Apply Within

Bob Davis: I just love it when people realize I'm dumb. It gets me off the hook. I can tell you, I've got a long way to grow, and I don't know everything at all, and I'm amazed with all of you that do.

But salvation isn't by knowledge, by IQ, by cerebral capacity. Salvation is by grace. I'm glad you've got big brains, use them, use them for God's glory, but understand that's not getting you to heaven.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we by the power of God's Holy Spirit apply His word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible. Jesus is being scourged as our study of John continues in chapter 19 verse 4. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: They put a purple robe on Jesus. Of course, everybody, you look through Scripture, purple, the color of royalty. Then they mocked Him. They laughed at Him while punching Him in the face and spitting in His face. They're making fun of Him, shouting out "Hail to the King of the Jews."

And that purple robe they used to mock Him, to humiliate Him... think about this: He's got the crown on, He's wearing that robe. We see our sins placed on Jesus Christ so that we might be clothed with the robe of God's righteousness instead. He took all the suffering and pain so that we could wear, by grace through faith, righteousness.

Right now, read through Romans and do it slowly. There are more than chapters 9, 10, and 11, by the way, if you were studying your Bible. There are more than those three chapters, so read them all. You'll be amazed when you come to chapter 8. You have to read all the way through to see how it works. When you come to chapter 8, there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God in and through Christ Jesus.

And there is nothing and no one, not the devil, not your friends, not anybody, not even you, that can charge you with anything because you are completely forgiven by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. You say, "Well, I'm a sinner." I know, me too. I was born that way. You don't have to teach me how. Just when I was old enough, I could. It was just like that. How about you?

Yet in Jesus Christ, completely justified, completely forgiven. It's not fair, and I'm glad. I'm glad it's not. And that purple robe that they used to mock Him, to humiliate Him... we see our sins placed on Jesus.

Think about this: after they beat Him, they put a robe on Him, and so now that robe is hanging on His back and sticking to His bloody back. It starts to stick, and then they would rip that robe off, remember? And start the bleeding again when He has to carry His cross. There's all kinds of things Jesus went through, and they're not pretty to see on the TV screen or anywhere. It's just terrible, ugly, violent.

Now remember what Pilate said to the chief priests and the people. Remember, after careful examination, after hearing all the charges, "I find in Him no fault at all." In America, "I find him completely innocent." In a court of Roman law, the governor, Pilate, said Jesus has been tried and found innocent of the charges brought against him, whatever they are.

According to Roman law, Pilate should have then, right then, dismissed the case and Jesus should have walked out an innocent, free man without being beaten or anything, because he's not guilty of anything. But if He had walked away then, I couldn't go to heaven, and neither could you.

We learned, and I'll read the scripture again out of Isaiah soon here, but we learned that it pleased God to do that. It blessed God's heart. He wanted to do that for you and for me. Look at the people who spit in His face and say, "There's no God. You guys are a bunch of..." they're still out there. They're all over out there, making fun of God, spitting in God's face, smacking Him, saying "I don't believe in Him," whatever.

Jesus loves every one of them. Isn't that amazing? It is. That's amazing. I mean, I would have given up on me years ago, and He just won't. Sometimes it's almost like we're trying to get Him to.

Pilate was afraid. He knew the right thing to do, but he couldn't do it. What would people think? What if it caused a riot? What if there was bloodshed in the streets? Is this one man worth it all? Pilate was afraid of the people. He was a weak man, just in charge of everything, that's all. He knew what was right, and he didn't do it.

That's what weakness is. He knew it was right, and he didn't do it. He knew he should have freed the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew after investigating and pronouncing Him innocent that he should have ended the case right there. But he was afraid of what might happen.

Look at us, if we're not careful, afraid of what someone might think, or someone might think we're... if that person is really a brilliant guy or girl and they don't believe in God, then you try not to say too much because you don't want them to think that you're dumb.

I just love it when people realize I'm dumb. It gets me off the hook. I can tell you, I've got a long way to grow and I don't know everything at all, and I'm amazed with all of you that do.

But salvation isn't by knowledge, by IQ, by cerebral capacity. Salvation is by grace. I'm glad you've got big brains, use them, use them for God's glory, but understand that's not getting you to heaven.

He was afraid of what might happen. You know, all that comes down to is self. But you know what? I don't know that we should be too hard on Pilate because look at every one of us, how weak we can be when we're pretty sure we're the toughest people around, but how weak we can be. Aren't you thankful for God's grace all the time? Even when you're doing great and you're right on top of it, aren't you thankful that it's still God's grace in Jesus Christ alone?

Remember this: I'll say it again, I said it earlier, it was God's will that Jesus die for the sins of the world. That's why He became flesh and dwelt among us. It was God's will. Listen closely: it wasn't Pilate's will. Pilate didn't want Him dead. Everybody else did, so he just gave up, let it happen. It wasn't Pilate's will. It wasn't the chief priest's will. It wasn't the people's will. It was God's will.

Isaiah 53:10, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see a seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." He's going to die, but somehow He's going to live on and on and on. He's going to rise from the dead, everybody.

So we're all the way to verse 4 now. "Pilate therefore went forth again, and said to them, Behold, I bring Him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." Then Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns and a purple robe, and Pilate says to the people, "Behold the man!"

When the chief priest therefore and officers saw Jesus, they cried out saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate says to them, "You take Him and crucify Him. I find no fault in Him."

Everybody, if you're counting, that's three times publicly in a court of Roman law, publicly in court, the adjudicator, the judge, Pilate himself, said three times publicly Jesus Christ is innocent of anything. Not guilty of a thing. He says, "So you take him and you crucify him. I find no fault in him." The Jews answered, "We have a law, and by our law he must die, because he made himself the Son of God."

Notice what Pilate's trying to do here. He's trying to take the pressure off himself. That's why he had Jesus beaten. He's seen those scourgings many times. A lot of the people die. Jesus lived through that because the Father said He had to be nailed to that tree, so He was still alive.

And here's Pilate's... this is how... here's the logic. We're going to make this guy look so thrashed that when they see Him, I'm going to bring Him out and see how they put that crown on His head and the robe, how the soldiers have been making fun of Him. The people are going to feel so sorry for this guy and think He's had enough, let Him go. That's what Pilate is hoping for. It's psychology, right? It's logic. People, you hope to count on it that there's still a part of human still left in them and they have some sympathy.

Well, everybody, you learn here, don't count on that. Look at the things that people are doing to one another over there in the Middle East. Look at the lack of sympathy, the lack of human kindness. It's just gross.

So look at this: Pilate brings Jesus back out in front of the huge crowd and he says, "I told you, I found him innocent, third time. I find no fault in this guy. Now he's been punished, my verdict is still the same. Look at him. Behold the man! I find no fault in him."

"Behold the man" literally is, in our language, "Look at this man." Okay, now it would have been not a very pretty sight. I heard some people talk about they saw the *Passion of the Christ*, that movie years ago, and they said they couldn't watch it. There were parts of it it was so graphic they couldn't watch it. Imagine if that were the real thing going on and you look at this guy. You're not going to look at Him long. You're going to look and that's going to be just sad and you don't even want to see it.

And that's what he wants the people to do. "Look at this man. Look at that man. This is what you asked for, or part of what you asked for, and I told you he's innocent." "Behold the man" literally: "Look at this man." He's been beaten, he still stands patiently before you, keeping his mouth shut, not angry with everybody that's throwing insults at him, mocking him, not spitting back at them when they're spitting at him. He's just there to do what, everybody? To do the will of the Father. That's what.

The idea in the language, "Look at this man, beaten, still stands patiently before you. Isn't this enough? Behold the man, isn't this enough?" And the language suggests that he's hoping the crowd will take pity on Jesus. Maybe I should say it another way: he's hoping the crowd will feel sorry for him and take pity on him, and they'll let him let Jesus go. It's all about Pilate.

It didn't work though. You've got the chief priest planted just right there in the crowd. Crowd doesn't know what to say. They're not sure what they're feeling. That's gross-looking. I don't want to really look at that. I don't want to look at that too much. Don't want the kids looking at that, you know, there's kids in the crowd, they don't need to... come on, oh, yuck, right?

Chief priest and the Pharisees begin to shout at the top of their lungs, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate is shocked. It's like, okay, this is crazy. I give up. He says, "Then you take him and you crucify him." And then the third time, "I have found him completely innocent. You kill him. You crucify him."

You know what that tells me? Something I already knew. You know what it tells you? Something you really already knew in your heart. We don't talk about it much, but it tells us this: we learned right here and we've learned it with sharing with other people... any of you Christians who have shared your faith with other people, listen closely... we learned that it takes more than human emotion, more than human passion and feelings to bring the lost sinner to salvation.

Notice that? You try to play the right songs, you know, "Just As I Am" or whatever you're trying to play to get the mood right... it is not the music, everybody. It is not the setup, it is not this... it is the heart. As a matter of fact, I like those pastors that say, "Turn all the lights on. Don't play any music. I want to give the gospel."

And I like that. It makes... I understand why they say that because right here, it takes more than human emotion, more than human compassion, more than feelings to bring the lost sinner to salvation. It takes a heart, a surrendered heart. You will never, ever argue someone into the Kingdom of God. You cannot do it. But we'll argue until our last breath is done, but you cannot argue anyone into the Kingdom.

The only people that you will meet in heaven, every one you meet, "How did you get here?" they will say, "Somebody loved me here. I got loved into the Kingdom." You didn't threaten them by hell, you didn't beat all their amazing, dopey arguments, you didn't do that. It is not the... it's a heart. It's not a cerebral thing that happens. It's a heart when the Spirit of God speaks to that heart.

I remember when I got saved. I was even thinking because I was raised in the Catholic church, I thought, "Yeah, I've heard most of this and yeah, I deal..." but there was something in my heart that I thought, "I've got to go down there. I want to go down there and pray with that guy. I just want to." Why? I don't know. I'll be right back. And I got saved. I didn't know what I was doing. It was my heart. They didn't argue with me. They didn't try to trick me into anything or get some kind of emotional thing happening. I was in the military, I don't think they have an emotion.

Listen, we're reminded that the cross involves more than just an exhibition of innocent suffering. That's Dr. Ironside. We're reminded that the cross involves much more than an exhibition of innocent suffering. On that cross, the Son of God paid the price for the sins of the world and thereby declared the love of God and defended the holiness, the righteousness, and the justice of God at the same time.

Jesus did all that. We are not saved by feeling pity for Jesus. We are saved by repenting of our sins, trusting Jesus with our hearts as our sinless substitute.

Now Pilate, almost done here, Pilate said, "You crucify him." They said he's... he's innocent, third time, publicly. He pronounced him innocent. He wants to let the guy go. Nobody will let him go. So Pilate said, "Then you crucify him."

Now Pilate knows good and well that only the Romans could crucify. The Jews weren't allowed to do it. They could stone him to death, but they wanted him to suffer because he claimed to be deity, right? He claimed to be the Son of God.

They understood what that meant. That means God in human flesh, Messiah. Did Jesus ever claim to be God? Yes. And again the Jewish people said it: "No." He's... he says, "We're not going to let him..." he's shocked. Pilate knew good and well they couldn't do it. The Romans wouldn't have allowed it.

The people say, "We can't crucify him, but you can. He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed deity." "That's blasphemy," they said. "He's broken our law. By our law, he has to die. He's got to be put to death" because he claimed deity. If you're looking for it, it's Leviticus 24:16.

Now the cults, including Jehovah's Witnesses, teach that Jesus never claimed to be deity. Did he? The Jewish leaders say he did. That's why they wanted him to die. So Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong. Sorry. I didn't write it, I only read it.

It was around this time, approximately, sometime around this time frame, that Pilate's wife sent him a really strange message. Matthew 27:19, when he sat down on the judgment seat, his wife sent for Pilate, his wife sent unto him saying, "Have you nothing to do with this just... this listen, this innocent man." She decided Jesus was innocent too. "For I have suffered many things this day in a dream. I had a dream. All I'm saying, just a quick note: get this guy off your hands. Just don't do anything with him, let him go. He's innocent."

And what did Pilate do? Well, I've read the other gospels and Pilate took water and said, "There's nothing I can do." Yes, there was. You could have said, "I'm letting him go and I don't care what you think." But he was a coward. He was weak. He knew what was right, and he wouldn't do it.

So he took water, probably a bowl of water, and washed his hands in front of the crowd. You'll find that in the Old Testament. Washed his hands in front of the crowd, symbolizing his desire basically to absolve himself from being involved in this whole thing. "I don't even want any part of it. Wash my hands of the whole thing."

But his... and his words, "I am innocent of this man's blood," did not make him innocent, did it? You could wash your hands all day, but you are the one sending him to die. All through history, you know, people argue who put him to death. Well, some say the Jews. Some say... well, all of us Christians know who did it. We did, didn't we? All sinners.

There's a song, "The Day He Wore My Crown." "I caused all the blame, I caused all the shame, the day he wore my crown." Remember that old song? Yeah. He says, "I'm innocent of this man's blood, you just whatever." And Pilate, just because you say you're innocent of it doesn't change a thing. You're not innocent of it, Pilate. You're guilty of this... what do we call it? Travesty, mockery of justice.

There was no justice there. Pilate goes down in all of history as the man who condemned and ordered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Had he not done it, they could not have crucified Him. They would have had to do something else with Him.

The Savior of the world, he condemned and ordered the crucifixion of the Savior of the world. The Savior of the world, the only begotten Son of God.

Ever wonder what happened to Pilate? He got called back to Rome. The Jews kept uprising and uprising. He got called back to Rome, and they gave him the left foot of fellowship, took away his position, took away his titles.

And it was maybe not even ten years later, he took his own life. You were hoping, I was hoping, when you're reading the history, you're hoping that he would have received Jesus as his Lord and Savior and put... you know, he could see the innocence. But instead, he took his own life.

When you share Jesus with people, you're doing a good thing. But I hope you're seeing now what we're all slowly learning: we're not going to trick them into it. We're not going to argue them into it.

That heart, the only thing that's going to get to that heart is not your stories or mine, not our arguments from scripture or out of scripture, it's going to be the Holy Spirit Himself. And that's what we're hoping for. That the Holy Spirit would work and use us.

The people like you and me that are born again, remember there was a point in your heart, in your life, where you said, "I believe. I can't explain it all, I can't answer everybody else's questions, I just know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and I want Him as my Savior. I know I need a Savior."

So you're loved into the Kingdom. Never tricked into it, beat up and dragged into it, never argued into it.

C.S. Lewis, as you read his writings, he says that he was argued into the Kingdom of Heaven. I understand what he means. He was arguing and other people had good answers, but you understand that he wasn't argued in. I understand what he's saying. They beat my arguments, yes, but something in my heart told me I need Jesus Christ.

It's your heart. If you've never given your heart to Jesus, you can do that. It is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. It's His mercy. He stood there in your place and mine, if we will let Him, if we will accept Him.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is the radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM.

You can download today's message in its entirety at northcountrychapel.com/studies. That's northcountrychapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date.

The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho, 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again, 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the live stream of our services, or to find out more about church events.

If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.