We continue our study of the Gospel of John. Picking up at verse 19 of chapter 19, we find the Apostle writing of the crucifixion of Jesus, the Christ. The Word says:
“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read : JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS, Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’, but that this man claimed to be the king of the Jews.’
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” John 19: 19-22
As one of the commentators wrote, “This sign was meant to be ironic. A king, stripped nearly naked and executed in public view had obviously lost his kingdom forever. But Jesus, who turns the whole world’s wisdom upside down was just coming into His kingdom. His death and resurrection would strike the deathblow to Satan’s rule and would establish Jesus’ eternal authority over the earth. Few people reading the sign that bleak afternoon understood its real meaning, but the sign was absolutely true. All was not lost. Jesus indeed is the king of the Jews, – and the Gentiles, and the whole universe.
The sign was written in three languages: Aramaic for the native Jews, Latin for the Roman occupation forces, and Greek for the foreigners and Jews visiting from other lands. In a double irony the multilingual sign declared that Jesus IS LORD of all.”
The Lord IS Lord of all. Everything He does has a purpose. Everything He allows has a purpose. He came to earth as a baby – not a conquering Hero as He will the next time He comes. He came as a Baby to have the full experience of being a Man. To have a body that was the same as man to be able to substitute it, and to prove it could exist on earth in a sinless state. A body that was filled with life-giving blood that could be shed for mankind. A body that could be nailed to a cross and take upon it the sins of all mankind. This is what Jesus was doing as He was taking our place on that cross that day.
Again, everything that happens in our lives has purpose. We come to a great Peace as we believe and walk in that great truth. We may know the Lord, or we may not, but He uses everything to accomplish HIS purpose for the Now for His children. He has a time and a place for everything. As we are told in Acts 17:26, “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” Wherever we are today, we are here/there for a purpose. We are here/there to tell the Good News: “Jesus of Nazareth IS LORD, and He is LOVE. He came to earth for the purpose of showing that in the miracles He performed, and from the cross as He gave His life for us, and to us. Let us tell that Good News in Word, and deed to all who will listen as the Lord opens the door for it to happen. He IS the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords of all mankind. 