Witnesses of

Christ’s PassionBible Conference Jakarta 2015

Pontius PilateWitnesses of Christ’s Passion

I. The Truth About Pilate

The gospels tell us how Jesus had arrived in the court of

Judea’s leading Roman official.

But, how did Pilate get there? Who was he?

Pilate is a man desperate to prove his strength as a leader,

and desperate to avoid another high-profile failure.

Pilate, who has been challenged by the Jewish people and

Jewish leadership, will now find himself cornered by the same

adversaries.

II. Truth And Politics

In the opening act of Jesus’ trial, Pilate seeks to negotiate a

result in the trial of Jesus that will prevent another riot, or, at

least, absolve himself of any guilt in it.

• First encountering the religious leaders, Pilate attempts to

shed responsibility for the impending execution of Jesus by

deferring to them (John 18:28-31).

• Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, ruler of Galilee (Jesus’ home),

so he can deal with (and Pilate can escape) the problem.

Herod also refuses to deal, sending Jesus back to Pilate.

• Pilate cites local rules regarding the Passover which allowed

for the release of a prisoner (Matthew 27:15-21).

He offered to release Jesus—but the crowd instead demands

Barabbas.

• Pilate reaffirms Jesus’ innocence, but, sought to placate the

crowd by having Jesus savagely beaten (Luke 23:16).

• Ever the pragmatist, Pilate chooses to execute the Innocent

in order to preserve the peace for a moment. (Matthew 27:24)

Pilate confronts Christ with the question of the ages (John

18:37-38).

Jesus affirmed his kingdom had a different origin and a

different character from any Pilate knew.

He declared that his purpose was to give testimony to truth,

and intimated that anyone who was devoted to truth would

listen to Him.

III. Truth And Pressure

Pressure From Unknown Forces.

There were pressures at work that Pilate could have never

expected. The events around him spiraled out of control as a

message from his wife arrives in the court (Matthew 27:19).

Pressure From Conscience.

Pilate’s words, “I find no guilt in Him” are followed by pleading

with the crowd that Jesus should be released (Matthew

27:26).

When his efforts were again fruitless, he responded by having

Jesus scourged.

Pressure From Fear.

The fear for Pilate came when the religious leaders admitted

to the actual reason for their demands for crucifixion—Jesus

claimed to be the Son of God (John 18:7).

First his wife’s dream, then the innocence of the Condemned,

then the thought that Jesus might be the Son of God!

The result of all of this pressure?

• Pilate allowed the execution of a Man he had himself

declared to be innocent.

• Pilate succumbed to the external pressure to do wrong,

instead of internal pressure to do right.

• Pilate tried to wash his hands of guilt, but has had have

blood on his hands for two millennia.

IV. Truth And The Truth

As Pilate muddled over the question of what truth is, Truth

was standing before Him—being judged largely on the basis

of lies.

John’s gospel doesn’t see truth conceptually, but

personalizes truth in Jesus Christ. John’s gospel uses the

word truth more than any other book of the Bible—and it

almost exclusively refers to Christ Himself.

Truth is not defined or determined by the mood of the mob or

by the person with the most degrees or the most influence.

Truth is Christ.

Pilate faced the Truth—and turned away. In the truest, most

eternal sense, Pilate could not handle the Truth.

Conclusion

Before embracing the cross that would rescue human beings

from the necessary consequences of their sin, Jesus said:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the

Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

“What is truth?” is, in a sense, the wrong question.

The better question is, “Who is truth?”

And the eternal Answer is Jesus Christ.

Simon of CyreneWitnesses of Christ’s Passion

I. The Christ

As Jesus walks that road, we must see and hear what that

crowd saw and heard. Throughout this death march, several

things will demand our attention.

“So [Pilate] then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His

own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is

called in Hebrew, Golgotha” (John 19:16-17).

It has been about two-and-a-half hours since Jesus was

brought before Pilate, and about fourteen-and-a-half hours

since the Last Supper began in the upper room.

Jesus has endured five illegal trials and at least four

merciless beatings.

Jesus has suffered betrayal by one disciple, denial by

another, and abandonement by all.

The agony of the Gethsemane experience has increased His

sufferings exponentially.

The Son of God is in the midst of bearing our griefs and

carrying our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4).

His suffering is made all the more amazing by the truth that

this is voluntary.

He said: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay

down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it

away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John

10:17-18).

It is a bleeding portrait of the strength of deity, the power of

divine love, and the majesty of grace.

It is the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world.

II. A Man

“When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of

Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the

cross to carry behind Jesus” (Luke 23:26).

Weakened by all this, Christ stumbles (perhaps several

times) under the burden of the cross. As a result, the soldiers

draft someone to carry the cross for Him.

Now, out of the crowds in this little passageway, one person

is going to be selected, as one of the soldiers conscripts one

man with a tap of the spear: Simon of Cyrene.

A. His Name

It appears that Simon was a Jew from Cyrene, a town in

Libya near the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Tripoli.

Simon had apparently come to Jerusalem as a pilgrim to

celebrate the feast of Passover.

B. His Situation

Simon was forced against His will to carry the cross.

Simon is commandeered to go to Calvary—and witnesses

what happens to Jesus.

Imagine the confusion—even anger—he must have felt, but

this hour of bitterness would soon turn into a blessing.

Apparently, Simon the Cyrene gave his heart to the Savior

whose cross he carried.

Mark, whose gospel was directed to the church at Rome and

the believers there, wrote that Simon’s sons were named

Rufus and Alexander, implying that they were familiar to the

church there (Mark 15:21).

This idea gains even more support in Romans 16:13 when

Paul greets a man named Rufus as part of that very same

Roman assembly.

Paul’s greeting is warm as he writes, “Greet Rufus, a choice

man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.”

Imagine, shame turned to salvation as Christ—Simon’s

Savior—died on the cross that he carried.

Simon is one man, but he represents a world of for whom

Christ took the cross—its shame, its penalty, its death.

Conclusion

Simon of Cyrene: His view was one of transformation, as he

seems to have moved from shame and embarrassment to

faith in the Christ and forgiveness by His grace.

The CenturionWitnesses of Christ’s Passion

Soldiers suffer the hardships of training and are often

subjected, in combat, to a lifestyle of deprivation. The

soldier’s life is also an existence filled with fear and danger.

There is the constant reality of being faced with death.

The life of a soldier is not an easy life. Yet, the harshness of a

life and a heart forged in the heat of battles and struggles of

military service is not unreachable.

We see a person of significance who rightly declared the

significance of the Christ. It is the centurion in charge of the

crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

A Centurion’s Life

Soldiers are committed to putting the mission before comfort,

their comrades before self, and obedience to duty above their

personal opinions of the orders they are given. It is a lifestyle

rooted in discipline, authority structures, and teamwork.

The Position of a Centurion

The word centurion comes from the Latin term centum,

meaning 100. He was a Roman officer in command of a

hundred men.

Tyndale Bible Dictionary says that, “The office of centurion

was normally the highest one within reach of the ordinary

soldier. Centurions often rose from the ranks because of their

experience and knowledge.”

The Life of a Warrior

The tasks involved being a centurion would fall into two basic

areas:

• In Combat.

The centurion was responsible for implementing military

strategy. He would almost always be on point, leading the

charge into battle.

The Life of a Warrior

• Out of Combat.

Away from the battlefield, the centurion administered

discipline in the ranks, mediated interpersonal conflicts

among his men, provided security and protection when called

upon, supervised police actions in occupied areas, and, most

notably for our purposes, would oversee executions.

Centurions mentioned in the New

TestamentThere are six centurions mentioned, of whom, several had

significant roles. Several of the more prominent centurions in

the New Testament:

• The Centurion of Capernaum (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10)

• The Centurion of Caesarea (Acts 10:1,22)

• The Centurion of the Shipwreck (Acts 27-28)

Centurions mentioned in the New

TestamentOne writer declared, “The centurions mentioned in the New

Testament are uniformly spoken of in terms of praise,

whether in the Gospels or in the Acts.”

A Centurion’s Faith

Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping

guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the

things that were happening, became very frightened and said,

“Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)

In order to fully and carefully consider the magnitude of the

words spoken by this centurion, we need to consider two

things.

The Evidence In Opposition to the Declaration.

Christ had claimed to be the Son of God. As a result, they

had condemned Jesus for making that claim, and this

Centurion’s commander-in-chief, Pontius Pilate, had upheld

the conviction.

Now the centurion rejects the condemnation and affirms

Jesus’ claim, because the evidence in favor of Christ’s claim

was overwhelming.

The Evidence In Support of the Declaration.

There was something extraordinary, something remarkable

about this particular crucifixion that impacts the centurion.

• The response of Jesus to the trials and injustice that He had

been forced to endure at the hands of His own countrymen

through arrest and trials

• The response of Jesus to the torture that the Centurion and

his men had inflicted upon Him (Matthew 27:27-31)

• The dignity with which Jesus responded to the lynch mob

that demanded His blood—as a sheep, silent before the

slaughter

• The response of Jesus to the people who rejected Him, and

the soldiers that crucified Him—including this centurion

• The response of creation to the sin-bearing act of the

Creator (Matt.27:54).

As a professional soldier who had no doubt supervised many

executions and witnessed untold numbers of men dying, this

centurion was understandably impacted by the significant

events that accompanied the death of the Christ.

The soliders had reason to be fearful, because there was

absolutely nothing ordinary about significant events they were

experiencing. It was:

• No Ordinary Execution. The darkness, the earthquake,

and the cry of dereliction from Christ convinced the soldiers

that this was no ordinary execution.

• No Ordinary Power. They came to this conclusion solely

from the effects of the power of God on display at Calvary

that dark day.

• No Ordinary Confession. This confession tells us

something eternally important: Jesus as the promised

Messiah and unique Son of God is seen most clearly in his

passion and death.

Conclusion

If the centurion was won to faith in Christ, he came as a

pagan and was saved as Jesus hung upon the Cross.

How simple and basic is that? All who are ever saved in truth

are saved because of the death of Jesus on the Cross.

Conclusion

It was that powerful cross, and the significance of the love

displayed there that can change hearts—even the hardened,

battle-weary heart of a career soldier—from death to life.

Witnesses of

Christ’s PassionBible Conference Jakarta 2015