Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 18:39-19:16 (Ep. 49)

Episode Date: July 3, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 18:39-19:16Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this episode, we cover John chapter 18 verse 39 through John chapter 19 verse 16. Let's dial in. John chapter 18 verse 39 through John chapter 19 verse 16. 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. Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him and the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to

him and saying, hail king of the Jews and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, see, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him. So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, behold, the man, when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, crucify him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the son of God. When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus,

Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Jesus, sin. From then on, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, if you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the stone pavement in an Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, behold your king. They cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar. So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. The option that Pilate presented to the people was that of a murderer and a thief

or Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God. Pilate must have thought, surely they would rather have this miracle worker, the one who gives sight to the blind and heals the leper, than a thief and a killer. Jesus gives life to the dead. Barabbas takes from the living matthew 27 gives us a little more insight into the scene telling us that the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for barabbas here and to put jesus to death pilot said to them which of the two do you want me to release for you and they said barabbasabbas. And Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? And they all shouted in response.

Imagine this, crucify him. And Pilate responded and said, what evil has the man done? But they kept on shouting all the more, crucify him, crucify him. And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the people saying, I am innocent of this man's blood. See to that yourselves. And all of the people said, imagine this with me, this is real history, real events, and real people. And they responded to Pilate, a Roman, and said, his blood, Jesus' blood will be on our hands and will be on our children. Then Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus scourged. And according to Luke 23, 16, Pilate's thought process when he had Jesus

scourged was to punish Jesus and then to release him. But punish him for what? Pilate had already said that this man was innocent. He had already told the crowd, I find no guilt in the man. So why was Pilate doing this? Well, he's thinking that if he tortures Jesus and presents to the people a disarrayed version of a body, then the people will be satisfied. He doesn't want this death of an innocent man on his conscience. So in verse 1 of chapter 19, Pilate took Jesus and flogs him. Now, we most likely have a very tame understanding of what this means. Romans were professional executioners.

They were professional torturers, and flogging was an art. This type of punishment would have been so severe that it was reserved only for those who had been sentenced to death. It's truly difficult for us to comprehend the pain of this. The Roman scourge basically consisted of a short wooden handle to which several leather cords were attached. And at the ends of these cords were sharpened pieces of lead and metal and bone and the body then of the person was tied around a post with their hands and then the person would be lashed and lashed until his body was ripped to shreds not just in the back but everywhere the cords touched. Bones were made bare, insides were exposed, and blood would have been everywhere. The soldiers then took Jesus and shoved thorns deep into his skull and put a

robe on him as they struck him with their fists and mocked him. They're treating Jesus, think about this, the creator of the universe, like he is an idiot. It is a comedy act to them. They would mock Jesus by saluting him, by kneeling before him, and then standing up and spitting in his face and beating him with their fists. The one who left his crown of glory was given a crown of thorns. So Pilate takes Jesus at this point and gets ready to show him to the crowd and hopes that this would be enough. And in verse four, Pilate came out again and said to the people, behold, I'm bringing him out to you so that you may know I find no guilt in him. He wants the people now to see Jesus in this pathetic condition covered with

gashing wounds all over his body, blood everywhere. His body is disfigured and Jesus is standing silently by as Pilate makes this proposal. In verse five, Jesus comes out wearing a crown of thorns and a robe of purple. And Pilate said to him, the famous Latin phrase, Ece homo, behold the man. Pilate is saying, behold, here's your king. He's mocking Jesus. Here's your threat. Here's the dangerous rebel. He looks like a fool. He's barely alive. Don't you see this? It's absurd. This is ridiculous. This man is helpless. He's pitiful. He's powerless. He's beaten.

Come on, guys. Look at him. Isn't this enough? Pilate thinks the people will be satisfied. But in verse six, the people respond, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate is lost on how the crowd isn't satisfied by what he has done. The Jews continue in verse seven and say, he has made himself out to be the son of God. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You could never convince a first century Jew that Jesus did not make obvious claims to his deity. They not only knew this to be true, but this was the reason that they wanted him dead. He makes himself out to be the son of God. Now the passage says that now Pilate

is even more afraid and he takes Jesus back inside. He's panicking and he asked Jesus, where are you from? Pilate knew that Jesus was from Galilee, but maybe this man before him is more than a man. This miracle worker could have come from the gods. The Romans believed in tons of gods. And Pilate is saying to Jesus, don't you understand, Jesus? I have power to crucify you. I have the power to release you. Talk to me.

Respond. Now, Pilate had resided over hundreds of trials. He'd been around hundreds of accused criminals, innocent ones and guilty ones. All of them proclaimed their innocence. But here is a man before him covered in blood who he knows is innocent, but yet makes no defense. And in Pilate's mind, he's wondering, why doesn't Jesus answer back? Why doesn't he defend himself? But as Isaiah 53, verse seven says, Jesus was led as a sheep to the slaughter and he was silent. Jesus responds to Pilate and says, actually, Pilate, you have no power unless it had been given to you by my father. Jesus isn't trying to escape. He came to die. And in verse 12, Pilate sought all the more to release him. But the Jews shouted in response, if you let him go, you are not a friend of Caesar. And Pilate then folds in verse 16 and delivers Jesus over to be crucified.

I always wonder if Barabbas followed the crowd at this point and went to watch Jesus' crucifixion. The man who was guilty was delivered because an innocent man took his place. I wonder if Barabbas, a thief and a murderer, sat on the hill and looked at Jesus naked and nailed to a cross and thought, I live because that man dies in my place. The truth is we must all share in that mentality with Barabbas. We must all consider that we live because Jesus, an innocent, perfect, righteous son of God died in our place. Maybe you're thinking, man, how could they have done that to Jesus? How could they do this? How could they kill him? But you must put yourself amongst the shrieking mob, yelling, crucify him, crucify him. It wasn't just their sin that Jesus died for. It was your sin, and it was my sin. The words of the hymn say it well.

Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders. Ashamed I hear my mocking voice cry out among the scoffers. Jesus, the Son of God, whipped, beaten, and in our next episode, crucified. Why? Because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Stay dialed in. Bye.