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      "The Bloodthirstiness of God's Enemies"
      John 18:39-19:7
      Theme: The only way unbelievers will be saved is through the grace of God.

        1. They are CONFUSED in Rejecting Christ – 18:39-40

          1. The Opportunity to Choose Christ – v. 39
            1. Pontius Pilate is tremendously concerned at this point – being torn between justice and the rebellion by the Jews.
            2. He has concluded that Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever – having declared himself on multiple occasions.
            3. Realizing that having been able to release Him, and having had Herod come to the same conclusion and send him back to Pilate, Pilate realizes that He has another option – "But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover."
              1. This was part of Rome’s modus operandi with their conquered people – to give them self-governance to the degree possible.
              2. This was a unique custom to Israel – performed only at Passover and was clearly a concession by Rome to show Israel their willingness to grant them certain benefits.
            4. At this point, Pilate believes that any sensible choice would be that he be asked to release Jesus – the crowd would certainly not choose the prisoner Barabbas: "do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?"
            5. Thus, Pilate gives the Nation of Israel the ability to choose the anointed of God – the long awaited Messiah.

          2. The Option to Confirm Corruption – v. 40

            1. However, they rejected Him – "So they cried out again, ‘Not this Man, but Barabbas’."
            2. It had been the religious leadership that had instigated the request for Barabbas – cp. Matthew 27:20-22
            3. What makes this decision all the more reprehensible is that they rejected the Son of God for a man who was like they were – sinful – "Now Barabbas was a robber." - cp. John 15:18-19.
            4. This displays the awful impact of depravity – given the simple choice of sin or the Savior, men will always choose sin unless the Spirit of God does a work to bring them to faith – cp. Ephesians 2:1-5.

        2. They are Cruel in Ridiculing Christ – 19:1-5

          1. The Abuse of the Sinless Savior – vv. 1-3

            1. At this point in the story, Pilate balks and attempts to appeal to the Jews to reconsider their bad decision – precipitating a riot – cp. Matthew 27:22-26
            2. Thus, "Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him."
              1. This was clearly illegal – the consequence of Pilate capitulating to the political liabilities of opposing the Jews on this matter.
              2. A Roman "scourging" is a brutal event that often preceded a crucifixion – and displays that Pilate had decided to begin the proceedings toward crucifying Christ.
                1. It involved strapping the criminal to a pole to fully expose his back.
                2. The scourge was a stick wrapped in leather with leather thongs hanging off the end tipped with jagged pieces of brass, bone or lead.
                3. The soldier who did the lashing would then strike the criminal 40 times with this weapon to fully expose the veins and arteries in the back, and at times even the inner organs were able to escape to the surface.
              3. However, vv. 4-5 demonstrate that he really did not think that he would have to go through with the crucifixion
            3. In delivering Jesus over to the soldiers for the scourging, he let them exhibit their own evil as they made sport of Christ – "And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him."
            4. This mockery was designed to portray their disdain for this "self-anointed" king.
            5. Having scourged Him, they mocked Him further – "and they began to come up to Him and say, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and to give Him slaps in the face."
            6. In Matthew, we are told that this got even further out of hand as Jesus suffered the indignities of having them spit upon Him and beat Him in the face with their fists – cp. Matthew 27:30
            7. This all contributed to the condition of Jesus’ suffering for our sins – cp. Isaiah 53:3-5 .

          2. The Appeal to Their Sense of Shame – vv. 4-5

            1. It is clear that Pilate, who knew that what was happening was totally illegal, unjust, and immoral – intervened one more time to avoid an innocent death - "Pilate came out again and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him."
            2. He took Jesus from the midst of His pre-crucifixion abuse and brought Him back in front of the Jews: "Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe."
            3. He was a ghastly sight – bruised, bleeding, stooped, barely conscious and a spectacle of the shameful & depraved treatment by His accusers.
            4. Pilate utters the phrase "Behold, the Man!" in an appeal for the people to give up their cry for His crucifixion.
            5. However, as we find out … there is no shame with these enemies of God when it comes to their hostility toward the Messiah.

        3. Ttey are Consumed with Removing Christ – 19:6-7

          1. The Insatiable Appetite of Impiety – v. 6a

            1. In response to the proposition that Jesus had learned whatever lessons needed to be learned in order to humble Him and remove any mystique from His influence, the Jews would have none of it.
            2. They were going to be satisfied with nothing less than Jesus’ blood – "So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, ‘Crucify, crucify’!"
            3. They were so bold in their hostility and impiety that they actually defiantly called a curse upon themselves – cp. Matthew 27:25
            4. Their hostility was evidence of their affinity and servitude to the one under whom they were held in bondage – Satan – cp. Genesis 3:15; Luke 22:3-4; John 8:44
            5. In addition, their treachery was part of the sovereign work of God whereby He delivered through their enthusiastic participation – the Christ over to die – cp. Acts 2:23 .

          2. The Intimidating Accusation of Irreverence – vv. 6b-7

            1. Pilate cannot believe the depths of treachery to which these demonically driven enemies of God are plunging – "Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him’."
            2. As they sense his resistance, the Jew finally pull out their final accusation in a long line of various false accusations – "The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God’."
              1. Their first accusation was that He threatened to destroy the Temple – cp. Matthew 26:61
              2. Second, that He was an evildoer – cp. John 18:30
              3. Third, that He was "misleading" the nation – cp. Luke 23:2
              4. Fourth, that He was "forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar" – cp. Luke 23:2
              5. Fifth, that He was stirring up all the people with making Himself the Son of God – John 19:7.
            3. This last accusation was the trumping of any residual hesitation by Pilate – it brings him back to the previous clashes with the Jews regarding idolatry and the controversies surrounding the Jews monotheism – cp. page 446 of these notes.
            4. We are told that "when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid."
            5. Thus, the bloodthirstiness of the enemies of God is manifest as the consequence of the hostility of depravity, proving that the only way unbelievers will be saved is through the grace of God operating in their lives.

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