Christ on the Cross, King or Criminal?
by Mark Parsec(351)
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John 12:12-19 The Triumphal Entry
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt."
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt."
16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"
On Palm Sunday, Christians celebrate the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the long awaited King in fulfillment of the Scriptures which foretold of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 9:7, Jeremiah 23:5, Daniel 7:14). The followers of Jesus cheered and celebrated. This was the man who had performed great and marvelous miracles, even raising Lazarus to life after being dead for four days. They waved palm branches in the air and laid palm branches on the ground before him, today’s equivalent of rolling out the red carpet.
However, not everyone was happy that Jesus had arrived. No, the Pharisees were quite upset. To them Jesus was no king he was a clown. He was not Messiah he was a menace. He was a threat.
If Jesus was a king, where was his army? Where was his palace? Where was his throne? Jesus had nothing, not even a rock for a pillow. Jesus was meek and lowly… he was poor! Besides, Jesus didn’t even LOOK like a king. EVERYBODY knows what a king is supposed to look like! They wear the most elegant royal vestments of red and white, purple and gold, silk and satin, velvet and lace. They have long flowing robes. They have brilliant necklaces, and rings, and crowns of glittering gold and sparkling silver, bejeweled with the most magnificent emeralds, rubies and diamonds.
Kingly AttireNo… Jesus had none of these things and because of that he was rejected by the ruling religious aristocracy of his day and they conspired to have him assassinated, crucified upon a cross.
But, others knew who Jesus was.
The three wise men knew who Jesus was when during his infancy they proclaimed, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2).
Nathaniel knew who Jesus was. In John 1:47-49 we are told…
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Even the great multitudes that followed Jesus knew that he was King. They knew that he had given sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the mute. They knew he had healed the lame and the sick and the afflicted. They knew he had cast out demons, calmed the storm and walked on water. And, when Jesus had fed the crowd of over 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two small fish the people knew they wanted him to be their King. Regarding this we are told in John 6:14-15 that…
14After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
When given the chance to be installed as king Jesus declined. And this wasn’t the first or only time that Jesus passed up the opportunity to be recognized as king. So, if Jesus was truly the king why had he declined the previous occasions to be proclaimed as such?
Matthew 4:8-10 gives us a clue…
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
When given a chance to have a position of supreme power, and honor, and glory greater even than that of Caesar, Jesus refused. Jesus had no desire for the kingdoms of this world and he had no interest in their splendor. Jesus knew that to accept such a position would require him to sell his soul to the devil. Instead, Jesus commanded the devil to flee.
So very often, the devil tries to deceive us into believing that positions and titles, power and wealth, and material things are important and of great value to our identity. But they are not. What God considers to be important and what man considers to be important are often contrary to one another.
In Isaiah 55:8-9 the God tells us…
8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
The religious establishment didn’t recognize Jesus for who He was on that day almost 2,000 years ago when he entered into Jerusalem as King. They were hoping for a king that would make them rich and powerful and the envy of all nations. Instead, Jesus was saying if you wanted to be the greatest you needed to become the servant of all, and if you wanted to be perfect to sell all you had and give the money to the poor.
When given the choice of releasing Jesus the Christ or Barabbas the criminal the religious leaders cried out for the criminal. When asked what they wanted to do with their king, the religious leaders cried out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Instead of loved and adored, He was beaten and scourged. Instead of a crown of gold, He wore a crown of thorns. Instead of a regal robe, He wore a blood stained body. Instead of a throne, He had a cross. And to add insult to injury, instead of the vestments of a king, his visage was marred more than any man as he hung naked by the nails that pierced his hands and feet. And over his head was a sign that proclaimed...
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Many people picture Christ on the cross with a loincloth, but that is not the way it was. Part of the intent of the crucifixion was to utterly humiliate the victim. Christ the King did not have a stitch of clothing on when he was crucified. He hung naked on the cross, covered in blood and sweat, urine and excrement, with nothing but flies to attend him.
That was the King… naked and dying upon the cross.
The King on the CrossSometimes Christians think that dressing up in our finest clothes for church on Sunday is somehow going to impress God. But, frankly, I think He could care less about what we wear. He is looking at our hearts.
In Hebrews 4:13 (NLT) we are told,
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
We stand naked before the King of kings. He knows everything that there is to know about us. He knows every inch of our body and He knows our every action, thought, emotion and deed. And as we stand before Him, we have a decision to make. The question is shall we receive Him as the King of our lives or shall we crucify Him to the cross?
Who shall you release into your life? Christ the King or the Barabbas that lies within you? Who shall you serve? The King or the Criminal? If we continue to serve sin then we are the ones guilty of crying out… “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Are you going to pronounce Him King or Criminal? The choice is yours.
Article submitted Saturday, March 27, 2010 & read 206 times.
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