DRINKING THE CUP:  REJECTED BY MEN

JOHN 19:1-16

AUGUST 31, 1997

 

A portrait can tell us a lot about a person, especially if it is sketched with words.  The Apostle John sketches such portraits of men so that we might understand the desperate condition of the human heart.  Considering that Jesus Christ the Lord stood before men, only to be rejected, scorned, and condemned to die seems to be the most insane action of humanity.  How can anyone reject Jesus Christ?

 

John begins his gospel with the wonderful description of who Jesus Christ is, that He is God Himself who has created the world and in whom we have life.  But coming into the world as the light of the world, men rejected Him, choosing the darkness of sin over the light of holiness.  "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (John 1:10-11).

 

As those who have been saved by His mighty power, we can only shake our heads in amazement that anyone would reject our Redeemer and Lord.  The very God who made us has come to us!  He came 2000 years ago, not as Judge, but as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  He came "not to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through Him" (John 3:17).  But what has man done?  He has rejected the only Savior for sinners.  Again I ask, how can anyone reject Jesus Christ?

 

Perhaps you've asked yourself this question again and again.  The answer really never changes.  The reasons for rejecting Jesus Christ and His provision of eternal life are the same in every century.  John's portraits in our text help us to understand the reasons behind mankind's rejection of the Lord.  It goes back to the desperate condition of every man apart from the grace of God.  The natural man rejects the saving rule of Christ over his life.  

 

Why does man, apart from the intervention of God's grace, reject Jesus Christ?

 

I.  Because of what Jesus Christ exposes

 

What was it like to look physically at Jesus Christ?  Multitudes of people, rich and poor, young and old, saw the God-Man as He walked the dusty roads of Palestine preaching the gospel of the Kingdom.  They looked at perfection.  They saw God Himself, clothed in humanity so that human eyes might gaze upon Him.  Jesus told the disciples, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father..." (John 14:9).  Human eyes have looked upon some wonderful sights:  the grandeur of the Swiss Alps, the pristine loveliness of the Bahamas, the radiant hues of the Grand Canyon.  But no eye has glimpsed a more awesome sight than God Incarnate, Jesus Christ!  He who is altogether lovely, who is the thrice holy One, who possesses all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge--allowed sinful man to look at Him and not be slain in an instant.

 

On those few occasions when God allowed some of His servants to cast a glimpse His way, we always find them profoundly affected.  At the sight of the burning bush and the voice of God, Moses prostrated himself.  Elijah stood in the mouth of a cave on the mountainside, awaiting the revelation of God in the wind, earthquake, and fire that passed before him.  But it was "a sound of a gentle blowing" that humbled Elijah as the Lord passed before him (I Kings 19).  Isaiah caught a glimpse of God on His throne and cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone!"  John, in the book of Revelation, saw the Lord and fell at His feet as a dead man.  In all of these disclosures, man saw himself for what he was in light of who God is.  To see the Lord is also an act of placing a mirror of the soul before your eyes so that you see yourself as you truly are before Him.

 

Now consider, with all of these divine disclosures taking place, Jesus Christ walked among the throngs of people throughout Judea.  They saw Him.  But could they look at Jesus Christ without that mirror of the soul exposing their own hearts to their gaze?  I think not.  What did Jesus expose in men?

 

1.  His character exposes man's sinfulness

 

We find the chief priests and officers of the temple delivering Jesus Christ to the Roman procurator during the darkness of night.  Their examination of Him proved the fallacy of their charges, yet they still delivered Him to Pilate.  We find these religious leaders waiting outside the Praetorium for an answer from Pilate concerning their charges of political treason.  Pilate's response was clear, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no guilt in Him."  They refused to comply with Pilate's judgment, demanding, "Crucify, crucify!"  Yet, again this seasoned procurator states,  "I find no guilt in Him."

 

Why did the chief priests and religious leaders seem to have such animosity toward our Lord?  As you read the Gospels, you realize that all of these religious leaders viewed themselves as being righteous and therefore having no need for reconciliation with God.  They shared the spirit of the Pharisee who went into the temple to pray, looking down his nose at the tax-collector standing far back, saying to himself, "God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people:  swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get" (Luke 18:10-14).  The parading of self-righteousness was commonplace by religious people, just as it is in our own day.  

 

Jesus stood before Pilate because His holy character had exposed the sinfulness of the religious leaders, a reality which they rejected.  They could not perceive of themselves as sinners.  On one occasion the Pharisees said of Christ, "We know that this man is a sinner."  Yet when they were repulsed for their prejudice against Christ, they told the once-blind man whom Christ healed, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?"  In other words, 'We are not sinners, but you are.  We will not listen to anyone who tells us that we are wrong at any point'  (John 9:24, 34).

 

Pilate was given the task of trying to examine Jesus Christ, to find some area of blame, some rationale for punishing Him.  This man was a professional at judging others.  He did this as part of his duties as the Roman procurator.  But in all of his examination of Jesus Christ, he could only say, "I find no guilt in Him."  All that the priests charged proved empty.  There was no guilt in Jesus Christ because there was no sin in Him at all (Heb. 4:15).  Every facet of His character was pure.

 

None of us can say this about ourselves.  Look at our lives, examine us, examine any person.  You cannot say, "I find no guilt in him."  For the heart of every man is laden with the corruption of sin.  We do not realize this until we begin to glimpse the purity and holiness of Jesus Christ.  He who fulfilled the Law on our behalf, who never offended in the least point the demands of God's righteousness, provides the backdrop in which we can see our own sinfulness and need of redemption.

 

2.  His deity exposes man's idolatry

 

The Jews responded to Pilate's refusal to crucify Jesus Christ on charges of political treason by bringing up the real reason behind their anger.  "We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God."   They were likely referring to Leviticus 24:16:  "Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death.  The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death."  The issue above all others that stirred the vehemence of the Jews was Jesus' own claim of deity.  He made it clear that He is God; not some sort of half-God, but equal in every way to the Father.  

 

Mark's Gospel records that as the high priest questioned our Lord, he asked Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"  Jesus' response shows a complete admission to His deity, "I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, AND COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."  At this the high priest charged blasphemy!  And the whole scheme of carrying Him before Pilate for the death sentence unfolds (Mark 14:61-63).

 

Were these Jews simply jealous for the glory of God and concerned that His name was being blasphemed by Jesus Christ?  How could they look at Jesus Christ, see the wondrous works by His power, see the holiness of His life, then deny that He was God?  I would propose to you that their basic problem was their own idolatrous hearts.  They suffered under the blindness of idolatry, for everyone who worships an idol becomes like one (Ps. 115).  They did not worship Jehovah as He had revealed Himself in the Scriptures, but they worshipped Him according to their own design--which is one form of idolatry.  They refused to believe the promises of God concerning the Messiah.  They refused to add together the details of Jesus Christ's life and ministry to see that He fulfilled everything which God had promised in the Messiah.  They denied that they had need for a Redeemer to set them free from their bondage to sin.  Instead, they had a God of their own making which they worshipped, taught, and promoted; but He was not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He was not the God who promised to send His Servant to bear the sins of many (Isa. 53).  You see, to develop one's own concepts of God apart from the revelation of God in His Word is nothing more than idolatry!  When you see Who Jesus Christ is, God of very God, then the idolatry of false concepts of God is exposed in every form.

 

This is why so many people cannot handle studying the life of Christ in detail.  They do not mind looking at some of the wonderful deeds He accomplished or hearing some of the fascinating stories about His life.  But begin to explain His perfect deity and perfect humanity in one person, begin to show the nature of His holy mission and the work which He accomplished as a propitiation for sinners, then watch people squirm!  The idolatry of their hearts has created a Jesus Christ of their own making:  one that is a nice religious figure who does everything you want Him to do without any demands on your life and certainly without taking the place of sinners to satisfy the justice of God!  Just as the Jews wanted a political messiah of their own making who would simply help them feel better, have more material possessions, and protect them from all harm, we have that same idolatrous concept concerning Christ today.  Many people look at Jesus as nothing more than a philanthropist who is ready to dole out His wealth at any sign of their discomfort.  

 

Therefore, they reject Jesus Christ and Him crucified for sinners, rather than give up their idolatry.  We see this so prevalent in our own area.  People give all of their affections and devotion to a church, not to Jesus Christ.  They worship their church membership rather than Christ as their Lord.  They will remain part of a church that has rejected the Christ of the Bible, denied the authority of Scripture, denied the need for the blood atonement, denied the responsibility of sinners to repent and believe the gospel.  They will not listen to you explain the gospel for they have spurned it in favor of their own Christian idolatry.  

 

3.  His kingship exposes man's self-rule

 

Jesus had already testified to Pilate of His kingship over a spiritual kingdom (18:36-37).  Now Pilate presents Jesus to the Jews by saying, "Behold, your King!"  Their response shows the rejection of Christ as king over their lives.  "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!"    Pilate continues, perhaps in some mockery, "Shall I crucify your King?"  To which the chief priests replied, "We have no king but Caesar."

 

The Jews loathed the idea of Caesar being their king.  But compared to bending the knee in submission to Jesus Christ, they gladly claimed Caesar, the pagan Roman emperor, as their king.  In reality, they were not anymore loyal and submissive to Caesar than you and I are!  It was a covering for their own self-rule.  They did not want Caesar ruling over them, which is made plain by the many exploits against Rome in Jewish history.  But they certainly did not want Jesus ruling over them!  His rule over us means that we no longer rule ourselves.  The natural man will fight and battle with His rule until conquered by the grace of God at the cross.

 

The self-centeredness of man drives him to self-rule over his life.  He wants to be king over his life, with no rivals.  That is why the gospel of Christ is so often rejected.  For Jesus said very plainly, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).  Self-denial is the very opposite of self-rule.  To be Christ's disciple means that you come to the end of yourself and the mastery of your life.  You end your despotic rule over your passions and lusts, over your mind and thoughts, over your desires and ambitions.  You bend the iron neck of self-rule through repentance into a humble submission to Jesus Christ as your King.

 

4.  His work exposes man's helplessness

 

Jesus emphasized on many occasions that He came "to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10).  He taught that He was the good shepherd 'who laid down His life for the sheep' (John 10:11).  He told the disciples that He came not to be served, "but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28).  There was the constant redemptive message in what He spoke to the multitudes.  He never led anyone to believe that He came just to feed the multitudes and heal the infirmed, but that He came to be lifted up on the cross to satisfy the justice of God in saving sinners (John 12:32).

 

Jesus never did anything to harm the Jews.  Yet their cry to Pilate was, "Crucify, crucify!....Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!"  Why not just ask Pilate to deport Christ to Rome or to one of the many islands in the Mediterranean Sea?  Why crucify Him?  We know that the crucifixion was the heart of Christ's divine work; that God's purpose for the redemption of sinners was unfolded at the cross.  But in the minds of the Jews, they denied the redemptive work of the Messiah, refusing to believe Isaiah and David's prophecies concerning the suffering of Christ on behalf of others for their salvation (Isa. 53; Psalm 22).  For you see, to admit that Jesus Christ came to earth to act as the Mediator between God and man was to expose the helplessness and futility of the work of the high priest.  It revealed that man had no power on his own to get to God, that he had nothing in himself by which he could satisfy the righteousness of God and reconcile himself to God.  To believe Jesus Christ and His gospel is to admit that you are totally helpless by any effort on your part to save yourself.

 

Most people cannot handle that biblical reality.  Like the Jews, they are churning out their own self-designed efforts to promote themselves in God's eyes.  They carry on religious work.  They do good deeds.  They 'say prayers' and occasionally even read the Bible.  They throw some money in the offering plate.  Then they hear of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  The message of the cross of Christ tells us that all we thought was in the 'plus column' to put us right with God is instead on the deficit side of the ledger.  Our contribution is zero, for "there is none righteous, not even one" (Rom. 3:10).  In the stubbornness of the human heart, man will do almost anything to keep from admitting that he is helpless to save himself.

 

Why does man, apart from a work of grace, reject Jesus Christ as King over his life?  Man does not want to come to grips with his sinfulness and separation from God.  He refuses to give up his idols to which he clings.  He dares not abdicate the throne of his heart because of his love of self-rule.  And he certainly does not want to admit that he is helpless to do anything of a saving nature in his life.  So, what does he do?  He joins the Jews in trying to rid himself of Jesus Christ, who alone can save.  He will turn away from the truth of the gospel.  He will shut out the life-giving message.  He will run from encounters with Christians.  

 

Oh how he needs grace!  Every man needs God to come to him savingly for he certainly has no desire for God on his own.  But if a man is left to himself without the work of the Spirit, he rejects Christ because in Jesus Christ he is exposed as a helpless, selfish sinner.

 

II.  Because of what man possesses

 

When a sinner is confronted with the truth of Christ's Person and work, he is either brought to repentance and faith, or he rejects and spurns Christ and His gospel.  In our text, John shows us some portraits of not only man's response to Christ, but also what man possesses in his life-view and thoughts. These possessions cause him to reject Jesus Christ and the gospel. They comprise the unbeliever's own attitude toward Jesus Christ.

 

1.  In man's view of life

 

Everyone has their own 'world-view' as it is called.  That is, we all have our own particular way that we look at life and everything represented in life.  One of the challenges of the Christian community is helping believers maintain a 'Christian world-view' in the midst of a sinful world.  We are constantly challenged in this effort by the push and pull of the world about us.

 

Unfortunately, many people have a view of life that keeps them from even giving thought to the gospel.  They have so fixed their thinking into certain patterns that when you confront them with the claims of Christ, it rolls off of them like water off a duck's back.  They do not give the least thought to their desperate condition before God because they have convinced themselves, through their view of life, that they are okay with their present status.

 

I believe we see an assortment of mentalities illustrated in the personalities of our text.

 

(1)  God-in-a-box mentality

 

The Jews have to be seen as possessing a "God-in-a-box" mentality.  Let me explain.  They had their scheme of how God must work and what God must do set in the concrete of their minds.  They considered that they were the great repository of biblical knowledge, that no one could teach them; this was especially so among those who were part of the hierarchy.  They complained concerning Jesus, "He made Himself out to be the Son of God."  The words came out of their own mouths, but they could not believe it.  It was impossible in their thinking that Jehovah, the Omnipotent God, would take on humanity to reveal Himself to them, then to take their sins in His own body to justify them before the righteousness of God.  They had everything mapped out on how God is supposed to operate in the world; and their road map did not include Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

 

Many people share that same mentality.  Most of them are in churches.  Many are in evangelical churches.  Somehow along the way they have missed the truth of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ, so that they have developed their own caricature of God and how God must work.  They have God-in-a-box so that He will not bother their plans and so that they can pull Him out whenever they run into a big snag in life.  God, in their thinking, is more like a fire extinguisher that is used only in case of emergencies.  Their minds are already made up--firm as concrete--concerning salvation, forgiveness, eternity, et.al., and they will not allow the Bible or the preaching of God's Word to mess things up!  So, while being outwardly religious and feigning spirituality, like the chief priests, they reject Jesus Christ and Him crucified because the message of the bloody cross on behalf of helpless sinners does not fit into their box.

 

(2)  Please-man-first mentality

 

Then we move to Pilate.  It is difficult to interpret whether Pilate was simply totally sarcastic or if he may have had a tinge of concern for spiritual things when he talked with Jesus Christ.  He certainly spoke with sarcasm, particularly when he presented Jesus after His scourging by the soldiers.  There was Christ, bloody from the scourging, clothed with a purple robe and a crown of thorns pressed to His brow, and bruised from the blows taken, then Pilate says, "Behold, the Man!"  Later he comes to the Jews and once again presents Jesus, "Behold, your King!"  Pilate despised the Jews, so he likely used Jesus to taunt them.

 

Interestingly, Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and that the Jews had a personal vendetta against Him.  So he sought to free Christ, though not because of a belief in Him as Messiah.  But it does seem that he had at least some small interest in who Jesus really was, asking Him, "Where are You from?"   Since he had not responded to our Lord's explanation of "truth" (18:37-38), then the Lord did not explain where He had come from.  

 

When the Jews understood Pilate's desire to free Jesus, they challenged his loyalty to Caesar.  "If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar."  They put Pilate into a corner.  He knew that Caesar would not tolerate disloyalty, especially from his procurators who ruled the far reaches of his empire on Caesar's behalf.  Pilate knew that the Jews hated him just enough that they would travel to Rome to accuse him of disloyalty to the emperor.  But Pilate also knew that Jesus Christ was an innocent Man, that there was no evidence of treason or any other charge of the Jews.  Would he give in to them as a man-pleaser?  Or would he do what was right in his office as procurator?

 

We watch Pilate cave in to the pressure put on him by the Jews.  But that was nothing new to him.  Because at heart, Pilate had a man-pleasing mentality.  If that meant dishonesty or even doing something immoral, Pilate was going to make sure that he pleased others in order to maintain his status in the Roman empire.  He was more concerned about his position than being a man of integrity in freeing Christ.

 

How often do we see that same man-pleasing mentality turn people away from the gospel?  I've watched it countless times as young men or women will show an interest in the gospel, only to turn away for fear of losing popularity by being a Christian.  Perhaps there are some among us who struggle in this area.  Look at Pilate!  See the miserable end of a man-pleasing mentality.

 

(3)  Que sera sera mentality

 

"Whatever will be will be," que sera sera.  That's the sketch John gives us of the soldiers who scourged Jesus Christ.  It is interesting that they did not give any thought to the deity of Christ, the mission of Christ, or the power of Christ.  They had the responsibility of making a prisoner suffer and teaching him a lesson.  Some commentators suggest that Pilate ordered them to 'rough Christ up' in order to present Him back to the Jews in a pitiful condition so that they would give in to letting Him go.  The first three verses of the text show that they scourged Christ first, which may suggest that there were two different scourgings during the process of the trial and crucifixion.  There were different levels of scourging.  One was a beating to get a point across to a prisoner.  The ultimate scourging left the prisoner at the point of death.  Whatever took place, we know that Jesus received the most severe scourging at some point because He did not have the strength left in Him to carry His cross to Calvary.

 

The soldiers continued to mock and scorn our Lord by plating a crown of thorns and pressing it on his head and putting a purple robe on his bleeding back in mockery to His kingship.  They struck Him and mockingly said, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  None of this seemed to bother them.  They just went about with business as usual, with no concern for their souls and certainly no concern for the Lord Jesus Christ whom they mocked.

 

Again, how often have we run across those with this careless mentality!  I've had those occasions of speaking to someone about the gospel of Christ, only to have them laugh in my face.  These kind turn away from Christ because they think that the gospel is always for someone else, never for them.

 

2.  In man's thoughts toward Christ

 

Because of what is in men's hearts they will look at Jesus Christ with a variety of thoughts until they come to faith in Him, in humility before the crucified and risen King.

 

(1)  Indifference

 

Like the soldiers, some are indifferent.  They can shrug their shoulders when you point out their need for Christ.  It is a dangerous attitude to have!  

 

(2)  Neutrality

 

Pilate tried to steer a middle-of-the-road path.  He did not want to totally reject Christ and give Him up for crucifixion nor did he want to totally offend the Jews by denying that Christ be crucified.  So he stayed in the middle.  But all on the fence must ultimately come down one side or the other.

 

(3)  Opposition

 

The Jews hid nothing.  They opposed our Lord with all of the vehemence they had within them.  They taunted Jesus throughout the ordeal of the cross.  But in the end they must stand before Him whom they crucified as their Judge.  So must all who stand in opposition to the Lord and His gospel.

 

Conclusion

 

Perhaps there is someone among us who has found John's sketches drawing your own life.  You have taken the place of a Pilate or the soldiers or the Jews.  You have turned away from Jesus Christ for one reason or another.  You have put off the gracious offer of God to save you.  You have clung to your own self-rule and idolatry.  You have refused to admit your helplessness before God.

 

My friend, look at Jesus Christ!  He could have called for angels to rescue Him from this horrible scene.  But He didn't.  Not because of weakness, but because the power of God was mighty to save through Him.  He endured the mockery, the accusations, the beatings, the scourgings, and ultimately, the cross.  Why?  Pilate was right, "I find no guilt in Him."  He did not endure all of this for crimes that He had done; rather it was for your sin and mine that He endured the wrath of God, to take away the enmity between you and God, to forgive you, to give you a new life under His Lordship.  

 

You have rejected Him before, but now, I plead with you, flee to Him.  Find in Him the only Savior for sinners, the only Hope for eternity.

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