April 02, 2026 | Be Connected
The Cross is a Display
Scripture: John 19:1-27(NIV)
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 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. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Devotional
At the Cross by Chris Tomlin is a favorite song of mine. The chorus goes like this:
At the Cross, At the Cross
I surrender my life
I’m in awe of you, I’m in awe of you
Where your love ran red, and my sin washed white
I owe all to you, I owe all to you
What do you see at the cross? I mean really see. Here is a story some of us have heard many times. We are so familiar with it that maybe, just maybe we really don’t see everything.
The cross is a display of the evil of humanity. There is the crown of thorns smashed on Jesus’ head. A purple robe is thrown on him and there is mockery of royalty. Jesus is made to carry his own cross after he had been flogged so that his skin had been ripped open. People are yelling ‘Crucify Him”. Quite a cruel sight to see and hear.
The cross is also a display of our sovereign God. Through Jesus’ suffering and all the betrayal, God was/is on the throne. Divvying up Jesus’s clothing was all a part of the plan to fulfill the scripture. No matter what was being done to Jesus, he was still “King of the Jews” and the “King of all Kings”. Our God is sovereign. There is no such thing as luck and there are no accidents. Jesus didn’t suffer by accident.
Can you see where the cross is a display of the love of Jesus? Jesus endured excruciating pain for you and for me. He carried his own cross and experienced anguish, agony, shame and was stripped of his dignity. Jesus dyed for us when we were still sinners to show us his love. With all he had to suffer, he still loves you.
Lastly the cross display is a choice for us. Will you choose to be angry like the crowd, neutral like Pilate, or stand by the cross? When you stand at the cross you look to Jesus and receive his love and protection. He is the true King of the Jew. Who/what rules your life?
Words and Music by CHRIS TOMLIN, ED CASH, MATT ARMSTRONG, JONAS MYRIN, and MATT REDMAN
Copyright 2014 Worship Together Music / sixsteps Songs / S.D.G. Publishing/ McKittrick Music / Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Songs (BMI) / FOTS Music / Countless Wonder Publishing /
Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Tunes (SESAC) / worshiptogether.com Songs / sixsteps Music / Said And Done Music (ASCAP) (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing) /
Thankyou Music (PRS) (admin. worldwide by CapitolCMGPublishing.com, excluding Europe, which is administered by IntegrityMusic.com) /
SHOUT! Music Publishing (APRA) (admin. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. CCLI Song No. Pending
