If you have your Bible, I want you to just take it, and we're just gonna look at a passage of Scripture briefly together tonight. We're in the Gospel of John, chapter number 19. John, chapter number 19. And of course, understanding the theme of the evening, my king is known by love. I want us to spend just a few moments considering this king who hung on this cross so many years ago. The Bible says in John 19 and verse number 17, and he's speaking of Jesus bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other with him, on either side one and Jesus in the midst. Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, in Latin. Then said the chief priest of the Jews to Pilate, write not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. On the cross, Jesus was crucified upon. The Gospel of John makes it abundantly clear that Pilate attached or affixed a title in which he wrote these words, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. He was so deliberate in his writing of this, the Bible tells us that he had it actually written in three different languages. He made sure that if you spoke Hebrew, you could read it. And if you only spoke Greek, you could read it. And if you spoke Latin or understood Latin, you could read it. The sign seems to have been written, as I read it, seems to have been written sort of condescendingly, almost as if Pilate is saying, with more than a hint of sarcasm to Jesus and to the Jews, some kind of king this is. Look at him. How many kings do you know that hang on a cross like this for all of the world to see? I mean, there can't just have been a little bit of sarcasm or of mocking or of condescending of a tone as Pilate writes this. When we think of the position of king, our minds normally think of royalty. of opulent wealth, of power, of authority, of reverence from subjects toward the king. We think of castles, we think of lands, and the list perhaps could go on and on. Most people, they envy the head that wears the crown, but few who walked by the cross that day and read that sign would have envied him, though he did wear a crown that day, just a crown of thorns. And though the sign above his head named him a king, very few would have said, yeah, I wanna be in his position. I wanna sit on that kind of throne. Truthfully, as we observe his life and as we consider really the life that he lived that's portrayed in front of us, his time on earth never really did resemble anything like what we would expect from a king. Let me ask this question. You consider the sign, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, and let me ask this question. What king do you know that comes from Nazareth? What king comes from Nazareth? The first identifier that hung on this sign that Pilate had written, beyond just the name Jesus, was that he was of Nazareth. Upon Jesus's entry into public life and ministry, it was pretty clear that most people thought very little of the town of Nazareth. Some of you are familiar with what Nathanael said in John chapter number one, verses 45 and 46, when Philip first found him and said, we have found the Messiah. He said, we have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write. And then he said, Jesus of Nazareth. Now listen. Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nazareth was located in northern Israel in what is known as Galilee. Those in Jerusalem and those living in Judea, they thought very little or very poorly of the Galileans who were widely considered to be uneducated and ignorant and inferior. One might expect a king from Jerusalem, maybe even a king from Bethlehem, since that was the city of David, but not a man, not a man who was raised in lowly Nazareth of Galilee. So as you read the sign, it identifies him, Jesus of Nazareth, the king, and you would ask the question, what king comes from a place like Nazareth? But as you observe just a little closely, you might have to ask this question, well, what king then is rejected by his kingdom and by its subjects? The sign identifies him as the king of the Jews, but as we continued reading, we discovered the Jews were not at all on board with this designation. In fact, they went to Pilate. They came to Pilate. I mean, with everything that was going on that day, they found some time to go to Pilate, and they asked him, would you be so kind as to change the writing that you've put there on the cross? Not that he is the king of the Jews, but just simply that he said he was the king of the Jews because we have, you read earlier in the passage, we have no king but Caesar. And by the way, the Jews didn't exactly like the position they were in under Caesar, but they would rather have Caesar to reign over them than they would have this man by the name of Jesus to reign over them. Pilate stood on what he had written. Jesus had certainly some high days in his earthly ministry in which he was followed by multitudes of Jews, but the religious leaders had successfully managed to turn the tide of public opinion against him. By the end of his earthly life, his followers had dwindled from thousands down to just a few. A remarkable decline by any measure. The Bible tells us in John 1, in verse number 11, he came unto his own, and his own received him not. Isaiah wrote these words in Isaiah 53, in verse number 3, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as we gaze at this sign, and as we see him hanging there, we might ask the question, what king comes from Nazareth? What king is rejected by his kingdom? And then we gaze upon him there, and we might ask this question, what king is sentenced to death on a cross? We read the sign and then we look at him hanging there and we're more confused than we've ever been before. Kings don't die like this. Kings live to be old as their health permits and they usually die in very comfortable beds surrounded by their family with the best medical care that can be provided. Kings aren't beaten, bloodied, and bruised. Kings don't hang on crosses and suffer for all to see. I must say that as we observe Christ hanging on this cross, he doesn't appear to be very royal, does he? Some kind of king this is. He appears to be weak. and poor and less than impressive. In fact, he looks more like a criminal who's being judged for his crimes than he looks like a king who sits on a throne and wears a crown. But you know, things aren't always as they appear, are they? Perhaps you, like me, enjoy optical illusions. where you might see something that appears on a page or on a screen, and at first you see one thing, but as you gaze a little closer, your eyes maybe come into focus just a little bit, and you discover that what you first saw there, you don't see anymore. If you're anything like me, sometimes I'll gaze at the screen or at the picture long enough, and before long, not only do I not see what I once saw, but I can't even see what I once, all I see is the new thing. I want us to take another look at Jesus hanging on this cross. I want us to consider the sign that hung above his head there, and I want you to understand with me as we dig deeper into the story that in John chapter 19, Jesus doesn't appear to be much of a king, but I want you to look a little closer. Understand that one day, listen, one day of your life doesn't define you. And one day recorded for us in John 19 doesn't tell the whole story of Jesus either, does it? No, no, we know the rest of the story, don't we? We know who he really is and we know what he really accomplished. And with that thought in mind, allow me to share some thoughts with you, just three and we'll be done. Let me say number one, can I help you understand, look a little closer, he's not really from Nazareth. No, he's not from, you say, oh, I know, I know, yeah, you're right. He's not from Nazareth because he was born in Bethlehem. And I just want you to understand, can I just be real frank with you? He's not even from Bethlehem. He's not from any of those places. The Bible tells us in John 1, In verse number one, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. We skip down to verse number 14 and we discover, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Oh, Jesus might have been physically born in Bethlehem and physically raised in Nazareth, but I want you to know something. Jesus the King is from a far better place than these quaint little Hebrew towns. According to John 1, he is the word who was made flesh. He is the eternal God whose home was heaven. He did not lose his deity upon his birth in Bethlehem. He was just as much God in Nazareth as he had been on his heavenly throne. No, listen, Christ voluntarily left the splendor and glory of heaven to dwell among us. He's not church family, he's not from Nazareth. He's not from Bethlehem. He's from the Father's house. He's from heaven. The Bible tells us in Philippians chapter two, verse number five, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, fought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. He's not from Nazareth. Can I say secondly, as we look a little closer, not only is he not from Nazareth, He's not just the king of the Jews either. In fact, as we consider the Scriptures, we find that his kingdom is really not of this world at all. His kingdom is not of this world. In John chapter 18, just a day prior, Jesus stood before Pilate, and Pilate asked him questions, and Jesus answered Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence. This is Christ's answer when asked, are you really the king of the Jews? Is that who you are? And Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world. Christ's kingdom has no capital city. At least not down here it doesn't. Christ's kingdom has no physical throne. Christ's kingdom has no strong army with weapons of mighty warfare. No, he rules and he reigns within the hearts of men who believe in him. His kingdom, listen, is not a temporal kingdom. You see, earthly kingdoms, they rise and then they fall. But the kingdom that Jesus is king over is not a temporal kingdom that spans just a few years, but Jesus' kingdom is an eternal and an everlasting kingdom. The Bible says in Romans chapter 14 and verse number 17, for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, it's not physical, but rather it's righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. So we look a little closer. and we see he's not actually from Nazareth, though the sign says he is. We look even beyond that and we discover, wait a minute, wait a minute, he's more than just the king of the Jews. His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, it spans the entire world and it's much greater than any kingdom of this world. And then we last saw him, he's hanging on a cross, and we ask the question, what kind of king hangs on a cross and suffers and bleeds and dies? And yet as we look a little closer, we discover here tonight that he is alive with power to save. He is alive with power to save. The Bible says in Romans 4 in verse number 24, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Romans 8 in verse number 11, we read it several times this morning, but we remind you, but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. He hung on that cross, the Bible tells us, for six hours before Joseph removed his lifeless body and buried it in a garden tomb. And just as he only spent six hours on that wooden cross, he would only spend a short amount of time in that tomb. The Bible tells us three days and three nights. On Easter Sunday morning, Jesus arose from the dead and he is alive today with power to save anyone who will believe on his name. Because of his death, burial, and resurrection, listen, he's not merely a king. Nor is He just the King of the Jews, no, He is King of all kings and He is Lord of all lords. The Bible tells us of a day still to come. Revelation 19 and verse number 16, and it says this, and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Oh, if you were to have beheld him that day, if you would have read that sign, and if you would have seen him in the condition that he was in, you would have thought, what kind of king is this? Look a little closer. Read the rest of the book. Believe the rest of the book and understand he's not from Nazareth. And he's not even just the king of the Jews. In fact, his kingdom is not of this world. And he did suffer that day, and he did believe that day, and he did die that day, but he's not still dead. No, on Easter Sunday morning, he arose with power to save anyone who will come to him and who will believe on his name. As we conclude tonight, is he your king? You can give him the rightful seat to the throne of your life this very night. Someday, the Bible tells us, every knee will bow before him, and every tongue will confess, he is who I have proclaimed him to be tonight. He is who the Bible claims him to be, but for some, maybe, I hope not, I pray not, but maybe even for someone in this room, it will be too late. Uh-oh, you'll still bow before Him and with your tongue you'll still proclaim that He is Lord, but your fate will have already been sealed by your refusal to repent of your sin and place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll be looking at a Christless eternity in a place the Bible calls the Lake of Fire. You can avoid all of that tonight. His resurrection, the empty tomb, the stone rolled away proves that he is the only king who has the power to save anyone who comes to him by faith. John 1.12 says this, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.