Skip to content Jesus' True Purpose: Relationship Over Religion in John 19 Aug 25 · 13 min ...more
Jesus' True Purpose: Relationship Over Religion in John 19
August 25, 2025 · 13 min
Discover how Jesus prioritized a genuine relationship with God over hollow traditions.
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From Fear to Faith: The Power of the Cross 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we move toward the end of the book of John as we look at John chapter 19. No coffee this morning, just a little coconut water.0:23 Pretty good. Alright. Verse 38 chapter 19. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the0:35 body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body of Jesus. From fear to faith, what made the difference in the life of Joseph of Arimathea?0:47 That's 1 of the aspects of this chapter that we're gonna look at this morning. But first, let's go back to chapter 18 and pick up with Jesus's trial before Pilate. He had been before Annas at midnight, then0:59 Caiaphas early in the morning, and now Jesus is taken to Pilate. That begins in chapter 18, but it continues over here into chapter 19. John does not record the interlude that took place there in1:11 the court of Herod. Alright. Right? Verse 28 chapter 18. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the praetorium, lest they should be defiled,1:23 but that they might eat the Passover. So they were afraid to be defiled for ceremonious purposes, but they were not concerned about pursuing the death of an innocent man.1:35 This is the hypocrisy of religion. And and it's important to know that Jesus did not come to establish a religion. He came to establish a relationship1:47 with our creator. God wants the heart. He wants our heart. He doesn't want the hollow mechanical religious traditions. Verse 29. Then Pilate went1:59 out to them and said, what accusations do you bring against this man? They answered and said to him, if we were not if he were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him up to you. So here we have a non2:10 answer answer. Right? Now drop down to verse 36. Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but2:22 now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and2:34 for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. For this2:46 calls what calls? To declare the truth. Before the religious council, he had declared that he was the son of God. Now here before the representative of the highest2:58 civil government, he declares his kingship. Verse 38, Pilate said to him, what is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him3:10 at all. Now Pilate was not waxing philosophical here. He was just frankly over his head. However, it's hard to escape the illustration of spiritual3:22 blindness found in this verse. Pilate was looking at truth in the face, and he couldn't recognize it. Verse 1 of chapter 19. Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.3:34 Now there was no justification for beating Jesus other than the scripture would be fulfilled and that Pilate was trying to placate the Jewish leaders, hoping that this would resolve the issue and Pilate3:46 would be free of the situation. Verse 2, and the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. Then they said, hail, king of the Jews, and they struck him with3:58 their hands. I I I don't think we grasp the the full weight of this passage. And these soldiers were not just pushing Jesus, shoving him, or4:09 slapping him around. They were beating him. Most likely, Jesus was barely recognizable after this episode. Now here's what happens. We tend to view history and events4:21 through the lens of our current context. Right? The world was different before the cross in the advent of the church, before the Holy Spirit came because the Holy Spirit4:33 is the restrainer of evil. The heart of man is evil and vile. The un unredeemed man. His heart is vile and and and evil. And the4:45 evil that the the human heart can participate in is is beyond imagination. If you've read or heard, I'm sure you have,4:56 of the atrocities that took place in Israel when Hamas invite invaded that country on October the seventh of 20 22, and and I've been to some of those,5:08 kibbutz where that occurred. I've seen the video of what took place or the accounts of what ISIS, did in their rampage across the Middle East. This is5:19 unrestrained evil. This is from the pit of hell. This is what happens when the restraining presence of the Holy Spirit is absent. And, frankly, this is increasingly what the5:31 West, America, will look like as those demanding that the church shrink back from its political and cultural engagement. It's what it'll look like if they prevail. If those who are advocating that the church be5:43 restrained to the 4 walls, that's what will happen because evil will not be restrained. I mean, remember back during the pandemic when all the churches were closed, but there was rioting and looting and5:55 burning in the streets? It's a picture of what I believe just a just a a snapshot of what's gonna happen when the church is raptured out of the world. Alright. Verse6:07 7. Then the Jews answered him, we have a law and according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid. Alright. Here we6:19 we see Pilate afraid, afraid of man, afraid of what might happen. But here, afraid of of, getting himself into getting himself crossways with God. So I mean, this man is just6:31 driven by fear on both sides. And he went again into the praetorium and said to Jesus, where are you from? So Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I6:43 have power to crucify you and power to release you? Jesus answered, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the 1 who delivered me to6:54 you has the greater sin. Now take note of this. Where does political authority and power come from? This power comes from God. Look again at John 18 37.7:06 For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world. God's purposes will be accomplished. How is that? I mean, how do you explain the free will of man and the7:18 sovereignty of God? Well, there are some things that are difficult to fully understand, but our lack of understanding does not invalidate them. We know that God's purposes and plans will7:30 be accomplished. John 19 12. From then on, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out saying, if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever7:42 makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. Now here we have the fear of man. Pilate was a politician driven by fear of man. And guess what? The fear of man will lead you to do things that you7:54 will ultimately regret, which Pilate did. Look at verse 15. But they cried out away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to him, shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered, we have no8:05 king but Caesar. So filled with envy and rage toward Jesus, the chief priest don't miss what they just said. The chief priest did exactly what they tried to8:17 get Jesus to do. Like, they tried to entrap him. Remember the encounter over the taxes? Should we pay taxes to Caesar? They were trying to get Jesus to declare allegiance to Caesar,8:29 which would have been to deny the kingship of God over their nation, which was blasphemy, which they just did. Verse 16. Then he delivered him to be crucified, so they took Jesus8:41 and let him away. And he bearing his cross went out to a place called the place of a skull, which is in Hebrew called Golgotha, where they8:53 crucified him and 2 others with him, 1 on either side and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. The writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Then many of the9:04 Jews read this title for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was re written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. So Hebrew was the language of the Jewish people of the country,9:16 Greek the language of the known world at the time, and Latin the official language of the Roman Empire. So everyone could read it. Verse 21. Therefore, the chief priest of the Jews9:28 said to Pilate, do not write the king of the Jews, but he said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. Drop down to verse 25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his9:40 mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clovis and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he9:52 said to his mother, woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. Now, of course, we know we're talking about John, the author of10:03 this gospel account. Now notice Jesus giving his all to fulfill his mission to save mankind, to be the redeemer of the world.10:15 He paused to provide for his mother. And I I think that's significant that that's recorded here because I think it tells us that our responsibilities in the home10:27 are never superseded by those outside. That's in fact, when you look at church leadership, the church leadership is is determined whether or not they should become a leader based upon how they govern10:39 their homes and how we take care of our families. That's first and foremost. And Jesus was doing that even from the cross, caring for his mother. Verse 38. After this, Joseph of Arimathea being10:51 a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at11:03 first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and alloys and about a about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips11:15 of linen with the spices as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now look at this. Okay? So we started out with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus followed Jesus11:26 in secret while he was alive, but boldly as recorded here after Jesus's death. What took them from fear11:39 to faith? The answer, the cross. See, when we understand and embrace the power of the cross, we go from the fear of man to faith in God. Father,11:51 we thank you for your word and this account from the gospel according to John. And and I pray father that we would go from, Lord, not having fear that would12:02 keep us blown about by the cultural winds or by what other people think, but may we have faith in you. And and may we have the faith to12:14 declare you as Lord of all, as our savior, and as our Lord. So we pray continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us on this journey that we would grow in our12:26 understanding of your word and its application to our lives in this world in which we live. And, Lord, by by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, may we restrain the lawlessness that is bound up in the12:38 nature of man. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.12:49 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:01 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 From Fear to Faith: The Power of the Cross
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