The King Who Pardons His Enemies as His First Act in Office

The Roman Trial and Inscription Over Jesus’ Cross

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. Our text tonight is taken.

From the gospel of John chapter 19. So Pilate delivered Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and He went out bearing His own cross to the place called the Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

There they crucified Him with Him, two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city.

And it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the King of the Jews, but rather this man said I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written I have written.

Christ’s Coronation in Weakness and Shame

In the name of Jesus. Amen. Now normally in human terms, coronations are a big deal. Now we Americans, I have noted in the past, we don't really get along too well with monarchies, at least monarchs over us.

We got rid of them and we're now self-governed if you would, and boy are we doing a splendid job at that. Anyway, all of that being said, I would have to make allusions to history that is a little unfamiliar for we Americans.

And I would note, I've watched the Netflix series The Crown, and I noted well the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and that was a fascinating thing, and I'll note also in my lifetime so far, we have not seen a new monarch in the United Kingdom arise.

But when we think about coronations and things like that, that's a splendid affair. I sometimes think of the coronation of Napoleon. Have you seen it depicted in artwork? You would think the fellow thought he was a deity on Earth.

That's kind of the way that all went down. But you're going to note here, we in the United States, we don't have coronations, we have inaugurations and usually if a president is less than virtuous, things start off well, and they don't generally end well.

You know how it goes. They maybe fight a war, win a war, or something like that, but then you learn about how certain things weren't ethically done, and then by the end, they kind of slink out of office, and the last thing they do, out come the presidential pardons.

That's always the last thing, because everybody's scandalized by the list. The people who are getting off, the people who are not going to be prosecuted, the people who the president has given his well, you can't prosecute this person, they're going to be able to get away with murder, and sometimes literally.

So you get the idea. Things kind of go differently along those lines. But you'll note that human beings who start off well, don't always end well when it comes to being in charge. And so we'll note here, something is different about Jesus.

The order in which he does things, and the coronation that he's chosen for himself, and we'll note that even the official Roman governor recognizes properly who Jesus is, but Jesus isn't like the monarchs of our world.

So our text, it says that Pilate delivered Jesus over to be crucified, and we'll note that when we get towards the end of our meditation tonight, that we'll take a look at some of the details, finer details of Christ's coronation itself, the one that he chose, and that he was bearing his cross to the place called the skull.

And there, Pilate ordered something to be written above Christ's cross, written in three languages, and the inscription said, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Wow, was he right. I mean, we know that Jesus is the heir to the Davidic kingdom.

He is the son of David. If the Davidic kingdom had continued on, Jesus would have been inaugurated, coronated the king. But here we have the official Roman governor, occupation force, if you would. They recognize properly who Jesus is.

That's the charge. He's being charged with being a competing king. But, well, the Jews, they're pretty upset about this, and said no, no, say that he said that he was the king, not that he is. And see, that's kind of the thing here.

You'll note that, well, Pilate gets it right, but it's not like he gets credit for it. And those who recognize what is being said, they want to quiet it up. And so, I think about that Psalm, Psalm 2, which we read together today.

Why do the nations rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain? And the thing is, is that we do this, too. So don't think this isn't talking about us. Because all of the different ways in which we plot and scheme to not bend the knee to King Jesus in what he has expressly stated is his will for us, in all of those ways we do things, we're doing this in vanity.

The kings, though, the kings of the earth, they set themselves and the rulers, they take counsel together against Yahweh and against his Messiah, saying, let us burst their bonds apart, let us cast their cords from us.

And I would note that this seems to be happening in spades nowadays. How dare God tell me that I was born a man and that I'm a man? I want to be something different. Right. Okay. Yeah, we see how this works.

But note then, and these are terrifying words, he who sits in the heavens laughs. And it's not because he has a sense of humor. I don't care what Rick Warren has preached in the past on that sentence.

It was not in context. He who sits in the heavens laughs. And the reason why is because the Lord holds them in derision. He will speak to them in his wrath and he will terrify them in his fury, saying, as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.

And I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. All of it.

From Australia to the United States to the United Kingdom, India down into Africa, all the way over to China. All of it. God the Father is going to hand it all over to God the Son and he will have possession of it.

And it says this of Christ, that he will break them with the rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. So much for care bear Jesus. That doesn't sound very inclusive, tolerant, or loving by any of the world's standards.

But this is the thing. And so you'll note when we confess in the creed, we confess that Jesus is going to return in what? Glory. Glory. To judge the living and the dead. This then invokes for us images of power, images of wrath, images of judgment.

And all of that is correct. You'll note that Christ returning in glory isn't the gospel. Now granted, for all who are in Christ, it will be, well, like the liberation forces arriving and finally setting us free from the tyranny of the devil.

That's what it will be like. But that's not the good news. So when we see King Jesus flexing his power, and you'll note that his conquering comes at the end of the world, which doesn't make any sense, at least not by any human standards, that when he does come, this is to exact justice.

This is to judge. And so these words are written in warning to me, written in warning to you. Again, it is a call for us to repent. It is a call for us to recognize that we are powerless to keep King Jesus from taking dominion over his creation.

And he's already enthroned at the right hand of the Father. So the psalmist writes, therefore, O kings, therefore, O lay people, mere citizens, be wise, be warned. Serve the Lord with fear. Rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way. His wrath is quickly kindled. But the psalm ends not with justice, not with something to cause us to fear. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

And that's what we have done. We've taken refuge in King Jesus. This kind of backwards king, one that it would be easy to think of him in lowly terms and not see truly who he is. And I would remind everybody that in Revelation 19, we get a fuller picture of what Christ's dashing of the potsherds looks like.

In Revelation 19, verse 11, it says,. And I saw the heaven opened. Behold, a white horse, and one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. And yeah, Jesus goes to war.

War with all those who persist in sin and unbelief. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written that no one knows except for himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God.

Same language, same title that we found in John chapter 1. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure. They were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty, and on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.". Kind of awesome, right? He even has his own branding, his own merch.

It's even better than Nike. King of Kings, Lord of Lords. That's who he is. But these images, again, because of our sinfulness, because of all of the ways in which we daily do not keep his commandments, daily do not hear his word, daily our prayers falter, daily our love for God and our love for neighbor also is weak and anemic at best.

We hear images like this and you get that little knot in your stomach, that little catch in your throat, and you're thinking, yeah, this doesn't sound very good. And so I remind you that it was, for sure, Pilate who called it.

But it was Pilate who presided over Christ's coronation, and his coronation is one that does bring us some kind of comfort, some kind of peace. Because rather than being crowned in glory, he returns in glory.

Instead, Jesus is crowned in weakness. His first act is to go to the cross and to die, which is completely backwards. Usually kings end their reign with their death, but Christ begins his reign with his death.

And rather than waiting to pardon people at the end, Christ front loads all the pardons at the beginning. He's very different than any of the rulers of the earth. In John 19, starting at verse 1, it says, Pilate took Jesus and he flogged him, Christ's bleeding suffering for the enemies of God, for his enemies has begun.

The soldiers then twisted a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe. And they came up to him saying, Hail, king of the Jews. And they struck him with their hands. This is Christ's coronation.

Being king of kings and lord of lords, he could have chosen any coronation for himself. And this is the one he chose. He chose to be flogged. He chose to be beaten. He chose to be mocked. He chose to bleed and to die for his enemies so that we can be pardoned.

And although they said to him, Hail, king of the Jews, mockingly the words they spoke were true. Because that is indeed who Jesus is. So Pilate brought him out and said, See, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.

The verdict was innocent. So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said to them, Behold the man. By earthly standards it's just horrifying. This is a mocking that is so blasphemous.

And yet at the same time what we meant for evil, Christ has worked for good. Pilate was right. Behold the man indeed. Behold our king. But the chief priests and the officers when they saw him they cried out, Crucify him.

Crucify him. Pilate said to them, Take him yourself and crucify him. I find no guilt in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law and according to that law he ought to die because he made himself the son of God.

But he didn't. He is the son of God. Even the psalmist in Psalm 2 says, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. So when Pilate heard this he was even more afraid. He entered the headquarters again and said to Jesus, Where are you from?

And Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? And here's the important part. Jesus answered, You would have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above.

Everything that is happening to Jesus is going according to plan. And so that next time you see Jesus in artwork depicted standing with a royal robe and a crown of thorns before everybody and Pilate saying, Behold the man.

See this for what it is. The coronation that Christ has chosen for himself. And this is important because again when we think of kings we think of glory. But Christ has chosen his coronation in shame.

The shame that you and I deserve because of our sin so that we can be clothed in his glorious righteousness when he returns in glory. So that we can be pardoned, have peace with God and not be broken to pieces like his enemies on the day that he returns.

So today is not the day of Christ's glory because Christ has chosen to hold that day to some day in the predetermined future. But he hasn't arrived yet. So today is not the day of the glory of King Jesus.

Today again is the day of salvation. The day of mercy. The day of peace. The day of the lowly king who's crowned in thorns. Bleeding, dying so that you and I can live. Today is a day we think of Christ not in the glory that he will be but in the gloriousness of his humbleness.

It's a good thing. It is a good thing. So when we think about Christ being declared king, there's a lot of different layers to it. But they don't contradict each other. They hold together paradoxically and we do confess that he will return in glory.

And because he was the lowly king who was beaten, flogged, crucified, died, buried, and risen, we also will rise and be with him when he returns. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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