John 19

"You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (v11).  The paradox of Jesus’ arrest, beating, and crucifixion was that he was not a helpless martyr; he was following God’s plan.  The authorities were blind and enslaved, representatives of sinful humanity, using violence to “conquer” and humiliate Jesus.  But Jesus fulfilled prophecy (v24, 36, 37) and saved his people not by dramatic use of power, but by accepting our punishment and dying like a criminal.

“King of the Jews” (v19).  Jesus’ victory-through-death turned the use of power upside down.  We are saved by his cross and commanded to follow his pattern, to “have this mind in yourselves …” (Phil 2:5).