Don't Depreciate King Jesus!
Rev. Enoch Thompson | October 24 2024 | John 19:4-7
KEY VERSE:
⁴ Once more Pilate came out and 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." ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" John 19:4-5 (NIV)
MESSAGE:
In order to make a case for Christ we are sometimes tempted to reduce Him from what He claimed, taught and stood for. We seek to make Christ acceptable and fitting into our current worldviews, cultures and apparent sophisticated environment by devaluing and depreciating Him.
Pilate had indicated that he did not find anything worthy of condemnation in the Lord Jesus in John 18:38. In John 19:4, he states this view again, and will further restate it in 19:6. But Pilate allowed for Christ to be flogged, mocked and presented as a caricature king, to what effect; to the effect that he might show to the Jewish religious leaders that the man they were afraid of, and therefore sought to eliminate by crucifixion was not as dangerous as they thought, was a weak ordinary nobody, and should therefore be set free.
In the process Pilate did much injustice to the Lord Jesus and failed to make Him acceptable to a religious leadership and people who had made up their minds to reject Him.
The bottom line of such efforts of depreciating the Christ is the rejection by those we seek to please, for “⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" ⁷ The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." John 19:6-7 (NIV). If people would not buy Christ for the price He claims to be worth, they would not buy Him at the reduced price you offer Him to them!
FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:
Are you faced with situations that seek to make you reduce Jesus Christ to just another religious leader, to one of many ways of finding spiritual salvation or material attainment and satisfaction? Beware of reducing the King of kings, God in human flesh, to just another man, a simple religious icon, one among the many spiritual forces to be manipulated by people.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, it is so tempting to want to make You look like the rest so that Your exclusive claims upon my life and from all humans will not seem so offensive. Please give me the courage to stand for all that you claimed to be, and all that you are, and all that you demand of me and all others. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.
THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.
SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!
DAILY word study: WEARING
The word "wearing" comes from the Greek periballó (περιβάλλω), which means to clothe, wrap, or put around. It indicates an action of being dressed or covered with a garment. In John 19:5, "wearing" describes Jesus dressed in a crown of thorns and a purple robe, placed on Him to mock His kingship. Though meant to humiliate, these symbols point to His true royal identity and the suffering He bore for our sake. The mockery reveals humanity’s attempt to depreciate His worth, but for believers, it serves as a powerful reminder of His unmatched kingship and the price He paid for our salvation. We must never reduce His value in our lives—Jesus, the King, wore the burden of our sin to offer us eternal life. Reflection As Jesus "wore" the crown of thorns and robe in mockery, He bore the burden of our sins. Are we, in turn, recognizing His true worth in our lives? How can we honour His kingship by fully embracing the sacrifice He made for us?
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