Start a Revolution in Politics by Turning Love On!

Once again, Good Morning Church! We’re continuing our “Start a Revolution” Series this morning by addressing a topic that most pastors avoid with a ten foot pole, no it’s not money, its politics. Before we get started please make your way over to the book of John, chapter 18.

As you’re making your way there, I want to go ahead and tell you that it is likely that the examination of this passage of scripture AND the application of this passage of scripture is going to affect you in one of three ways:

You’re going to be highly offended that I’m not picking a political candidate to endorse as “God’s Person” for the upcoming election. I know this because four years ago, I had church members who were outraged that I didn’t use the pulpit as a platform for a political ideology. I didn’t then, and I won’t now because I know that this is a sacred place where the gospel is presented and eternity is in the balance. Therefore the temporal election of today will be the history of a forgotten civilization tomorrow and with that being the case I’ll continue to focus on the eternal God and his purpose for his church.

You’re going to be highly offended that America isn’t championed as the example of all that is good and right in the world. That the USA isn’t portrayed as the savior of the planet and that it should be the model for every nation. But I can’t do that because Jesus is the example for what is good and right. He IS the savior of the planet, therefore he IS the model for every tribe and tongue.

You’re going to be relieved. There is a small sliver of people who will hear the words of our text this morning, understand their context, and see how it is applied to our circumstances, and they will begin to look at our world through the lens of the gospel. Some of you will find relief in knowing that your hope isn’t dependent of whether or not they create a vaccine. You’ll feel peace about who ever sits on the throne come January 20th, because it’ll still be God. You won’t feel the need to take a nitro pill when you turn on the news or you’ll possibly even be able to sleep because you’ll no longer obessing about what “the world” censors. You’ll even be excited about the great things that God has planned.

Now, I don’t want to discount other feelings you may come in contact with during this text, but these mentioned are just a few.

With that caveat out of the way let me now clarify that my agenda is simply to deliver the newspaper. The word of God elicits a response from high & low; rich & poor; black, white, democrat, republican, liberals and conservatives. It cuts the soul of every person that hears it’s words. It speaks deep into the recesses of a person’s soul in ways that we can try, but cannot truly deny. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and it cuts through the lies we tell ourselves and others like a hot knife through butter.

It is merely my responsibility to present this word clearly and it is your responsibility to respond appropriately. Is that ok with you all this morning?

Good. Whew. Glad you said yes, not sure how well this would’ve gone if you’d said nope.

Well, with that being the case, lets dive in. John 18:33-38.

33 Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about me?”

35 “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.

“You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

38 “What is truth?” said Pilate.

Christian Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020. Print.

God, may you bless the reading and proclamation of your word and may I preach as though never to preach again and as a dying man to dying people. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my hear be glorifying in your sight. Amen.

How many of you have ever found yourself sucked into a television series after a few seasons have already aired? Yeah. I’m sure a few of us.

Initially, you’re trying to figure out the characters that are in the story therefore you have to find a friend who can help you with the backstory of what’s happening. They can tell you, “Oh yeah, that’s Jack. He’s dead in present time but he’s actually the glue for the whole story line. All the stuff he did back then is now having implications to the circumstances today therefore they keep going back to show you how those situations played out in the future.”

Without the back story you would really understand why the Crock-Pot is making your friend cry. Now some of you are looking at me confused.

That look is probably how you feel when I’m reading this passage of scripture. Like “I know that this is important, but I’m struggling to put it all together. I mean, how it is important to my context?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.

First, Let’s get some back story on the characters in our passage:

Pilate: This was not a friend to the Jewish nation. This was an individual who perpetually frustrated the Jews. He brought military insignia into Jerusalem with Caesar’s face on it. This brought so much outrage that the people threatened to die at the hands of Roman soldiers rather than stand for the blasphemy. He planted soldiers in civilian clothes to prevent protests of the people. Surest way to stop a protest is to start seeing bodies dropping around you because of hidden assassins. Because of these tactics and general unrest under his rule, his power and position was at risk.

Then we have the Religious Aristocracy, the Sanhedrin. The upper echelon of religious society. We’ve covered them before. They are the ones that’ve created a religious system that gives them power and allows them to live in luxury while the people are under their thumb. Jesus has upset these people because he’s called them out on their junk and now their power is at risk. Their posh lifestyle is slipping from their grasp.

Then we have the Jewish Commoners & planted liars - The planted liars were there to bring false accusations about Jesus. The Jewish Commoners…Well, sad to say, they were there for entertainment

Fleming Rutledge’s book, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ:

The mocking and jeering that accompanied crucifixion were not only allowed, they were part of the spectacle and were programmed into it. In a sense, crucifixion was a form of entertainment. Everyone understood that the specific role of the passersby was to exacerbate the dehumanization and degradation of the person who had been thus designated to be a spectacle. Crucifixion was cleverly designed — we might say diabolically designed — to be an almost theatrical enactment of the sadistic and inhumane impulses that lie within human beings.

The last Character is Jesus.

And it is from him that we pull our main point for today. See, everyone else was there for selfish reasons. Pilate to hold onto his seat of power, the Sanhedrin to get a better grasp on power, the People to have something to do, the liars to deepen their pockets. But Jesus…Jesus was there for another reason altogether.

What was it?

37. To testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

How is it that Jesus is able to seperate himself from the madness that is happening around him? People are screaming and yelling and arguing. He’s being pushed and jeered and harassed. Religous and Political leaders have grabbed him in the middle of the night and created mock trials and false claims. And people are posting all sorts of things on social media and you don’t know what to believe or what’s actually going on or who’s telling the truth, you only know that your neighbor is crying out crucify him so you decide to join in because you trust your neighbor and if he is saying he’s a criminal then he must be a criminal even if I don’t have all the information.

So, how does he stay calm in the midst of it all?

Well, let’s look at a statement made by Pilate and Jesus’ response.

Verse 35: Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?

Now we need to understand that Jesus more Jewish than Hanukkah. He was born into a Jewish Family.  Raised following Jewish Practices.  Knew the Jewish Law.  Obeyed the Law of God as set forth under the purposes of God for the Jews.  Responded to the Jewish name for teacher "Rabbi".  Ministered among the Jewish Nation.  Confronted the Jewish religious leadership.  In every way imaginable, Jesus was Jewish; yet denied his national identity. 

Pilate says: “Your own Nation”

Jesus says: “Not my circus. My kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom is not FROM here.”

Jesus’ identity wasn’t dependent on his national origin. Therefore, he wasn’t bound to his party ties. Whoa.....

Before we go there, let understand that Jesus’ origin predated eternity. He always has been. He existed before Pilate, before the Sanhedrin, Before the high priests, before Solomon, David, Joshua, Ruth, Joseph, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Moses. He existed before the Jewish nation. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom. Not a temporal kingdom...

He was born into this world unlike any other. His eternal nature entered into a temporal body for a period of time. He came to testify to the truth. The truth of God. He came so that man might glorify God for who he is and might thereby come to have eternal life.

Because of that he wasn’t fearful of saying what was necessary. Because his agenda was far larger than the political backbiting of the day. Was stuff going down? Yes! But he wasn’t getting tangled in that because it would dilute his purpose. It would’ve alienated him from the people he was supposed to share the truth with.

Here’s how we step into the picture:

As created beings made in the image of God, we have a beginning. Our body and soul begins at a point in time, and our soul continues into eternity. But at some point we’re presented with the opportunity to embrace the truth of who God is and respond by living our lives for his glory.

When we do that, we become part of an eternal Kingdom.