Herodian coin from Judea with palm branch (right) and wreath (left), 34 AD.
And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” – Luke 23:3
They had remembered hearing the indictment of this gentile governor
while hiding their faces from his Roman judgment seat. Although complicit in Jesus’ prosecution, an illegitimate half-jew Herodian sat powerless while Roman troops ruled the streets of Jerusalem.
While Jesus was not the kind of Messiah King they had expected, He did acknowledge the title bestowed by Jews accusing Jesus of treason against Judah and Rome.
Most amazingly, Jesus has now appeared to these disciples after His resurrection! He continues to appear to hundreds of disciples; here and there, even in the locked rooms of Jerusalem.
Herod’s rule as tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, holds no authority over Judea, ruled by Marcus Pontius Pilatus, Roman prefect (governor) under the emperor Tiberius.
Captive Israel, now named Judea, Samaria, Galilee and Perea had no king, only legions of Rome. Most people lamented for the days of their strong kings, David and Solomon. Occasionally some rebelled against Rome, led by misguided ambitious young lions in hope of glory.
Judge or King?
From the day Israel crossed the Jordan its people encountered many kings of surrounding kingdoms. The Hebrew people had followed the Lord, but judges would become unable to rule this stiff-necked and proud people.
15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord.
“… Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
More than a thousand years before Pilate judged Judea, here marks the beginning of kings of the Jews. Samuel was no more inclined to accept a king of the Jews than the Roman governor Pilate.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel,
“Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
A King to rule over Israel
A risen Christ Jesus must have reminded disciples of the Lord’s anointing of their kings. Its truth had not been as their traditions recalled, but rather a concession to the desires of their forefathers.
… “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” …
5 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”
A Humble King and Triumphant Return
What was it worshipers near Jerusalem had sung while laying palm branches before Jesus?
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
It had been a week of anointing for the King of the Jews.
The Cross had not been the anticipated breaking of Israel’s oppressors, but the Lord’s embracing forgiveness for mankind.
And now with a resurrection begins the ascent to His Kingdom of righteousness and everlasting reign. Jesus certainly must have repeated stories of the kings and predictions of the Prophets. For the Gospels retell those very scriptures.
His disciples hear their beloved friend, the risen Messiah, tell why He had to be crucified on a cross and sacrificed for our sins.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
That you may have Certainty in these Uncertain Times
Recall the guiding theme of our post-resurrection series is witness from the introduction of Luke-Acts and Jesus’ assurances to followers. We continue with the uncertain entry into Canaan after the death of Joshua. Our further focus looks at the consequences of those who had not obeyed the instruction of the Lord.
We know well Moses’ struggle with those who refused to obey the Law, but once again obedience comes into question. The lasting consequence from those those who had not obeyed the Lord became generational struggles for Israel. Obedience to the Law and Commandments became the foundation of righteousness for this people of God, but did not bring complete certainty.
The Hebrew people who complained as slaves saved from Egypt, who challenged Moses and then Joshua now enter another uncertain time of transition.
10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.
23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,2 Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years.3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.
Like Moses and other fathers of the faith Joshua calls the congregation of the people together and witnesses faith. “… you have seen all that the Lord your God has done…” Once again, a call to future generations for ongoing faithfulness. Yet will certainty in the Lord prevail over doubts of mankind?
Promises unfold, along with covenant to be obeyed.
5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.
6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7 that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. 9 For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day…
Sounds good to us. Therefore we will just let the Lord take care of everything for us.
11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God.
Why of course we love the Lord when He is doing everything for us. In their place we probably would have thought, ‘no need to listen further.’
For If You Turn Back
12 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you…
Clear choices. Serve the Lord and He will lead them to victory. Or turn back to doing whatever you like and you will be on your own.
Here we recognize something we see easy enough in others, that they obeyed only their own hearts. But let’s observe how it happened, so that we might not turn back in the same way.
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor;
and they served other gods.
3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many…
Why did the Lord lead Abraham away from the lands where men worshiped idols? Do we see the caution here?
6 “‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time…
More reminders follow of the faithfulness of the Lord, who blessed Israel through Joshua.
13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’
Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve
It’s a choice we have every day, isn’t it? Choose the Lord or choose sin.
… Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord…
Joshua challenges the congregation:
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua even takes authority to speak for his descendants, who will soon succeed him. Think of it as Joshua’s will and testament.
An inspired congregation will all agree.
… “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods…”
If only Israel had obeyed the Lord. But they did not obey. We continue to suffer the consequences to this very day.
Joshua’s Warning
19 But Joshua said to the people,
“You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”
Is Joshua a Prophet; for he accurately foresees what Israel will do next? Moses had issued such warnings as well, in the Lord. Though the people pledge their loyalty to God, Israel will once again turn back in their hearts.
Judges 1:
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction… 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, … but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain… 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem…
Failure to Complete the Conquest
27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.
29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.
31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob,32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain.35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor.
You get the idea. Israel did not live in the promised land by themselves as they do not today. The twelve tribes turned to other gods, as we easily do today.
Israel had neither heeded Joshua’s warning nor obeyed the Lord.
Yet have you obeyed the Lord completely? Do you consider the consequences of your transgressions and for your sins?
Following Joshua; following Jesus
יְהוֹשׁוּעַ from: יְהֹוָה Yĕhovah and יָשַׁע yasha`
This is the meaning of Joshua: The Existing One IS our Savior.
A mortal man cannot save, only the Lord.
Centuries later, even after several defeats of Israel, Jesus walks up to amazed disciples. He appears and teaches His followers for forty days after His Resurrection from the Cross!
Are you offended by me calling you a damn sinner? I must confess: I’m also a sinner every day; in thoughts, words and deeds. In that sense I’m just like you.
Lord, forgive us our treapasses.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God… – Romans 3:23 (but read further for understanding the Sacrifice of Christ)
“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. – Deuteronomy 21:22-23a ESV
I was somewhat shocked to read in a definition that these words have changed meaning. Yet I acknowledge a contemporary preaching trend toward not offending the hearers of God’s word. A brief look at the definition of ‘damn, damnation and damnable’ reads:
These words have undergone a change of meaning since the King James Version was made. They are derived from Latin damnare = ” to inflict a loss,” “to condemn,” and that was their original meaning in English.
Now they denote exclusively the idea of everlasting punishment in hell. It is often difficult to determine which meaning was intended by the translators in the King James Version. They have been excluded altogether from the Revised Version (British and American).
Damnation invades the guilty minds of the wicked. They then accuse the Christian of morality irrelevant to their own demise. Hell for so many revelers is their daily entertainment of self-indulgence. Raising hell becomes their goal of response to a life without meaning and a death without consequence.
A further defining of the concept of damnation will include uncomfortable synonyms given infrequent consideration by most men of dust. These include:
condemn, damn, judgment, avenge, accusation, go to law, pernicious, perdition, destruction, waste, die and to perish.
Not a list of well-used words in our 21st century lexicon or smiling solicitations from some pulpits.
Not to dwell too long in these hell-pointing descriptions above for damnation, but here would be the time to mention that other contemporarily offensive word: sin.
Sin, damnation and other uncomfortable, almost archaic words like judgement point to man’s accountability to God.
Jesus, the Messiah, perfect and sinless, became substitution for my sins and for yours. God therefore sacrificed His righteousness, undeserving of death, as redemption from the damnation you and I deserve.
The sin of man and love of God led to the Cross.
Jesus and Judgment
For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver;
the LORD is our king; he will save us. – Isaiah 33:22
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples…
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin?
No, they could not convict the Son of Man of sin. The accusers of Jesus could only bring the righteous Messiah to the Cross by bribery and lies.
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
A King’s Condemnation for the Sins of His Subjects
.. Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people…
55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples left him and fled.
57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered…
59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’”
62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
63 But Jesus remained silent.
And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?”
They answered, “He deserves death.”
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
The Damn Shall Hang on a Cross, Yet this Passover Sacrifice is Pure
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law…
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
… he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him… – Hebrews 5:8b-9
Only two mortal choices: judgement or grace.
Are you a damn sinner? Or are you a forgiven sinner In Christ?
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Herod’s rule as tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, holds no authority over Judea, ruled by Marcus Pontius Pilatus, Roman prefect (governor) under the emperor Tiberius.
Centuries later, even after several defeats of Israel, Jesus walks up to amazed disciples. He appears and teaches His followers for forty days after His Resurrection from the Cross! 
Not to dwell too long in these hell-pointing descriptions above for damnation, but here would be the time to mention that other contemporarily offensive word: 