"...This is My Story..." The Testimony of Jesus

Introduction

As we talked about last week, we talk about the power we have when we share our story.

One of the most amazing truths about life if the fact that everyone has a story.

In Christian circles, we call story our “testimony”

A testimony is a statement for the purpose of establishing and recording truth.

Testimonies or witnesses that do otherwise are false. This reality plays out in divine or human court.

We said that God shares His unspoken testimony to the world through His creation.

Everything we see and experience bears light to God’s “handiwork”.

God is not satisfied with simply being noticed though. In , we recognized that God made His agenda clear to Israel.

He wanted the people to know that He was without a shadow of a doubt, their Savior. There was no other God that could earn this distinction.

His testimony is valid.

Unlike other religions in this world, Christianity doesn’t hide.

“For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. ()

God has never hidden His agenda. He is the savior to the world and is establishing a kingdom on this earth.

God furthered His story by sending His son Jesus to the world.

There are many passages that tell us clearly the testimony of Jesus. I have chosen to deliver one to you for the sake of clear understanding.

Do you feel the tension of Christianity in our world? Why are there people struggling with Christians? A boxing match weigh-in. Two big personalities in one room.

The difference between a Christian and a non Christian is the fact that truth is settled for one and truth isn’t for the other.

The book of John shows us this tension. What are the tensions of scripture that still exist today because of Jesus?

John 18:28–40 NASB95

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. “But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

1. The Tension of Falsehood. ( V 28-32)

The Jewish leaders show us brought a false testimony to the table against Jesus.

It was early in the morning. The fourth watch was from 3:00am to 6:00am according to the way the Romans divided the night. It was not unusual for a Roman governor to begin their duties very early in the morning.

Bringing Jesus to Pilate’s praetorium (The tent of General) involved problems for the Jews. They could not come into the palace of a gentile so that they could avoid becoming ceremonially unclean.

They would have been declared unclean for 7 days and would not have been able to eat the Passover meal. There is irony here. They were being careful to not contract ritual uncleanness, but were making themselves guilty of a far worse crime: seeking the death of an innocent man.

Pilate asked them to state their charge against Jesus. He wasn’t ignorant of the charge. He demanded that they bring a formal accusation.

The Jewish leaders were conscious that they had no case that Pilate could take notice of. They claimed that He was a criminal in their own law and attempted to spin the situation without having to claim any specific charges.

The Jews did not have authority to execute Jesus which was why they had come to Pilate the Roman governor.

If they did carry out an execution, it would have to be stoning “mob like” situation that the Romans would ignore. The Jews wanted a more formal execution by the Romans to take the blame off of themselves as the spiritual men of the city amongst the Jews.

Their attempt to use tact worked completely in the hand of Jesus who already knew the death that He was going to die.

In India, the Hindus often go after the reputation of a person instead of their body. They lie about a persons character to destroy their life and destroy their witness.

The Jewish leaders claimed to be a witness. A witness tells what he or she has seen or personally experienced in a court of a law. Due to their lack of belief in Jesus, they allowed their own agenda to override their morality.

We are facing this tension today. The cultural norm is to reject the teachings of Jesus and make a claim to something else.

People don’t want to be pegged to this concept while losing their dignity. As a result, nonbelievers will do everything they can to take away the dignity of Christianity while holding on to their superiority.

If people were willing to lie about Jesus, than we can accept that they will attempt to lie about you and me.

Jesus stood in the face of this scrutiny providing and example for us all.

2. The Tension of Truthfulness. (33-38)

- “Truth spoken stands firm forever, but lies live only for a moment.”

Pilate encountered “The way, the truth, and the life” in bodily form when he spoke to Jesus. The Jews painted Jesus as a rival to Caesar. Jesus was not intimidated by the men who had arrested Him, the high priest Annas, or Pilate the governor.

Jesus questioned the type of kingdom that Pilate was asking about. Pilate pointed out the shameful situation that Jesus seemed to be in. He was shunned by His own people in Pilates eyes.

Jesus rejected this shame by speaking of His kingdom that is not of this world. His kingdom was in another place.

Jesus controlled the direction of this conversation by claiming that He did have a kingdom but not of this world.

Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God to Nicodemus, but refused to made a king by the crowds.

Jesus rejected the attempt by Peter to prevent His arrest.

The Kingdom - This was not Jesus’ first exchange about the kingdom. The devil tempted Jesus by taking Him to a high mountain and showing Him the kingdoms of the world and all of their splendour.

Jesus corrected the devil’s theology, reaffirming that the Lord alone has power over the kingdoms oft he world and that He alone is worthy of worship.

Jesus was given the task to preach the kingdom of God in His early ministry.

The kingdom is present in the person, ministry, and miracles of Jesus. He is the narrow gate, the one who has the key to open the way for people to enter the kingdom. When He is present, the kingdom of God is present but it is not a visible or political kingdom.

He taught people to pray, “Your kingdom come,” implying that the kingdom is not fully realized.

The early church confessed Jesus as King of the kingdom.

We can clearly see that Jesus had no interest in gaining ground in the physical kingdom of Israel. He had a greater purpose in mind.

Verse 37 tells us the purpose of Jesus’ ministry. He came to “bear witness to the truth”.

Pilate would catch little of this truth. Jesus meant absolute truth. A truth that Pilate did not have a thirst of.

Truth is what proves itself over time.

Jesus claimed that He told the truth and that He bore witness to the truth. His actions presented an accurate picture of God’s plan and purpose for human existence. His Jewish interrogators could not grasp what he was saying because they did not abide in the truth. To be in the truth means to abide in God; to be in error means to be separated from God.

We cannot fully grasp or appreciate the claims of Jesus until our inner eyes are opened by the Spirit of Jesus. To know the truth means to be seized by grace.

Jesus came to bear truth to the word of God. It leads us into truth and brings us into contact with the One who Himself is the truth.

Truth is the light that overcomes the darkness because it exposes darkness and thereby calls for a decisive break in the old way of thinking and living.

Playing basketball with my children. I’m not thinking about how the games of my children today, I’m teaching them for the days they plan on varsity.

Jesus didn’t come to win the argument and the court case. He came to preach the kingdom of God establish truth on earth for all to believe.

Pilate expressed what unbelief says when the gospel is presented.

Jesus meant absolute truth. Pilate spoke of a truth that can be expressed in any particular case. He didn’t have a despair in his soul to know the love of God, he instead had a skepticism similar to skepticism that world feels.

Instead of fighting the world with the worlds weapons, Christians have their own weapon. We don’t fight the darkness with darkness. We shine a light into a world as members of a kingdom that we don’t belong to with absolute, 100% truth from the of God.

It should not surprise you that you don’t feel at home right now. You’re not home. You’re a foreigner in a strange land following a law that’s not adopted by the world you live in.

You aren’t here to win the argument. You are here to represent the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.

3. The Tension of “False” Victory. (39-40)

Chapter 18 doesn’t end with the Disney ending where everything works out.

Pilate could find no basis for a charge against Jesus. This should have been the end of this matter, but Pilate wanted both to release Jesus and to placate the Jews.

He spoke of a “custom” that allowed the Jews to deliver a prisoner at the time of the Passover. Coming off second best in his interrogation of Jesus, Pilate was in no frame of mind to be bested by the Jews.

Pilate might have thought the crowd would choose Jesus over Barabbas. A robber who had led a rebellion.

The Jewish leaders incited the people and the they cried out for the blood of our Savior.

Don’t get too bent out of shape about this. God is sovereign and sent Jesus for this purpose. It is our sin that put Jesus in this position and He willingly allowed Himself to go through this meaningless trial.

Pilate didn’t have the power to make himself innocent. He was a sinner before He ever spoke to Jesus.

Can you imagine the smugness and the feeling of victory that the Jewish leaders felt at this moment? The probaly breathed a sigh of relief thinking that this situation was all over. They thought that they had won. Satan was prowling around with his demons thinking the same thing. They were partying and breathing a sigh of relief that their problem was over.

And then came Sunday!

There are temporary losses that Christians experience. We lose arguments, popularity, reputations, and many other battles. This does not mean that you lose though. You can’t lose. Your purpose is not to win. The battle is already won.

The day Jesus rose from the dead changed the purpose and direction of all of God’s people!

Let the people be smug. Let them gloat. They don’t understand what you understand.

The victory of Jesus is your victory. Trust in Him who brings the ultimate victory.

You may feel like you’re losing right now, but you’re not losing. Next week, we will talk about how you can begin to win with the testimony that Jesus gave you.