Shall I Crucify Your King?
I.
Introduction
a.
Our goal this year is to see you get more rooted in Christ as we
grow together
b.
One way we are doing this rooting is through sermons about
questions found in the Bible.
II.
Body
a.
We left Jesus last week, standing trial before the governor,
Pilate. So let us pick up the story at
the end of the trial.
a.
Read John 19:12-16 – “From then on, Pilate
tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, ‘If you let this man go,
you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who
claims to be a king opposes Caesar.’
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). It was the day of Preparation
of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. ‘Here is your king,’ Pilate said to the
Jews. 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. Finally Pilate handed
him over to them to be crucified. So the
soldiers took charge of Jesus.”
b.
The question of the
night is: Shall I crucify your king?
a.
Take a vote
c.
Before we decide one way or the other, let us see what happens to
Jesus
a.
Jesus has his last meal with his disciples, goes to a garden and
prays, under intense pressure and stress he is sweating blood
b.
A group of soldiers approaches and arrests him. They are shown where to find him by one of
his own followers.
c.
He is taken to trial before the priests. After a guilty verdict is rendered they spit
on him, strike him with fists repeatedly, blindfold and tie him up and march
him to the governor.
d.
He has now been up for at least 24 hours, the governor sends him to
the King, then he is sent back to the governor, around 2.5 miles of walking
e.
Pilate tries to release him but a threat of riot keeps him from
doing it.
f.
He has him flogged/scourged (whip with leather and things like
boens, metal, or lead balls tied in. It
caused deep bruises, ripped skin and then muscles).
g.
A robe is placed on him and then removed (probably tearing open the
wounds again). A crown of thorns (1-2
inches) is placed on his head and then a staff is used to pound the thorns in.
h.
Isaiah tells us he would have been so disfigured people wouldn’t
recognize him as a man anymore, appalling to look at.
i.
The walk him less than a mile to the site of execution (tying a
cross beam to his back, 75-125lbs) but he must have help in order to make it.
j.
He is spit on and insulted by the crowd
k.
Crucified
i.
5-7inch long x 3/8in wide nails were driven into his wrists and
feet.
ii.
Then the cross would be dropped into a hole.
iii.
Nail would have caused cramping, a nerve was more than likely hit
and thus would give shocks of pain anytime he would move
iv.
He would have had to pull
himself up using the nails in order to breath, slowly suffocating to death
v.
People wandered around mocking, including those that were crucified
with him.
vi.
Then he dies
d.
The question of the night is: Shall I crucify your king? Should he have to endure this, he did nothing
wrong, never sinned, did nothing wrong.
Shall we crucify him?
a.
Take a vote
e.
Before we decide one way or the other, let us see why Jesus died
a.
See the thing is that it is easy for us to say that we don’t want
him crucified, no one should have to endure all that, especially when they are
innocent.
b.
But we know from the story that:
i.
Jesus is God
ii.
Jesus knows it is going to happen (predicts it at least 3 times)
iii.
The night of he tells Judas to go and do what he is going to do,
then when he is praying he tells his disciples Judas is coming, he is able to
knock his attackers to their knees, he tells his disciples he could have called
a legion of angels to help him, he never tries to defend himself in the trial…
iv.
We know from the story that Jesus was willing to sacrifice
himself…but why?
c.
I am a sinful person that has done many horrible disgusting things
in my life. I have lied, lusted, lashed
out, been lazy, overate, not helped those in need, etc.. I deserve hell. I deserve no relationship with God…and
because of my sin I couldn’t have a relationship with God, and I was headed to
hell. No matter how many good things I
have done, I can never make up for the bad things I have done. I can’t buy my forgiveness or earn my way out
of hell and into a relationship with God.
f.
The question of the night is: Shall I crucify your king?
a.
And I come to the conclusion that I need him to be crucified. Shall I crucify your king? Yes, if he is willing to be crucified, if he
is willing to go through all that pain, if he is willing to go through the
anguish, if he is willing to die for me, then yes, crucify my king. Though he is innocent, and I am the one
deserving death, yes, crucify my king.
b.
Crucify Him! Crucify Him! I don’t want him to be crucified, but I need
him to be crucified, because my salvation depends on the cross. So I lay down my resistance. I take my place in the guilty mob and I say,
“Crucify Him! Yes, crucify him , if he
will be crucified, for I am a sinner who needs a Savior.”
III.
Conclusion
a.
The question of the
night is: Shall I crucify your king?
a.
Take a vote
b.
And if he was willing to die for you, what should your response
be? Thank him, and live for him.
c.
Take time and write a thank you to him and during the worship time
present it to him at the cross.
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