Message One: “You say that I
am a king…”
Celebrating the Death &
Resurrection of Jesus Christ – 2005 – “Christ the King”
TEXT: John 18:28-40 – Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee – March 13, 2005
John
18:28-40
28 Then they led Jesus from the house
of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It
was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s
headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the passover. 29 So Pilate went outside to them
and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" 30 They answered him, "If
this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you." 31 Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own
law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone
to death." 32 This was
to fulfil the word which Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was
going to die.
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters
again and called Jesus, and said to him, "Are you the King of the
Jews?" 34 Jesus
answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to
you about me?" 35 Pilate
answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have
delivered you over to me. What have you
done?" 36 Jesus
answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants
would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." 37 Then Pilate said to him,
"So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a
king. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into
the world– to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth listens
to my voice."
38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"
After he had said this, he went back
outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I
should release one man for you at the Passover.
So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" 40 They cried out again, "Not
this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas
was a robber.
from the house… This is significant because the Jewish leaders are
handing over Jesus to the Roman authorities.
This is the height of their rejection of Jesus as Messiah King. (Interesting in light of Romans 11 and Gods
plan concerning Jews and Gentiles) The
man in the governor’s headquarters (Praetorium)
They
themselves did not enter… This is an extraordinary irony.
The leaders are not willing to enter this Gentile place because they
want to remain ritually pure in order to celebrate the Passover. The One who they are
handing over to the Romans IS the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). He is the Lamb whose blood will soon be shed
for Jews and Gentiles who would believe in Him as the substitute for
sinners. The irony is that the leaders
are willing to reject the True Passover, and yet are intent to eat of the
ceremonial passover. They are scrupulous for ritual holiness, but
they are blind regarding their rejection of God’s Messiah.
If this man were not doing evil… The question of
whether Jesus was truly doing evil is of great theological significance. If Jesus was a sinner, He could not have been
the sinless substitute for sinners that God required. His death on the cross would have been for
his own sins alone in that case. But
Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). If
this is not correct, then the woman at the well in John 4 is just another
adulteress without any hope. But Jesus
is the sinless Lamb, and that woman was washed clean. Her sins have been forgiven.
your own law…
Pilate wants the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own
religious law. They have already
determined that his claims of divinity and divine authority are an attack upon
God Himself and are worthy of the death penalty. But according to Roman law they cannot
administer the death penalty. This is
why they have brought Him to the Romans.
God is actually in charge of all of this (Acts 2:23). As Jesus had predicted, He will be lifted up
to die on a Roman cross. He may seem to
be a mere victim here, but He is working out your salvation.
Do you say
this… Jesus asks an
obvious question. Was Pilate told this
by the Jewish leaders or did He find out in some other way. The entire interchange between Pilate and
Jesus here is an amazing testimony of the Lord regarding His kingdom, and
therefore regarding Himself as the King of the kingdom (See 1 Timothy 6:11-13).
My
kingdom… Jesus is here affirming that He is a
king, but what kind of king is He, and over what kind of kingdom? Pilate knows about the kingdoms of this
world, but He does not know the first thing about the
You say… Jesus is not now denying what He has already
affirmed. He is a King. This is clear from the sentence that
follows. Jesus was born to be King. But He goes on to state something about the
nature of His kingdom. It is a kingdom
of truth from above, and a kingdom where the subjects listen to the voice of
the King.
I find no
guilt… After seeming to question the entire category
of “truth,” Pilate goes out to the crowd and speaks the truth. He has found no guilt in Jesus. The crowd yet demands a lie. They do not want to hear the truth of Jesus’
innocence. They would rather have Barrabas the robber go free than to let Jesus live.
BUT THE
JESUS WHO WILLINGLY GOES TO THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS DOES LIVE, and He has
brought joy unspeakable and full of glory to those who believe in Him. That joy is from above. It is of the truth of God. It cost something to the Lamb of God to bring
that truth and that joy to you. It cost
Him His life. He demands your
response. HE IS KING.
Consider
this:
“You say
that I am a King,” Jesus said to Pilate.
What were
the Jewish leaders really saying about the Passover Lamb?
What was
Pilate really saying about this King of the Jews?
What were
the Jewish crowds really saying about the true Messiah, King Jesus?
What do you
say this morning.
Is Jesus a King? Is He King over
you?
IF NO? See the face of the one who is
wrongly your king this morning. See the
usurper to the throne of your life and flee to the one King who dies for
sinners.
IF YES? But will you deny that He is King by
your life? If you will
not be governed by His Word, which is the truth, something less that the truth
is governing you. What lie is
ruling you now? Will you be governed by
your fears? Will you be governed by your
dissatisfaction? Will you be governed by
your desire for the praise of men? None
of these three “kings” will give you joy unspeakable. Every other alternative is from below. Jesus is a King from above.
What is the
story of your life? The story of every
life is the story of a succession of kings.
Turn away from all false kings, and come to the final King for your
life. Who is your King? You say that Jesus is your King? Listen to Him. Follow Him.