In this sermon, we looked at Jesus' claim to be the King of the Jews. In John 19:1-15, Pilate was struggling to know what to do with Jesus so he had Jesus severely beaten and humiliated, hoping this would appease the Jewish leaders and Jesus could be released. However, when Pilate presented a beaten and bloody Jesus, the crowd of Jewish leaders replied, “Crucify Him!” Viewing this part of John’s Gospel through the eyes of the prophet Isaiah reveals that what was happening to Jesus was the unfolding of God’s intentional and necessary plan. Although Pilate and the Jews were unaware of God’s plan, Jesus’ suffering was fulfilling the prophesies of the coming Messiah who would save His people. Like Pilate, we too have to decide what to do with Jesus. While Pilate initially referred to Jesus as a man, he presented Him as a king in the end. Today, we are left with this question: Is Jesus simply a man who was beaten and crucified oris He a King who laid down His life and took it back up again for His people?
