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T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S sented Him to the people. (John 19:5) “Behold the man.”- (Isa. 53:3.) “ He is despised and rejected o f m en; a m an of sorrow s, and acquainted w ith g r ie f; and w e hid a s it w ere our fa ce s from him ; he w a s despised, and w e es teemed him not.” The garb of mockery could not hide the real kingly bearing of the Son of God, but the cruel hatred of the Jews was not satisfied. They cried, “Cru cify Him!” (3) THE CHRIST AND THE CROSS. “And they crucified Him.” . Within the walls of the modern city, but outside of the ancient city on Cal vary, He was crucified. He carried the cross outside the city gate, (Jno. 19:17.) “ And lie bearin g his cross w en t fo rth into a place called the place o f a sh all, w h ich is called in the H eb rew G olgotha.” He was hanged upon a tree. It was a part of the reproach of a criminal that he bear his own Cross to the place of execution. “Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a ¡tree.” (Gal. 3:13.) That Cross is the lowest depth of Christ’s humiliation. The Cross is the death of the Curse. “He was-made a curse for us.” This awful cup He shrank from drinking, (Matt. 26:39). “ O m y F a th e r, if it be possible, let this cup p ass from m e: nevertheless, not a s X w ill, but a s thou w ilt.” It was on this cross that He bore our sin, (1 Pet. 2:24). “ W h o his own se lf bare our sin s in his own body on the tree, tb a t w e, being dead to sins, should live unto righ teo u s n ess: by whose stripes y e w ere healed.” He was made sin for us. The title given to Him is the only accusation. He iif Jesus the King of the Jews. For being such He is associated with two robbers. They mocked Him. They re viled Him. Not the rabble only, but the religious rulers, the staid chief priests, scribes and elders. Could hu man depravity go any deeper? No one mocks the two thieves, yet the thieves dying on the crosses beside Him revile Him. They challenge Him to come down from the Cross. How wonder fully the prophecies meet in the Cross, (Psa. 22:18). “ T h ey p art m y garm en ts am ong them , and ca st lo ts upon m y vestu re.”
Pilate was, afteir all? but. secondary in the matter of guilt, the Lord Jesus thus far acquitting Pilate and putting the blame where it belonged, (John 19:11). “ Thou couldest have no pow er a t all again st me, except it w ere g iven thee from above: therefore he th at delivered me unto thee hath the g re a te r sin.” The Jews were responsible amd assumed _ the guilt. “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” They have never been able to escape the awful consequences of that great sin. Through the centuries and throughout the world His blood has been crying out against them. The heart of man is revealed in this choice and it shadows the coming one of whom Jesus spoke in John 5:43: “ I am come in m y F a th e r’s name, and y e receive me n o t: if another sh all come in his own name, him ye w ill receive.” and of whom Paul speaks in 2 Theiss. 2:7-11. Three years and a half of ministry blessed by its beneficence and benevolence in which thè glory of the Father was revealed in every act, were rewarded by His own people with the sentence of death. (2) THE ROBE AND THE REED: “A scarlet robe* and a reed in His hand.” fi Herod’s soldiers had clothed Him with a gorgeous robe. Pilate had Him scourged. This no doubt was because He took the place of Barabbas. Pilate may have hoped that after the scourg ing, this bleeding, broken body would appeal to the sympathy of the Jerws. A scarlet robe was thrown upon Him, a crown of thorns pressed upon His head and a reed placed in His hands. The robe was a symbol of royalty; the crown, of kingship; and the reed, ¡of authority. They i perhaps placed Him upon some rude seat and passed before Him and saluted Him as king of the Jews, smiting Him with their hands. Prophecy had declared it would be so, (Isa. 53:5). “ H e w a s wounded fo r our tra n sg res sions, he ' w a s bruised fo r our iniquities : the chastisem ent o f our peace w a s upon him ; and w ith his stripes w e are healed.” Covered with blood, bruised and withered by the scourging, Pilate pre
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