Welcome to Christ the King Sunday. The text for this week is from the book of John. The powers that be have picked the text out of the middle of a seven scene sequence that is the Gentile trail. The Jewish trail of Jesus, in the book of John, is chapters 1-11 ending in a verdict of 11:53 “so from that day forward they (the Jewish leaders) planned to put him to death”. Guilty! He must die! The Gentile trial starts in chapter 18:28 and runs until chapter 19:16. Pilate represents the gentiles-us. Harry Wendt has an excellent layout of this trial narrative which I quote here:
Scene 1: Pilate is outside with the Jewish leaders who demand Jesus’ death, 18:28–32. They will not enter Pilate’s quarters (a Gentile location) lest possibly they be contaminated by bread with leaven in it (they are preparing to observe Passover). However, they ask Pilate to kill Jesus. They seek an execution, not a trial.
Scene 2: Pilate is inside with Jesus and discusses “kingship” with Him, 18:33–38a. When Pilate asks Jesus why the Jewish leaders are so angry with Him, Jesus responds that He turned out to be the wrong kind of King. He is, after all, a Servant-King who washes feet—the King of Truth. This puzzles Pilate.
Scene 3: Pilate is outside with the Jewish leaders–who choose Barabbas rather than Jesus as the one to be freed, 18:38b–40. Pilate declares that he can find no crime in Jesus, 18:38b; he repeats this in 19:4 and 19:6.
Scene 4: Pilate is inside with Jesus when the latter is scourged, 19:1–3. Although the treatment given Jesus is designed to mock Him; it nevertheless declares who He is: The King of the Jews!
Scene 5: Pilate is outside with the Jewish leaders and presents Jesus to them, 19:4–8. They reject Jesus, basing their position on an appeal to their sacred writings, 19:7. When Pilate hears them say that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, he becomes more afraid than ever. Naturally Pilate, a Roman, was ready to believe that gods could show up in human form.
Scene 6: Pilate is inside with Jesus and asks Him where He is from. When Jesus refuses to answer Pilate, the latter discusses “power” with Him, 19:9–11. Jesus reminds Pilate that, in the final analysis, Pilate is free to do only what Jesus permits him to do.
Scene 7: Pilate is outside with the Jewish leaders, tries to have Jesus released, but finally hands Jesus over to them, 19:12–16a. Pilate yields to the Jewish leaders when they threaten to have him thrown out of the exclusive club known as “Friends of the Emperor.” Because Pilate is an imperial procurator–one appointed by the Emperor–he belongs to that club and does not want to lose his membership in it and the privileges that come with it.
Note the alternating outside, inside theme that has Pilate going back and forth trying to figure out what to do. The confusion of Pilate (and us as represented by Pilate) is apparent. What are we to think and do with this man-Jesus?
Our text for Sunday comes from Scene two chapter 18 verses 33-38a. Pilate is questioning Jesus.
V33 Pilate asks the first of 4 questions. Are you the King of the Jews? This is what the Jewish authorities had claimed when they brought Jesus to Pilate to be killed. The Jews couldn’t put anyone to death, only Rome could, so the leaders had to have a charge for Jesus that would be threatening to Rome. By claiming that Jesus was a king he would be a threat to the emperor.
V34 Jesus doesn’t answer the accusation but in turn asks Pilate a question. How do you know about me? Did you figure this out on your own or did someone tell you about me? Have you examined the evidence for your self or are you relying on the words of others?
V35 Pilate responds that he isn’t a Jew so how would he know anything about Jesus. He is relying on the testimony of the Jewish leaders. They want Jesus killed; he just has to carry out the sentence. He then asks a second question. What have you done? They say you are a king but I, Pilate, haven’t heard of you so what have you done to anger them so.
Had Pilate been paying attention to the land he oversaw he would have known what this Jesus was doing and saying. The acts Jesus has performed define who he is, He is known by his signs.
V36 Jesus responds describing his kingdom and authority. His kingdom (power, authority) is not from this world. It is from a spiritual world. While he has authority over all of creation, his kingdom is different. It is a kingdom that serves others, it doesn’t rule over people as the kingdoms of this world do, for instance Rome. If his kingdom was of this world he and his soldiers would be fighting right now against Pilate and the others but isn’t. However his kingdom is in this world.
V37 Pilate asks the third question. So you are a king? Pilate is beginning to understand a tiny bit of what Jesus is trying to convey to him. Jesus is some kind of king, but what kind? Jesus answers, you now say I am a king and you are correct but I am not a king as you define a king to be. I have come to reveal the truth to the world.
V38 Pilate has one last question which he says with contempt “What is Truth?” and he walks outside to the Jewish leaders. He didn’t stay to find out what truth was. Ironically he was looking at truth.
We read this as Pilate trying Jesus but the reality is that Jesus, by his questions, is trying Pilate and us. Look at the questions Jesus asks:
“What kind of a King do you think I am?”
“Where do you think I am from?”
“What do You think My ministry is all about?”
“Do you understand that I am ‘the truth’?” (Harry Wendt)
How will each of us answer these questions? The evidence is in and demands a verdict. We are on trail and our eternal life depends on our answers. Was Jesus the King?
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