Good Friday: The King Who Lays Down His Life

Today we are going to sit in two key chapters that show us what kind of king Jesus was that he would give up his life for others. He wasn’t a king that came to “lord” it over people, but he came to serve and lay down his life so that we would have eternal life, salvation from sin and freedom from evil.

Following on from Palm Sunday, where the crowd declared Jesus King, chapters 18 and 19 are the direct result of that declaration. Repeatedly John shows how the key issue with Jesus was that he was king: they flogged him saying “Hail king of the Jews,” (19:3) Pilate declares to the people after the trial, “here is your king” and the people shout, “we have no king but Caesar.” (19:14-16), Pilate has a notice fastened to the cross that mocked Jesus, it read “Jesus of Nazareth, The king of the Jew.” (19:19-21).

The Journey of the King of kings:

I am He (John 18 :1-8)

(Read through day 2 to see the significance of the I Am)

The final I AM – the soldiers fall at the pronouncement of the King. Jesus is not just casually saying “I am” he is pronouncing “I AM” – the same I Am as in Exodus. He is proclaiming he is God Almighty. Even nonbelieving soldiers cannot stand.

At this point if we think about it logically Jesus could have run, but instead he stayed and waited for the soldiers to arrest him.

The King on trial (John 18 :33-38). Jesus went through a religious and a civil system in a very short space of time. The basis for the Jewish trial was that Jesus claimed to be God. The civil trial had no real basis. It was a mockery, Jesus experienced extreme injustice.

The King Crowned (John 19:1-3). This crowning was intended to be a humiliation, it was painful and degrading. The soldiers mocked him as they flogged him saying, “Hail king of the Jews” and Jesus didn’t say a word.

The King rejected (John 19:14-21). Pilate declares to the people after the trial, “here is your king” and the people shout, “we have no king but Caesar.” (19:14-16)

The Compassionate King (John 19:25-27). The King who in his darkest hour is still outward focused, looking after his mother.

The King Crucified (John 19 :17-22) In death he was recognized to be our King. Pilate has a notice fastened to the cross that mocked Jesus, it read “Jesus of Nazareth, The king of the Jew.” (19:19-21).

The King Lays down his Life (John 19 :28-30, John 10:18). He laid down his life willingly for you and me (Hebrews 12:2). He did it for the joy set before him, the Father sent him to the world to redeem humanity which is that the mission was complete (John 19:30). Tomorrow we will unpack the fact that the Spirit raised him from the dead. Death could not hold him down. He overcame sin and evil on the cross.

Buried like a King (John 19: 38-42) Jesus is given a proper burial of a wealthy noble man and placed in a new, rich man's tomb that no one has ever laid in. This is a king's burial.