The passage we are
looking this morning, is the start of the day of what we now call Good
Friday. The cover of night has passed as the dawn of a new day starts
to appear on the horizon. The Jewish leaders have quickly & quietly
led Jesus through the narrow streets of Jerusalem, to prevent an uprising
from those who believed that Jesus was a mighty man sent from God, to
the palace of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, while most of her
inhabitants were still deep in sleep--v. 28.
Before they did so, while Jesus was still at Caiaphas' house, he had
been spit upon, blindfolded, and punched repeatedly in the face by Caiaphas'
men. The punches that do the most damage are what we call sucker punches.
That is when someone hits you and you didn't see the blow coming.
Normally, if you see a punch coming your way, you have a chance to pull
back your head so you don't feel the full blunt of the punch. But since
Jesus was blindfolded, he wasn't able to pull back his head in defense.
So by the time they brought Jesus to Pilate, he would have been bleeding
profusely from his mouth, his nose, and his eyes, from all the blows
he had received.
Though John doesn't tell us about this, I believe it is important for
us to know, because it helps us to understand some of Pilate's reactions
towards Jesus. With that in mind let's begin the next step of Jesus'
journey to the cross, Pilate's interrogation, by looking first at the
irony that John gives us in v. 28.
Notice that the Holy Spirit tells us that the Jewish leaders would not
enter into the palace so they wouldn't defile themselves. I don't believe
there is a more perverted scene in all of history than this one. These
people had already defiled themselves by horribly abusing Jesus. They
were in the middle of breaking God's most sacred law concerning the
taking of another person's life. But in an attempt to appear holy, they
wouldn't enter into a Gentiles home, for fear that they might come in
contact with something that would keep them from being able to observe
the Passover meal.
The irony we see in this is that the Jewish leaders should have recognized
that Jesus was sent by God, but instead they wrongly reasoned he was
sent by Satan. Instead of acknowledging that Jesus is the Lord of glory,
the accuse him of being a vile criminal. Instead of confessing that
Jesus is the Holy One of Israel, they condemned him as a blasphemer.
Instead of embracing Jesus as the one who is the resurrection & the
life, all they wanted to do was to execute the Lamb of God who was sent
to save them from their sins. These Jewish leaders were straining so
hard at a gnat, by trying to be careful not to break any of the Mosaic
laws, that they ended up swallowing a camel, by plotting how to murder
the one who gave the laws to Moses.
Because of their refusal to enter into Pilate's palace, Pilate is forced
to go out to meet them--v. 29. As we look at Pilate over the next couple
of sermons, we will see that Pilate believed that Jesus was innocent.
Later on Pilate's wife sends a word to him to "Not do any harm to Jesus
for he is an innocent man." (Matthew
27:19) But at this point, Pilate didn't have a clue as to what was
going on. So, Pilate's question is a perfectly reasonable one. Because
if he was going to sentence Jesus, there needed to be a legitimate charge.
Pilate's question puts a monkey wrench in their plans. The Jewish leaders
make it perfectly clear that they don't want Pilate to have another
trial. They are not asking him to do an investigation to see whether
or not Jesus is a criminal. That's because they knew that they didn't
have any evidence against Jesus that would warrant a crucifixion. All
they want Pilate to do is to put his signature on the death sentence
that they have already imposed on Jesus. So the question that Pilate
asks them presents a problem to them. So in an attempt to sidestep the
issue all together, the Jewish leaders begin to learn on Pilate--v.
30.
They can't believe that Pilate has the gall to question the legitimacy
of them bringing Jesus before him. In essence they are accusing Pilate
of slandering their righteousness. In their response, they were telling
Pilate that he was about to make another political mistake, which Pilate
couldn't afford to make.
In reality, what the Jewish leaders are doing is blackmailing Pilate.
Which they had been doing to Pilate for some time now. Let me explain
how they were able to do this by giving you some history concerning
Pilate's dealings with the Jews.
The Jews had no love for Pilate even before he was made governor over
Israel. That's because Pilate had aligned himself with those who promoted
anti-Jewish policies throughout the Roman empire. And his viewpoints
concerning the Jews were well known.
So not only did the Jews not trust him, but when he first came to Jerusalem,
he brought into the city, flags & banners that had a sculptured image
of Caesar on the tops of them. In those days, Caesar was not only the
ruler of the Roman Empire, he was also worshipped as god. Which of course
offended the Jews because they were not to worship any false idols or
have any graven images of gods in their midst. Because of this, the
Jews had been able to convince the other governors to take the sculptured
images off of their flags & banners.
But Pilate didn't care what the Jews wanted. So when he came into Jerusalem
carrying the flags & banners that had the image of Caesar on top of
them, it led to an uprising with the Jews. In an attempt to squash the
rioting, Pilate threatened to kill them all. But when the Jews told
him to go ahead, Pilate backed down from killing them. And he also removed
the images of Caesar. Pilate's first days in office was no honeymoon.
Then to make things worse, Pilate built an aqueduct using money he stole
from the Temple. Again this didn't go over real well with the Jews.
Once again the people started a riot. This time Pilate had his soldiers
kill many of the Jews in order to stop the riots.
Now in an attempt to keep the peace of Rome throughout the world, Rome
gave any of the people they ruled over the right to appeal any kind
of wrongdoing to Caesar. So every time Pilate messed up, the Jews ratted
him out to Caesar. The Caesar was getting tired of all the upheavals
going on in the tiny nation of Israel, so he sent word back to Pilate
that if he wanted to keep his job, he'd better not do anything else
wrong.
The Jews knew that Pilate was close to losing his job, so they used
this knowledge whenever they wanted to get their way. And now they were
using it to have Pilate sentence the innocent Jesus to death by crucifixion.
At this moment, Pilate has to decide whether it is more important to
do what is right, or to play along with the Jews in order to keep his
job. Notice that at first, Pilate doesn't play their game--v. 31. Pilate
knows that according to Roman law, a criminal has to be given a trial
that observes all the jurisprudence rules. The Roman legal system wasn't
barbaric. It didn't allow for any kangaroo-court type of trials.
Which means that first of all a criminal has to be formally charged
with a crime. Secondly, a criminal has to be given a fair trial where
the charges against him are backed by evidence. And only after a criminal
had been found guilty beyond what we call a shadow of a doubt, could
a formal sentence can be given. But the Jewish leaders show that their
only motive was to have Jesus executed.
It is interesting to note that Pilate has just given them permission
to kill Jesus. He is signing Jesus' death warrant so the Jews have the
permission of Rome to take Jesus and stone him to death. Once again
Pilate is about to mess up their plans.
The Jewish leaders didn't want Jesus stoned to death. For one thing
they would have to wait 2 more days to do so. And during that time the
people would have found out about their illegal trial, and come to set
Jesus free. So the Jewish religious leaders quickly tell Pilate that
"We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give
tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king." (Luke
23:2)
Political treason and anarchy are charges worthy of death in a Roman
court. Crimes that would cause the prisoner to be put to death immediately,
for fear of their followers starting a riot to try to set them free.
John quickly shows us that Jesus is not a common criminal, but the prophetic
God--v. 32.
Jesus had earlier said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all peoples to Myself. He said this to indicate how He was going
to die." (John
12:32-33) The only way people die from being lifted up is to be
crucified on a cross. So hours before, Jesus told his disciples that
he was going to be killed by being crucified.
The Jews had already tried to kill Jesus by stoning him. But Jesus walked
away. He walked away because if the Jews had killed him by stoning,
they would have killed him on the ground. Which would have stopped him
from fulfilling his destiny. But now, Jesus is ready to fulfill the
purpose of why he came to this earth. Paul spoke of Jesus' destiny when
he said, "Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having
become a curse for us--for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs
on a tree.'" (Galatians
3:13-14)
Pilate knew that the only reason the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus
was because Jesus had made them look bad on several occasions. So in
an attempt to let Jesus go, Pilate questions Jesus himself--v. 33. When
Pilate questions Jesus, there is an air of contempt in his voice. In
the Greek it reads, "You, you're the king of the Jews?" As Pilate looks
at this man, who had been beaten up by the hands of Caiaphas' men, he
can't believe his eyes. What Pilate is literally saying to Jesus is,
"Those Jews have got to be kidding if they expect me to believe that
you are a king!"
We can't be too hard on Pilate here. After all, Jesus didn't look much
like any kings he had ever seen. Jesus wasn't wearing fancy clothes.
He wasn't surrounded by a court of servants.
Instead, he stood in front of Pilate, all alone, hands bound, bleeding
profusely from his head, and wearing a peasant's robe. So Pilate's initial
assessment of Jesus is that it is impossible for him to be a king. Even
the king of the people he hated the most, the Jews.
Some of you here this morning may be just like Pilate. Perhaps you've
seen the movie The Passion, or someone has been talking to you about
Jesus, and you've come to investigate who Jesus is. If that is you,
then you are doing the right thing. But I want you to know that if you
think you are in control of your life, you're sadly mistaken.
That was Pilate's mistake. All of us, just like Pilate, have within
our heart a desire to rule the kingdom of our own life. But the message
of the Bible is clear: Jesus Christ came to be the King over our lives.
Jesus didn't die on the cross to play second fiddle in anyone's life.
He is the exalted King, who wants to be the lord of all your life! If
Jesus isn't the Lord of all, then perhaps he isn't your Lord at all.
His kingship, his lordship, is proven by the way you live your life.
Look next at the discussion that goes on between Jesus & Pilate--v.
34-36.
Jesus response is a legitimate response, because if Pilate is trying
to see if Jesus is a political leader who is trying to overthrow the
Romans, then the answer is no. But if Pilate is asking if Jesus is the
promised Messianic Redeemer of the Jews, then the answer is yes. All
Jesus is trying to do is to see what exactly is in Pilate's mind.
Pilate didn't like Jesus response. In Pilate's response we see that
Jesus has never done anything that caused him to be on the Roman's watch
list of known terrorists. Jesus had never said anything that might hint
he was trying to start a revolution. Jesus had never done one single
thing that might have caused Rome to be concerned about him.
But Pilate seems to be getting impatient & aggravated with the whole
situation. It is obvious to Pilate that Jesus had done something to
get the Jewish leaders so upset. But twice now he has tried to find
out what, once from the Jews, and secondly from Jesus, but to no avail.
So Pilate does the same thing the Jews did earlier: He asks Jesus what
he had done wrong.
It was just as illegal for Pilate to do this as it was for the Jewish
leaders. For just like the Jewish legal system, the Romans had established
a law that forbid anyone from testifying against himself. This is why
Jesus avoids Pilate's question and instead explains the kingdom he rules
over. Jesus explains that his kingdom is not a physical kingdom, like
Pilate viewed the Roman empire. Jesus' kingdom is a spiritual kingdom.
This was part of the reason why the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah.
Most of the Jews were looking for a Messiah who would set up a physical
& a political kingdom, rather than a spiritual kingdom. That will occur
when Jesus rules from Jerusalem at the end of the Tribulation period.
But at this time in history, Jesus is not interested in being a political
king. He is not interested at this moment of being the king over a geographical
region of the world. That's because his kingdom is global.
Since this is an election year, we need to be concerned about who we
elect into office. For they have the authority to pass laws that will
either promote righteousness or perpetuate the wickedness that is so
prevalent in our land. But as hard as it is to imagine, at this time
in history, Jesus is not even concerned about changing the laws of the
land. Jesus' only concern is spiritually transforming the hearts of
sinners into saints, which happens when people who make him their lord.
This was the kind of transformation that needed to take place within
Pilate's heart. The kind of transformation that would have taken place
if he had listened more to the warnings of his wife, then to the ravings
of the Jewish leaders.
Pilate thought it was quite funny to think that this Jewish peasant
considered himself to be a king. So once again he asks a question that
has a tinge of sarcasm in it as he looks upon this prisoner. But Jesus
quickly lets Pilate know that he has finally got one thing correct:
He is a king!--v. 37 The reason that Pilate didn't immediately have
Jesus put to death, which he legally could have done, is because Jesus
posed no threat to Rome. Pilate knew that although Jesus thought he
was a king, he wasn't trying to establish his kingdom over the Romans.
And indeed Pilate was right.
Jesus didn't come to set people free from the hands of the Roman government.
He came to set people free from the shackles of sin. He came to seek
and to save those who are lost. He came to give his life as a ransom
for sinners. The answer of why Jesus came into the world is clear: He
came to bear our sins in his own body on the cross, so that we can be
brought into a relationship with God. The question we must all answer
is this: Is Jesus Christ your king? If he is then you are to live each
moment in submission to his lordship. You are to honor him with your
lips & your life, every second of every day, for the rest of your life.
In Jesus' statement he also shows us his duel nature: God & man. Jesus
was born of a woman whose name was Mary, in the city of Bethlehem. But
his birth was unique for he was conceived in his mother's womb by the
Holy Spirit. This truth is verified by the fact that his mother was
a still a virgin at the time he was born.
Jesus goes on to tell us that he came into the world. He is talking
about his pre-existence. If he came to the world, he had to come from
somewhere else.
Over 20 years ago, I came to Aiken from California. This means that
before I lived in Aiken, I lived in California. Jesus is telling us
that before he lived in this world, he lived somewhere else first. And
where was Jesus living before he moved to earth?
Earlier that evening, when Jesus was talking to his father, he said,
"And now, Father, bring Me into the glory We shared before the world
began." (John
17:5) The place Jesus lived before he moved to earth was heaven.
Again the Holy Spirit makes sure that we know that Jesus is none other
than Infinite God
Jesus concludes his remarks to Pilate by telling of the only evidence
that indicts that someone has been born again. He told Pilate that those
who are of the truth hear his voice. The Greek word "hear" means to
listen intently and obey. You can't claim that the truth has set free
sin if you aren't obeying Jesus' commandments. Jesus said that "Sheep
follow their shepherd: for they know his voice." (John 10:4)
The evidence that you are born again is not whether or not you go to
church. It is not whether or not you pray. It is not whether or not
you have been baptized. It is not whether or not you read your Bible.
It is not even whether or not you tithe. The only evidence of being
born again is if you are following Jesus' voice.
A lot of people today claim they believe in Jesus, but their lives don't
match their lips. The same was true in Jesus' day. Which is why Jesus
said, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings."
(John
8:31) Once again Pilate responds with a note of cynicism--v. 38.
The reason I believe Pilate is responding with cynicism is that he doesn't
try to investigate what truth is. Pilate's political position indicates
that he would have been a highly educated man. Which means he would
have spent a lot of time studying about the concept of truth. And his
answer indicates that after all his years of trying to find what is
truth, he has come to the conclusion that there is no truth. Pilate
is just like a lot of people today who say there is no absolute truth.
If Pilate really was interested in knowing the truth , he would have
entered into a discussion with Jesus over what is truth. But instead
he leaves Jesus and goes out to tell the Jews that Jesus is innocent
of all charges. And he gives them the choice of what they want to do
with Jesus--vv. 39-40.
It appears that by this time the people who were in Jerusalem had come
to see what was going on. And from Pilate's question, it appears that
that Pilate really thought the Jews would pick Jesus over Barabbas.
In Pilate's mind, this has to be a "Duh!" question. In Pilate's mind,
he thought the people would say in response to his question, "DUH! Let's
us think about that for a few minutes." I really believe that despite
how much the Jewish leaders hated Jesus, Pilate thought the people would
have chosen Jesus over Barabbas.
After all, just 5 days ago the majority of these same people had met
Jesus as he was coming into Jerusalem. And they were waving palm branches,
and laying there garments on the ground, yelling out, "Hosanna to the
Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna
in the highest!" (Matthew
21:9) But really what Pilate is trying to do is to evade the necessity
of making a decision about Jesus. Matthew tells us in his gospel that
Pilate's dilemma was "What should I do with Jesus who is called the
Messiah?" (Matthew
27:22)
In that respect, Pilate is like some of you this morning. You too really
don't want to have to make a decision about who Jesus is. But just like
Pilate couldn't take a neutral position about Jesus, neither can you.
Either you are going to make Jesus your king, or you are going to reject
Jesus as some loser. Either you want to be saved, or you want to continue
to be lost. Either you want to be spiritually alive, or you want to
remain dead in your sins. The choice is yours.
The Bible tells us that "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does
not have the Son of God does not have life." (1
John 5:12) Jesus put it this way concerning believing in him for
salvation: "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does
not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God." (John
3:18)
So let me ask in conclusion, who is your king? Who/what rules over your
life? Who or what has your chief affections? Whoever or whatever you
are devoting most of your time, talents, and treasures on, is your king.
But have any of these kings really given you the fulfillment you've
been looking for in life? Are the kings you have been serving only leaving
you empty and desperate? If so, then let me invite you to look to King
Jesus. Since his kingdom is not of this world, he can satisfy your every
need.
All you have to do to enter this kingdom is to embrace Jesus as your
lord. All you have to do is to ask him to wash away your sins through
his blood he shed for you on the cross. You don't have to understand
everything there is to know about God. Just simply come to him as a
child and with child-like faith, ask for his forgiveness. If you will
do that, I promise you on the authority of God's Word, that your sins
will be forgiven, and you will become one of the King's kids.
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