How many times have you misjudged someone, thinking they were weak, incapable, or a push-over? Then, unexpectedly, they act out of unforeseen strength to save the day and make a mockery of your precipitous assessment.   King George VI of England was such a man.   Encumbered with a speech impediment, a man of great natural reserve and deference, he was considered by English society to be a royal embarrassment.  He had none of the eloquence, confidence or charm of his elder brother and heir to the throne, Edward VIII.  

But for all of the appearance of strength, Edward had none.  His great love was not a love of duty or country, but a love of self.   His sordid affair with Wallis Simpson led him to abdicate the throne on the eve of Great Britain’s entry into World War II.    In his stead, the timid and unpromising, George VI ascended to the throne.   George hardly looked the part of King.  But for all his apparent weakness and inability, he had a strength none guessed.  His love of country and of duty and his strength of conviction guided Britain through its “finest hour.”  The remarkable story of George’s reign is told in the 2010 movie, “The King’s Speech.”

Outward appearances never define a king.  Samuel learned this when he went to the house of Jesse to anoint a successor to King Saul.   Saul had possessed a kingly bearing.  A head taller than every other man in Israel, Saul had looked like a King.  So Samuel looked for such a man among Jesse’s sons.  But the Lord warned Samuel,

“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.  For the Lord sees not as a man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

Samuel’s search led him to David, the smallest and least promising of Jesse’s sons, but the one who was a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22)  Outward appearances never define a King.  

John’s account of the crucifixion, like the Synoptics, is remarkable.  It gives scarcely any details about the crucifixion itself, focusing instead on the reactions of the people.  Jesus was met with pity, mockery, bitter anger, rejection, and pure hatred.  With every recourse to cunning and psychology, Pilate, from a mixture of fear and awe, sought to free Jesus.  Unwilling to exercise the prerogatives he claimed to have, he abdicated his role as judge and tried to coerce the people to accepting Jesus’ release.  But for all Pilate’s cunning, Satan’s is greater. 

The people once sought Jesus to make him their king.  But when Pilate declares Jesus their King, they prefer murderers and tyrants.  John writes, “They cried again, ‘not this man but Barrabas!’”  And “The chief priests answered him, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’”   The more insistent Pilate declares Jesus King, the more vehemently the people reject him.

Jesus hardly looks like a King.  Scourged and beaten so severely that he was unrecognizable.  As Isaiah prophesied, “As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”  To the eye he appears to be a victim, not a victor.  All who beheld him beat their breasts at the sight and “esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

The people rage, the rulers smirk, and Satan gloats. Yet, what appeared Satan’s hour of supreme triumph was, in truth, the moment of his complete and utter defeat. For surely it was our grief, our sorrow, our sin that he bore. Pilate’s actions were all wrong, but his words were spot on. “Behold Your King!”

Those who witnessed the trial and crucifixion were looking at the cross and the Christ all wrong.   They did not understand what was unfolding before them.  They saw a victim suffering injustice, rather than a King bearing justice.  What is your response to the cross? And to the Christ? Does he evoke pity, mockery, or despair?  Or you do see Jesus, “crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Including you!

Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine John 19:1-37 and consider King Jesus, powerfully declared, shockingly enthroned and utterly victorious.  We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.