John 19 Lesson

THE TREATMENT OF JESUS

John starts Chapter 19 by documenting the horrific treatment that Jesus received immediately prior to His crucifixion:

• Jesus was scourged (whipped),
• They placed a crown of thorns upon His head,
• He was placed in a purple robe,
• People slapped Him and spat upon Him.

It is difficult to read about how the blood-thirsty mob treated Jesus, but it is important for us to understand so that we can learn from Jesus’ example.

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

If anyone had reason to take vengeance, it was Jesus. He selflessly came to earth to pay the price for our sins and to teach us about how to get to Heaven.

Jesus taught us that the two greatest commandmentsare to:

1. Love God with all our heart, soul, and mind,
2. Love our neighbor as ourselves.

The jealous leaders of the day did not want to give up their power and so they mocked, beat, and killed our Savior.

Jesus could have destroyed those leaders, but that was not what He was here to do. Jesus knew that His purpose on Earth was to do two things:

1. Glorify His Father,
2. Serve others.

Instead of taking vengeance, Jesus turned the other cheek and continued to do the will of His Father.

That is the example that we are to follow!

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT VENGEANCE

The Bible has a lot to say about vengeance.

For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following five verses:

1. “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: ‘Vengeanceis Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” – Romans 12:19,
2. “I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict My vengeance onthem.” - Ezekiel 25:17,
3. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.    If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.” – Mathew 5:38-40,
4. For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” - Hebrews 10:30,
5. “You shall not take vengeance, nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” -Leviticus 19:18.

VENGEANCE BELONGS TO GOD

It is not our place to take vengeance.

Vengeance belongs to God, and God alone.

Any time that we spend contemplating vengeance puts our souls at risk because we are not focusing on what the Bible teaches us that we should be doing.

As children of God and disciples of Jesus, our time on Earth is to be spent doing two things:

1. Glorifying God,
2. Serving others.

Whatever offense we have suffered, it is nothing compared to the abuse that Jesus suffered.

Like Jesus, we must continue to focus on eternal things and turn the other cheek when we are wronged.

TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK

During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

• “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.    If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.” – Mathew 5:38-40,

It is not our place to retaliate, as we see in the following excerpt from gotquestions.org:

“Retaliation is what most people expect and how worldly people act. Turning the other cheek requires help from on high. Responding to hatred with love and ignoring personal slights display the supernatural power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and may afford the chance to share the gospel. Jesus was, of course, the perfect example of turning the other cheek because He was silent before His accusers and did not call down revenge from heaven on those who crucified Him. Instead, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

CONCLUSION

Jesus is God’s Son.  

He is deity.  

He could have called 10,000 angels to set Him free, and yet when they chanted, “Crucify Him!” He did not defend Himself.  

When they slapped Him, He did not fight back.  

None of us will ever be put in the situation that Jesus was.  All of us, however, will be tested.  

From time to time, we will find ourselves in situations where people are treating us poorly, and we may get the urge to retaliate in some way.   The Bible teaches us not to do that.   Jesus tells us that instead of retaliating when we are wronged, we are to “turn the other cheek.”

We will conclude today’s lesson with a scripture taken from Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount which is commonly referred to as “The Beatitudes.”

• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.   Blessedare those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.   Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – Mathew 5:9-12.