Jesus, condemned by
the Jews for blasphemy, was now taken to Pilate. Pilate was the sixth Roman procurator of Judea, appointed about six years earlier by the
emperor Tiberius. He had already endured
(some would say caused) a
near-insurrection by the Jews on two or three earlier occasions. He hated the Jews; we would call him
genuinely anti-Semitic. Yet he was
charged to keep the peace, a charge he ultimately failed to keep. Eusebius claims that, not long after his
encounter with Jesus, Pilate killed himself.
(See the article on Pilate in
CP.)
The priests and elders
did not bring Jesus with the charge of blasphemy. That would mean nothing to Pilate. Instead they brought the charge that Jesus
said that He Himself is Christ, a King
(Lk. 23:2). But even this charge was not
really convincing to Pilate. Jesus did
not often refer to Himself as king
but He did make the claims related to being the Messiah. Jews, because they
knew the Tanakh or Mikra (what Christians call the Old Testament), knew that Jesus was
claiming fulfillment of the prophecies related to the Messiah. And if you claim to be Messiah you claim to
be a King who will rule from David’s throne.
Thus, in the exchange
with Pilate Jesus affirms that He is, in fact, a King. He speaks of His kingdom and tells Pilate you say rightly that I am a king. Jesus’
words are reminiscent of His answer to the Pharisees question in Lk.
17:20-21. The kingdom of God is a
spiritual kingdom. As we noted then, we
note now: this does not mean there is not a physical or earthly manifestation
of the kingdom of God where Christ rules on the throne of David (note Jesus’
words to His disciples in Lk. 17:22-37).
The point is that Jesus’ reign over the nations must be one that is
submitted to from the heart.
Jesus had a concern
for Pilate as Jn. 18:34 bears out. But
the issue is what the nation of Israel was doing. Pilate’s words are true: Your own nation … have delivered You to me (v35). To Pilate Jesus was a problem he had to
solve, a political difficulty, a problem he tries to give to Herod Antipas (the
same Herod that beheaded John the Baptist and would later kill the Apostle
James, Ac. 12:1-4). But again, Herod had
no true idea about Jesus. To Herod Jesus
was a curiosity, someone he hoped could provide entertainment.
We are seeing played
out here the words that John had said earlier: the world did not know Him. He came unto His own and His own received
Him not (Jn. 1:10-11). Pilate and
Herod, rulers of this world (1 Cor. 2:8), had no idea what was going on
here. They did not know Him. The people of Israel did know Him,
however. But their problem was that they
would not receive Him; they rejected Him.
Let us continue with John’s words, however, as they tell the whole story
and give hope: But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe
in His name (John 1:12).
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