John 18:1-19:42

Good Friday |  April 7, 2023 | John 18:1-19:42 | Judson F Merrell |

The Old Testament tells us that in order to become King of Israel a person must be anointed as King and then proclaimed King (1 Samuel 9-10).  Matthew, Mark and Luke all have the baptism story of Jesus. They all include the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus at his baptism.  The Gospel account of John doesn’t specifically have the story of Jesus’ baptism, but John the Baptist does give a witness account of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus.  Following Luke’s timeline, after his baptism Jesus is tempted in the wilderness and then is rejected in his hometown.  He came to Nazareth, went to synagogue on the Sabbath day as he was supposed to do, and read from the Isaiah scroll:

¹⁸ „The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.“ (Luke 4:18-19 ESV)

In the reading of this text, Jesus makes it known to his hometown that is has been anointed as King.  God has fulfilled the first half of the requirement to be King of Israel.  Living under this anointment, Jesus then goes into the world doing the very things he said he would:  he give sight to the blind, he heals the sick, he forgives the sins of those who are cast out of society and oppressed.  He brings people closer to God by proclaiming that the kingdom has come near.  But it is not until he hangs on the cross that the final part of the requirements to become king is fulfilled.

John records in Chapter 19 what happens as Jesus is crucified:

¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

¹⁹ Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, „Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.“ ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, „Do not write, ‚The King of the Jews,‘ but rather, ‚This man said, I am King of the Jews.'“ ²² Pilate answered, „What I have written I have written.“ (John 19:18-22 ESV)

Pilate, the very man who washed his hands of the crucifixion, becomes the instrument of God’s plan to have his Son be the fulfillment of the promise he made to David:  that a member of his house would reign forever.  Pilate, the Roman Authority, becomes the one who proclaims Jesus as King of the Jews.  In doing so, he fulfills all the requirements set forth by God to be King, and Jesus’ seat on the Throne of the Glory in the Kingdom of God is forever solidified.

As we grieve our Lord’s death tonight and tomorrow, we do with a little bit of celebration.  We give thanks for God working through people like John the Baptist and Pilate.  We give thanks that God has fulfilled his promise to David.  We give thanks that our Lord reigns forever as King.  But mostly we humble ourselves by remembering that our Lord took on a yoke that we cannot bear, so that we may one day live with him in his kingdom forever.  On this Good Friday, our Lord underwent a grueling death so that we may be saved from our sins.  He did all this not because we deserve it, but because God loves us that much.  As we celebrate the anointed and proclaimed King of Glory, may our words and deeds always be focused on Him.  For it is in Him alone that our hope lies.  In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS