I Am King, You Say - Part 2

Bryan Chapell: The only one guilty is a child of the Father for whom the son of the Father was crucified. Who is that? That's me and that's you and that is every child of the Father for whom the son of God was crucified.
Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel. In today's episode, pastor Brian shares the second half of a lesson from John 18. Dr. Chapel highlights how Christ came to save us. In his innocence, he bore the weight of our sin and guilt as he died on the cross. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for pastor Brian's book, The Multi-generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Brian Chapel as he shares the second half of the lesson, I am king, you say.
Bryan Chapell: Let me ask that you would look in your Bibles this morning and look at John chapter 18. John chapter 18, as we will be looking at verses 28 through the end of the chapter. Let's stand as we prepare to read God's word, but at the same time remember what we are celebrating this Sunday. At this time so long ago as he rode into Jerusalem upon a donkey, the sign of an ancient king. They put palm branches before him and said, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And by the end of the week, the same people would say crucify him. And the soldiers would take thorns from the same date palm trees. And they would weave a crown of thorns and then strike him on the head and say, Hail, king of the Jews. It was so wrong. Who is guilty for that? Who is responsible for that? Surely where John records the subsequent trial, we will learn who is guilty. John 18 verse 28, then they that is the Jewish officials led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled but could eat the Passover. So pilot went outside to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? They answered him, If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you. Pilot said to them, Take him yourselves. Judge him by your own law. The Jews said to him, It's not lawful for us to put anyone to death. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So pilot entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord or did others say it to you about me? Pilot answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world. Then pilot said to him, So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilot said to him, What is truth? After this, after he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? They cried out again, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Let's pray together. Father, how right to honor your son. Hosanna in the highest. Hail the one who comes in the name of the Lord. He has come to us and made himself known declaring the truth that he was a king not of this world. But one who came for a purpose that he was ready to declare to all who would hear his voice. By your word and by your spirit, would you open our ears to hear his voice yet again this morning? Even Christ Jesus telling us what he came to do for such as we for whom he died. Grant us ears to hear we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Please be seated. It had been written a thousand years previous and it's precisely what happened according to plan. What could the Jews say? We're just following the script. We're not guilty. We have kept the Jewish law. We have kept the Roman law. We're just following heaven's purposes. Even if we don't know it, we're not guilty. We we're just following the path that was laid before us. Well, if if Jesus isn't guilty and and the Jews aren't guilty, then then it must be pilot. I mean, surely pilot is the guilty party, but but unfortunately, if you begin to follow that track, you have Jesus's very words to deal with. After all, in verse 11 of John 19, you may remember this, Jesus answering pilot says to pilot 19:11, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. I mean, if pilot is guilty, he's at least not as guilty as the ones who delivered him to pilot. Who's guilty? I mean, after all, if you begin to examine pilot's actions, you recognize there there apparently is not great guilt that can be put on him. He he is following Jewish law to the hilt. Pilot, the Roman governor is willing to follow Jewish law even in dealing with this one who claims to be king of the Jews. You want to see it? It goes by in ways that maybe not catch your attention. Verse 29 of chapter 18. Just those opening words of verse 29 of chapter 18. So pilot went outside to them, that is to the Jews. Now just quick thing, you've already heard it once, but remember again, why does pilot go outside his house to speak to the Jews? Because they won't do what? They won't come inside, right? They would pollute themselves. They would defile themselves at the time of Passover to enter a Gentile's house. So he goes outside to them. Now he he he doesn't stay there. Look at verse 33. So having talked to the Jews, verse 33, pilot entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of Jews? All right, so he's gone back in. Now look at verse 38. Pilot having had the interchange with Jesus, what is truth? After this, he went back outside to the Jews. Okay. 19 and verse one. Then pilot took Jesus and flogged him. Not so obvious to you, but the flogging was inside what was known as the Antonio Fortress which means he went back inside in order for Jesus to be flogged there. Verse four, pilot went out again and said to them, I'm bringing him out to you because I can't find guilt in him. Verse nine, he entered the headquarters again. Verse 13, pilot went out again. It actually happened seven times. He's in, he 's out. He's in, he's out. He's in, he 's out. It's just silly. I mean, if if you if you kind of view pilot, the Roman governor, and recognize the extent to which he is going to try to make peace with these people. And it's not that he's just honoring Jewish law by going in and out when they won't give in, he just tries to humor them, right? So he says, I can't find guilt in him. Well, we want him anyway. So what are the things that that pilot will do? Well, verse 39 of chapter 18. You have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you this king of the Jews? Well, surely you know they'll go with that cuz what's their alternative? Barabbas when identified as a robber, an insurrectionist, a terrorist. They won't choose that, but but they do. And so even though pilot has declared him not guilty and tries to get him released, the Jews won't give in. So pilot tries again. Now remember, he's just declared Jesus not guilty. And instead, the first verse of chapter 19, he has him flogged. All right, you want your pound of flesh? Okay, I I give you your pound of flesh. You know, we'll let a little blood, we'll put some thorns on him, we'll humiliate him, we'll hurt him. Okay. Done. He's not guilty, but you got your way. No. Still not satisfied. Crucify him. Verse 12 of chapter 19. Do you remember? From that time on, it says, from that time on, pilot sought to release him. But but pilot's got an obligation. He's supposed to keep the peace. He's a Roman governor and these people are about to riot. So after all these attempts, finally pilot just just to placate the Jews gives them Jesus. But to preserve Roman honor, washes his hands of it. It's you, not me. Pilot doesn't appear to be particularly guilty. He's tried I mean, he's really tried. And just so that you don't feel so bad about pilot, I want you to remember what he finally does. He fulfills the purposes of God not only as Jesus said because you would have no authority over me unless God gave it. But you remember the last thing that pilot does kind of as the the slap to the Jews, but the honor to Jesus. He has a sign put on the cross of Jesus. What does the sign say? Jesus of Nazareth king of the Jews. And then it is put in Latin and Greek and Aramaic which means every person who goes past says that is the king of the Jews. Whether in mockery or reality, every language who would have been there, every nation who would have been there, every sect who have been there, they all see king of the Jews. Pilot more than maybe anyone else in the passage is fulfilling the purposes of God to declare the son of God. This is the king of the Jews. This is the long prophesied Messiah. And obviously we know about the intentionality that he could have had, pilot nonetheless performs the will of God.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel.
Guest (Male): It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christian. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils. At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye. In his new book, The Multi-generational Church Crisis, Dr. Brian Chapel asks the question, What could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world. You can request your copy of the Multi-generational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41 Grace. That's 844-414-7223. And now more from Brian Chapel on today's Unlimited Grace.
Bryan Chapell: Well, if pilot's not guilty and the Jews aren't guilty and Jesus isn't guilty, who's guilty? Actually, there's only one person in the whole passage against whom a definite statement of guilt has been made. It's it's right at the end of John 18. As pilot has offered Jesus, the people cry out instead, not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. It's the only statement of guilt in the passage. It's actually definite. He was a robber. It's it's worse than that. If you were to go to Mark and have further explanation of who Barabbas was, you'll read he was an insurrectionist who had murdered people in his insurrection. And if you go to Matthew, you will find that he is simply identified as a notorious insurrectionist. This is the Osama bin Laden of his day. This is a terrorist. And even John says, he's guilty. He's the robber. He's the insurrectionist. Who is? Barabbas. Do you know what Barabbas means? You may remember in Romans eight, we are told that we have been given the spirit of adoption whereby we are made sons and daughters of the living God and by him we cry out Abba, Father. Bar Abba, son of the Father. The only one who is guilty in the passage is the son of the Father in whose place the son of the Father was crucified. The only one guilty is a child of the Father for whom the son of the Father was crucified. The only one guilty is the son of the Father for whom the son of the Father was crucified. The only one guilty is a child of the Father for whom the son of the Father was crucified. Who is that? That's me and that's you and that is every child of the Father for whom the son of God was crucified. You see, if if we are reading this passage as the apostle John intends, we are not to be glad that we're not like the Jews. We're not to be glad that we're not like pilot. If we read it with a gospel lens on, what we begin to recognize is every sign ultimately ends up pointing to say, those who are guilty are those for whom Jesus died. It's he who took our place upon the cross. He he wasn't guilty. We we can't just point at other people. We can't say, well, it's just the Jews. Well, it's just pilot. If we don't see ourselves in the story, we have not really read the story for its intent. And I can remember one particular dinner time when my mother had fixed this wonderful dessert pudding and she she brought it out of the refrigerator and and put it on the dinner table in front of her husband and all six children. And it became obvious that at some point during the afternoon while that pudding dessert was setting up that one of those six children had created what you'd have to call a thumb lollipop. You know what I mean? One of those. The pudding had a hole in it. And my mother said, Who did that? And like a junior choir full of innocent voices, we all sang in unison, sang together, Not me. Well, somebody had to do it. I I mean, somebody was guilty. The evidence of the crime was right there. So somebody was guilty. And of course, those of us who were innocent wanted that person to be found out. I mean, nobody, you know, wants the finger of justice to point at you if you're not guilty. We we want the guilty person to be identified. So she said to all of her six children, Line up and stick out your thumbs. And then she began to measure. It was my brother Gordon because the hole revealed the dimensions of what would fill it. When you see the wounds in Jesus's hand and feet and side, you must recognize what alone will fill those wounds. My sin and your sin and the sin of the world. It was after all a child of the Father whose place was taken by the son of the Father for all time. When you and I come to these accounts, we are meant to see he died for us. And it's the very last thing we want to say. On a day of such glory, of day of children walking the aisles, a day of such joy, the last place we want to be is the deep humility of saying it was for my sin my savior died. I don't want to go there. I don't want to think about it. And yet that is the very place at which we are most blessed. Because what happens when when God's people gather, those in whom the Holy Spirit is working, as we begin to recognize he died upon a cross, he was not the guilty party. We are the guilty party. We begin to examine our lives and I think people think it's the job of the pastor to make people feel guilty. I don't got to go there because where the Holy Spirit is working, we begin to think about the marriages that are not what we wish they were, the children who have not lived as we hope they would by our own example. We we recognize the faults of of families and workplace and relationships and the way in which we have not fulfilled what we ought to and we've got to have some place to put this guilt. And what the gospel is doing is saying it's on Christ. That is why he came. He came as the son of God to take the place of the children of God who know their guilt. When we recognize as much, we have this great blessing that on this day we recognize that he who took our place made away, made away for our sin to be put upon him that we would bear it no more. Our sins fit his wounds. And when you know that and you believe it and you say, Christ, this is my trust. My sin fits in your wounds. When I say that and believe it in my heart, he becomes guilty and I become innocent because it was the will of God to free me by his gift upon the cross. He won't stay there. We'll know that next week, right? He will rise the victor. But he rises the victor over my sin because I put them there in faith and trust. His wounds are filled with my sin and yours. Believe that and you are free. Friends, I'm so glad you decided to tune in today and listen. And I would consider it a privilege to pray for you right now. Let's go together before the throne of heaven and pray for the Lord's blessing. Father, thank you for being merciful to us. Help our hearts to grasp the greatness of that mercy that you provide so that we can offer our lives to Jesus as a sacrifice of praise that you have made holy and acceptable despite our many weaknesses and flaws. We thank you for this great grace and pray in Jesus's name. Amen.
Guest (Male): That's pastor Brian Chapel and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his Unlimited Grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.