John 19 When the Israelites cried for a king, Samuel reminded them that if they chose an earthly king he would take their lands, sons, and money. And as predicted, it happened under Saul, David and Solomon and other kings who followed. Not having learned from the past we hear the religious leaders cry “we have no king except Caesar!” And then with swirling minds we recall Caiaphas saying “it is to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” But Pilate understood their mindset; it was because of envy. This King Jesus had performed miracles such as healing the blind man and raising Lazarus from the dead yet they cried CRUCIFY HIM! They would have no righteous king but a faltering man of human frailties, Caesar.
And so with hardened hearts and stubborn spirits they got what they asked for; the crucifixion of this man who called himself the Son of God; the King of the Jews. The soldiers may have done the nailing but the religious leaders’ hypocrisy pounded each nail along with them.
In the stillness of the two men emerge from the shadows to redeem his crucified body. With great tenderness they remove it and wrap it with aromatic spices before they laid him in a tomb. Unlike the crowd or Caiaphas, they as silent disciples, revealed their hearts by how they responded; Jesus was their king.
The church at Corinth was birthed under Paul but now left to their own they have become divided into Paul camps and Apollo camps. This is a warning to us about this happening to our churches and even para-church organizations. No matter how it comes about, know this; these “holy huddles’ divide. As Paul hears about this, his heart is grieved. This is the sin that grieves not only us but more importantly the Holy Spirit.
We have heard it said over and over and over: you are judging. Now to be sure there are times when we are to judge and to judge righteously when we discern doctrinal error.