THE VISION OF THE KING

JOHN 19:1

A. "AND IT WAS THE PREPARATION OF THE PASSOVER, AND ABOUT THE SIXTH HOUR; AND HE SAITH UNTO THE JEWS, BEHOLD YOUR KING"
  1. It was an April morning in Jerusalem:
    1. The City was thronged with pilgrims to the Feast
    2. From all over the land and even from other countries, Jews cam to celebrate their deliverance from Egyptian bondage by Divine power
  2. But what a celebration:
    1. The Jewish nation was a province of the Roman Empire
    2. And what is so sad, they were in the process of destroying their deliverer B. THE VISION OF THE KING
  3. The vision is veiled from the eyes of the world:
    1. By the events that seemed incredible to the claim of kingship
    2. A man, bleeding and surrounded by a hostile mob who clamored to take His life
    3. For the moment all His claims to kingship seemed a mockery in the shadow of the cross
  4. But there was one person on the scene:
    1. Who recognized His kingship even though that kingship was obscured by the marred visage--the crown of thorns
    2. He was one of the thieves on the cross, a fellow sufferer - "Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom" - Luke 23:42
    3. He discovered the kingly nature of his fellow sufferer - "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" - Luke 23:34
    4. He heard the suffering king make provision for His suffering mother, "Behold thy mother" - John 19:26-27
  5. The vision of the King was:
    1. Veiled further by the erroneous conception of the Jews about the nature of the coming kingdom
    2. Even His disciples had erroneous ideas about the kingdom - Acts 1:6; Luke 24:13-21
    3. Had they read and believed Isaiah 53:1-12 they would have recognized the King as the their on the cross did C. WE LEARN TWO GREAT AND ETERNAL TRUTHS FROM THE TITLE OF OUR SUBJECT - THE VISION OF THE KING
  6. The vision is discerned only by the eye of faith:
    1. Faith in bible prophecy penetrates the disguise and beholds in the thorn-crowned One the King--this faith is not blind, it rests on such Bible predictions that minutely predicted the experience of the cross - Is. 52:14; 53:1-12; Ps. 69:1-16
    2. Faith to discern Christ the King by Divine right - John 18:33-34; Matt. 1:21; Is. 9:6
    3. Faith recognizes Christ the King by reason of redemption; Christ has taken over kingship in the heart of the believer; He has subdued the enslaving passions of sin I Cor. 15:58
    4. The shameful cross of Calvary was for the time being His throne; our finite minds shall never fully comprehend the glorious victory of the cross of Calvary
    5. The hope of eternal redemption centers in the cross of Calvary; that is where the King of heaven stripped Satan the usurper of his powers of the rule over the kingdoms of the world
    6. That is where sin was unveiled and dethroned
  7. Now this vision of the King is no idle dream:
    1. It is the Divine drawing power of redemption; "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" - John 12:32
    2. The gospel of the cross is still the Divine magnet that draws men unto Jesus Christ
  8. Pilate's statement - "Behold your King":
    1. Was an unwilling and unwitting means to make history and the world aware to the kingship of the Son of man
    2. The bold declaration of Christ being the King of the Jews by Pilate has riveted the minds of untold millions to recognize Christ their King. He is King in my life and hope
  9. But, dear friends:
    1. Where there is a King there is a throne
    2. And where there is a throne, there is the power to rule
    3. Does He reign in our lives?
    4. Are we truly subjects of His kingdom?


Design © John Bryant 2011