Whence
Art Thou?
John 19:9 “And went again into the
judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art
thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10
Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou
not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to
crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest
have no power at all against me, except it were
given thee from above: therefore he that delivered
me unto thee hath the greater sin.
12
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him:
but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man
go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh
himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying,
he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment
seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in
the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14 And it
was the preparation of the passover, and about the
sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your
King!
15 But they cried out,
Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate
saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The
chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then delivered he him therefore
unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and
led him away.”
1. The Outer Space Visitor
2. The
Earthly Power
3. The Heavenly Power
4. The
Sixth Hour
1. The Outer Space Visitor
Verse nine: “And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.”
“Whence art thou?” Pilate is asking Jesus Christ: Where are you from?
Now, Pilate knew that Jesus was from Nazareth, but down deep in his soul he sensed that Jesus wasn’t from any geographical location on the Earth. Thus the question: “Whence art thou?” Where did you really come from?
If Jesus Christ is not from here on the Earth, then HE must be from somewhere out of this world. This means the SON of GOD is a visitor from outer space. In the book of Psalms chapter forty-eight, verse two, we see this outer space location is “in the sides of the north.” “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” [Psalm 48:2]
The “sides of the north” incidentally, was the location, or the place, of Satan’s rebellion. The DEVIL wanted “the sides of the north” all to himself. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” [Isaiah 14:13].
Now, the “sides of the north” is far above the height of all the stars that we can see in the night. look with me in [Job 22:12] “Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!”
Then, Job thirty-eight, verse one: “the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,” [Job 38:1].
Now skip down to to verse thirty-eight: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?” [Job 38:31] Yes, Jesus Christ [we can conclude] has an out of this world home. This is no surprise here, because Jesus Christ is GOD HIMSELF. Amen!
2. The Earthly Power
Verse ten: “Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?”
All hail the Gentile power! Now, this is the way it has been from time in memorial. Ever since the institution of human government, the princes of the Gentiles have exercised authority over their subjects. We see this truth verified by Jesus Christ in Matthew twenty, verse twenty-five: “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.” [Matthew 20:25]
Who can blame Pilate? Pilate is only doing his thing. [Romans 13:1] “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”
3. The Heavenly Power
Verse eleven: “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”
Pilate now, quickly sobers up. There is something inside of him telling him that this is no ordinary human standing before him. It is God "come in the flesh" that is “lining out” Pilate concerning where Rome’s governmental authority came from in the first place!
[For now, and only this one time, the Son of God would willingly submit to Pilate’s authority.]
The Apostle Paul by the Holy Ghost laid it out this way in the book of Acts: “Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” [Acts 17:3] The orders “from above” required that Jesus Christ would willingly submit to the judgment of Caesar ... the earthly power that was “ordained of God.”
4. The Sixth Hour
Verse fourteen: “And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!”
Everything is time driven. Do you know that? The events of the creation, the very length of the solar day and night [12+12 = 24 hours], the prediction of the coming of a world-wide flood in Noah’s day [120 years, Genesis 6:3], and the seventy weeks of years “determined upon thy people” [Israel] till the Kingdom of Heaven comes. [Daniel 9:24-27]
Friend, even the very length of the days of a man’s life on this earth is determined in time. [Psalm 90:10] “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
Now, TIME is fleeting, and this is why, the believers in Jesus Christ are commanded to REDEEM THE TIME! [Colossians 4:5] “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”
Now, back to our text here in John nineteen. Remember EVERYTHING is time driven. It was now time for “the preparation of the Passover.” The Passover Lamb HIMSELF was being prepared in fulfillment of the prophecy of John the Baptist! “And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” [John 1:36]
It was now, the sixth hour. It was, as we call it, HIGH noon. It was now time to kill the PASSOVER.
Friend, the event of the PASSOVER, [in the book of Exodus] that had occurred in Egypt, which is a type of the world was to point to a then future event that would occur in the fullness of time [at the right time]. Now, here we are, and it is the right time! “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” [Galatians 4:4]
Let us now read in Exodus twelve, verse twenty-one and twenty-two: “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.” [Exodus 12:21-22]
Now, turn with me to Genesis chapter twenty-two, and we will read there in verse eight. Are you ready? “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” [Genesis 22:8]
In the year of 1871 B.C., God revealed to man [Abraham] that HE would provide “himself a lamb” at just the right time, at HIGH NOON in human history, so to speak. Then, one thousand, and nine hundred, and four years later, the LAMB came to REDEEM MAN from the curse of the law which is death.
Oh, yes, it is GREAT GRACE that is given to us! “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” [Galatians3:13].
Do you see it? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took our place.
He died for us … you and I.
Behold the Lamb of God!