{"id":4646,"date":"2021-11-15T18:09:39","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T18:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=4646"},"modified":"2021-11-15T18:09:39","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T18:09:39","slug":"pilate-before-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/pilate-before-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilate Before Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

28\u00a0<\/sup>Then they led Jesus\u00a0from the house of Caiaphas to\u00a0the governor’s headquarters.[f<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters,\u00a0so that they would not be defiled,\u00a0but could eat the Passover.<\/span>\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup>So Pilate went outside to them and said, \u201cWhat accusation do you bring against this man?\u201d<\/span>\u00a030\u00a0<\/sup>They answered him, \u201cIf this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.\u201d<\/span>\u00a031\u00a0<\/sup>Pilate said to them,\u00a0\u201cTake him yourselves and judge him by your own law.\u201d The Jews said to him, \u201cIt is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.\u201d<\/span>\u00a032\u00a0<\/sup>This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken\u00a0to show by what kind of death he was going to die.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

33\u00a0<\/sup>So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him,\u00a0\u201cAre you the King of the Jews?\u201d<\/span>\u00a034\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cDo you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a035\u00a0<\/sup>Pilate answered, \u201cAm I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?\u201d<\/span>\u00a036\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cMy kingdom\u00a0is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,\u00a0my servants would have been fighting, that\u00a0I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup>Then Pilate said to him, \u201cSo you are a king?\u201d Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cYou say that I am a king.\u00a0For this purpose I was born and for this purpose\u00a0I have come into the world\u2014to bear witness to the truth.\u00a0Everyone who is\u00a0of the truth\u00a0listens to my voice.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a038\u00a0<\/sup>Pilate said to him, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

After he had said this,\u00a0he went back outside to the Jews and told them,\u00a0\u201cI find no guilt in him.<\/span>\u00a039\u00a0<\/sup>But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?\u201d<\/span>\u00a040\u00a0<\/sup>They cried out again,\u00a0\u201cNot this man, but Barabbas!\u201d Now Barabbas was a robber.[g<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

In our text of Scripture today, we often think of this as Jesus being on trial before Pilate. And in one sense that is true, as a historical account. But, in another very real sense, it is actually Pilate who is on trial before Jesus. The way that Jesus converses with Pilate, Jesus is pressing home the issue of truth to the conscience of Pilate, showing Pilate that he himself must deal with the God-Man standing right before him. As we saw, Pilate goes out to speak with the crowd of Jews, and back in to speak with Jesus. As Jesus called the Jewish leaders sons of their father the devil, and their synagogues, synagogues of Satan, Pilate is in the very real position of hearing demons screaming out for the death of Jesus in one ear, and listening to the divine wisdom and authority of this Jesus in the other. Jesus is of course not seeking to actually be released here, as He knows this is His purpose for coming into the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If we think of this as Pilate who is the one before Jesus, we see that his guilt is shown in his participation in putting the Son of God to death on the cross as he would eventually do, and as the New Testament witnesses to. But as we observe Pilate standing before Jesus, and witness the further guilt of the Jewish elites, we are unable to do so without seeing ourselves standing before this Jesus as well. We cannot faithfully receive Scripture as detached observers, reading or hearing it as some historical account and nothing more. But in reading, hearing, and receiving the Word of God, we pray that the Spirit of God would turn the sharp edges of the scalpel of Scripture on us, and that He would do a work in our own hearts and lives, that we may be cut up by the Sword of the Spirit, and set right before the face of Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, it is not Pilate who stands today before Jesus, he has already done, but it is ourselves who stand before Christ today, and we are laid bare, as all is seen by God, we have nothing which we are able to hide before Him, as He sees and knows the deepest recesses of our hearts. To walk away and avoid this God-Man who is present with us today as Pilate did, would be to risk joining Pilate in hell. But should the Spirit of God set His blade to our lives, though we will feel pain and discomfort as cancerous sins and tumors are cut out of our lives, we will yet live again. He will yet light our eyes, that they would not be forever closed in death. So do not run from the Spirit of God, but come to Him, submit to Him, and let Him do His work through His Word.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To come into the hearing of the Word of God, as a judge or juror, sitting over this Word determining if it you will receive as good or bad, is a deadly arrogance. This was Pilate\u2019s great sin. We ought rather to set ourselves before the Word of God, to be judged by it, that it would tell us if we are right or wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jews Thought That They Were Clean<\/b><\/p>\n

In verse 28-32 we see the first interaction between Pilate and the Jews. Pilate asks what charges are being made, and since supposed blasphemy against the God of Israel was not a capital offense to the Romans, this was not a charge that would do any good being brought up to Pilate. It is shown that they obviously have nothing with which to charge the pure Son of God. Rather, they want Pilate to assume their own righteousness as the High Priest and religious leaders, and take their word for it that this man must be put to death. The fact that the matter is left to Pilate to put Jesus to death and not the Jews is what verse 32 is referring to when it says this was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. Early in John, the type of death it was said that Jesus was going to die was death by being lifted up – in other words, lifted up on a cross. If the Jews were to put Him to death, it would\u2019ve been by stoning. But the fact that the Jews do not take Him and put Him to death but insist that Pilate do so, was evidence that all those who worked together to put Jesus to death were doing what God\u2019s plan had predestined to take place, as is stated in Acts chapter 4.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what sticks out most to me in this section is that the Jews did not enter into the governor’s house, or the praetorium, as the text says, \u201cso that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.\u201d Apparently it was their custom not to enter the home of a gentile around Passover so as not to become unclean – or so as not to be defiled, as it were. Of all things that the Jewish leaders were guilty of here, it was just like the Pharisees to be concerned with maintaining human tradition as the appearance of godliness, than it was of actually being godly. Did they really believe this would keep them from being defiled?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Church, how often do we find ourselves guilty of the same? How often do we go on with unrepentant sin, or how often do we live in un-submissiveness to some portion of God\u2019s Word, while at the same time being a zealot for some man-made religious practice in our lives that has a great appearance of godliness and spirituality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ was \u201cDefiled\u201d yet without Guilt<\/b><\/p>\n

But what happened here? While the Jews stayed outside the praetorium and maintained their facade or moral superiority and religious fervor, Jesus entered into the governor\u2019s headquarters. Jesus was defiled, as it were, one man for the nation. And for you and men. All of the pride and religious self-righteousness that we have in our lives, it is ugly hypocrisy and God hates it, but He sent His Son where we wouldn\u2019t go. Jesus Christ humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. It was a humility and true obedience of faith that we never had, or could have in ourselves. Yet this He did for us. Maybe today the Spirit of God is telling you that you are among the hypocrites of the Jews! Maybe it is you who are standing amongst the crowd outside the praetorium viciously seeking for Jesus to be put to death, all the while thinking you are religiously pure. Even for such a one there is opportunity given for repentance. Jesus was marked for you, defiled by becoming your sin on the cross, as it were, for you, would you come to Him in faith. The One who was without sin, without defilement, was marked amongst the defiled and unclean to make the truly unclean, clean. Come, put off your hypocrisy and be cleansed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pilate Thought He was Neutral<\/b><\/p>\n

Following this interaction between Pilate and Jews, Pilate enters back into his headquarters, where he now stands before Jesus Himself. Based on Pilate\u2019s questions about Jesus being a king, we can see that this is the charge the Jews came up with to accuse Jesus with. The Jews had to think of something that would be a threat to Rome, so that they would see a need to put Jesus to death. So they attempted to spin Jesus\u2019 kingship as a political threat to Rome. As Pilate asks Jesus if He is the king of the Jews, we once again see that Jesus is in total control. Jesus\u2019 response turns the tables and puts Pilate on trial, so to speak. Jesus\u2019 line of questioning seeks to put the question to Pilate personally. He is putting it to the personal conscience of Pilate, communicating that it doesn\u2019t matter what anyone else says, Pilate Himself has to do with the Son of God, and must decide for Himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

I find it interesting that Pilate\u2019s response includes the retort, \u201cAm I a Jew?\u201d Pilate more than likely said this in an agitated manner, so while it is like not self-conscious, by asking this question, Pilate is essentially asking the question to Jesus, \u201cAre you my king?\u201d Of course Jesus was and is, but not in the sense that either the unbelieving Jews or Pilate understood.<\/span><\/p>\n

After His conversation with Jesus, Pilate goes out again to the people and declares in verse 38 about Jesus, \u201cI find no guilt in him.\u201d We find this declaration incredibly meaningful and Pilate didn\u2019t even know the half of it. This was a witness against the Jews, declared to them by their civil authorities, that this man was innocent, and that they unashamedly sought to put to death an innocent man, indeed the Son of God. It is also forever kept as a matter of historical fact that Jesus was indeed not a rebel or insurrectionist, but truly the Righteous One. And as the death of Jesus was the predestined plan of the Father, so are these words, unwittingly spoken from the mouth of Pilate, that there is no guilt in Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

But it is not enough that we find no guilt in Jesus. Pilate found no guilt in Jesus, yet Pilate did not receive Him as Savior or Lord.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pilate confesses the truth, that Jesus is indeed a king and He is without guilt, but Pilate does not confess this truth in faith. He knew the truth, as the Jews did, yet conspired with them to put Jesus to death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a Christian is not merely about confessing the right things or subscribing to an orthodox confession of faith. Pilate confessed the truth about Jesus, but He did not receive Jesus. It is Christ Himself that we must receive by faith. Satan knows the truth about Jesus, but he knows it and he hates Him.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jews wanted Pilate to deal with Jesus, Pilate wanted the Jews to deal with Him, but neither of them wanted to face The Truth for themselves, let alone receive the truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think that often we can be tempted to sympathize with Pilate in this story, because on the one hand it seems as if Pilate is trying to be objective and fair. But if we think that, it may be that we are assuming the myth of neutrality. And this was indeed Pilate\u2019s problem. It seems like Pilate desperately wanted to just be neutral and not have to deal with this or come down on a side. After all, Pilate was not Jew. Why should he have to make a judgment about this Jesus? But no such neutrality was possible. So it was exposed that Pilate was against Him. Jesus was not just the King of the Jews, but He was and is the King of all the earth, the One with whom all the kings and rulers of the earth will have to do. All who stand in judgment over other men will stand before the judgment throne of Christ Himself. Pilate was not in a position in which neutrality was possible. Jesus came right for Him. Indeed there is no position for any of us in which neutrality is possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe someone here today or listening to this message would like to just avoid dealing with the issue of Jesus. They would like to have no position on Him. But you can\u2019t outrun Jesus. You can\u2019t hide from Him. And you cannot be neutral. The only right thing you can do is to stop running, turn, and embrace Him. Let Him flay you open and make you new. He is a kind Savior and Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ was Self-Consciously Advancing His Kingdom, Though Bound<\/b><\/p>\n

All the while that Pilate thought he could remain neutral, Jesus never played that game. Jesus, though He was bound, was all the while self-consciously advancing His Kingdom and doing the will of the Father, bearing witness to the truth, as was His purpose for being born and coming into the world. Indeed it had come time, that it was in fact through being bound that His Kingdom advanced.<\/span><\/p>\n

We of course see Jesus here speaking to Pilate about the nature of His Kingdom, that it is not of or from the world. Upon hearing this explanation, Pilate apparently did not take Jesus\u2019 kingship to be much of a threat to Roman rule. While indeed there was not a threat that an army would come to free Jesus and put all who opposed to the sword, that does not mean that Christ\u2019s kingdom was not a threat at all, that it didn\u2019t pose some other sort of threat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus not having servants and soldiers who would physically deliver Him by putting the city to sword and overthrow Jerusalem or Rome, does not mean that Jesus won\u2019t overtake Rome by another means. Which He eventually did over time in history through evangelization and the spread of the gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are some who will use passages like this to advocate for pacifism. Jesus was not advocating pacifism. Such a conclusion fails to distinguish categories and understand what Jesus was doing in His redemption work versus what a fully developed biblical theology of the sword would be. Even here, as He was a lamb willingly going to the slaughter to be the atonement for the sins of His people, Jesus was not being a pacifist. Jesus was there on purpose. He was there on the offensive. He was there with names to conquer and redeem. Jesus went into the belly of the beast and gutted it from the inside out. Self-defense and righteous action on the behalf of others can be a commendable thing. But not here with Jesus, such action would\u2019ve stood in the way, so to speak, of Jesus actually conquering and gaining the victory through His death and resurrection on the cross. Jesus had to die to rise again. He had to humble Himself to the shame of death on the cross, in order to put the principalities and powers to open shame.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also note from what Jesus says about His kingdom, that, as opposed to what some would say, nothing Jesus says tells us that His kingdom is not present in this world or active in this world. Jesus does not say my kingdom is up in heaven, and your kingdom is down here, and my kingdom won\u2019t interfere with yours. No, Jesus simply tells us from where His kingdom comes. Jesus simply tells us the nature of His kingdom, the source of His kingdom. And what is it? Simply put: Christ\u2019s Kingdom is established and advanced by God\u2019s hand, not man\u2019s – by the work of the Spirit and not by the flesh. His kingdom is not advanced or established by the same methods and means that sinful men establish their kingdoms. That does not mean that His kingdom is not here and advancing and having real effect in this world. In fact, because of the fact that His kingdom is established and advanced by the Spirit, we can be assured that it most definitely has its effect on the kingdoms of man in this world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 kingdom would absolutely conquer Jerusalem, and Rome, and Ireland, and Asia, and the Germanic Tribes, and India, and Northern Africa, and the Pagan Russian Tribes, and it will conquer the communists of our day in China, North Korea, Australia, Canada, and it may yet be a while that we are judged, but here in America as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Daniel 2, the Kingdom of God is described as a stone not cut from human hands that shatters the kingdoms of earth into pieces and grows into a great mountain that fills the earth, and shall never come to end. This is exactly what Jesus was saying to Pilate: \u201cMy kingdom is not cut from human hands\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barabbas was a Criminal Released<\/b><\/p>\n

We come now the end of John chapter 18. Pilate tells the Jews that he finds no guilt in Jesus, and proposes to release Jesus as was apparently the custom to release a prisoner at the Passover. Pilate thinks this will be an easy way out. But the people are intent on shedding Jesus\u2019 blood. They want a different prisoner released, named Barabbas. The ESV says Barabbas was a robber, other translations say he was an insurrectionist. I believe Luke\u2019s gospel calls him a murderer. And this is who they\u2019d prefer to be freed over Jesus, who was without guilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the release of Barabbas, the Jews further show that they are not actually concerned about the law. Pilate also shows that he is not actually concerned with maintaining civil order according to the truth. He would do what was pragmatically beneficial to himself. When you reject truth, as each party here did, you become a law unto yourself, and every man doing what is right in his own eyes is lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.<\/span><\/p>\n

What have we seen in this passage? The Jews thought they were ceremonially clean. Pilate thought he was neutral. And Barabbas probably thought he was condemned to pay for his crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ Took His Place – the Just and the Justifier<\/b><\/p>\n

Either way, what does Jesus do? Jesus trades places with Barabbas. Barabbas was a criminal, a murderer, an insurrectionist! Jesus was a king, he was without guilt, yet He is bound and condemned, that a criminal might go free. How could people be so full of blind hatred that after all Jesus had done in healing the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, and on and on, they would rather have a murderer freed just to see Jesus crucified? That makes no sense!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It makes no sense until you realize that you are that criminal. You\u2019re the one who has broken the law of a Holy God. You\u2019re the one who has sinned and rebelled against the Righteous One. You\u2019re the one that is justly condemned to die for all your crimes against God. But while you are chained and bound awaiting your execution, in walks one who is pure white. He has committed no crimes. He has done nothing worthy of death. There is no guilt in Him. He has all the power of the hosts of heaven that He could call down in an instant to destroy these evil people who seek to put Him to death. Yet He stands there silent. He speaks not a word in His own defense. He does not struggle or fight. The mob shouts that they\u2019d rather have you freed than Him. He looks at you. You blush in embarrassment. But His face. You can\u2019t help but behold it. It looks like He wants to take your place and die for you. As you behold Him, it is like He is telling you, you are free. You are not condemned. Your sins are forgiven. All your debt is paid. \u201cHow can this be?\u201d your mind wanders. And as you do, you realize, the weight is gone. Your hands and feet are no longer bound and shackled. You\u2019re free.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus took the place of criminals and sinners like you and me, that we might go free, that we might no longer be condemned. He was treated as if He was guilty, so that we who are guilty, might be treated as if we were not.<\/span><\/p>\n

One with eyes of faith beholds Christ as his own Redeemer, as his very own Savior. That is how we receive Him – as the Holy One who laid down His life for ours, that we might live.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The gospel is for everyone. Here stands Jesus. He stands before powerful political leaders, powerful religious leaders, and lowly criminals. The gospel is for everyone because the gospel declares that everyone is a guilty criminal before God, and that\u2019s whose place Jesus takes to redeem – sinners and rebels to God. Every king and president and political ruler may be tempted to think that they are too powerful and mighty to humbly receive this man who died a shameful criminal death on the cross. You don\u2019t have to resign from your position in the civil realm, but you must resign yourself to Christ. The self-righteous moralists, like the Jewish Pharisees, their sin is looking to their own righteousness and thinking it\u2019s good enough. It\u2019s looking at the dirt and scum of their own heart and thinking they\u2019re clean because they washed their hands. Quit looking at and trusting in your own righteousness and trust in Christ, looking to Him. Though it is the criminal who is freed in this instance, we don\u2019t want to glamorize the criminal. The temptation for those who are not powerful or self-righteous, for those who know they are guilty criminals, is to continue to look at their own sin and fixate upon their own unworthiness. But it is not our looking to our sin and acknowledging how guilty we are that saves us. It is looking off of our sin and off of ourselves, and looking to Jesus Christ who is the One who saves us.<\/span><\/p>\n

The jurisdiction of the proclamation of the gospel has now extended unto all creation. Jesus is the King who laid down His own life for His people, that He might receive the nations as His heritage, the ends of the earth as His possession. Kings and criminals, self-righteous and unrighteous, big sinners and bigger sinners, rich and poor, powerful and oppressed, come one and come all, come and welcome your Savior, your King, Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click HERE for sermon audio<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

28\u00a0Then they led Jesus\u00a0from the house of Caiaphas to\u00a0the governor’s headquarters.[f]\u00a0It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters,\u00a0so that they would not be defiled,\u00a0but could eat the Passover.\u00a029\u00a0So Pilate went outside to them and said, \u201cWhat accusation do you bring against this man?\u201d\u00a030\u00a0They answered him, \u201cIf this man were not doing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":4647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1582],"tags":[1583,1624,1623,274,483,557,562,678,679,681,687,699,765,1622,1114,1161,1172,1272],"class_list":{"0":"post-4646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sermon","8":"tag-arrest","9":"tag-barabbas","10":"tag-before","11":"tag-christ","12":"tag-father","13":"tag-god","14":"tag-gospel","15":"tag-jenkins","16":"tag-jesus","17":"tag-jews","18":"tag-john","19":"tag-joshua","20":"tag-lord","21":"tag-pilate","22":"tag-sermon","23":"tag-son","24":"tag-spirit","25":"tag-trial","26":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4657,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/christ-or-chaos\/","url_meta":{"origin":4646,"position":0},"title":"Christ or Chaos","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"6\u00a0When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, \u201cCrucify him, crucify him!\u201d Pilate said to them,\u00a0\u201cTake him yourselves and crucify him, for\u00a0I find no guilt in him.\u201d\u00a07\u00a0The Jews[a]\u00a0answered him, \u201cWe have a law, and\u00a0according to that law he ought to die because\u00a0he has made himself the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/crowds.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4670,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-king-on-a-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":4646,"position":1},"title":"A King On A Cross","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"December 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Pilate\u00a0also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, \u201cJesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.\u201d\u00a020\u00a0Many of the Jews read this inscription, for\u00a0the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.\u00a021\u00a0So the chief priests\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/12\/sign_above_cross.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4653,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-crown-of-thorns-and-a-purple-robe\/","url_meta":{"origin":4646,"position":2},"title":"A Crown of Thorns and a Purple Robe","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Then Pilate took Jesus and\u00a0flogged him.\u00a02\u00a0And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.\u00a03\u00a0They came up to him, saying, \u201cHail, King of the Jews!\u201d and struck him with their hands.\u00a04\u00a0Pilate went out again and said to them,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/thorns.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/thorns.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/thorns.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/thorns.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4667,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-place-of-a-skull\/","url_meta":{"origin":4646,"position":3},"title":"The Place of a Skull","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"December 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.\u00a0So they took Jesus,\u00a017\u00a0and\u00a0he went out,\u00a0bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.\u00a018\u00a0There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 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It shall be the first month of the year for you.\u00a03\u00a0Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/10\/6009bbec79fbc2164bdd0308_passover2520Sacrifice.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/10\/6009bbec79fbc2164bdd0308_passover2520Sacrifice.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/10\/6009bbec79fbc2164bdd0308_passover2520Sacrifice.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/10\/6009bbec79fbc2164bdd0308_passover2520Sacrifice.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}