So You Are A King?

Introduction

This morning we are closing out our series on the The World of Jesus

-Pilate is having this conversation with Jesus and asking Jesus who He is.

-It appears that Pilate has some understanding of who people say that Jesus is.

-It seems as though nobody wants to take it upon themselves to say who Jesus is, nor does anyone want to be blamed for killing Jesus.

-It certainly appears that the Jewish leaders want Jesus to be killed.

-John 18:31 “31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected.”

-It also appears that Pilate gives in to the killing almost more to keep the angry crowds from storming his palace and courtyard.

-We see OT laws being followed because they wanted to avoid ceremonial uncleanness.

John 18:28 “28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.”

Its like the political leaders and the religious leaders are playing a game of hot potato. Nobody wants to be caught holding the hot potato for fear of being wrong or fear of a riot. While you can see from the text that both parties know the rules and regulations they are willing to play games with them for a certain outcome.

-Two ruling parties at play here.

-Sanhedrin was Israels highest judical court however it did not have the power of capital punishment.

-Roman government would have that authority to punish someone with death.

Jesus challenges the rule of the day when he is arrested and brought before Pilate. Pilate is faced with decisions to make. A decision of earthly rule or a decision of heavenly kingdom rule. Pilate has to live with the decisions he makes.

In our life and world today we are faced with the fact that our decisions affect who we are. If we are a follower of Jesus then does our decisions live up to the life that Jesus lived?

Who is your king? Is your king of this world or is your king Jesus Christ? Do your actions, do your decisions in life represent your king or are you playing hot potato and dont want to be caught holding the potato at times in your life?

John 18:28–19:16 NLT

28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” 30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted. 31 “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.) 33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. 34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” 37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” 38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?” 40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.) 1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face. 4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!” 6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” “Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.” 7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” 11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” 12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.” 13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!” 15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back. 16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away.

Questioning the True King

John 18:33–38 “Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.”

Full picture of this game of hot potato

-Jesus betrayed and arrested

-Jesus taken before Annas who is the father-in-law of the high priest

-Peter denies Jesus 3 times

-Jesus taken to Caiaphas

-Jesus before pilate, this is where our text begins this morning.

-Notice that bouncing hot potato in our passage from outside to inside over and over again.

Jesus is questioned 2 times about who he is

-verse 33 “Are you the king of the Jews?”

-This question has tons of political meaning behind it.

-No Jew has held the title of King since Herod

-Rome had not authorized any kings since the coming of the govenors like Pilate

-It was the Sanhedrin that was in the background feeding information to Pilate, and Jesus even asks him, “Is this your own questions or did others tell you about me?” Gotta love answering a question with a question, especially in court.

-John doesnt give us much background so we have to look at Lukes gospel to see what it is that the Sanhedrin may be telling Pilate.

-Luke 23:2 “2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.””

-verse 37 “So you are a king?”

-to which Jesus responds with “You say I am a king.”

Its this game of hot potato that just keeps on going. He’s your king, no he’s your king.

Confronting Worldly Pressure

John 18:39–19:6 “But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.””

In asking Jesus if he is the King of the Jews Pilate needs to figure out what kind of king the sanhedrin thinks Jesus is. Pilate must uncover if Jesus is involved in some political sedition, is he one more Jewish terrorist with a bunch of messianic notions and a band of well-armed followers?

Pilate must confront the angry crowds outside and he even uses the terminology of King of the Jews.

-John 18:39 “39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?””

-Jesus in this entire conversation back and forth never says he is a king yet Pilate now labels him the king of the Jews.

-By using the phrase King of the Jews, Pilate is almost endorsing Jesus to something that Pilate feels is no threat to Rome.

-Should I release Jesus to you? Isnt that your wordly custom to release one prisoner each year at passover?

The world says no, not the king of the Jews we want Barabbas!

-Talk about a terrorist, someone who could pose a huge threat to Rome.

-Luke 23:19 “19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)”

-Why would the Jewish leaders want him released?

The ultimate worldly pressure on display for all to see.

-John 19:6 “6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.””

Proclaiming Divine Authority

John 19:7–11 “The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.””

Throughout this passage we see Jesus as level headed, not combative, not a physical threat, but yet maintain his composure with explaining to Pilate and those around him that his authority is divine and comes from the Father?

-John 18:36–37 “36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.””

-We already saw Jesus put a stop to that back in the garden when Peter slices off the ear of the high priests slave and Jesus rebukes Peter and heals the slave.

-Perhaps a lesson about how we are to live in God’s kingdom, not with a heavy hand and violence but with mercy and compassion. Here Jesus demonstrates that in his response to Pilate.

-”Earthly rule wont work when your source is spiritual.”

-Jesus is in fact the King of the Jews, but he is more than that. He is the King over heaven and earth including the Romans.

-His source however is from heaven above.

-Jesus is connecting the kingdom of God with the kingdom on earth.

-With this new kingdom it brings with it judgement for those who choose to follow the world and redemption for those who choose to follow Christ.

-Jesus continues to further explain why He was there, why He came to earth.

11  Adversity removes the cloak of “what we are supposed to be” to reveal the truth of what we are.

Charles Stanley

How to Handle Adversity (1989)

Charles Stanley

-Jesus says he came to testify to the truth and everyone on the side of truth listens to him.

-I dont think we need a reminder about the world we live in today and the lack of truth. I sometimes wonder what the men and women who walked this earth before us would think about this topic if they were with us today.

-We have whole entire websites dedicated to fact checking and trying to determine what is true and what is not.

-Or maybe with the response from Pilate we can take our future predictions when he asks “What is truth”.

Tony Evans says this about truth - “Sadly, Pilate’s question is repeated by this fallen postmodern world today. Many in our culture reject the notion of absolute truth. “Truth” to them is relative—that is, what’s true for one person isn’t necessarily true for another. But this is preposterous. Truth is the absolute standard by which reality is measured. It’s not something that changes based on feelings or perspective. A person can deny that gravity is true, but if he decides to jump off a building to prove it, he’s going to find that truth doesn’t care about his feelings or perspective. Truth exists whether you embrace it or not.”

Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 1060.

-Pilate claims he finds him not guilty but the crowd wont have it and so Pilate gives in and says fine have it your way, you crucify him. Continuing this game of hot potato.

-The Jewish leaders dont want blood on their hands and they feel compelled to give the reason for their demands, that Jesus was guilty because he claimed to be the Son of God.

-Earlier John writes this about the crowds - John 5:18 “18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

-The Jewish leaders feel they have finally accomplished what they set out to do in John 5.

-Pilate still is not convinced, even worse he is really getting scared that he will end up holding the hot potato. He takes Jesus back inside again. This time he almost appears to have a little concern in his voice. “Come on man where are you really from, why wont you talk with me? Dont you realize the power that I have?” Its like he doesn’t want to play the power card but he just wants to get the answers he is looking for.

-In Jesus’ final answer he says you have no power over me unless it is given to you from above.

-Two important truths are wrapped up in Jesus’s statement.

-First any authority that Pilate has or that you and I have is ultimately granted by God and so with that authority will it be used for kingdom purposes or not?

-How we answer that question has serious consequences because we will one day be called to give an account for our own use of authority.

-Second, remember that God is your ultimate authority. Anyone who seeks to rule over you illegitimately will not have the final say. Here Pilate may be a boss, but he isn’t the boss.

One day, I was watching a toddler try to boss around their dog, ordering it to sit and stay. The dog, of course, just wagged its tail and ignored the child. Then, the parent stepped in and simply said, 'Sit!' and the dog obeyed immediately. Jesus’ authority is like that—a reflection of the Father’s command, powerful and undeniable. We can try to lead our lives with our own rules, but ultimately, it is through Christ’s authority that we find true obedience and peace!

Perseverance Through Injustice

John 19:12–16 “From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.”

Pilate I think was trying hard to release Jesus but he will ultimately give in to the wordly pressures. Pilate said, that he found Jesus not guilty but he handed him over to the crowds anyways. Maybe for Pilate it made him fell good that he made that statement.

In this game of hot potato we see the Jewish leaders even cross the line into the earthly kingship to say that if you release release this man your no friend of Caesar, anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.

-Perhaps the last toss of the hot potato because the Jewish leaders have now escalated this debate to the point that Pilate is backed into a corner. He has really no options here to save him. If he releases Jesus the crowds will most likely go straight to Caesar.

With that Pilate sits on the seat of judgment, with one last attempt he asks the crowds “Look this is your king, do you really want to crucify your king?. To that crowds respond Crucify him! We have no king but Caesar.

Friends we all will stand before Jesus on the day of judgement. We all will stand before him to answer for the decisions we have made in our lives, for the times that perhaps we acted more like the crowds or Pilate than we acted like a disciple of Jesus. Perhaps there are times in our life when we denied Jesus like Peter did. But see if you missed everything else this morning know this, that Jesus stood before Pilate, that Jesus was beaten, killed and nailed to a tree for you and for me. No matter the things of our past today is your day to say yes to Jesus.

***Band to come up

Closing

Pilate asks Jesus “Are you the king of the Jews?”, Pilate asks Jesus “So you are a King?”, Pilate asks Jesus if he knows the power he has yet Jesus stays as cool as a cucumber. Jesus doesn’t give in to worldly pressures, Jesus perseveres through the injustice put before him and Jesus claims his authority rightfully from God the father above.

-Matthew 28:18–19 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

…and the best thing is that Jesus promises to be with us to the end.

-Matthew 28:20 “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

Jesus is Israel’s king, despite what his enemies are doing to him, Jesus is the True king, despite their refusal to recognize him. Perhaps when we see this, we see the greatest “misunderstanding” of the gospel. When we only apprehend the surface of Jesus’ identity or message we only see a woman at the well giving Jesus a cup of water, we only see a rabbi trying to get back into the womb. Its when we see the full depth of Jesus identity that we understand that Jesus was offering a river of life to that women and that you dont have to be born again of an earthly birth but be born of a spiritual birth.

Earlier in chapter 18 while in the garden John 18:5–6 “5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

-See I think that deep down the guards in the garden, Pilate and you and me know who Jesus is.

“Who is your king?” What in your life is ruling over you. Are you playing the game of hot potato and just hoping your not left holding the potato when your life is finished?

Or is your King Jesus Christ? See friends through his life, through the arrest and trial, through his death on a tree Jesus becomes our redeemer. Jesus shed his blood for you and for me and became the sacrificial lamb that covers our sin.

When we seek to find the full depth of His love then we begin to understand His sacrifice and from that understanding we desire to know him more. To grow in our knowledge of who Jesus is and to ultimately serve him now, here today is His kingdom here on earth.

Amen