And they're going to go through six trials. He's going to go through three Roman trials. And he's going to go through three Jewish trials.
[4:11] He's going to go through quite a long evening. It's rather amazing that Jesus Christ partook of the Passover. And he was the Passover. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
[4:23] And as we're going through this journey and this process, we hit a point in time when Pilate is having him before the people. And Pilate is amazed that he looks upon this man that seems to be so good.
[4:34] And all around the world, you're involved in missions. And all around the world, there would be a credibility that Jesus was a good man. There would be a credibility that Jesus was a moral man, that he was a good man that would serve and minister to others.
[4:44] Most of them are not so much negligent of the good that Jesus Christ did. And so Pilate is looking upon this scene. And there, when we behold the man, I wonder what Pilate saw.
[4:57] I've always wanted to know what was going on in the minds of people. I've always wanted to have a gospel time machine and just go to different locations in the Bible. And I don't want to say anything.
[5:07] I just want to hear conversations. I want to see their facial expressions of when they're saying things that I read in the Bible. I just want to be able to see that. And I want to go here to this pavilion that day.
[5:19] And I want to feel the crowd. And I want to hear the rustle. And I want to look upon a man's face named Pilate. And I want to see, what did it look like when he is saying to this multitude, Behold the man.
[5:30] The man that has gone through just some incredibly challenging things. Marred and scarred. I would love to see, was his brow furrowed? Was his face twisted? Was there a grimace upon his face?
[5:41] I don't know. But he says, Behold the man. And what did Pilate see when he looked at Jesus Christ? And maybe if you take notes, these are very, very simple things. But Pilate, I believe, when he looked at Jesus Christ, he saw a tragedy.
[5:53] It was a big waste. Here's such a good man. And look how they're treating him. He's a nice guy. I'm not going to get into the religious thing. I'm not going to step out on conviction. I'm not going to step out on places that are not very secure for me.
[6:06] As a leader. But what a waste. This seems like such a nice guy. Seems like such a good man. I mean, he's not like other criminals that I've had in my possession. He's not like other people that have spouted off and have cursed the crowds.
[6:18] I mean, there's just something different about this man. And Pilate looks and I believe Pilate saw such innocency and waste. Just a tragedy of good gravy. I cannot believe that this is happening.
[6:30] Verse 4. It was Pilate that went forth again and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him, Jesus, forth to you that you may know that I find no fault in him. There's nothing wrong with this guy. This is a tragedy.
[6:41] This is a waste. What's wrong with you all? Even Judas in Matthew 27, verse 4, Judas' testimony was, I've sinned and that I betrayed the innocent blood. Even Judas gave testimony to the fact of the innocency of Jesus Christ.
[6:55] Pilate's wife in Matthew 27 and 19. When he was sat down on the judgment seat, his wife said unto him saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man? I mean, Judas and Pilate and Pilate's wife, they're looking.
[7:07] I mean, this is a good man. This is a just man. This is a nice guy. I cannot believe you want to crucify such a nice guy. This is a head-shaking moment for this man.
[7:19] What a tragedy. Herod in Luke 23, 15. It says, No, nor yet Herod, for I sent you to him. And lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.
[7:29] There's nothing worthy that this man should die. This is all such an incredible waste. What a tragedy. The centurion in Luke 23 and 47, when he saw what was done, he glorified God and he says some powerful words.
[7:42] Centurions were hardened, leathery men that had seen so many things, life that had been taken, blood that had been shed and given the scene of the crucifixion was not something that was new to them.
[7:55] This was not a novice. This was a man that had seen so many things. But even this man says, Certainly, this was a righteous man. The crowd looks on in Matthew 27, and when the centurion and they that were with him watching, Jesus saw the earthquake after Jesus laid down his life and those things that were done.
[8:14] They feared greatly of saying, Truly, this was the Son of God. And so they look on and he's a nice guy. And he's a righteous guy. And he's a good man.
[8:24] And he's done good deeds. And he's not a curser. And he's not one that's arrogant. And he's not one that has shown himself. He's not like the other criminals that we've had march through our halls or stand before our soldiers.
[8:36] There's something different about him. What a tragic waste that Jesus Christ is there and they want his life. In John 19, And the chief priest therefore and officers saw him.
[8:47] In verse 6, They cried out saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate said unto him, Take ye him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. And the crowd is pushing Pilate and pushing Pilate and pushing Pilate.
[8:58] And we've gone through these different trials and Pilate's like, I find no fault in him. This is a good man. What a tragedy that you want to take his life.
[9:10] They kept pushing him and Pilate was afraid. And part of the Bible says, And Pilate willing to content the people, Turn Jesus over for him to give his life. It's such a tragedy.
[9:21] What a waste. Pilate is a man that will not be one to step into his conviction. One man said that this weakness that's within Pilate is nothing more and less than just wickedness itself.
[9:34] And so many people around the world during this season, how will they view this whole scene of the cross? You that are on furlough, the sweet countries that you come from, will they not give testimony to the knowledge that they have that he's a good man?
[9:47] Will they not look and go, I mean, this really is such a waste this time of year. There's such a righteous man, such a good man, such a man that did so many things for the people, and a man that would heal, and a man that would love, and a man that was compassionate.
[10:00] What a tragic waste this time is, this time of year, that we look upon this man, Jesus Christ. It's just a tragedy, such an innocency, and such a waste.
[10:12] How do you look upon Jesus Christ tonight? If we're looking to some, that maybe you're not part of a church, or maybe you're not part of services like this, and this is a little bit different for you. How do you view Jesus Christ?
[10:23] Is he just a good man? Is he just a righteous man? Is he just a moral man? Because everybody's looking at this man that has been scourged and beaten, and he is there before the people, before they're going to walk him away to crucify him, to he's going to lay down his life.
[10:37] How do you view this man? And maybe you would look at this whole crucifixion, and you hear about the Passover, and you hear about all these things, and you would sit there, and the songs that are sung, and the scenes that are given, and the pictures that are posted, all these things, you sit there, and you think, oh, my soul, this is a tragedy.
[10:52] I mean, I don't know anything about him being the Messiah. I don't know anything about him being the Savior, but I mean, he was a good man. What a tragic waste that they took his life.
[11:02] I believe Pilate saw a tragedy. Number two, we only got four of these. Number two, I believe the soldiers saw a toy. One looked upon it as innocency and waste, and a good man that gave his life, and it doesn't make sense, and I cannot believe that happened.
[11:16] Then we have the soldiers. We have Christ at our disposal. We're going to take control of this situation. Look with me in Matthew 27, starting in verse 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered into him the whole band of soldiers.
[11:32] Isn't it amazing the man that walked upon the common people and walked about the common communities, and nobody was worried about him. Nobody was threatened by him. Nobody felt fear because of him.
[11:43] Anger, yes. Fear, no. But all of a sudden, during this time, that he's always surrounded by a great company of soldiers. And those soldiers, they took Jesus into the common hall and gathered to him another band of soldiers, and verse 8, they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe.
[12:02] We're going to take one of these robes that are lying around from the pro-council, and we'll place it upon him because we want to honor him. He says that he's a king, so let's treat him as a king. Sometimes when we try to share Jesus Christ with people, it's almost as though they mock us or they humor us and say, if you say he's a king, then I'll say he's a king with you, not because I believe he's a king, but to get you off my back and to get us on to another conversation.
[12:28] And so these soldiers are looking upon all that is going on and all that is happening, and they stripped him, humiliation there, and put him on a robe, this discarded pro-council leftovers, and wanted to acknowledge him as a king.
[12:41] Verse 9, they plated a crown of thorns. They took thorns and wove them around to where it resembled the roundness of a crown, and then they placed it upon his head, that twisting and paling feeling of taking the crown of thorns and placing it upon the Savior.
[12:57] If you were ever raised in a country or had any dealings in the country, you understand when I talk about a hawthorn bush. Is anybody familiar with a hawthorn bush? It's not a video game.
[13:09] I'm sorry. It's not. But if you go outside in pastures, there's these bushes that are about yea high, and if you go running through there not paying attention, they've got thorns on them, the hawthorn berries and the thorns, they'll cut through you quite readily.
[13:27] There in Palestine, they had thorns that when they would take, they would lock them in together to where it was not some little barb of a blackberry bush in South Georgia.
[13:38] It was all nails of God connected to branch that they took and they plated it and twisted it together in the form of a roundness to say it's a crown and placed it upon his head, twisting it into his brow.
[13:53] And when they plated a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head. Let's give the king a scepter. We want to play around with our new toy. I mean, he says he's the king of the Jews and the king of kings.
[14:04] Let's mock him and let's humor him. And we'll give him a crown and there's his crown. And we'll give him a reed, the scepter of the king. The scepter that if the king did not show you favor and extend that scepter when you were in his presence, you were a dead man.
[14:21] You were a dead woman. You walked through the Bible and you stood there beside Queen Esther when she came into the king's presence and it wasn't her time to be in the king's presence. And there with bated breath, she waited for the scepter to be extended to her.
[14:35] That was the power of a king that they would come and bow and place their hand on the round knob at the end, accepting the grace and the favor of the king. And so he's our toy.
[14:47] Let's humor this king of the Jews. And let's give him a purple robe of authority. Not that we're going to submit and yield to it. Let's humor all this that's going on. Let's give him a robe and let's give him a crown.
[15:00] Let's give him a scepter. And then let's bow the knee before him, verse 29. And let's mock him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Hail, King of the Jews. Have you ever been mocked?
[15:11] Yes or no? How did it make you feel? Good, bad, angry? How would you like to be the God of heaven knowing that you could absolutely, don't need Peter and his sword, don't need anybody else, with just your command?
[15:31] That voice that said, Let it be, and it was. All you had to do, you needed no weapon. You are God in the flesh, and it's your command. Everything is leveled.
[15:43] And they mocked, made fun of you. Have you ever had someone make fun of you and mock you when you were right and it was going to benefit them because at the end of this story, when they're mocking you, the joke was really on them.
[15:59] Welcome to this scene. We're looking upon this man that you're going to put before us and we're going to look at him and, oh, you say he's the king of the Jews, so we're just going to mock him and we're going to humor him and we're going to play along.
[16:15] So sad. They put the crown of thorns on his head. They put the purple robe about his back. What they did not realize that the one that they were mocking as authoritative, they didn't realize it.
[16:29] In John 5, it says, he has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is a son of man. All power, Jesus said in Matthew 28, is given unto me. What they did not realize is the one that they were mocking, saying, oh, we'll give him power, we'll give him respect, we'll give him honor.
[16:43] They didn't realize that they didn't have the authority to give him anything because he was the authority, amen. But let's humor him. Maybe on your fields. Maybe they're not caustic and maybe they're not mean about it, but they humor this Christ of the cross.
[17:02] They humor this time of year. They humor the whole salvation plan. They humor the resurrection. They want to give him a robe.
[17:12] I'll bounce him a robe. You want a scepter, I'll give you a reed. You want me to bow my knee, then I'll bow my knee. I mean, if you want me to come to church, I'll come and wait for the lunch that is to be served afterwards. See, it's amazing that people can look at the same scene, the same man, and they see different things.
[17:30] But isn't it amazing that the one that they mocked and ridiculed, in Revelation says, the four and 20 elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
[17:52] There's going to come a point in time that those that mock the king of all glory, that every knee is going to bow, and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
[18:04] Amen. And he came in humility, and he came as a lamb, and he gave his life. But, oh, I await the day, and the order I get, I anticipate the coming of the Son of God.
[18:16] There are things that my soul is weary with on this side of glory. And there's coming a day that that one that came as a sacrificial lamb is going to come as a reigning, ruling king.
[18:28] And upon his vesture and upon his thighs is going to be king of kings and lord of lords. And nobody's going to mock him. Nobody's going to make fun of him. Nobody's going to play around with him. They're going to bow and worship the king of all glory.
[18:41] Amen or no? But they looked that day. Behold the man. One moved with his emotion, thought what tragic loss that such a good man is having to give his life.
[18:58] Another group looks and says, how we got a toy to alleviate some of our time. We're going to play around. We're going to humor him. Oh, it's a dangerous thing for you to humor something that should be taken so seriously.
[19:14] And in our churches, people humor those that share the gospel message of Jesus Christ. I'll give you what you want me to give you. I'll tell you what you want to hear. I'll do what I think that you want to do.
[19:27] I'll humor what you want tonight. But it's not real. It is not real allegiance. It's not real faith. It's not real submission. I mean, you say, look at the Christ of Calvary.
[19:41] And I'll humor this whole scene. But I just won't be changed by it. Pilate saw a tragedy. The soldiers saw a toy. Number three, the religious leaders saw a threat.
[19:53] Now, when they looked upon Jesus Christ in John 19, verse 6, it says, And when the chief priest, therefore, and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, crucify him. Crucify him.
[20:04] They were not saying, grant him mercy, O king. Grant him leeway, O king. He did not say any of that. They cried out, we want his life. We want his life.
[20:15] We want his life. Take his life. Crucify him. He's a threat to us. Around the world, Jesus Christ is to be alleviated, and those that stand for Jesus Christ are to be done away with.
[20:29] Why? Why? Because he is such a threat to the empty systems of the world that offer no hope. They give a gilded God.
[20:40] They develop a wooden place of worship. They try to fabricate words that sound like the Bible, but do not have the depth to them, nor the authority, because they're not the word of God.
[20:54] Amen. Amen. And so we're threatened by this. We're threatened by what we've been taught all of our life. We've been threatened by what we've believed all of our life. We had everything in control in our religion.
[21:05] We were comfortable in our religion. We were comfortable in what we've learned. We're comfortable with what our families have passed down. We're comfortable. Now one comes in, and he speaks like no other man speaks.
[21:17] He speaks with authority. He speaks with power. His words are like a sword. They cut deep within my heart and within my soul. They don't leave me to where I can just pass on by.
[21:31] His words drive me to a crisis point that I must receive or reject his message. This man threatens our way of life. He threatens our belief system.
[21:42] He threatens our luxury. He threatens our families. He's a threat to us. And so how do we handle anybody, excuse me, that's a threat to us? Or we just get rid of them?
[21:54] We don't. We get rid of maybe other missionaries. They're a threat to our support. Our ego fill in the blank.
[22:08] The easiest thing to do is to get rid of them. And so what do we do with Christ, this one that stands, that changes history? Well, we got to get rid of him.
[22:21] And that's what the religious leaders wanted to do. And the longer we go in your lands, you will experience the same thing from those religious leaders that we see in these religious leaders.
[22:38] Because religious leaders may all go by different names, but the chemistry of what makes them up and who they are, the same across the board.
[22:49] And whenever Jesus Christ is introduced, he is a threat. Because the truth of the matter is, in this room, none of you are threatened by me.
[23:04] Even the women in here could whoop me. And I'll be honest with you, I'm very okay with that. And see, we're never threatened by something that can do no harm.
[23:17] We're always threatened by that which can take over. And other belief systems had walked that land. Other people had preached their message. Other folks had shown up.
[23:27] But they were not crucified. Why? Because there were no threat to them. They were not powerful enough to tear down what they've established. And then this man from Nazareth shows up.
[23:39] This man of Galilee, this Joseph's son, this carpenter, shows up. And he starts speaking and healing. And the authority that is on his life is absolutely incredible.
[23:52] And all of a sudden, they're looking at the one person that they've ever met in their life for generations would give shame testimony. There's never been anybody that would tear down what we believe.
[24:05] But one man shows up in the timeline of history. And his name is Jesus Christ. And they said, we finally found the one man that can take us all down.
[24:15] How are we going to respond? Crucify him. You're going to be in lands. And maybe they never encountered a preacher that preached the truth with passion, believed it, with every part of their fiber and being.
[24:31] Well, that man lands in Thailand. And all of a sudden, they know something different. There's something different about that man and the way he preaches and what he believes and how he talks.
[24:45] We finally found one that can go toe-to-toe with our gods. And I don't think our gods are going to be able to stand. And over in India and down in South America and Asia and all over, these quasi-belief systems do not gain any type of venom.
[25:06] Why? Because there's no threat. But boy, you introduce Jesus Christ and they get a hold of Jesus Christ as a true Messiah that can take down their belief system and they will cry out, the more crucify him.
[25:21] Are y'all with me, amen or no? And so the religious leaders saw a threat. And then I close with the last one. Excuse me, the Jewish crowd saw a traitor.
[25:33] What are you doing? Matthew 19, 14 and 15. It was a preparation to Passover in about the sixth hour. He saith unto the Jews, Behold your king.
[25:46] Oh, with great joy they should have accepted him and loved him and praised him and honored him. But they cried out, Away with him. Away with him. Crucify him.
[25:56] And Pilate saith unto them, baffled and perplexed, Shall I crucify your king? And they chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
[26:10] The ignorant, resentful mass, beholding Jesus Christ, saying we would rather have someone else rule our life than the rightful ruler.
[26:26] And maybe you look at the man, Jesus Christ, and what you see is pity. He's a good man. He was a moral man. He was a prophet. He was a teacher. Maybe you look and you say that he was a man that threatens belief systems that you were raised in or the country that you're from, the things that we've learned.
[26:43] And maybe you find that he's a threat. Maybe you just humor folks just to get them off your back or to get a free meal or to go get some jazz after the service.
[26:56] And you humor and put up with them. But you've not seen the real picture. Maybe you're like, I've already got one upon the throne of my life. I do not need another one.
[27:07] And you've totally missed who Jesus Christ is. He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world that gave His life to save you.
[27:25] During the reign of terror, an old French gentleman walked up to the gate of the prison in hope of getting a brief interview with his son. His son was lying under the sentence of death.
[27:38] His name, and I'm not French. You guys that speak it can help me afterward. His name was Louis de Rawls. And as he stood there, the dreaded cart arrived at the prison door and the name Louis de Rawls was lifted up as the names were shouted for the prisoners to come.
[27:56] A voice says, Here I am, Louis de Rawls. That's me. It was answered suddenly from this crowd. The voice was not that, though, of the young prisoner because he was asleep at the moment within a prison cell.
[28:12] It was his older, his feebler voice, a trifle more eager than a prisoner might supposed to be when execution is right in front of him. There was no time of care or care to make investigation.
[28:26] The father that said, I am he. I am Louis de Rawls. That is my name. The father was taken, and he was hurried off, and he was crucified.
[28:38] It was only time later that the truth came out that of the Louis de Rawls that had been crucified, the father had taken the place of the son.
[28:55] There that day, the pronouncement was given, Behold the man. And very few saw the truth of that statement that it was the man that had come to take their place to pay their debt that they could not pay.
[29:18] All they had to look and see was that Jesus Christ was the son of God, the Savior of the world. And so when you look at the scene of Easter, and you see the crosses, the eggs, and all that goes on, what do you behold?
[29:38] What do you see? What does it mean to you? And how has it changed your life?