John the 19th chapter. We'll be taking up the scriptures in verse six. What's more, let's stand together in the presence of our God for the reading of his holy inspired inerrant word. Therefore, when the chief priest and the officer 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. Therefore, He was the more afraid and went again into the petorium 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 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 to 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." Thus far, the word of God. Let us pray. Lord, our God, we continue before you. We've come before you to worship you and to magnify your name. Father, even now, we would magnify your name by humbling ourselves and coming under the sound of your word, that which you've appointed the preaching of the word, that through what is foolishness to men, what is weakness, indeed weakness in man, that you would show forth your glory, your power, and your strength. Lord, bless the preaching of your word that will go forth with the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit and accomplish your purpose in our hearts and our lives. Lord, be magnified and may Christ be lifted up, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Children, right off, I want to address you. I try to explain big words and unusual terms for your understanding. And last week we used the word irony. We've encountered that other times in John's Gospel. But what is irony? What does this word irony mean? John's Gospel, it runs throughout. It's actually one of the themes of John's Gospel, the use of irony, how he shows irony. Right here in this passage before us we see several ironies. So what is an irony? It is when something is happening that is different than what you might expect. OK, I'll give you an example, children. It's like when you see someone riding a bike and they have a crash. What do you expect to happen? That they probably would cry because they got hurt. But instead, what you see them do is they get up and they're laughing. That's irony. Or we might use a different word, a form of that to say, how ironic. This is an irony. Or when you see something that looks different than what you expect. This happens every winter around here. It'll be 20 degrees, and I'll go out, I'll be out in town, and you see somebody in t-shirt and shorts. That's ironic. That's an irony. It's not what you would expect. That's the nature of this word irony. So let's look at what John tells us about Jesus' trial before Pilate, the governor, Things are opposite from the way the people involved are treating them. Children, you see the irony here. Pilate has said over and over again that he finds no fault in Jesus. And yet, what did Pilate do? He had no reason to punish Jesus, but he scourged him. He's had Jesus beaten with whips and, when we compare the Gospels, with rods. This is not what you would expect. This is an irony. Pilate brings Jesus out to the Jews, bleeding and bruised. And you would think the people would be satisfied, that they would be, you would expect them to say, okay, he's been thoroughly humiliated. The governor has delivered something we wanted, but no, what do the people do? They shout, crucify, crucify. Pilate's response then was, you take him and crucify him. Again, he says, fine, no fault in him. who reminded the irony once more. He says, I find no fault in him. And yet with injustice, a perversion of justice, he has beaten Jesus. Then the Jews reply in verse seven, we have a law. We have a law. And according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. Here's another irony. The Jews hate Pilate. The Jews hate the rover government. They are upset. They want to revolt because they're under this rule over them. And yet they've gone to this governor, Pilate, the governor of the Romans, and they've asked him to do something, even though they despise him. It's an irony. But we must not miss the greatest irony of all. The Jews are demanding of Pilate that he crucify Jesus, because he claimed to be the Son of God. But here's the irony. Jesus truly is the Son of God. You would expect when the Son of God appears on the earth that he would be received and welcomed. That's what you would expect. And the irony is that he's not received and welcomed. The people want to put him to death. The Jews reject the very possibility that he's the Christ, the Son of God. And since it was true, Jesus was not speaking blasphemy as they accused him. We've made our way through this whole of John's record to this point in seeing the life of Jesus and it's clearly showed to us, it's clearly proved and demonstrated that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God and that we would be right to believe on him and have life in his name. I'm going to use three main points, you'll see them in your worship guide, I'm taking these right out of Richard Phillips' treatment of this text. Authority from above, pilot, a man full of fears, and then friends of the king. So we have a theme this morning. You see these points, and I think you follow the theme here. We must not fear other people. We must fear God alone, for he alone has all authority in heaven and in earth. And therefore, we must make sure that Jesus is our King, our Savior, that he's our friend, that he's the one who calls us friend. So we begin with authority from above. Pilate is a man very much influenced and shaped by the culture that he grew up in. That's very common for us. We grow up in a culture. There's things that are happening around us that shapes and influence who we are. There's a culture within our homes. There's a culture even here in our church, our congregation of God's people. There's a culture around us in the world. Some of us have lived in different places and experienced different types of cultures and different types of influences. Well, Pilate's no different. He's a Roman. and he believes in the roman empire and as a roman he believes there are many gods many many gods it's like they don't even put a number on how many gods there are one of the things they celebrate in their culture is worship all the gods that you want This is who Pilate is. This is the culture. And because of this, worshipping of many gods, the people, including Pilate, they were very superstitious. That means that they believed that the various gods had powers in their daily lives, that these gods could have an influence and an impact on them and the events of their lives. And so the people, they would offer sacrifices to these gods. Now what we know is these idols, these gods, they're no gods at all. There's only one true God. But Pilate doesn't know that. Pilate's affected by his culture, even as people in our day are. Children, we need to make sure that we understand. I want you to understand there's only one God, one true and living God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father who the Son brings us to by the working of the Holy Spirit, our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, and yet three persons. This is the truth. Pilate doesn't know that. So think about the impact on him. When the Jews say to him in verse 7, they answered him, we have a law, and according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. That hits Pilate's ears. There's many gods. This man is claimed to be the son of God. I see no fault in him. Maybe he is a god. You can imagine all kinds of things running through Pilate's mind. And indeed, this reality that one of the gods, or one of the sons of the gods, had showed up in his very court, what does Scripture tell us? That he was even more afraid. Pilate's already afraid. We saw this in the past. His wife's dream, warning him to have nothing to do with this righteous man. Pilate's a fearful man. And now he's heard this about the one who is before him. And so then Pilate asked him. He goes back inside. Remember, he's going out to the Jews. They don't want to come into his house, into his praetorium, because they're concerned that they'll be unclean then, and they can't partake in the Passover. That's an irony, too, that these religious leaders think that just by not entering the residence that somehow they maintain a righteousness, a holiness, a cleanness to go through the Passover ritual that God has ordained. So anyway, Pilate goes back inside. In verse 9, when he heard this saying, he was more afraid, verse 8, and then again he goes into the Petoreum and he said to Jesus, where are you from? Pilate wants to know where he's from. Now, Pilate's not asking him about his family of origin. He's not even asking him, you know, you're from Galilee. He already knew that. That's why he sent him to Herod, as Luke tells us. He's wondering, where did you really come from? Are you a God? Is essentially what he's asking. It doesn't put it that way, but he's heard it to be the case. And he asked him that. And to Pilate's surprise, and to his aggravation, Jesus does not answer him. You see, that's what it says at the end of verse nine. But Jesus gave him no answer. I don't know if you can imagine, but let me tell you, the commentators are all over the places. Why was Jesus silent? They have a host of reasons given. Why did he give no answer? Well, I think the best answer is that there was no answer that Jesus could have given Pilate that would have satisfied him. One commentator suggested that Pilate didn't deserve a proper answer. Perhaps both are true. But I think it is certainly true that the true answer would not have met Pilate's expectations. that have been too much for him, even as was too much for the Jews. The Jews had all the evidence. Pilate, he's heard things, things that are happening in his realm, but Pilate hasn't seen firsthand and experienced. Even Herod, whom Jesus was sent to, he's heard things, and he's pretty delighted because this one he's heard about is in his presence, and he even hopes that maybe he'll see a miracle or something. He's so fascinated with the supernatural rather than what matters the most. But I think what we need to understand here, Pilate's heart is hard. Through this process, his heart was hard to begin with, and his heart has become hard, and he has hardened his heart against the truth of the gospel. Here is the truth, Jesus Christ before him, and he is All that he is and all that he does and everything he says, he portrays truth to Pilate. So much so that Pilate has rightly concluded that there's no fault in him. But his heart is hardened. Pilate's looked at the facts, what he knows. He's heard the accusations and he's concluded this man is not guilty. He does not deserve to die. Pilate's wife has warned him to have nothing to do with him. And yet, Pilate, out of the hardness, the wickedness of his heart, has ordered Jesus to be scourged, that is, beaten with whips, with bits of bone and metal in it. He's treated him as a guilty man. Yet another irony. Before we move on, let's just make an application here. When we hear the truth, as we do here when we gather in God's presence and his word is open, when we hear a truth and we neglect it, we ignore it, we disregard it, we're rejecting Christ. And we're in the danger of hardening our own hearts against the word of God. And indeed, it comes to the point that when Jesus speaks, we no longer hear him. The day of salvation, as scripture talks about, for us has come and gone. The day of salvation has passed. And thus the scripture says, turn to the Lord while it is now yet a day. Come to him now while the opportunity is before you. Pilate has missed that opportunity and for him the day of salvation has come and passed. I want to give us a biblical reason. I think the scripture answers why Jesus was silent. Certainly throughout his trial, there's times when he's very quiet. When you look at it, he speaks very little in the course of the trial, whether it's before Pilate or before Caiaphas or even before Herod. And it's a fulfillment of what we saw not that long ago in Isaiah 53, verse 7, speaking to the Messiah, the Christ. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. We've seen that. It's happening as we are making our way through John. And yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy. Isaiah foretold this because this is the way it would be. This is what God had decreed. So Pilate did not see Jesus' silence as anything other than an insult to himself as the governor. The governor in Rome, this powerful man, he sees it as an insult. In verse 10, then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me? That's the new King James. But in the original, the word order is the emphasis is on me. Even as later on, we're going to hear him say, I have, I have. Even when he puts the question to Jesus, I'll give you a literal translation, to me? You will not speak? You hear the pride there? Don't you know who I am? This is the arrogance, the pride of this man in his office. He says, to me? Are you going to be silent to me? You hear, children, the idea of, how dare you? Don't you know who I am? And that's what he goes on to say. I have authority. Verse 10, do you not know that the word order of the original is different? I don't know why it's this way, but he says, Do you not know I have authority to release you? I have authority to crucify you. Here's this man in his office, and it is true, he has this authority, but he's very offended by Jesus' silence. He says, I can crucify you or I can release you. You know what's true? He did have that authority, and he had the power to carry it out. But what is the lesson here? Look at Jesus' answer in verse 11. Jesus answers him, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Jesus speaks now, he who is silent, we could say teaches Pilate an important lesson. Pilate may have been thinking of, yes, I have authority from Caesar. But that's not what Jesus says. He doesn't say you have authority from Rome or from Caesar. He says your authority has come from above. He's speaking of God who reigns on high. And so here's a very important lesson for all of us that we must remember that all authority comes from God who reigns over all the nations of all men. Children, that's true in our homes. Your parents have authority over you because God has appointed it to be so. When fathers and mothers go into the workplace, they are those that have authority over them. When children go off to school, teachers have authority over them, as well as principals and other administrators. All authority is from God. There is no authority apart from what God has appointed. It's very important for us to remember, we just recently had a vote And so many of our national and state leaders have been elected. The outcomes of the elections then are according to the authority of God. They are as he has ordained. For this reason, the apostle Paul writes to the church in Romans 13, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed from God. period no exceptions this is what it means to be god who is sovereign that all the affairs of all men and every corner and crevice of all of creation is ordered by god god is over all the supreme and jesus tells peter this you remember that paul writes Romans 13, but you might say, I think it's right to understand that what Paul writes in Romans 13 is an exposition of Jesus' words. Remember the people were questioning him, particularly the Jews, the religious leaders. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? And he says, give me the denarius, the coin of the day. It was the common day wage. And he said, whose image is on here? Well, the people answered, Caesar's. And so what did Jesus respond? Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. and render to God the things that are God's. Paul then, in Romans 13, gives us an exposition of that statement of Jesus. So Jesus replied to Pilate, acknowledged that Pilate had authority. Notice he doesn't say, well, you don't have any authority. He says, no, you could have no power or authority at all against me unless it had been given to you from above. Jesus acknowledges But Pilate says, it's true, he has authority. Authority to even carry out what he decrees. Dr. James Montgomery Boyce notes at this point, Pilate pronounced wrongly, as we know. But he had authority to make the pronouncement even if it was wrong. His authority was from God. Jesus did not suggest that it be wrested from him because he made even so great an error as condemning the Son of God. Again, just an application as we make our way along. As Christians, we must learn to be faithful citizens. In whatever land we dwell in, under whatever form of government we're in, we must be faithful citizens before God. And we should speak with respect of government officials. And our actions must honor Christ, because all those that are in authority over us are under God and in that authority by his decree. And to complain and fuss, to speak evilly of those whom God has appointed over us, we're ultimately speaking against God in his sovereign reign. Well, Jesus' response to Potter also teaches us that there are limits to our duty to obey. Because he says, you could have no power at all against me unless it was given to you from above. There's a higher authority than a king, than a prince, than a governor, than a president, a judge, or any lawmaker. All of these ultimately answer to God. Solomon makes that point in Ecclesiastes. He even warns those who are princes. At one point, he speaks of how those who are in authority have someone over them who have someone over them. And then in another place, he points how all answer, and it's the same idea, to one who is above. God is above it all. And so we obey the civil government. in the Lord as under the Lord even as the commandment of God is children this way Paul writes in Ephesians 6 children obey your parents in the Lord that is to say whatever they command you to do something obey them unless it's a violation of God's law and this will be true of our responsibilities to the civil government we obey the civil government unless it becomes a violation of God's law then we're not required to obey And we may suffer for that disobedience, because the King has power. Later on, we read in the book of Acts after Pentecost. Remember, Peter and John went into the temple to pray one day, and they met a lame white man as they went on their way. And they said to him, children, some of you might know a song that goes like this. It's the very word of God. Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, take up your bread and walk. Take up your bed and walk. Well, the Jews were upset about that. It was done in Jesus' name. They were upset that this name of Christ is still being proclaimed. They crucified him. They thought they were done with him, and that here are a couple of fishermen, by the power of God, healing a lame man. And so they seized him, and they commanded him that he should be silent. On one occasion, they beat him. But what does Peter say in response to this? In Acts 5, 29, he says, we ought rather to obey God than men. In the earlier occasion, he says, you tell us, is it right to obey God or to obey men? The apostles, even in that case, were beaten for their unwillingness to submit to these quasi-civil, quasi-religious authorities. They suffered the consequences, but they obeyed God. They refuse to stop preaching the gospel. That happens in our day. Today, there are those who will gather for worship and obedience to God. It's the Lord's day. They'll come together and some of them may suffer the consequences for that. There will be those who are pre-arrested because they have a copy of the word of God and they will suffer the consequences for it. They're not sinning, but they're not obeying the civil magistrate who says that there can be no worship of the true and living God. Jesus adds one more thing to his response to Pilate. Look again at verse 11. 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. What is Jesus talking about here? Pilate was unjust. We see that. He's acknowledged Jesus is innocent and yet he's had him beaten and ultimately he's going to have him crucified. Pilate, he's sinned. But Jesus says there's a greater sin. Who is that greater sin? Who's this one? Pilate's not fully aware of all the facts, but the Jews are they knew theirs was the greater sin they have seen the signs of the wonders they have seen and heard jesus proclaim the word of god even so that the common people when they heard of it said this man does not teach like our teachers he teaches and preaches as one having authority because he was sent from God. The Jews knew this. They've had the signs, the wonders, the miracles. There are those who were there when thousands upon thousands were fed with a few loaves and a few fish. They've heard or even witnessed the healing of those with leprosy. They would have heard the account, particularly the Jews in Jerusalem, of the raising of Lazarus, that man who was four days dead in the tomb, a rotten corpse, and yet Christ raised him. They have all this evidence before him. They're without excuse. And yet they've delivered him up to Pilate and demanded that he be crucified. They've acted even more wickedly than Pilate. Pilate's not aware of all these facts, but the Jews were. Why is it they've done this? Pilate understood it was out of envy. They were jealous because the people went after Jesus. They looked to Jesus. They hung on his words. They trusted him. And the Jews were jealous, and so they handed Jesus over to Pilate, demanding that he be crucified. There's a lesson here. I've been asked as a pastor, many times in my time, 20-some years of pastoring, and I'm sure other pastors have been asked as well, are there degrees of sin? Are there various degrees of sin, and therefore degrees of judgment? Well, right here we see Jesus answer that question, don't we? He tells Pilate, the one who handed me over to you, what does he say? Has the greater sin. There's the answer to that question in just plain words. There is, there are greater and lesser sins. Our larger catechism, when it walks through exposition of the law of God, it reveals that. And we're told that those who are superiors, when they sin, there's a greater sin on them because of their position and their knowledge. And here we find those who are superior. These are the chief priests, Annas and Caiaphas, the elders of Israel who have committed this greater sin and thus they will receive a greater judgment. The Jews, including Caiaphas, also had authority from God, even as Pilate has authority from God. They're in their positions by God's appointment. Even Caiaphas, who is not the lawful, legitimate high priest, but they're out of convenience of the Roman government, he's in that position because God has decreed it. They have authority from God, and yet they sought at all costs to preserve that authority that they had. They were determined, in order to maintain their position, that Jesus must die. You don't have to just take my word for it. Turn back with me to John 11. where we see this exchange. John 11, we take it up in verse 47, they want Jesus to be crucified. Then the chief priest and the Pharisees gathered and counseled and said, what should we do? For this man works many signs. See, they know, they've seen. They're not denying the reality. This man works many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. They're threatened. from their position, their power, their authority, their prestige, their wealth, and all that has come to them because of the nation they hold. Then one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us. That is the ruling class, the ruling elite. It is expedient for us. That word means children. It's better for us. We'll be better off. What? that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish. John says, now he did not say this on his own authority, but being a high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation and not for the nation only. but also that he would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. And again, we see the sovereignty of God working with the sinfulness of men. Our God's so great overall that even in the account of Joseph, that God's plan includes sinful men, their sinful actions to bring about his purposes on the earth. All authority is from God who reigns above. That should be comforting to us today. Whatever whatsoever comes to pass in our day, it's because God has decreed it. God is God. He is the absolute sovereign. There is no other sovereign above Him. There are those on the earth that think they are sovereign, that they answer to no one, and yet all who rule are in positions of authority, ultimately answer to God. That's a sober reality for those who are fathers, as well as husbands. Let us live under the Lord, that we might answer to Him with a clear conscience. but also let us remember the grace and the mercy of God and the Lord Jesus Christ for our failures, for they are many. Well, secondly, we want to consider Pilate, a man full of fears. We've seen in earlier portions of John's account of the things that took place after Jesus' arrest, that Pilate was pragmatic and that he acted out of his moral relativism. You know, that whatever he took to get it done, this is what I told you, children, these words mean, Pilate did whatever he wanted to get what he wanted. And the Jews are doing the same thing. The truth was something that he was happy to play with. He would manipulate the truth in order to get the ends that he wanted. Well, the other thing we know about Pilate, and we see it very much here, Pilate's a coward. Most bullies are. He's a coward. They're running from their own fears. Pilate is a man full of fears. Pilate is afraid of Jesus. We've seen that even in this account. We've seen it in the earlier passage. He finds no fault in Jesus, and yet he's had him beaten anyway. Pilate's wife has warned him not to have anything to do with this just man. Then Pilate learned that this Jesus that's before him is claimed to be the Son of God, and we're told in the text, Pilate was even more afraid. is a man full of fears. Pilate wanted Jesus out of his courtroom, off from his hands. He wanted somebody else to be responsible. He just wanted to be done with the whole thing. He wanted to wash his hands of the affair. And indeed, he literally will wash his hands from the affair, thinking that somehow that clears him. Last week we noted that Pilate shuffled Jesus off to King Herod. Luke tells us that. Only to have Herod send him back. not the outcome Pilate was hoping for. And so Pilate's been, notice this, we put a red account, Pilate's been in the victorium and then out of the victorium. He's going back and forth between the Jews and Jesus. Pilate is a man ruled by his fears. Jesus has now told Pilate that he only has authority from above. Now Pilate might have thought of Caesar and he might actually have thought of the gods that the Romans worship. This only strengthens or multiplies Pilate's fears. Jesus claims to be the Son of God. So it's no surprise when we read in verse 12, from then on Pilate sought to release him. This is where his fears are. Pilate wants Jesus out of his hands, off his hands, no longer his responsibilities. 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. And of course, he's saying that's what Jesus has done. He makes himself out. He presents himself as a king. And indeed, he is, though they do not accept it. Pilate also fears the Jews. Children, here's another irony in this account. Who's the governor? Pilate is. Who has authority over all the people, including these Jews that are before him? Pilate does, and yet Pilate is afraid of them. You wouldn't expect that to be the case when he has this authority. And it's ironic. The Jews have opposed him. They've even stopped Pilate's attempts to release Jesus because of Pilate's fears. But there's someone that Pilate fears most of all. We've talked about Caesar. The Caesar at that time was Tiberius Caesar. And he was a ruthless man. He was a brutal man. He was perhaps mental. He was unstable. He rules over the vastness of the Roman Empire, which essentially covered the known world, northern Africa, on through the Middle East and to India and beyond, and up even to the regions known that we know as the British Isles today. Tiberius Caesar rules over this. And all the governors over all these realms They answer to Tiberius, Caesar, including Pilate. Pilate answers to Caesar. Pilate is governor here in Palestine because Caesar has placed him there. Tiberius was a highly suspicious man. He was very suspicious of his servants. It's often the case when people get to the top. They're suspicious of everybody. Someone's always trying to take him out, take him down. And so that's who he is. He's always looking for someone who's not loyal to him. And indeed, those that he suspected of not being loyal to him, they were executed or they were banished to some distant part of the empire. In the past, Jews have been upset with Pilate. We know from other writings that they had written to Caesar. They've already been dissatisfied by it. They've written to send communication to him and there's been some response because of that. What Caesar wants, he does not want to hear of any trouble. If you're a governor of a land and he's hearing about trouble, maybe there's something wrong with you. And so what is this threat? Well, it's not what Pilate wanted. He didn't want some accusation going back to Pilate that says, You let a king, a man who claims to be a king, somebody in Caesar's realm, you let him go instead of dealing with it. And what is it that the Jews say to him? You are not Caesar's friend. And Pilate, above all, wants to be perceived as Caesar's friend. The Jews knew this weakness in Pilate. Even as Pilate understands the Jews and the religious leaders, they understand him as well. They know something about how he works and how he thinks. And they have put their finger. They have come with, you might say, the trump card. They're going to win this struggle. They're going to win this exchange because they know Pilate's afraid of Caesar. Ultimately, we know it's because God has decreed it. Things are unfolding the way that God has decreed it. But the Jews' threat to Pilate is very real. Pilate knows that these Jews are not making empty threats. J.C. Ryle puts his finger on it when he says, Pilate would rather connive at a murder to please the Jews than allow himself to be charged with the neglect of imperial interest in the unfriendliness of Caesar. Fear of man. We've talked about this before. Here we see this fear of man. Children and adults alike, let's make some application. Let us look full into Jesus. Let us look at him here in this as an example. Jesus resists the temptation to live in fear of man. Jesus' life is on the line, but it's for this purpose he's come into the world. Jesus fears God alone. That's why we see him. He's steady. He's faithful. As the scripture says, he's set his face like flint. to go to Jerusalem. He knew what awaited him. He knew these things. Even this unfolding before us awaited him and yet Jesus feared God and was obedient to his father. He was ready to do his father's will. He had agreed before the foundation of the world to do so. He was prepared to lay down his life for his people. Jesus sets an example for us here, showed us the way to live our life to the glory of God and the fear of God. and not the fear of man. That's the only way we could have stability. That's the only way to know peace and calm, is to fear God. We dare not compromise, but live our lives as unto the Lord. Jesus even said this in Matthew's Gospel. He says, do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. That would be any man. A man can only kill our body. He says don't fear man, but rather fear him. who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Who is that? God. Fear God and keep His commandments. Live your life under Him as to Him. Live a life to the glory of God, come what may. Let's look at three things from this. First, we see, like Jesus, we must be confident in the sovereignty of God. We throw that term around. We say, well, we believe God is God and there is no other. That God controls everything. He governs all his creatures and all their actions. We need to live our lives according to that truth. Everything, every detail, every day was decreed and ordered by God, our father. Jesus knew that Pilate's authority was from God and that Pilate can only do what God decreed. Jesus is not afraid of Pilate. Pilate answered to God for his actions and this trust in this Jesus trusted his very life to the father Some of the songs that we don't often think about being about Jesus, they are. Where you hear the psalmist say, you know, I'm in your hands. Protect me. My faith even. That language of faith from Christ as the God-man. His faith is a God. He's dependent upon God. He's looking to God. He lives his life in reliance and dependence upon God. He has gone before us to live his life this way that we in him might live our life that way as well. Remember Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? You know, I like to use those Hebrew names. That's the names they were born with. But yes, remember them. They're carried away as young men, probably in their teens. They're carried away because another nation has overrun theirs and destroyed it and slaughtered hundreds, I thought, millions of people. And they're carried as captives to Babylon. But they went trusting in God. They trusted the sovereignty of God. They went with the fear of God ruling over them and not the fear of man. Therefore, they were able to survive and even to thrive in Babylon. They lived their lives to the glory of God. Secondly, children, if we are to avoid being overcome by the fear of man, we must know the scripture. Children, even now at a young age, when your minds are able to do it, hide the word of God in your heart. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. The words of the psalmist. Let that be our testimony, children. Hide the word of God in our hearts. Adults as well. It's a greater struggle, I know, but let us hide the word of God. That way we know what God has spoken. We know his way. It's in the word that we learn that God has called us and saved us. We also learn how to live in the strength of the Holy Spirit that the Father has sent to us through his Son to give us the power from on high to live for the glory of God. Thirdly, if we're going to live our lives fearing God and not man, we must surrender our lives to God and to his will. That's the hard part, isn't it? You know, the other parts, you say, we believe Him, we memorize Scripture, but when it comes right down to it, in the moments of life, we must surrender ourselves to God. We must not fear man. Fear God. Trust His holy will. That's what we see in Jesus. He's fully yielded to the will of God, His Father. In the Garden of Gethsemane, It's not in John's account, but in the other gospel accounts, we're told that Jesus prayed concerning this cup that he was about to drink. He says, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. And then Jesus said, nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. This is the way we should live our lives. Too often we fail because we really want our will to be done. We're not willing to submit to God's will, which is, we're saying, we don't trust God. We don't trust that what he has ordained is best. And we need to trust God. Whatever he ordains is right. Why is it that we don't trust him? Well, sometimes we think our way is better. It never is. We don't know all that God knows. What God decrees and ordains is always better because he's infinite in his knowledge. And he's evident in his love for us, and what he ordains is best for us. Thirdly, we want to consider, finally, friends of the king. I mentioned Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were friends of the king. King Jesus. Now they didn't know him by that name, but they knew because it had been foretold there would be a seed of the woman, there would be a seed of Abraham through whom all the nations would be blessed, so that indeed David would have a seed, a greater son who would establish a throne that would be forever and ever. These men lived looking to that king. Their confidence was in him. And God revealed even to Daniel that the kingdoms of men were all going to be toppled. He interprets the dream in Nebuchadnezzar, where Nebuchadnezzar sees this mighty image of a man made of gold and silver and bronze and iron, iron mixed with clay. And then he sees a rock that is hewn out. Actually, this is from Daniel's own dream. He sees rocks hewn out of the mountain. It comes down, and it hits that picture of the nations That rock is Christ, and it hits the nations, and they're toppled, they're destroyed, because Christ is the Son of God. He rules and reigns, and Daniel has this revelation to him. And so his hope is in that rock, and in that king who is to come. And so he chooses to be the friend of the king of kings. And it's no less true today. We live in a time where the nations are in an uproar. There's tensions. There's turmoil. You know that, particularly you adults. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. You're what Daniel learned. The nations are going to drop in the bucket. That's Isaiah. But the nations are taken out. God has established His Son. In Psalm 2, we're told, because Christ has been victorious, He's gone to the cross, He has completed the work the Father has given to Him, that He has set Him on the throne of God as the God-man. As God, it's already His, but in our humanity, He is seated on the throne of God, and it is in His inheritance to rule the nations. God has given to the Lord our Christ the nations. And he rules with a rod of iron. And therefore, he says to the nations, be wise, you kings. Kiss the son, lest he be angry with you when he is roused but a little. Daniel regularly talked to the king of kings. Children, you know the story. What happened before Daniel ended up in the pit with the lions? The king had made a decree that you can only pray to him. And what did Daniel do? He didn't start doing something new. Daniel did as he always had done. He went and prayed three times. He went and prayed to God. His life was marked by prayer, as ours must be as well. He regularly talked to the king of kings and he continued this faithful practice of prayer, even though it meant being cast into a pit full of hungry lions. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah also faithfully worshiped the king of kings. And so when Nebuchadnezzar said, no, you must bow before this image I've erected of myself, whenever you hear the instruments playing, and they said, we will not. What was the king's threat? There's a furnace that you be cast into. They said, we won't worship your image because our God is able to deliver us. And he did. He delivered them in a mighty way. They would not worship an idol. Children, you remember we've been talking about irony as we made our way along. That's when something is happening that is different than what you would expect. Or when you see something that looks different than what you would rightly expect. Well, here's one final irony. The Jews, listen to me children, you know this language, the Jews have threatened to be tattletales to Caesar. We're going to run. We're going to tell Caesar what you're refusing to do. You failed to get rid of a man who claimed to be a king. Therefore, they demanded Pilate must crucify Jesus in order to prove that he was a friend of Caesar. What an irony. A king, and they want to crucify him. In our day, we see people who are so desperate to be liked by the elites. Those who dominate social media, whether it's Instagram or TikTok or some other format, These people are not your friends. What an irony. They don't know who you are. And that's the reality even for Pilate. Caesar scarcely knew who he was. Yeah, he had appointed him. Probably somebody recommended him. And no doubt reports came in. But Caesar didn't really care as long as things were quiet down there. Well, here's the irony. A few years after these events, Pilate was removed from his office of governor and was banished to Gaul. Not a nice place to be. He spent the rest of his life there. He wanted to be a friend with Caesar and ended up being banished by Caesar. Caesar did not save Pilate. He was no friend of Pilate. Meanwhile, the king who could have saved Pilate, not only in that moment, but saved him from his sin was crucified, was crucified by Pilate. to silence an angry crowd. But in doing this freely of his own will, Pilate fulfilled the decree of God and sent the Son of God, the Lamb of God, to the cross upon which he spilled his blood, suffered the wrath of God for our sins, the sins of his people, to save him. There's an irony in the cross. It looks like someone's dying. It looks like someone's being punished. It looks like the end of a king. It looks like the end of a kingdom. It looks like all is lost, all is ruined. That's the way it looks. But the irony is, no, the victory is being won. Christ has placed his foot on the head of the serpent and crushed him. Christ is delivering us from our sin and iniquity. In that moment, this seems to be the greatest loss, the greatest victory ever won, that ever will be won in the course of human history took place. Oh, irony of ironies, the Lamb of God, who died to take away the wrath of God, that it would be spent on him and not on those who the Father had given to him. Here we see An event born out of hate and envy, we see the love of God displayed for sinners. He gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. We conclude with this. Young and old alike, your children, your adults, all of us, let us know that when we call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save us, we have been rescued from the greatest disaster of all. the punishment of the wrath of God that we justly deserve for our sins. We're delivered by him and saved from the fires of hell forevermore. Jesus saves sinners. Jesus is the friend of sinners. He calls his people his friends. And if you are in Jesus, then you are a friend of the king, not just any king, but the king over all kings. And you need never fear any man, whether he has a high authority or not alone. We need not fear man. My friends, do you see the beauty of Jesus? You see the remarkable nature of Jesus, this exclusive one. He is the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father but by him. No one gains eternal life except by this one. He is unlike any other, the one lovely and perfectly suited to be our Savior. O behold him with the eye of faith, even now as he is seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling over the nations of men. Answer this question before you close your eyes tonight. Am I a friend of the King? Am I a friend of the Savior of sinners? Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, our God, we do marvel at what you've accomplished in your Son. We do marvel to discover these ironies that Things did not turn out the way that men expected. How much more so Satan thinking that he had triumphed over your son and that he would own the vineyard. And yet you destroyed him. You broke his power. You broke the power of sin. You broke the power of death. And indeed you have given unto your people who were dead life everlasting forevermore. Oh marvelous, marvelous ironies of God. The wonderful work of the living God who saves to the uttermost. We bless you and praise you. that you did not withhold your son, but you sent him to save us. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.