King of the Jews (The Confrontation of Kingdoms)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, the entrance of Your Word gives light!

We ask that You will shine the light of Your Word into our hearts,

so that it may be reflected in our lives and illuminate the world around us.

Amen

The Gospel of John

During the course of the previous century, this much loved Gospel came under attack on several fronts. Some of the same arguments are still being used today. But we are much better equipped to deal with them now.

When I was a young man worshipping at Zion Evangelical Church and later at the Methodist Central Hall, the Gospel of John was a great favourite, used almost to the exclusion of the other Gospels. If you were preaching an open-air sermon on the streets of Plymouth, or if you were giving out tracts or Gospels, then the Gospel of John was the go-to Gospel.

Then one day disaster struck. Some experts started to say that the Gospel of John was too late to be authentic, that it was too Greek to be Jewish, and that the bit about being born again (ἄνωθεν LSJ) really did not mean that at all. A mixture of panic and distress set in, as concerned Christians tried to figure out whether this was true and what they should do about it.

I comforted my brothers and sisters in the faith by telling them that we may not have the manuscript evidence to support an apostolic dating yet but it will come in time. But for now we just need to trust the Lord. My faith was fully justified, because the manuscript discoveries just kept on coming, including some early manuscripts of the Gospel of John. Today, some of our earliest fragments of the New Testament are of the Gospel of John. We also now know from the Dead Sea Scrolls that some of the concepts from John’s Gospel that were previously considered Greek had wide circulation among Jewish people during the Second Temple Period .

The Gospel of John has also been attacked for being anti-Semitic. Its detractors have claimed that it supports hatred for the Jewish people. But this theory is flawed for a number of reasons: 1) John יוחנן is a Hebrew name meaning ‘the Lord is gracious’, 2) The Gospel of John identifies Jesus as a Rabbi (1:38, 4;31, 11:8), 3) The Gospel of John recounts Jesus saying ‘salvation is of the Jews’ (4:22), 4) attackers point out that most of Jesus’ enemies in the Gospel of John were Jews, but so were his family, friends, and followers. Could it be something to do with the fact that he lived in Israel? The internal evidence exposes claims of anti-Semitism as preposterous.

Perhaps the most interesting of the manuscript fragments of the Gospel of John (18:31-33, 18:37-38 contains some of our passage for today - approx. 2.5 by 3.5 inches) is P52 (Oxy) known as the John Rylands fragment (similar P.Oxy.2533). Some think that P52 may be only 20 years away from the original. It was sitting in the John Rylands Library at Manchester. It was probably written around the close of the first century or the beginning of the second. This means that the Gospel of John must have been composed prior to that time. It had been discovered in 1920, but it was not until 1934 that its significance was realised by C H Roberts [TENTGM]. This means that all that fuss about it being too late to be authentic was a complete waste of time, as this theory had been disproved decades earlier.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I don’t think that you need any specialist knowledge to realise that John 3 is about spiritual rebirth. Those liberal scholars had caused all that fuss and distress for no good reason. You can get this from the use of the words and their context in the passage. But you may describe your calling to the service of Christ in different terms.

Introduction

Today, we going to briefly consider Jesus’ discussion with Pilate.

Much has been written and said about this confrontation of kingdoms at a popular level using just the information that we have in the Gospels.

In this sermon I am going to attempt to fill the picture out a bit, using additional historical information from other sources as a way to clarify some issues, and raise some interesting areas of enquiry.

We will be looking at the characters in this drama.

We will look at the dynamics of the situation.

We will look at the outcome of the situation.

Then finally we shall ask, What does all this mean for us?

The Characters

Caiaphas and the Temple Authorities and their supporters.

The Gospel of John is marked by a curious contradiction about a high-priest. Caiaphus is clearly seen as the bad guy who handed Jesus over to the Romans. But Caiaphas is presented in John’s Gospel as speaking of prophecy regarding the death of Jesus.

As long as the high-priesthood offered sacrifices on behalf of the Roman Emperor Judaism was tolerated, and the high-priest was secure. The Jewish high-priesthood came under Roman control after they invaded in 63 BC.

Pontius Pilate - Saint or Sinner?

On a popular level you could be forgiven for thinking that Pontius Pilate and his wife were good people caught up in a difficult situation. You might also be forgiven for thinking that he had tried his best to save Jesus but that he gave in to Jewish pressure.

Pontius Pilate is a somewhat controversial figure. Depending on who you listen to, he was either a true saint of God [DJGSE] or a cruel and vicious tyrant with no regard for the Jews or their culture. So we are going to take a brief look at him.

Pontius Pilate was the Roman Prefect of Judea from AD 26-37 who authorised the crucifixion of Jesus. His place in history is confirmed by an Inscription at Caesarea Maritima and some coins. Pontius Pilate was no stranger to this role and authorised many such executions.

He was probably from the equestrian order and rose up the military ranks to become a Praefectus. Judea was probably under military rule because it had only recently come under direct Roman control. Pilate’s headquarters were at Caesarea Maritima. He was in Judea to keep order, which could be quite tricky at times. On one occasion he had to take down military standards because it offended Jewish religion. He had come very close to a blood bath. During another such confrontation he did not back down and so Jewish protestors were beaten by soldiers causing some deaths.

Four of Herod’s sons complained about the presence of shields with offensive inscriptions in Jerusalem to the emperor Tiberius, and he made Pilate move them.

Philo characterised Pilate as a savage barbarian. In human terms, the crucifixion of Jesus or his release was entirely a matter of Pilates discretion. Pilate’s downfall came a few years after the crucifixion in AD 36 when he sent soldiers to confront a so-called Samaritan messiah. There were a number of casualties and fatalities. The Samaritan leaders complained to Vitellius, the Syrian Legate, who ordered Pilate to report to Caesar to explain himself. In the mean time Tiberius died and he ended up reporting to Gaius Caligula, and that is the last that we hear of him.

Some people struggle with perceived inconsistencies between the biblical record and other historical sources. But I am not convinced that there is an inconsistency.

Barabbas - What’s in a name?

We don’t know very much about Barabbas. His name sounds like the Aramaic for ‘son of father’. Barabbas’ father may have been called Abba. Some have suggested that Barrabbas was the son of a famous Rabbi. This idea is supported by some manuscripts for Mark 15 and John 18:40 [CNTTS 2021]. A textual variant for Matthew 27:16-17 gives his full name as Jesus Barabbas. This is not improbable since Jesus/Joshua was one of the most common names in the Holy Land during the 1st century.

Barrabas is described by the Gospels as a murderer and insurrectionist (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19; cf. Acts 3:14), a notorious prisoner, and a robber/bandit (John 18:40). This type of person was often popular with ordinary people because they preyed on the wealthy establishment of Israel and created havoc for the occupying Roman Government. Some have even suggested that Barabbas had messianic pretensions [AYBD]. Certainly, with a name like Jesus son of the Father, this sounds like a possibility.

Jesus - What’s in a name?

Jesus may have had the same first name as Barabbas that is where the similarity ends.

Jesus was and is the true Son of the Father. Jesus was a Rabbi, a healer, and miracle worker, who did not wish to bring about a military confrontation with the Romans. He had done no harm to anyone, and had a lot of popular support among Jewish people, but not the support of Roman collaborators like the high-priests.

Pontius Pilate appears to have seen Jesus as a pawn in his game of one-up-manship with the Jews. He was ambitious and ruthless, but Jesus humbled himself and took upon himself the form of a servant. Pilate took lives to further his kingdom, but Jesus gave life to further his kingdom.

The Situation

It is possible that Jesus’ attitude to commercial activity in the Temple may have influenced the attitude of Caiaphus towards Jesus.

There are at least two duals going on in this situation.

1) The dual between the People and the Temple Authorities. The Temple authorities were collaborators with Roman and stirred up their supporters against Jesus of Nazareth.

2) The second dual was between the People and Pilate. Pilate was the senior military authority in the region. No legal executions took place without his personal authorisation. But it will have amused him to put the blame for the execution of a Jewish community leader upon other Jews. This aspect of Pilates character is reported very carefully in the Gospels, for obvious reasons. The story was reported so that it gave the facts in a way that could be interpreted in Pilates favour, but no-body in the know would be fooled.

The Choice

They had a choice between two Jesus’. The innocent or the guilty. The real Messiah or the false messiah. The right but difficult way, or the wrong but easy way. The way that was best for Pilate and Rome, or the way that was best for the Jewish community that he was responsible for.

The Outcome

The discussion between Jesus and Pilate would lead directly to the cross. Pagan Rome saw Jesus as inconsequential. His kingdom was not of this world. Such a sentiment will have been meaningless to Pilate. He saw Jesus as just one more foreign trouble-maker to remove out of the way. But this was the turning point of world history.

What Rome could not know was that by crucifying their opposition they would ultimately bring about their own defeat and transformation from a pagan anti-Christian power to a Christian Empire, though the transformation which began with the crucifixion of Jesus would take 3-4 centuries.

What Does All of This Mean to Me?

Pontius Pilate wanted to be seen to be doing the right thing while he was in fact doing the complete opposite. He did not care who paid the price as long as it was not him.

Jesus was a very popular leader of the Jewish people. Pilate was very careful about the questions that he asked and careful about how he handled the case, so that he could do what he wanted and put the blame on someone else.

All of us at one time or another have had to choose between a difficult path that we know to be right, and an easy path that we know to be wrong. No doubt we need to make such a choice again. In such circumstances as these we need to make the right choice.

Jesus challenged Caiaphas and his followers because they were in the wrong, but they just dug their heels in. Caiaphas had bought his position from Rome with money but knew that he did not belong there.

Barabbas solved his problems with the sword. It is not easy to accept the level of success that guilty people achieve in this world. But it is one of the harsh realities of life. In this case it was essential so that God’s plan of salvation could be fulfilled. How do we solve our problems? It is not always an easy choice. but we are called to be peace-makers.

Jesus set out to be true to his calling, and so the innocent took the place of the guilty. As I have often said in the past, if people are going to be saved then someone has to pick up the tab. Someone has to pay the price. And that someone was Jesus. Jesus died for you.

Will you give yourself for Him?

Philippians 2:5–11 NIV

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

AMEN