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(upbeat music) - Hi, I want to welcome you to Daily Drive Time Devotions. This is
Pastor Tom Holliday and we are starting a look today at John chapter 19. This is
the chapter where John tells the story of Jesus giving his life for us.

You may have seen those day in the life books. You may have one on your coffee
table. You know, those books where they take a day in the life of America.

Take pictures all over America and you turn the pages and see what happened on
that day in America or a day in the life of California. In many ways, John
chapter 19 is a day in the life of Jesus Christ, the day that he died. It's a
day that's filled with pictures and John chapter 19 is filled with pictures.

In fact, as we walk through this chapter this week, we're going to be looking
together at 15 separate, powerful pictures of what Jesus did for us. As we look
at this day in the life of Jesus Christ, we're really looking at one of the two
most important days in all of history, the day that Jesus died. The other of
those two most important days will come three days later when Jesus is
resurrected.

And as we begin this look at John chapter 19, I'd like to begin with a look
towards the end of the chapter. It adds power to everything that we read. John
chapter 19 verse 35, the man who saw it has given testimony.

This is John writing, the writer, and his testimony is true. He knows that he
tells the truth and he testifies so that you also may believe. In this one
verse, he tells us the whole reason for the gospel of John.

And he tells us who the person is that's writing and he tells us the purpose for
which it's written. The person is John and he's saying, this is an eyewitness
account. I saw these things.

John was at the cross. He saw what happened that day. He also tells us the
purpose for which this is written to enable us to believe.

This isn't just for historical interest. This is so my heart, my faith can be
impacted. These pictures should impact my faith in an everyday way.

As we look through these pictures, as we walk through these pictures, my prayer
for you and for me both is that our faith will be impacted. I have to tell you
that some of the pictures are not easy to look at. Picture one at the very
beginning of the chapter is an ugly picture.

It's the picture of Jesus being flogged, of Jesus being whipped. John chapter 19
verse one says, then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. He had him whipped
because he was hoping to appease the Jewish leaders.

He was willing to put Jesus to cruel torture to better his political condition.
He didn't care about Jesus. He just cared about his position.

And this is where the torture of this day starts for Jesus after the trials that
he'd been a part of all night long, as we talked about last week, unfair trials.
He's been up all night, he's worn out already, and then the torture of this day
starts with this flogging. If you've seen the Passion of the Christ, the movie,
this picture of what happened to Jesus in this moment, it's stamped on your
heart.

Just as slaves were treated as animals when they were whipped, Jesus by Pilate
is attempted to be treated like an animal in this moment. It's meant to be
dehumanizing, but it is not because Jesus Christ stands above it all. And even
in having him flogged, what's going to happen from this point on, Jesus shows
himself to be God.

That's where the pictures start, with Jesus willing to suffer for you, Jesus
willing to suffer for me. It starts with this flogging, and then picture number
two, you turn the page on this day in the life of Jesus Christ. And the next
picture is the picture of a taunting.

John chapter 19, verses two and three. The soldiers twisted together a crown of
thorns and put it on his head. They clothed them in a purple robe, and they went
up to him again and again saying, "Hail, King of the Jews.

" And they struck him in the face. In John 19, verse three, that verb tense
again and again, it indicates strongly that they repeatedly, over and over and
over came up to him, taunting him. This happened probably near the Fortress
Antonia.

There is, even today in Jerusalem, you can go down and see the pavement that was
there below this fortress. And there is etched in that pavement something called
the King's Game. Some etchings on the pavement where you could cast some lots.

And depending on where your lots landed, you either win or lose the game. One of
the places the lots could land was on a crown. And if your lots landed on a
crown, you'd get a laurel wreath put on your head and you'd be the winner of the
game that day.

There's a good chance that these soldiers were playing a cruel form of that
game. I've been to that spot in Jerusalem, down below the streets at the
original pavement. And as you stand there and think about what the soldiers did
that day, it's a very sobering moment.

To think that they cast those lots and they said, "We're casting lots for you,
Jesus. " And it landed on the crown, but instead of a laurel crown, they took a
crown of thorns and they put that on Jesus' head, simply for fun. Simply because
they thought it would add humor to their day, interest to their day.

They didn't realize that it was the Son of God. They didn't realize that Jesus
in just a few hours is going to give his life for them so that they could be
forgiven if only they would ask. The pictures of this day, they begin with
flogging.

They include taunting. Picture number three, after this flogging and taunting,
is the picture of Jesus before Pilate and the crowd. And if you've ever seen a
movie of this day in the life of Jesus Christ, this is one of the most powerful
pictures.

John chapter 19, verses four to seven. Once more, Pilate came out and he said to
the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know "that I find no
basis for a charge against him. " And when Jesus came out, wearing a crown of
thorns and a purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man.

" As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted,
"Crucify, crucify. " But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. "As for
me, I find no basis for a charge against him.

" The Jews insisted, "We have a law and according to that law, "he must die
because he claimed to be the son of God. " Pilate brings Jesus out before the
crowd one more time to say to them one more time, "He's not guilty. "I find him
not guilty.

" A comparison of the gospels shows that Pilate pronounced Jesus not guilty no
less than seven times. And here in John, as he declares him to be not guilty,
there's this famous statement, "Here is the man. " Jesus standing silent before
the crowd with the robe they'd put on him and the crown they'd pushed into his
head.

Pilate was hoping that he'd done enough to satisfy the crowd. That seeing Jesus
beaten, seeing Jesus ridiculed would cause them to say, "You've done enough, let
him go. " But instead they called for him to be crucified.

Now why? Why would they call for him to be crucified when he looks so tortured?
They were just following the crowd.

There were a few leaders in the crowd, we learned in the other gospels, that
riled up the rest of the crowd to ask for him to be crucified. They wanted him
to be crucified because they needed him out of the way, because he was in the
way of their plans. He was in the way of the way they wanted life to work out.

And here's Pilate. Pilate, who so often tried to release him, but never did. The
question is, why didn't he release him?

Someone on our research team asked about this. Was he afraid of someone? And the
answer is, everyone.

Pilate was afraid of everyone. Probably the reason he was trying to save Jesus
is because, as we learned in one of the other gospels, his wife had warned him
that she had a dream about Jesus and that Jesus should not be put to death. And
so he's looking for the road of greatest self-protection.

He's trying to release Jesus, but he will not do it. He will not do it if it
causes any danger to himself. He would not do what would cost him in some way.

His whole motivation was selfishness. And as I look at Pilate and see the
confusion that he lived with that day, see him trying to work life out, to work
like he needed it to work out, but it wasn't going to, it's frightening to me to
recognize how easily all of us can slip into this weakness of Pilate, letting
selfishness rule our lives. Pilate was caught up in selfishness.

And so this moment, Jesus was going to the cross, but it was a different moment
than it could have been for him. It could have been a moment of belief, it was
not. We see that in the next verses.

Picture number three is Jesus before Pilate and the crowd, but then picture
number four, the last one we're going to look at today, is Jesus before Pilate
alone. Verses eight to 12. When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid.

And he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from? " he asked Jesus.

But Jesus gave him no answer. "Do you refuse to speak to me? " Pilate said.

"Don't you realize I have power either to free you "or crucify you? " Jesus
answered, "You would have no power over me "if it were not given to you from
above. "Therefore, the one who handed me over to you "is guilty of greater sin.

" From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If
you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. "Anyone who claims to be a
king opposes Caesar. " In this conversation between Pilate and Jesus, we learned
an extremely important principle of life.

As believers, we desperately need to understand this biblical view of life.
Jesus says, "You would have no power over me "if it were not given to you from
above. " Pilate had no power except that it was given to him from above.

And the same thing is true in your life. There is no power over you except that
which is given from above. Now, why God allows certain things to happen, I do
not know.

I'm going to have to ask God about some of them when I get to heaven. I guess
you will too. But this truth is the truth, even though I don't always
understand.

God is always in control. Your boss would have no power over you if it were not
given to him or her from above. Your school would have no power over you if it
were not given to him or her from above.

Our government would have no power over you if we're not given to our government
from above. The business of Christians is to recall who is in charge and in
control of life. And even here, as Jesus is being taunted and flogged and
brought before the crowd, tried to be ridiculed, even here, he is in control.

He is Lord. He is Lord. And as you and I come to the end of this first day of
looking at these pictures from the life of Jesus on the day that he gave his
life for us, I'd like to take a moment to pray, talk to him, and recognize
before him that he is in control.

You might just breathe that simple prayer. God, you are in control. Jesus, what
happened at the cross reminds me that nothing, nothing that can happen in this
world can take away your Lordship.

And Lord, even though I don't understand why everything happens, even though I
don't understand why this is allowed and that is not, I do understand that you
are in control. And I choose in this moment to rest in that, to recall that
you're in charge. You are in control of life, and I thank you.

I thank you for who you are. I thank you for what you gave for me. In your name,
Jesus, amen.