Week 7: Jesus The Sacrificial Lamb
Matthew 27:11-31, Mark 15:1-20, Luke 23:1-25, John 18:28-19:16
Isaiah 53:5 tells us that the Messiah would be “pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Jesus fulfilled that prophecy in every way, but as we see Him before Pilate in today’s passage, the beginning of the end is revealed.
After being beaten, spat on, and betrayed by the Sanhedrin, Judas, and Peter, Jesus finds Himself before both Pilate and Herod based on treason against Caesar and blasphemy according to the high priest. Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, had the positional authority to issue a death sentence, yet despite his authority, Jesus didn’t tremble before Pilate or Herod. God had given Pilate the authority to crucify Jesus, and Jesus trusted it wasn’t by accident (Acts 4:27-28). Jesus didn’t need to fear what lay ahead because of the God He knew personally, the God that was for Him, for us. Jesus knew the Father was in control; He knew the Lord to be trustworthy.
Neither Pilate nor Herod necessarily went out of their way to sentence Jesus to the cross, but they were heavily influenced by the crowds that begged them to. Through their passing Jesus back and forth, Luke 23:12 tells us that they became friends despite long-standing division between them, fulfilling Psalm 2:1-2. Eventually, Pilate, “wishing to satisfy the crowd,” delivered Jesus into the hands of the Sanhedrin to be crucified, not on a basis of guilt, but for the personal desire to build his own kingdom (Mark 15:15). Our hearts harden to truth when we care more about our worldly position than our Heavenely inheritance. Here we see Pilate succumb to that reality.
John Piper tells us, “This is the climax of — the reason for — existence: the Son of God bore all the suffering of the world in order to lift sin from all who would trust him, bringing them into everlasting reward and joy, exquisitely, in a new heavens and a new earth, glorifying God for his wisdom and grace and love. That’s the reason this world exists the way it exists”. Nothing is by mistake.
The betrayal of Jesus wasn’t by mistake. The beating of Jesus wasn’t an accident. The sentence of crucifixion for Jesus wasn’t unforeseen by our God. Resonate, our God is in control, and He has proven to be trustworthy. The cross was His decision; He chose the cross. His future is secure, and so He proceeds without fear (2 Timothy 1:7).
May we believe God goes before us in all things, and live without fear.
