The sermon 'No King But Jesus' by Jason Dohm, based on John 19:1-16, examines Pilate's trial of Jesus, highlighting the repeated finding of no fault in Him. Despite this, the Jewish leaders persistently demand His crucifixion, claiming Jesus' self-identification as the Son of God violates their law. Pilate's fear and hesitance are explored, particularly in the context of Roman and Jewish relations. The sermon emphasizes Jesus' submission to divine will over Pilate's authority, highlighting the theological significance of Jesus' suffering and the choices of the Jewish leaders. It underscores the necessity of choosing Jesus as King, warning against the spiritual peril of rejecting His sovereignty. The sermon concludes with a call to recognize Jesus as the true King and Savior, contrasting His compassionate lordship with the cruelty of earthly rulers and urging listeners to embrace Him to avoid spiritual destruction.

The sermon text is John 19 verses 1 through 16. So then Pilate took Jesus and scorched him and the soldiers twisted crowns of thorns and put it on his head and they put on him a purple robe. Then they asked, then they said, Hail, King of the Jews. And they struck him with their hands. Pilate then went out again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him.

Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and purple robe, and Pilate said to them, Behold the man. Therefore when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him 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 and went out again went out into the praetorium and said to Jesus, where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer.

Then Pilate said to him, you are not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have the 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 one who delivered me to you has the greater sin.'" 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. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in the place that is called the pavement but in Hebrew Gabatha now it was the preparation day of the Passover and about the sixth hour and he said to the Jews behold your king but they cried out away with him away with him crucify him Pilate said to them shall I crucify your king the chief priest answered we have no king but Caesar Then he delivered him to them to be crucified.

Then they took Jesus and led him away." The title of the sermon this morning is, No King But Jesus. That's not what they cry out in the text. They cry out something very different in the text. They say we have no king but Caesar. But the truth is, there is only one King.

There is a King of Kings and a Lord of Lords. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes radical claims, exclusive claims. He demands your allegiance. Either you will accept, embrace his commands, or you will be driven into the arms of another king.

We see that in our text today. Last week Jesus was delivered by the Jewish authorities to pilot at his headquarters in Jerusalem. That's just what praetorium means. The word in our text just means the headquarters of the Roman authority. It was a temporary headquarters.

His permanent headquarters would have been at Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean, but he would come into Jerusalem for the feasts to preside and make sure there was good order during these three feasts when all of Israel would converge on Jerusalem and he had a headquarters in Jerusalem. This is where these things are taking place. The Jews need Pilate because only the Roman authority can put a prisoner to death, and this is what they determined is that Jesus must be put to death. As Pilate questions Jesus, Jesus characterizes his kingdom. It's not a kingdom of this world.

It owes nothing to this world. As Matthew Henry said, and I quoted last week, Jesus' kingdom gets along quite well without anything from the world. But the kingdoms of the world don't get along well at all without the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus characterized his kingdom as not being a kingdom of the world, not owing anything to the world, and not being able to be taken away by the world. And then he characterized his mission.

He was sent from heaven to bear witness to the truth. Then Pilate asked this astonishing question, which really wasn't a question at all. What is truth? He didn't wait for an answer. He immediately went out to the Jews again.

He was casting contempt on the whole category of objective truth. This week, Pilate repeatedly tries to release Jesus. A number of different times in our text he says that he wants to let Jesus go. He attempts to release him, but the Jews are going to finally prevail in our text today. One more comment before I begin the exposition.

I'm not making a significant effort to harmonize the Gospel accounts at this point. You have to make a decision when you're preaching through this. Am I going to spend a lot of time and energy Trying to weave this together with what Matthew and Mark and Luke say and I've decided no, I'm not I'm gonna preach the text before me there is work to be done there. It is not overwhelming Work, but it is work and it takes a lot of preaching time if you decide you're gonna take that track So today I'm mostly going to just be preaching the text before us, recognizing that there are challenges that I haven't even undertaken in harmonizing. Let's ask the Lord to help us.

God, here we stand again at the pinnacle of all of Scripture. The highest peak of this mountain range of great truths, the atoning death of the substitute, the one that you would be pleased to accept in the stead, in the place of sinners who repent and throw themselves upon His mercy. How bitter sweet it is, how bitter to see The precious Son of God treated in this way. How sweet it is to know that there's life for us. There's life for me.

Because of what we're reading. Oh, Fill us with joy in spite of the bitterness of seeing your son treated in this way fill us with the joy of knowing that There is hope for sinners like us assure hope I pray in Jesus name Amen We'll be subdividing I Think that's my grandson I have a grandson who loves to say amen and if you start saying it loudly in the middle of the sermon He's asking for trouble We'll be subdividing, beginning with John 19 verses 1-7. So follow along as I reread John 19 verses 1-7. So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. 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 with their hands. The pilot went out again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Behold the man.

Therefore when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out saying, Crucify, crucify him. Pilate said to them, you take him and crucify him for I find no fault in him. 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. In these verses, Pilate finds no fault in Jesus. If you are taking notes on the handout by filling in blanks, no fault fills in the blanks.

Pilate finds no fault in Jesus. This is something that the text actually says three times. It's said in verse 38. Pilate says, I find no fault in him. It's said in verse 4 in this subsection that we're looking at.

I find no fault in him. It says it again in verse 6 in our subsection. I find no fault in him. The crowd has clamored for the release of Barabbas, the murderer, instead of Jesus. In response to this, verse 1 begins, So then Pilate took Jesus.

In response to the crowd clamoring for the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus, Pilate turns Jesus over to be scourged. Matthew says that the whole garrison, which would have been a large number of soldiers, the whole garrison gathered around Jesus and They did beat him, but it wasn't a simple beating in the sense that it was a disinterested doing of duty. It is clear that the garrison is invested totally in humiliating Jesus. It is clear that they relish dealing with this self-designated King of the Jews. They rule over subjugated people.

They are an occupying military force. A man has self-designated himself the king of this conquered people, and they relish dealing with him, beating him, insulting him. So they give him a crown. It is a fake crown for a fake king. It is a crown of thorns woven together for the fake king.

They give him a purple robe. They put on him a purple robe. Purple being a very rare and therefore very expensive dye that was associated with royalty because really who can afford purple but royalty. And they mock him by saying, Hail King of the Jews, you should hear the echoes of hail Caesar. They're mocking Jesus.

They strike him with their hands. This probably means, looking at the Greek word, they slapped him. It's the same word that was used of the soldier when Jesus was before Annas. The soldier thought he was speaking inappropriately to Annas. He slaps and says, do you address the high priest this way?

In Matthew's account, They put a reed in his right hand and then they snatched the reed from him and used the reed to strike him on the head. On the crown of thorns would have undoubtedly driven the thorns into his head. You know what any cut on the head is like and how those cuts bleed. Matthew's account says that they spit on him. Mark says that they worshiped him.

Again, this is not in any way, any sense real worship of him. It is mock worship of the fake king. This is what is happening in our text. This is not the dispassionate doing of a soldier's duty. They are relishing the opportunity to mock and slap and spit on and scourge the fake king of the Jews.

Then Pilate goes back out to the Jews. Remember, the Jews have come, but they cannot come under his roof in the praetorium because if they do they'll be ceremonially unclean and therefore unable to take part in the events of the Passover week. So they can stand outside in the courtyard, but they can't go under his roof. So Pilate is going into Jesus, asking Jesus things, having Jesus scourged, and then he'll come out to the Jews. We see this happening.

This is Pilate accommodating the religious requirements that the Jews are operating under. Pilate goes back out to the Jews and says, Behold, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him." Immediately, Jesus is brought out and He is wearing the fake crown for a fake king, the fake robe for a fake king. Obviously, having been beaten, bleeding, Pilate says, Behold the man! Look at this man! What are they looking at?

Pilate says, Look at the man! What are they looking at? Pilate says, behold the man, what are they beholding? What is Pilate intending? Well one thing is for certain, by any human standard, they are not beholding a threat to Rome.

Jesus has been brought, and the charges have been that he is a threat to the revenue and to the power of Rome. Now he's brought out, bleeding, A fake crown for a fake king. A mock robe, a robe of contempt for the fake king. And he says, behold the man. Look at the fake king.

This is no threat to the revenues of Rome. This is no threat to the power of Rome. I find no fault in this man. Pilate is orchestrating this in order to release Jesus. He is hoping that the Jews will be satisfied with Jesus being beaten and publicly humiliated so they will quietly consent to Him being released.

This is even more explicit and clear in Luke 23 where Pilate says two different times in Luke chapter 23, I will chastise him and let him go. Be content with that. I will chastise him and let him go. In every gospel account the Jews persist through many attempts to release him. I will beat him.

I will publicly humiliate him, but I find no fault in this man, I will not crucify him. I will let him go. The chief priests and the officers are not at all satisfied by this. So they immediately cry out, crucify him, crucify him. They leave no time for a sympathetic response from the crowd.

They are leading the response from the crowd. At this point Pilate responds in exasperation, You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him." This is not a legitimate offer handing over his exclusive prerogative to the Jews. That is obvious from their immediate response. Had they really been allowed to take him and put him to death, they would have taken him and put him to death. But they continue to wrestle with him to do it, because it is his exclusive prerogative to do it.

Pilate is responding in exasperation. A rephrasing of what Pilate is saying might be something like this, do your own bidding. I won't do your bidding, I find no fault in this man. Then the Jews say this in verse 7, We have a law and according to our law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God. This directly relates to what Pilate just said.

I find no fault in him. I as the Roman governor judging Roman law find no fault in this man but we have a law. We have a law and our law requires him to be put to death. Our law says he ought to be put to death. When Rome conquered a people, their intention was to grant that people as much self-government as they could within Rome's self-interest.

They would conquer a people, but they would give that people as much self-government, as much latitude to govern themselves as they could, yet within Rome's self-interest. Why? Because they were nice? No, Romans were ruthless. Because it's harder, It's hard to govern a conquered people.

It's hard to govern an occupied people. So they made concessions where they could in order to be able to govern a conquered occupied people. Under this system, it was the Roman governor's responsibility to support the enforcement of any local laws that didn't contradict Rome's interests. So the Jews have in mind Leviticus 24-16. Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.

When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death. The Jews are saying, Jesus, in making himself equal with God, in calling himself the Son of God, has violated Leviticus 24 verse 16, and therefore the law requires him to be put to death. So this is a religious matter of no interest to Rome, but related to the charge that Jesus is calling himself a rival king to Caesar. These claims go hand in hand. That Jesus made himself the Son of God and the Messiah.

These things go together, him being the Son of God and being the Messiah go together. These are rival claims and rival threats to the law. One to Jewish law, one to Roman law. The next section. Verses 8 through 11.

Follow along. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I 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 to you from above. Therefore the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. In this section, Jesus tells Pilate the truth about his authority. Pilate is thinking one thing about his authority, that he has the power to release Jesus or crucify Jesus at his will. Jesus actually sets him straight about this.

If you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks, authority fills in the blank. Jesus tells Pilate the truth about his authority. What the Jews have just said, he made himself the son of God, is very disquieting to Pilate. The text says he was the more afraid, seeming to indicate that he already had trepidation about these proceedings, and now when he hears that Jesus made himself the Son of God, he is even more afraid. Why would a Roman governor be afraid of this claim?

Let me offer two thoughts. One, both Roman and Greek mythology is full of stories about the gods appearing in human form and relating with people unknown to those people. So if you're a student in any way of Greek or Roman mythology, you run into these stories about how their gods disguise themselves in human form and relate to these people unbeknownst to the people. So Pilate would be very familiar with all of that. And he had likely heard about the exploits of Jesus.

It's unthinkable that the one charged with the government of Israel would not have heard stories about the raising of the dead, the healing of the sick. Miracles. Feeding of multitudes out of nothing. Multitudes out of nothing. Secondly, Matthew 27, 18 says that Pilate knew that the Jews had handed Jesus over because of envy.

And then the very next verse, Matthew 27-19, listen to this, Matthew 27-19. While he, Pilate, was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying, Have nothing to do with that just man. For I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him." John, the Gospel writer, doesn't even allude to this. But this was happening Right in the middle of all that we're studying in John, a report, a message came to Pilate from his wife saying, don't have anything to do with that innocent man, with that just man. I've had terrifying dreams and visions about this today.

Have nothing to do with that just man for I have suffered many things in a dream because of him. Imagine you're judging a case and you get a message from your wife saying, don't have anything to do with that innocent person. I've had troubling dreams. I have suffered much from dreams and visions about this today. So Pilate takes Jesus back into the Praetorium, into his headquarters, for a more private audience to probe on this claim that Jesus claims to be the Son of God.

He asks him, where are you from? This is not where is your hometown. Are you from heaven? Jesus will not answer. Not a word.

The other Gospel accounts say that Pilate marveled. He can't believe that Jesus won't answer and says so. Humanly speaking, Pilate is the only person who can now help Jesus. He is beyond the help of every other human. It's only Pilate and Jesus won't answer his questions.

Pilate can't believe it. He says, Are you not speaking to me? I wonder how many prisoners had begged Pilate for their lives. How many times had a prisoner prostrated himself before Pilate? Please spare me, not Jesus, not for a minute, not a word.

I wonder about all they said to change his mind and win his favor. Not Jesus. Jesus opened not his mouth. To quote a phrase from Isaiah 53 about the suffering servant. Jesus opened not his mouth.

And why not? I'll bypass a number of practical speculations offered by the commentators in order to give you the theological answer. Jesus doesn't will to go free. Not that he doesn't want to go free. We see in Gethsemane, he's agonizing over the cup.

If there's another way to save sinners and exalt God, He wants the other way. But He does not will to go free. He wills to do the will of His Father. Doing the will of His Father was like food to Jesus. Remember John 12, verses 27 and 28.

Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Jesus will not plead for his life. He will not advocate for himself.

Jesus does not will to go free. He wills to do the will of his Father. He wills to go to the cross for the salvation of sinners and the glory of God. That God would be glorified in saving sinners. Jesus responds, verse 11, You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above.

Therefore the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. The points here are twofold. One, it isn't Pilate who is determining what is happening. It is God in heaven above. Pilate says, I have the power to release you, I have the power to crucify you.

Jesus says, false. You are not determining. A God in heaven is determining. In every way Jesus is willingly, voluntarily, freely subjecting himself to every nanosecond of injustice and mistreatment. He is willingly laying down his life.

He will willingly take it up again. Pilate is not determining what's happening. There is a God in heaven who is determining what's happening. Secondly, because of their relative roles and positions, Jewish leaders bear the greatest weight of guilt. Because of their relative roles and positions, Jewish leaders bear the greatest weight of guilt.

Listen to what Jesus says in Luke chapter 12, verse 47 and 48. Luke 12, verse 47 and 48. That servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given from Him, much will be required.

And to whom much has been committed of Him, they will ask the more." What Jesus is saying in Luke chapter twelve is playing out before our eyes. Those who know their Master's will defying their Master, those who are in relative ignorance, deserving less punishment, assuming less guilt. Jewish leaders knew the signs of the Messiah from the prophets, and have heard and seen that Jesus is doing them all. Check, check, check, check, check, signs of the Messiah, all of them. Pilate is either all but ignorant of what the prophets have said on these things, or totally ignorant.

Jewish leaders are acting according to premeditated intent. They've been saying they wanted to kill Jesus for chapter after chapter in John now. Pilate is doing this against his wishes. The Jews are getting what they want in the crucifixion of Jesus. Pilate is actually not getting what he wants.

The Jewish leaders are acting out of hatred. Pilate is being driven by fear. Now this is not an exoneration of Pilate. In no way does Jesus say you have no guilt here. He says, they have more guilt.

So this is not, you are not guilty. This is only, you are less guilty. You are not as guilty. In the account in Matthew, in Matthew chapter 27, Pilate actually brings out a basin and washes his hands before the people to say, I am innocent. He pronounces himself innocent.

He says, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. You see it. Nice try. Not so. You can bring out the basin, you can wash your hands.

God says, guilty or innocent. By the way, there in Matthew, all the people answer, His blood be on us and on our children. These terrifying words where they accept the guilt of the things that are happening. By the way, all that's in Matthew 27 verses 24-25. Our last section.

John 19, beginning in 12, 12 through 16. Follow along. 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. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar, opposes Caesar.

When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in Hebrew, gabatha. Now it was the preparation day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour, and he said to the Jews, Behold your king! They cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

Then he delivered him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led him away. In this section, the Jews play their Trump card. If you're taking notes on the handout, filling in blanks, it's Trump card. You play much cards, you're familiar with the concept of Trump.

It is a suit of cards, or four suits in cards. It's a suit of cards that gives you the special ability to overrule the normal order. In the normal order, The ace is the highest card. Nothing can defeat the ace, but when you're playing a game that has trump, the special suit can allow you to overthrow the normal order so you can take an ace with an eight or even a two because you're playing Trump. The Jews have a Trump card.

The normal order is Romans rule. But the Jews have one card up their sleeve, and it's Trump. And it allows them to overthrow that normal order and to get their way. Pilate has a new determination to release Jesus but he cannot match the determination of the Jews. Look at the second half of verse twelve again.

If you let this man go you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. Historians give us context that actually doesn't appear in any of the Gospel accounts. What is that context? That Pilate had already badly mishandled a number of matters related to the Jews, and the Jews had already appealed to Caesar.

The Jews had already complained to Caesar about a number of things badly handled by Pilate. So Pilate is already under suspicion of the emperor that he is not competent in his government of the Jews. The Jews know this. Pilate knows that the Jews know this, and the Jews know that Pilate knows that they know it. Pilate knows that it's likely catastrophic to his position for the Jews to complain again about another mishandling of something in the Jewish nation.

How will Pilate explain to Caesar when the Jewish governing council comes and says, burning council comes and says, there's a rival king raising himself up in this kingdom, and your governor will do nothing about it. Pilate's resolve evaporates. So he brings Jesus out and sits on the judgment seat to pronounce judgment. Now everything in verse 14 and 15 should be read through this lens. The Jews have successfully manipulated Pilate.

It's over. They've played their trump card. It is checkmate. And he is doing what he is doing for self-preservation. He will not act on principle even though he knows that there is no fault in him.

Even though he knows that the Jewish leaders have delivered him up out of envy. He will do what he will do because of self-preservation, but that doesn't mean he's happy about it, and that doesn't mean he doesn't hate the Jews for it. He hates the Jews for it. Everyone can see what's happening. Everyone can see that the Jews are playing Trump to overthrow the natural order.

He ought to be governing these things, but he's being governed by a conquered people. He hates them for this. So Pilate is doing what they're demanding for self-preservation, and at the same time throwing verbal barbs. Behold your king! You might have me just where you want me.

Behold your King! Behold your fake King, your bleeding King at my hands. Which of course enrages them. Away with him, away with him, crucify him. What does Pilate say?

Shall I crucify your king? They win, he sends verbal barbs. Behold your king. Shall I crucify your king? Now the chief priests, the text says explicitly that it was the chief priests say something that is almost incomprehensible.

We have no king but Caesar. The chief priests say we have no king but Caesar. Friends, here is the point, and it is a very important point. If you will not have Jesus as Messiah and God, Savior and Lord, you will be driven into the arms of another king. You will say words that you never thought you would say.

You will do things you never thought you would do if you will not have Jesus as Messiah and King, as Savior and Lord. Sooner or later you will say the words you never thought you would say. Sooner or later you will do the things you never thought you would do, because you would not have Jesus as Savior, because you would not have Jesus as Lord. Jesus makes radical exclusive claims. Jesus makes radical exclusive claims.

Either you will bow to them or you will not. This stands as a terrifying warning that there is no neutral ground, there is no middle ground. It might seem to you like you are straddling, you are not straddling. Things are either much better for you than you think. You really have saving faith, but you don't have a confident assurance, or more likely things are much worse for you than you think.

You envision yourself on a neutral ground, not having the courage to say, I will not have Jesus as my King, but not taking Him as King. That is no neutral ground, friends. There is no demilitarized zone in between. There is only a line, a razor thin line. There is for him or as against him.

There are those who have Jesus as king and are his happy rescued subject. And there is everyone else who have been driven into the arms of another king by their own stubbornness, their own rejection of Jesus. There is no king but Jesus. You must take Him as king, or be lost forever. I want to plead with those this morning who feel like they are straddling with one foot in and one foot out.

And I just want to say, there is no such thing. It feels like that ground exists. I know that it does. It does not exist if Scripture is true. Oh, believe that Scripture is true.

Oh, believe that Scripture is true. Oh, believe that Scripture is true. There is no demilitarized zone that is safe. There is only to embrace Jesus as Savior. He will save you if You will come to Him and take Him as your King.

Or to be driven into the arms of another king, a cruel king. You'll hate the day you ever took that cruel king. Finally, Jesus is delivered to be crucified and led away. That's where we'll pick up next week. I'd like to conclude by reading three passages that shed light.

Two from Isaiah that are fulfilled in stunning ways in our text. And then one by John, not the Gospel writer, but the letter writer. He's the same John, but we'll go to 1 John. So, you can follow me if you like to Isaiah 50. Listen to Isaiah 50 verse 6.

There are a number of chapters, consecutive chapters in Isaiah that are known as the suffering servant chapters, passages, because they are overwhelmingly about a servant that will be sent by God, but he won't be a glorified servant, he'll be a suffering servant. Isaiah 53, which we all are very familiar with, is at the pinnacle of that. But it's part of a number of chapters. Isaiah 50 is one of them. In Isaiah 50 verse 7, the suffering servant says, I have set my face like a flint." The gospel writers pluck out that phrase and say, this is Jesus.

So we know Isaiah 50 is about Jesus. The gospel writers pull language from Isaiah 50 and use it to say Jesus is the fulfillment of this. Listen to Isaiah 50 verse 6. Isaiah 50 verse 6. Here's what the suffering servant says, I gave my back to those who struck me.

And my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide His face from shame and from spitting." That's exactly what we see in John 19. Flip over to Isaiah 52. I'll read the end of 52 and continue into 53. I'm going to start in Isaiah 52 verses 13 through 53.

I've said very little about the scourging. I'll probably pick that up and talk more about it. It is very likely to be the most savage form of beating that sometimes resulted in death before crucifixion. The person scourged would die before they were even crucified. It's probably this.

I say based on Isaiah 53 that his image was marred more than any man. Follow along as I begin reading in Isaiah 52, verse 13 and continue into Isaiah 53. Isaiah 52 verse 13, Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, Isaiah, so his visage was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men, so he shall sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths at him, for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness.

When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed him, stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement For our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.

We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Skipping down to verse 10, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. The bruises on the Lord Jesus Christ, the stripes on His back, are not stripes that happened there. They happened before the foundation of the earth, meaning that God purposed it before the foundation of the earth as the way in which he would claim a people. He would save sinners.

He would put stripes on the suffering servant that would heal the people. He would be pleased to bruise his own son. Let's let John have the final word in 1 John chapter 4. Chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4, listen to verses 9 and 10.

In this the love of God was manifested toward us. That God has sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. He sent His Son to throw Himself between His righteous wrath and us, to interpose Himself. There was nothing between God and what we deserve.

And so Jesus interposed Himself. He, according to the Father's will, threw himself in the way of God's righteous anger against our sin. To swallow it up so that there would be none left for us. In the sorrow of our text, don't miss the love of God. In the slapping and spitting and beating and mocking and ultimately crucifying of Jesus.

Don't let that obscure that it is the manifestation of the love of God. It is displaying His great love for a people who didn't deserve His mercy, but He would pour it out on them anyway because He is a merciful God. If you are his, his love for you is in these texts. His love for you is in these words. Applications, I have three.

Let's follow our two tracks. We've been laying two parallel tracks every week now for a while. The first track is Jesus as Jesus. When Jesus is Jesus, when He stands on his own worth and character and merit. We see the greatest injustice ever committed.

We see the greatest mistreatment ever committed. The other track which runs parallel is Jesus as the substitute. And instead of injustice, it is the justice of God poured out and fully satisfied. Jesus taking the place of people who deserve the treatment that we see in our text. So on the first track, you come to a text like this, and you can hardly bear to see such a wonderfully innocent person treated like this such injustice.

But on the second track, I ask you this question. What plunged our entire race into sin and death and condemnation? How do we find ourselves here? The serpent contradicted God. You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.

You can be king! And our parents grasped for the crown. Yes! Yes! I will be king!

You think king! There is only one King and it is Jesus. And you grasp for His crown. You deserve a crown of thorns. You deserve a robe of contempt to be beaten and spat upon for your treason.

But in this passage Jesus stands in your place, and He takes your spitting, and your slapping, and your beating. He takes the contempt poured out upon himself that you deserve. You can barely convince yourself that this is true. Surely my sins cannot be that black. Surely my sins cannot be that much of an offense to God that I deserve that treatment.

We're so defiled we don't even understand what purity really is. What it means to be totally undefiled as God is. So that he says, all of your righteousness is his filthy rags. You hold it up, you're proud of these things, they are filthy to me. And that's your righteousness.

What should happen with such traitors against the real king? What should happen to them? We're seeing it. We're seeing it in John 19. And yet our substitute wore the thorn so that we might wear a crown of glory.

Our substitute wore the mocking robe of the fake king so that we could have robes of righteousness? Will you not run to Him? If you're not in Christ today, what would hold you back from running to one who will stand in your place and take your treatment? How could you hold him off another day, another minute? So full of mercy.

You're in such need. What would keep you from him? Number two. Do you have much light or little light? Pilate though he was guilty will be beaten with fewer stripes than the Jews because they had much light and he had little.

Which do you have, much or little? You have much access to the Bible or little access? Do you have preaching of the gospel or no preaching of the gospel? Do you live in a home where spiritual things are important or in a home where spiritual things are not important? Do you have little light or much light?

Trace out the implications of that. Will much be required of you or little required of you? Number three. Run to embrace Jesus as Messiah and God, Savior and Lord. Run!

Don't walk! Don't, certainly don't stand! Don't walk! Run to embrace Jesus as Messiah, the Savior, and God, your Lord. If you won't, don't flatter yourself that you will serve no other king.

You will be driven into the arms of a cruel king. If Scripture teaches anything, it teaches that. You must serve a master. Will you serve the Lord Jesus Christ who puts Himself on display as so full of compassion in our text, or will you serve a cruel master? An unrelenting master.

One who offers you the pleasures that you crave, only they're never what He represented them to be. They never last as long. They're never as sweet. It takes more and more of them. It takes different and worse of them.

That's the kind of Master who offers those pleasures. God thank you for the glory of your truth, the beauty of your truth. I know that those of us who have been in the Lord for a while can look back now and see we really did grasp for the crown. We really did want to be our own king. We earned being treated like the fake king.

Thank you Jesus for coming and taking upon yourself this treatment that we see on display that we deserve, to convince us that we deserve it. So that those who don't believe will run to you. So that those who do believe will be so filled with gratitude. Praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.