Crucify Him

John 19... Jesus has been arrested by the Pharisees and chief priests and is brought before Pilate, who interrogates Him. He, Pilate goes out to the crowd to tell them that he finds no fault in Jesus for anything, but he says in 18:39, “you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 But they all cried out, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a notorious insurrectionist and murderer no doubt awaiting death himself. So reluctantly, Pilate releases Barabbas and brings Jesus back inside, and had the soldiers scourge Him, and punch Him, and mock Him with the crown of thorns.

Then in vs. 4 we read, Pilate went out again (to the crowd), and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him (Jesus) out to you, that you may know that I find no fault at all in Him.”

Twice Pilate says “I find no fault in Him.” There WAS  no fault in Him because, of course, Jesus was the sinless Son of God and perfect.

God has declared even to us; I find no fault in you if  you abide in Christ Jesus. Although God has declared us to be righteous in Christ being born again of God, we, nevertheless, in this life have faults, both physical and spiritual. Nothing much I can do about the physical in my own power, (God will take care of that later) but I desire to overcome my spiritual faults and grow into that “perfect” man, by the Holy Spirit Who can work in me to achieve that end, if I live and walk in the Spirit, Rom. 8:4.

Continuing with John 19 verse 5... Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!” (not your Messiah, not your King, not your God – just a man, he said)  Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”
vs.15 Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Elsewhere in Matthew it says, “ALL  the people said, His blood be upon us and our children.”
What a judgement they declared upon themselves!

But God gave Israel an immediate second chance, as it were, in Acts 2 on Pentecost day, at the end of Peter’s eloquent sermon vs. 36, he said, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

The Jews were pierced in their hearts and pained in their minds at hearing this, and they asked Peter and all the apostles “What shall we do?” vs.37. And Peter gave them the necessary  response to have their Messiah back...
Repent, and be baptized EVERY one of you in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:38
And so 3000 of them did just that. But the prophetic invitation was for EVERY JEW.

Now contrast that with Acts 10:44, While Peter was still speaking these words (to a Gentile), the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. Notice that Peter's gospel message to the Jews was "Repent and be  Baptized" and you will receive the Holy Spirit; because this was "kingdom" gospel, see Matt. 4:23 and Matt. 10:7. 
What is the gospel of Grace as Paul preached? B E L I E V E ! ...and nothing else!

In Acts 3:19-20 Peter again pleads with them, Repent, and turn to God, so that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Messiah, Who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

But this, of course, goes unheeded and even trampled under foot by the nation at large. They have made themselves enemies of God. Which brings God to eventually turn His back on Israel... temporarily, to the point that He destroys their temple in the year 70 AD. With no blood sacrifice today, the Jews have no lawful way of atoning for their sin.

Rom. 11:28-31 says, Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake (Gentiles), but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers (patriarchs). For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.

And so God ordains Paul to go to the Gentiles and reveal the mysteries of Grace apart from the Law. The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17. And Paul is His Apostle to the Gentiles.

The world did not know that God had ordained, before the ages, that He Himself as Jehovah their Messiah, would ultimately make the necessary sacrifice to defeat death, sin, and the power of satan by the power of the Resurrection in Jesus the Christ. It was a mystery, even though it was somewhat foretold in the Old Testament in...

Hosea 13:14, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! I will not repent.”

God had sworn that sin would be punished. There must be a satisfactory payment for sin. But if God punished man for his sin, man would die and go to hell. On the other hand, if He didn’t punish man for his sin, His justice would never be satisfied.”

The solution? He decided that He Himself would become our substitute. He as Jehovah, would take on sinless flesh, (Jesus)  and take the sin of mankind upon Himself in the flesh of His Son who had no sin, upon the cross, in agony and bloody torture—a righteous judgment and substitute for sin, by His own declaration. That fact is a profound  study and devotion.

We have been saved, by the innocent death of Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God. We have been spared from the doom of death, which is eternal separation from God. This was satan’s presumed victory over God, the total annihilation of His creation and eternal separation from God. And he wanted to impose that on Jesus. But unlike Adam, who was himself created without sin but did willingly sin, Jesus could not sin. Neither could He die by the power of death; but He submitted to it voluntarily, as the innocent blood sacrifice which propitiates. Propitiation essentially means satisfaction... God is satisfied!