John 18:28-40 “Is He King?”

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We left off last week in our study of John's Gospel with Jesus standing strong in front

of the high priest while Peter's falling before a servant girl.

We know from other Gospel accounts that Jesus is then examined hurriedly by the Sanhedrin,

that's the Jewish ruling council, convicted of blasphemy, and then now this morning rushed

to the Roman governor Pilate.

And we get in this encounter another study of contrasts.

Jesus and his kingdom up against the kingdom of this world.

And the question before us in this passage is, is he king?

I know many people who enjoy the show, Is It Cake?

If you haven't seen it before, contestants bake cakes to look like everyday objects, including

the Mona Lisa.

That's an everyday object, of course.

church.

And at the end, you have to look at them carefully and you have to see if you can decide which

one is really cake and which one is not.

Before, finally, they cut into it, that's what he's doing here, to find out what it's made

of.

Is it cake?

So this passage, is he king?

It may challenge some of our ideas of what we think kings and kingdoms look like, of power

and control.

Look carefully at this interaction and see if you can spot the true king.

We pick up the reading of God's holy word at verse 28 of John 18 at what's now nearing

six o'clock Friday morning.

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.

So Pilate went outside to them and said, what accusation do you bring against this man?

And they answered him, if this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him

over to you.

Pilate said to them, take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.

The Jews said to him, it's not lawful for us to put anyone to death.

This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was

going to die.

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, are you the king

of the Jews?

Jesus answered, do you say this of your own accord or did others say it to you about me?

And Pilate answered, am I a Jew?

Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me.

What have you done?

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.

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.

Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

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.

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?

Jesus, they cried out again, not this man, but Barabbas.

Now Barabbas was a robber.

Pray with me.

God, would it be that in this room today every knee would bow before the true king?

That every heart here would delight in the king?

By your spirit, would you work in us to that end?

Because we bow to lots of other kings and kingdoms.

And we need your help.

And we thank you for your word.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

As the sun rises here in Jerusalem on this Friday morning, the Jewish leaders find themselves

in a complicated position.

They are in a hurry to finish Jesus off.

Passover is ramping up.

Tomorrow is the Sabbath.

And the religious leaders, they're worried about how many people are starting to flock

to Jesus.

They might lose what little freedom and control Rome allows them to have if the people get

too stirred up.

So they want Jesus dead and his followers snuffed out once and for all.

They want to deal with this guy.

And for that, they need the help of Roman power.

See, Rome gave the Jews some freedom.

They allowed them to handle a lot of their internal issues on their own.

Even the occasional stoning or two for things that got really bad.

But only Rome could crucify.

And isn't that exactly what would take care of Jesus and his followers?

His whole movement at the same time it would be taken care of.

The so-called Messiah would be dead and with two extra nails in his coffin.

Anyone crucified is cursed, right?

So no one would follow him anymore.

And secondly, this upstart pretender to the throne, so far from liberating Jews from Rome,

will be defeated by the power of Gentile Rome.

Can you imagine?

Clearly no Messiah to follow here, they think.

This will do it.

So, the Jewish leaders take Jesus to Pilate.

Only they can't go inside the seat of Roman power, can they?

Because they don't want to be ceremonially unclean from a Gentile house

and not be able to eat the Passover feast that they're in the middle of partying about, right?

Verse 28.

Isn't that ironic?

They're so careful with their religious ritual,

while at the same time so careless with the heart of their religion right there in front of them.

They're outside the house to stay clean,

while the one who would make them clean is inside.

They want to celebrate Passover.

It's a feast about deliverance by Yahweh and into relationship with Yahweh,

and they want to celebrate it without Yahweh.

The I am himself in the flesh.

See, religious people sometimes dispense with Jesus

so that we can relate to God on our own terms,

our own ways.

The Jewish leaders feel well on their way to God already.

So this Jesus saying,

He is the way,

that must be a distraction.

I'm very familiar personally with this way of relating to God.

Church attendance,

checking off Bible readings day by day,

coloring within the lines in my life.

To be honest,

it sometimes seems easier to control those things

than to have Jesus mess with the darkness in my heart.

Even if he promises he's going to clean it.

Just keep going and talk about Jesus some,

you know, I mean,

Christianity equals drop by church sometimes

and tip your cap to God before some meals,

but don't get too close to him, you know.

It might be uncomfortable.

He might disrupt things.

And we see here that religious ritual does not save,

but it can blind us from true spirituality.

We might even miss Jesus.

Confused religious people stuck outside.

But Pilate comes out to them.

What's the charge against Jesus?

He wants to know.

Well, their only established charge was blasphemy,

and they knew Pilate wouldn't care about that,

so they skirted the truth.

Hey, listen, don't worry about the charge.

Trust us.

This guy's trouble.

He'll create problems for you, Pilate.

If you don't take care of him, just do it.

Twisting the truth to get what they want, right?

They thought Pilate would go for it.

Pilate won't buy it.

Deal with him yourselves.

Take him back.

But that's a problem for the Jews, isn't it?

Because what do they want with Jesus?

They want Jesus executed, crucified, cursed.

They'll work the situation to get what they want

from this representative of power here.

Problem for them is they have significantly misunderstood,

underestimated Jesus.

In fact, just notice the dynamic going on here.

While the Jewish leaders and the Roman power broker,

while they argue about who's got the power,

who will call the shots about Jesus' death,

their back and forth,

who is actually in control?

Look at this.

Verse 32.

All this back and forth between the Romans and the Jews,

this was to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken.

To fulfill what Jesus said about how he would die.

Do you see this back and forth?

This just a manifestation of what a kangaroo court this is?

I mean, not only are they breaking all sorts of rules,

but the accused seems to be the judge.

He's the one in control.

So the Jews are convinced that crucifixion

is the way to stomp down the Jesus for Messiah movement

once and for all,

to remove Jesus from the hearts of his followers.

Jesus is convinced crucifixion

is the way he will be enthroned

in the hearts of his followers.

As lifted up means hung on a cross.

He draws, he says, all people to himself.

He's told us he will buy that,

give life to everyone who believes in him.

Do you see that as a very, very different kind of king?

Isn't it?

Is a king though?

Dear friends, I want to say this to you before we move on.

That you can trust.

That you can trust to be in control

in the worst times.

This seems like his low point.

And he is in control.

He is in control of whatever cross you're bearing right now.

Whatever uncertainty you're facing this week,

he is in control no matter what it looks like from your seat.

Don't be confused.

He's got you.

Well, Jesus is going to confuse Pilate too.

Pilate also misunderstood Jesus

because he knew about power

and we know a lot about Pilate from history.

He was practical.

He was pragmatic.

Pilate, whatever needed to be done to stay in power,

to keep the peace,

keep the Jews just happy enough not to rebel

and just humbled enough

that they wouldn't forget who was really in charge.

Pilate decides to ask Jesus himself,

are you the king of the Jews?

Apparently that's the basic idea

he took away from the crowd outside.

Well, that is a hard question to answer without context.

If by king, Pilate means a king

who will lead a Jewish uprising,

rebellion against Rome,

then no, he's not.

But if by king,

Pilate means the promised Jewish Messiah,

anointed one who will rescue his people,

then yes.

Pilate means.

So Jesus seeks to clarify

which one Pilate means.

And Pilate's very clear.

He knows which one he's talking about.

He misses, by the way,

that Jesus doesn't threaten local Pilate,

but does rival the power claimed by Caesar

as divine Lord.

If Jesus is Lord,

that's the problem for Rome.

But Pilate responds,

I don't care about your little

internal Jewish religious squabbles.

I want to know if you'll cause me problems.

If you're gonna mess with my life,

if you're gonna threaten my power,

that's all I'm checking out here, Jesus.

For many who are irreligious,

I think that's their issue with Jesus.

One such friend said to me not long ago,

if Jesus is king,

it changes everything about my life.

He can ask anything of me.

It's easier to dismiss him as an imposter,

to live without God,

than to have him boss me around.

That's honest.

Maybe you feel more or less that way.

You may not be wrong about what it means

for changing your life if Jesus is king,

but is there any chance

that it would be changed for the better?

Is there any chance

he would be a better king

than you would or I would?

Maybe a chance he'd be more than a boss.

He will be different.

That's for sure.

Keep listening to him

as he talks about his kingdom,

his rule and reign.

Listen to what his kingdom is like.

Verse 36.

Jesus says,

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.

This, y'all,

is really the crux of the contrast here.

Jesus is highlighting with very unusual

and intentional language,

my kingdom.

The particular rule that I exercise

is different from what you're used to.

That's what he's saying.

In fact,

my kingship is unlike anything else

in this world.

You're totally unfamiliar

with what I'm talking about, Pilate.

See, it's not of this world, is it?

That means it didn't start within this world.

Its origins are different.

Where'd the power come from?

He's talking about a divine source of power

outside this world.

Just think about that for a minute.

That's gonna change things, isn't it?

If you don't have to manipulate

and curry favor and campaign

to get power from other people,

if you've got another source,

that changes things.

If you can lead from below,

like washing people's feet,

and even if you're misunderstood,

it's okay.

It means the values of Jesus' kingdom

are different.

The goals are different.

But the realm over which he rules

is different.

He's looking to amass not land,

but lives.

He's wanting to gather not soldiers,

but souls.

He gives us one specific example

of what's unique about this.

Unlike the kingdoms of this world,

Jesus and his followers

don't have to fight, do they?

For control.

They don't have to accumulate

the most money,

collect the most votes,

win the most arguments.

It's not what it's about

in his kingdom.

I'll just tell you,

side note,

this is why we as a church

don't support

one particular political party.

Okay?

I mean, we like parties here, right?

Especially the kind

with cake and ice cream.

I love parties like that.

But this,

Jesus' kingdom

is not even third party.

It is above all parties.

And that's really important

because it means

that he challenges,

in this case,

for us,

Republicans and Democrats.

He challenges us

to examine our goals,

our methods,

inviting conservatives

and liberals

to find hope

and strength

in one place

in the power

of a God

who's been at work

in this world

long before

the American experiment

even began

and who's going

to continue reigning

long after

the last president

of the United States.

He says,

rejoice!

The Lord is king!

Right?

His kingdom

shall not fail.

He rules

over earth

and heaven,

over death

and hell,

over all nations,

over you,

over me.

He's the king.

There's one king.

So maybe we start

asking ourselves,

okay, I got it.

Jesus is,

he's otherworldly

and maybe if he is

so otherworldly,

is he like one

of those religious gurus,

one of those

philosophical thinkers

who just wants

for his followers

to escape this world,

to ignore the earth,

to avoid the people

and the communities

around them?

Is that what Jesus

is all about?

Well, no.

Again,

Jesus' kingdom

is quite different.

Pilate,

for his part,

is just glad

Jesus finally admitted

to being a king,

right?

Finally,

we're getting somewhere.

So you are a king!

Jesus said,

this response

is a way of saying,

yes,

yes,

let me explain.

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.

Everyone who is of the truth

listens to

my voice.

voice.

The king

from another world

has come into

this world,

right?

In fact,

he sends his followers

into this world too.

Remember,

he just prayed about that

in John 17.

While his kingdom

didn't start

from within this world,

it also does not

stay away

from this world.

We are told

to pray

for his kingdom

to come

on earth

as it is in heaven.

We are to put on

the armor of God

not for physical warfare,

right?

Read the armor.

What it's about

is for spiritual warfare,

for prayer,

for salvation being spread,

for truth being proclaimed.

Isn't that what Jesus

says here it's about?

Let me tell you

why I was born,

why I came into this world

to which I do not belong,

to bear witness

to the truth,

not to twist it

to my own comfort,

power,

pleasure?

No.

To reveal

the true king,

true power,

the true God.

Isn't that what John

has been telling us

all along

that Jesus has come to do?

To show us

in the flesh,

in the body of man,

what it looks like

for the true God

to live.

He's showing us

God in the flesh.

So now we know

what the true king

is really like.

So listen,

part of being

kingdom people,

if you're called

to be one of Jesus' people

and to be about

his kingdom,

part of that

is being people

of truth

everywhere,

right?

Opposing lies,

defending truth,

fighting distortion.

It matters

wherever you do it.

I love how theologian

Albert Walters

says it.

In the name of Christ,

distortion must be

opposed everywhere,

in the kitchen

and the bedroom,

in city councils

and corporate boardrooms,

on the stage

and on the air,

in the classroom

and in the workshop,

by the way,

in the leader you dislike

and in the party you love.

Everywhere,

creation calls

for the honoring

of God's standards.

Everywhere,

humanity's sinfulness

disrupts and deforms.

Everywhere,

Christ's victory

is pregnant

with the defeat of sin

and the recovery

of creation.

Where do you get to

declare in word

and deed

Christ's victory,

his truth?

Where has he sent you

to be about his truth?

What is truth?

I don't know

if Pilate is

giving up,

maybe,

or if he's

personally

really intrigued

by Jesus'

unique description

of his kingdom

and this personal

invitation

he just received.

Everyone

who's of the truth

listens to my voice.

What's he inviting

Pilate to do?

He's sitting right there

staring at him.

Pilate,

listen.

Listen.

You can know

the truth himself.

That's the irony.

Pilate's staring him

in the face,

the one who has said,

I am the truth.

And Pilate's

wondering what truth is.

But he doesn't even

consider an answer

from Jesus.

He asks this question

and instead

he just walks

back outside

with the Jewish crowds

now gathering

around his house.

Verse 38.

After he said this

he went back

outside to the Jews

and told them

I find

no guilt

in him.

He's finished

with his trial,

his questioning.

He's understood

enough to know

that Jesus

is not a threat

to him.

And he's got

an idea now,

right?

Passover.

The celebration

of freedom.

The release

of one Jew.

I see,

Pilate sees it

all coming together.

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?

They cried

out again,

not this man

but Barabbas.

Now Barabbas

was a robber.

A robber.

An insurrectionist.

A rioter.

Mark tells us

in his gospel

that Barabbas

had actually

committed murder

as a part

of the insurrection

so you can

understand why

some translators

translate this

word terrorist.

This is a bad

dude.

I think that

Pilate really

believes they're

going to pick

Jesus to be

released.

He's their king

after all.

He reminds them,

right?

He's trying to

help them out

here.

Pilate wanted

this innocent

man off his

hands and off

his conscience.

But remember

that even

religious people

at times

dispense with

Jesus so we

can relate to

God our own

way.

We do that.

Religiously

sometimes.

Or in this

case,

violently.

the choice of

Barabbas is

pretty clearly

not one for

truth and

godliness,

is it?

They're not

picking their

new chief

priest.

He was a

robber.

Choosing

Barabbas over

Jesus is a

choice for

power,

violence,

outrage,

rather than

suffering,

humility,

and sacrifice.

The people's

choice.

The crowds

have started

to gather.

What choice

are they going

to make?

Which one

is the real

king?

Not

Jesus,

but

Barabbas.

Now it

shouldn't

happen that

way with

God's

people,

right?

We should

know better.

We just

learned that

his kingdom

doesn't find

hope and

political power

and might

and fighting.

We sing

not with

swords loud

clashing or

roll of

stirring drums

but deeds

of love and

mercy,

the heavenly

kingdom.

comes.

But we

have this

tendency to

forget,

don't we?

Like Peter

did just a

few hours ago

when he

pulled his

sword out

in the

garden.

Like so

many who

fought bloody

crusades under

the banner

of the

cross.

Listen,

the teachings

of Islam

make sense

with protracted

religious

wars.

of the

teachings of

King

Jesus

do not.

And it's

as though

Jesus says

here so

powerfully,

if you want

to know

what my

kingdom is

like,

look how

my followers

act.

it will be

the proof

that my

kingdom is

not of

this world.

Can we

be honest

with ourselves

this morning?

What do we

tend to think

will advance

Jesus'

kingdom

most effectively?

Strength

or weakness?

Promotion

of self

or protection

of others?

Truth

or expediency?

See?

we love

power,

don't we?

I love

winning.

Don't you?

Isn't it

tempting to

think might

makes right?

It just

feels right.

right.

In

contrast to

that line

of thinking

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer,

pastor in

Germany last

century,

said,

Christendom

adjusts itself

far too

easily to

the worship

of power.

Christians

should give

more offense,

shock the

world far

more than

they are

doing now.

Christians

should take

a stronger

stand in

favor of

the weak

rather than

considering

first the

possible right

of the

strong.

That's a

good challenge.

where do we

fall prey to

the ease of

aligning with

power?

Where do we

think God's

kingdom will

advance if we

just back the

right horse,

right?

The one with

the physical

strength, the

worldly

resources to

rival Rome,

we're going to

get them with

the right guy?

Where do we

try to advance

the cause of

Christ with

the weapons of

this world?

Do you

remember when

God's people

wanted a king

the first

time?

What was

so important

to them?

What were

like things

at the top

of their

list?

They wanted

a guy who

looked the

part, didn't

they?

And Saul

was handsome

and he was

a head taller

than the rest

of them.

They wanted

a guy who

would stand

tough against

the Philistines

and Saul

was a mighty

warrior.

Until he

ended up

cowering

before

Goliath,

passing

his kingly

armor to

a much

smaller,

less

experienced

young man,

David,

whose only

qualification

was that he

trusted God.

God saw

his heart.

David's

performance

was far

from perfect.

but while

man looked

at the

outward

appearance,

God

looked at

the heart

and saw

a king

who would

in battle

and even

in repentance

lead

God's

people

after God.

And here

they have

another

such king.

He's so

different,

isn't he?

It's almost

hard to

recognize.

Could that

be the

king?

He's not

desperate

for power

and he's

not afraid

of those

wielding it

either.

He's not

promoting

himself but

he keeps

promoting

others.

He's not

concerned

primarily with

outward

appearance but

he is very

concerned with

the heart.

Could this

be the real

king?

If we cut

into him,

if we cut

him open,

what's he

made of?

what we

find is a

heart not

for self

but for

God and

his people.

Probably the

most unusual

thing about

this king

Jesus,

he is not

here first

and foremost

to boss you

around.

If that's

what you've

heard,

it's not the

Jesus you

read about

here.

Nor is he

here to

catch you

letting him

down and

abandoning your

post.

Nor is he

here to

check your

resume to

see if

you're worth

keeping

around.

It's what

the kings

of this

world do.

They demand

that their

subjects give

their lives

to protect

their king.

This king

gives his

life to

protect his

subjects.

He's going

to the

cross in

place of

Barabbas.

In place

of all

God's

people.

In place

of you.

In place

of me.

That's the

choice that

this king

makes.

We watch

him make

that choice.

He's got

two kinds

of kings

he could be.

There's two

kinds of

kingdoms he

could rule

over.

There's two

ways to

power for

him.

And the

choice that

king Jesus

makes is

not to

hold on

tightly to

power and

glory while

you might

slip away

out of his

hand.

No.

He makes

the choice

to let go

of power

and glory

to come

and grasp

tightly

onto you

and never

let you

go.

That's your

king.

Even as

the crowds

shout

for the

release of

Barabbas

and they

prepare to

celebrate

the Passover

feast

they shout

crucify him

for Jesus

and the

Passover lamb

prepares for

the slaughter

for their

very sins.

God

I want to

ask you

this morning

is he

your

king?

He only

becomes your

king.

He only

climbs onto

the throne

of your

heart

by climbing

onto the

cross

in your

place.

God

this night

he was

betrayed

he took

bread

he broke

it

and gave

it to

his

followers

as I

ministering

in his

name

give this

bread to

you

he said

take and

eat

this is

my body

given

for you

in your

place

do this

in remembrance

of me

and in the

same way

after supper

he took

the cup

and said

this cup

is the

new

covenant

in my

blood

shed

for many

for the

forgiveness

of sins

drink

from it

all of

you

for as

often

as you

eat

this

bread

and

drink

this

cup

you

proclaim

the

Lord's

death

until

he

comes

you

say

he's

my

king

if

Jesus

is

your

king

come

run

back

under

his

protection

again

today

he's

the

kind

of

king

who

gives

his

life

for

you

so

you

can

trust

him

for

whatever

you're

facing

today

come

taste

that

see

that

he's

good

but

maybe

you're

not

willing

today

to

bow

the

knee

to

king

Jesus

maybe

you're

holding

on to

something

that

the

king

says

is

sin

but

you

want

it

anyway

and

you

don't

want

to

let

go

maybe

you

have

thought

you

like

the

idea

of

Jesus

but

what

you've

seen

from

his

followers

is

so

distasteful

to

you

that

you

have

decided

you

no

longer

want

to

be

associated

with

him

at

all

if

that's

the

case

for

you

don't

come

to

these

elements

this

morning

and

take

bread

and

wine

but

we

invite

you

to

come

to

Jesus

listen

to

what's

so

wonderful

about

Jesus

as

king

that

even

when

his

followers

get it

confused

when

they

forget

what

his

kingdom

is

really

about

they

come

running

back

to

him

he's

the

only

one

who

gets

it

right

even

and

especially

in those

moments

where we

blow it

we run

to

him

that's

all of

us

who've

forgotten

who the

real king

is

let's

run

back

to

him

together

now

I

invite

you

whether

you

come

to

this

table

this

morning

or

not

to

come

to

the

true

king

whose

reign

is

marked

by

his

giving

his

life

for

you

rather

than

demanding

that

you

give

your

life

for

him

let's

pray

and

we'll

celebrate

him

together

Jesus

what

a

different

kind

of

king

you

are

and

we're

so

grateful

might

we

revel

in

your

love

rejoice

in

your

truth

find

our

joy

in

your

promised

hope

thank

you

for

being

our

king

and

thank

you

for

giving

your

life

use

these

elements

to

remind

us

we

can

trust

you

today

and

every

day

we

ask

in

your

name

amen

for

more

information

visit

us

online

at

southwood.org