Sunday, March 17, 2023

John 19:1–16

In 1 John 2:17 (ESV), the apostle tells us, “the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

We have to remind ourselves of this truth daily, lest we take our eyes off Jesus!

We are in a sermon series called Glory, in which we have been exploring the final chapters of John. Throughout John’s Gospel, we have seen “the world” unite to oppose Jesus. Rome and Pontius Pilate are part of the world. Judas Iscariot the false brother is part of the world. But we have also seen an unlikely ally to the world: the chief priests and religious aristocrats that John calls “The Jews.” Jesus has reasoned with the chief priests and called them to repentance, but their hearts have been set on rejecting him and opposing his ministry.

Why were the chief priests so opposed to Jesus? Because they had been caught up in the world and its desires. The wealth, power, and status associated with the priesthood had become too important to them, and when Jesus challenged those things, they were unable to humble themselves and turn back to God.

In John 19:1–16, the chief priests make their final stand against Jesus. Pontius Pilate doesn’t think Jesus poses a threat to civil order and proposes flogging him and letting him go. But the chief priests won’t stand for it. Their hearts have hardened against Jesus and they are committed to his death. In their opposition to Jesus, they find themselves partnering with their mortal enemy, Rome. The passage shows us the depths to which we can fall when the world captures our hearts.

There is a lesson and a warning to us in John 19. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, lest the world capture our heart! Fortunately, we serve a powerful God who is before all and above all, and his kingdom has no end!

Join us this week as we dive into Jesus’s trial before Pontius Pilate and remind ourselves how we can keep our eyes on the one with true authority to give life.

See you on Sunday!

Service times are at 9:00 & 11:00. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch live at those times.