What area of your life do you struggle to surrender to Christ as your King? Where do you need his innocence applied to your life the most? How has Jesus been speaking to you through his Word?
As we study the Gospel of Luke we are confronted with the character of Jesus and we are forced to make decisions regarding what we will do with him. We learn that Jesus is the King over all creation and we are forced to decide what we will do with him as the king. We can submit and surrender our lives to him or we can reject and refuse him as the king of our lives and place ourselves on the throne. We learn that Jesus was our innocent sacrificial substitute, given so that the power, presence and penalty of sin could be defeated in our lives. We can either apply his innocent sacrifice to our lives or we can project our sinfulness onto him in abusive ways. We also learn that Jesus was silent in his suffering. He didn’t argue his case before his enemies when he was on trial. And in learning this we are reminded that God has spoken through his Word and Jesus was the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us and if we continue to ignore his Word then we risk the truth that someday Christ will be silent towards us as we continue to sin against him and make him into our enemy.
Look at Luke 23:1 – 12…
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
In our previous passage (22:63-71), Jesus’ enemies dragged the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, into court as their suffering captive. God in the flesh was placed on trial with his creation standing in judgment against him. Jesus, the one and only eternal God, who is full of power and authority, who came to save sinners as the suffering Savior, was accused of blaspheming himself by the very people he had created and the question we were left with after examining Luke’s portrayal of these events was: “Do you know this Jesus?”
And in these verses that we have before us today, the question remains. “Do you know this Jesus? And furthermore, what will you do with this Jesus?” Luke wants us to know for sure that Jesus was not a lunatic. He was not just a good teacher or a good prophet either, although these statements about Jesus are certainly true, we must understand that if he is in fact a good teacher or a good prophet then the claims he made about himself must certainly produce a response in everyone who comes into contact with him. In the verses we have before us today, Luke continues to build out the picture of who Jesus is and the response he demands from people who come into contact with him. In other words, Luke tells us that Jesus is the King and the only innocent man who suffered silently for you and I. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you surrender to him or reject him? Will you apply his innocence to your guilt like a healing ointment or will you project your sinfulness onto him? Will you listen to his Word or will he be silent to you? What will you do with this Jesus?
1: What Will You Do With Jesus The King? (1-3)
Will you drag him into the kangaroo court of the intelligence that he gave you? Will you stand in false accusation against him? Will you prop him up in the court of popular human opinion? Jesus is the King who stands in authority and eternal reign over your intelligence, your thoughts and your opinions.
The angel of the Lord, when he spoke to Mary, Jesus’ mother, earlier in Luke’s gospel (1:30-35) said “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.’” In other words, Jesus is the King who stands in absolute authority over all created things.
And yet, Luke tells us in our current text that Jesus’ enemies “arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.’” An encounter with Jesus Christ who is the King over all things demands a response. Demands action. Demands reaction. Even the reaction to sit on the sidelines silently is a response. And the response of Jesus’ enemies to his claims of Kingship was to drag him into the court of public appeal and falsely accuse him of stirring up a rebellion not only against his own people, the Jews, but also against the Roman government, which is why they dragged him in front of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
Jesus’ enemies had already decided that Jesus was guilty of their false accusations. They had already put Jesus through their own legal court system and they had decided that he needed to die for the trumped up charges they had leveled against him. But they couldn’t execute anyone without the consent of the Roman government. So they had to drag Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate and make their case against Jesus to him so that they could hopefully get the death sentence that their hearts craved for.
How does Pilate respond to Jesus the King? Luke tells us that, “Pilate asked (Jesus), ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ And he answered him, ‘You have said so.’” Pilate has heard the accusation against Jesus. He’s heard the rumor. He’s heard the prosecuting attorney. So he asks the defendant “Are you the King that your accusers say you are?” And Jesus’ answers by saying “What you just said about me is true. I cannot argue with you. I am the King of the Jews.” This claim by Jesus demands a response. Pilate cannot ignore this claim. The Jews cannot ignore this claim. You and I cannot ignore this claim. When someone claims to be the King you and I must respond.
What Is Your Response To Jesus The King?
You can write Jesus off as a heretic. You can treat him like a lunatic. You can believe that he was severely misled. You can ignore his claims of Kingship and continue on about your merry way. But you must understand that when you do this you are in fact responding to the demands of Christ the King and your response at this point is total rejection of his rightful rule and reign over your life. Jesus is the King who stands in authority and eternal reign over your intelligence, your thoughts and your opinions. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you surrender to him or reject him?
2: What Will You Do With Jesus The Innocent Man? (4-7)
Jesus is not only the King who demands your response but he is also the innocent man who demands your response. This is the reality that Pilate had to face. Pilate was a ruthless and barbaric Roman ruler who often crucified in excess of 30 plus peoples a day if he thought they had committed any crime of treason. And now the Jews are coming to him in a murderous rage and asking him to help them enact the death penalty on a dude who claims to be the king they never wanted. Is Jesus guilty of a crime or is he an innocent man?
To Pilate, Jesus doesn’t appear to be guilty of any crime against Rome unless he really is inciting people not to pay tribute to Caesar. To Pilate, Jesus has only claimed to be the king of the Jews. Jesus admitted no other claim. He didn’t freak out on the witness stand and curse Rome or the Roman governor. This is not a matter of national interest. This is a religious debate in Pilate’s eyes. Jesus is an innocent man who demands a response.
So Pilate says “to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no guilt in this man.’ But they (the Jews) were urgent, saying, ‘He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.’ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.” Pilate states that Jesus is an innocent man which results in Jesus’ enemies getting even more worked up which then results in Pilate passing the responsibility to Herod. Jesus the innocent man demands a response. When confronted with the innocence of Jesus Christ some people will acknowledge his innocence while others will fly into blind rage while others will shrug their shoulders and attempt to shift themselves away from the reality and the truth of Christ’s innocence.
What Is Your Response To Jesus The Innocent Man?
Do you acknowledge Christ’s innocence while simultaneously brushing him off? Do you ignore the counsel of Scripture that teaches us that Christ was a perfect, innocent, spotless sacrifice? Does this truth regarding Christ’s innocence cause you to grieve your sin against the God who gave himself for you? Are you stuck in the cycle of compounding false arguments and accusations against Christ? Jesus is the innocent man who demands a response. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you apply his innocence to your guilt like a healing ointment or will you project your sinfulness onto him?
3: What Will You Do With Jesus The Silent Sufferer? (8-12)
Jesus is definitely the King who stands in authority and eternal reign over your intelligence, your thoughts and your opinions and he is definitely the only perfectly innocent man who ever walked this Earth. But he was also the one who suffered great injustice in total silence. When his enemies abused him he was silent. When his enemies accused him he was silent. When his enemies mocked him he was silent. When his enemies treated him like a circus sideshow he was silent. What will you do with this Jesus?
Luke tells us that after kangaroo court of the Jews and after the forced trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus’ enemies took him over to Herod’s mansion for further prosecution. Luke says that “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.” Herod was an evil Jewish ruler who was responsible for beheading John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, after he had confronted Herod for his sinful relationship with his brother’s wife. This Herod was only interested in Jesus as a form of entertainment. He hoped Jesus would do parlor tricks for him to pass the time.
But when Jesus refused to perform for Herod with “The chief priests and the scribes (sanding by) vehemently accusing him… Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.” You see? An encounter with Jesus demands a response. The Jews wanted Jesus dead. Pilate wanted Jesus out of his hair. Herod wanted to be entertained. And in the midst of all of this, Jesus stands there silently. Jesus stands there silently uniting his enemies into a deeper evil hatred towards him while simultaneously giving us who have heard his voice a great hope because we have a Savior who went before us and experienced the pain and the agony of being falsely accused, wrongfully condemned, beaten and bruised, mocked and shamed, questioned and rejected. This is Jesus. What will you do with this Jesus?
What Is Your Response To Jesus The Silent Sufferer?
Are you looking to Jesus for some form of entertainment? Is Jesus just another social experience for you? Is he just another fad to chase after? Is he another fix for you to use and abuse? Is he your partner in your sinful quest to conquer and consume thing after thing after thing or person after person after person as you try to quench your thirst for more? Can you see him standing there silently suffering amidst the sin and the abuse that humanity has hurled at him? Jesus is the silent sufferer. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you listen to his Word or will he be silent to you?
Final Observations…
All of Jesus’ enemies in these final portions of Luke’s gospel had had the opportunity to hear Jesus’ words and encounter him in the flesh as the King, the innocent man and the silent sufferer and they were forced to decide what they would do with this Jesus. That is the question we are left with today. What will we do with this Jesus who is the King? What will we do with this Jesus who is an innocent man? What will we do with this Jesus who is the silent sufferer?
Will you surrender your life to Christ as your King renouncing your sin and begging him to save you? Or will stand in open defiance of your rightful King demanding that he bow down to you? Will you be broken by the truth that this innocent Jesus gave his life willingly for you so that you could be adopted and transformed from an enemy of Christ into a son or daughter of God? Or will you continue in open rebellion and war against God as his enemy? Will you repent from recreating God into the image of whatever desire you want him to satisfy? Or will you continue to walk further and further away from him wondering why he won’t speak to you any longer?
Jesus is the King and the only innocent man who suffered silently for you and I. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you surrender to him or reject him? Will you apply his innocence to your guilt like a healing ointment or will you project your sinfulness onto him? Will you listen to his Word or will he be silent to you? What will you do with this Jesus?