Lent 2008 – The Gospel According to Jesus' Enemies

"INRI"

Text: John 19:17-22

Christ, the Life of all the living, Christ, the Death of death, our foe,

Who, Thyself for me once giving to the darkest depths of woe,

Through Thy suff'rings, death and merit I eternal life inherit:

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee. Amen. (TLH 151)

Dear Fellow Recipients of the gift of forgiveness:

The theme for our meditations this Lenten season is "The Gospel According to Jesus' Enemies." This evening we further explore that theme by examining the taunting, derisive, mocking sign that Pilate affixed to the cross above the head of our dying Lord: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The text that will form the basis for our meditation this evening is found in the 19^th Chapter of John's Gospel:

John 19:17-22 And He (Jesus) bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸ where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. ¹⁹ Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰ Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. ²¹ Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews." ' " ²² Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

These are the verbally inspired words of our God. Confident that our God will bless us through the study of these holy words, so we ask him for that very blessing when we pray, “Sanctify us through your truth, O Lord. Your word is truth.” Amen.

Fellow Christians:

The enemy of Jesus that we examine this evening was the Roman Governor of Judea during the time of Christ, Pontius Pilate. Of all of Jesus' enemies, Pilate is one of the least likely. In fact he probably didn't consider himself an enemy at all. The Passion History tells us that he actually wanted to release Jesus – for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, he recognized that Jesus was innocent – and freely confessed as much, publicly. Second, he recognized that the Jews had handed him over for prosecution not because he had committed any crime, but because of their jealously and hatred toward him. Third, Pilate's own wife relayed to him what Pilate no doubt took to be a message from some pagan Roman god that Jesus was not to be harmed. All of which makes Pontius Pilate a very unlikely enemy indeed.

In fact the impression that you get of Pilate is that he tried everything he could to let Jesus go – short of just honorably declaring his innocence and releasing him. He offered to whip Jesus bloody to appease his enemies' thirst for violence. He tried to arrange for Jesus' release by nominating him for the role of "the prisoner released at the Passover." He even tried to abdicate his responsibility altogether by sending Jesus to Herod, who was something of a rival governor over the northern province of Galilee, where Jesus spent his youth. All of these schemes failed, yet the impression that Pilate was something of an unwilling accomplice remains. To put it another way, had the Jews not adamantly demanded Jesus' death, Pilate would never have condemned him.

Does that make Pilate innocent? Hardly. Does it mean that he was not, when all was said and done, an enemy of our Lord? He most certainly was. What we thereby learn can be most valuable to us. To be an enemy of Jesus Christ is an eternal death sentence, since all who reject Jesus reject also the one salvation plan available to mankind. To put it another way, to oppose Jesus Christ is to choose hell. The sobering lesson that we learn in connection with Pontius Pilate is that we can actually oppose Jesus Christ (and thereby choose hell) in a variety of ways.

Mankind would like to believe that neutrality toward Christ is acceptable. In other words, if I do not consciously say, "I reject Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior" then I am really not his enemy. Not so. Procrastination and apathy actually carry the same consequences as blatant rejection.

Think of it this way. Imagine yourself sitting in the departure lounge at an airport. They are beginning to board the flight, but you wait – for whatever reason. The boarding continues to the final call, and still you wait – indecisive and yet unconcerned. Never during the course of boarding do you ever harbor the conviction that you are not going to get on the plane; you are always just waiting. Any minute now you will board. There's plenty of time. Eventually the doors are closed, the plane taxies onto the runway, takes off, and you've missed your flight. Does it matter that you never made the conscious decision to miss the flight? Clearly not. Any way you look at it, you're not on board.

The point here is not that anyone can "decide for Jesus" – we can't. The Holy Spirit alone can work such faith. The point is that human beings do have the terrible power to reject Jesus and choose damnation. Apathy and procrastination will land a human being in the same hell as those who consciously and belligerently reject Jesus as Savior and Lord. Apathy and procrastination are alternate forms of rejection.

Some questions therefore need to be answered if we are to learn what our God would here teach us in connection with actions of Pontius Pilate and our text for this evening:

Who sentenced Jesus to death? Pilate.

Who will have to bear the terrible burden for that sin if not Jesus himself? Pilate.

What sort of absolution did Pilate gain for himself by physically washing his hands of Jesus? None at all.

What lesson would our God here have us learn? Shifting the blame for our own sins onto another is in no way valid or effective in the eyes of our God; nor is simply declaring ourselves to be innocent.

In fact it is most interesting to note that if this line of reasoning was actually valid, and then extended to all participants in our Lord's Passion, almost everyone would be absolved of any and all guilt in connection with the death of Jesus. You and I didn't call for his death, so we are not guilty. Pilate didn't really want to condemn him (and he washed his hands, after all) so he is not guilty. The Jewish crowd was just acting at the behest of their spiritual leaders, so they were not guilty. Judas didn't realize that his betrayal would result in the death of his Lord (and when he finally did realize what was happening he felt real bad) therefore he is not guilty. The Roman soldiers were just carrying out orders, so they are not guilty. And even the Jewish leaders acted in ignorance, so they are not guilty either. In the end, it was clearly all one big, confusing, mix-up and nobody is to blame.

Apathetic, indifferent, spiritually dead human beings would all love to image that it is so. God tells us otherwise. This is our first lesson – and our first warning – in examining the actions of Pilate on Good Friday: there is no excuse, no justification, for sin, and our sins of apathy and indifference are just as damning as any other sin.

There is another truth in Scripture that applies here: "By their fruits you will know them."

Which brings us to the sign. You may have noticed that on the back of the bulletin the title of this sermon is listed simply as "INRI." The letters represent an acronym. Since we read that Pilate wrote his sign in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (to make sure that all would be able to understand his message) the Church has adopted a Latin acronym of this sign as one of our sacred mottos. The letters INRI represent the Latin: IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM, which of course translates into English as: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews".

Here then, once again, we in the Christian Church have taken that which was intended in one way and use it today in a much different sense. How did Pilate intend these words? Almost certainly as a bitter, sarcastic mockery directed as much at the Jews as at Jesus himself. Did Pilate actually believe that Jesus was a king? We have no way of knowing. What we do know is that the world will always despise that which appears to be weak. In Pilate's eyes, therefore, the validity of Jesus' claim to royalty made no difference whatsoever; what mattered to Pilate was that Jesus appeared weak, impotent, and ineffective. According to Pilate, therefore, what earthly good is a kingly title in the absence of kingly power? What is it, in other words, that makes a king a king?

So Pilate wrote his sign, and we have adopted it. Why? To remind us of a different, far greater power than that which is seen and acknowledged by the world around us. We acknowledge Jesus Christ as the King of all earthly kings and the Lord of all earthly lords – the Supreme Power in heaven and on earth. We also recognize that Jesus was accomplishing the task his Father sent him to complete. His apparent weakness was actually a demonstration of the only power that could save the entire human race. Jesus himself communicated this truth to Pilate, but whether or not Pilate actually got it is certainly in doubt. Our Lord did so when he told Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." You will recall that Pilate, imaging himself to be quite clever, replied to Jesus, "You are a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate replied with his infamously cynical: "What is truth/" (John 18:36-38)

The sort of truth to which Jesus witnessed was simply beyond Pilate's natural ability to comprehend – as it is in fact beyond the capability of all unbelievers to comprehend. Human beings see with their eyes and develop their own reality accordingly. They recognize no power or strength beyond what they themselves regard as powerful and strong. God, of course, sees things differently. Paul put it this way to those Corinthian Christians who had become enamored of earthly philosophy, power, and prestige: "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God -- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- ³¹ that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

The unbelieving world of Jesus' day ridiculed the very Son of God and summarily rejected his claim to royalty because of the appearance of impotence in his arrest, trial, and death. He was, after all, taken without a struggle, condemned without opposition, and executed without interference as a common criminal. What is more, every single one of his followers had demonstrated that which, to all the world, looked like pure cowardice when they abandoned their Master and fled.

The world still looks at the Christian religion – our religion – and at Christians themselves in much the same way. They look at us and see weaklings who are unable to take what we really want by force, and therefore adopt some sour-grapes nonsense about a life after this life where we will finally get to be the rulers. But then that is what they would see, isn’t it – in Jesus and in us? Weaklings. Cowards. Failures. Our response? To adopt the sign first placed by Pilate as our own. Our answer to their charges? That was first voiced by Paul, and we echo it still today: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" (Romans 1:16-17)

INRI – "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews"? Absolutely! My King, my Lord, my Savior. Amen.