03/09/2024 [John 19:8-16a] – No King but Caesar – The tide turns against Jesus. [v. 12]
1) Faith. Discussed 02/17/24;
2) Freedom. Discussed 03/02/2024
3) Family. Stable, happy families are the basis for a thriving society; public policy must acknowledge this obvious truth. Building the nuclear family should be a top priority, and the administrative state must get out of the way, respect parental rights. Instill the values of hard work, honor, and sacrifice to your children, as our parents passed them along to us. This has been the traditional American way.
These verses describe how the tide swung against Jesus [v. 12] Pilate is in charge; he is governor; his word is law; he can put people to death. If Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he had the power. What would the folks in Rome think? Administrators were prosecuted for maladministration. The folks from the region carried back requests for discipline. Caesar’s thinking was a secret weapon held by the chief priests (priests). If the priests raise this question Pilate is lost. This vision passed before him- you had a man saying he was king and you let him go. “Are you a governor?” Pilate was afraid when the priests stated that Jesus made Himself the son of God. [v. 7] He was afraid when they used the Caesar card.
He has lost the argument. We now learn about the nature of Jesus’ authority. Jesus had been silent on this point, but he was prepared to tell Pilate how God’s providence works. We can see how the priests are defining themselves. Jesus does not challenge Pilate’s authority. Jesus says it comes from above, God. Jesus accepts pagan states and empires hold their rule under the authority of the one true God. He does not say that God, nor His true followers, need to approve of everything they do. Only that God who turns human wrath to His praise [Ps. 76:10] takes the energy and organization of even wicked peoples and makes it bring some measure of order to His world. That is why Paul could say what he did in [Rom. 13:1-7] If Jesus could note Pilate’s authority, clearly a Christian view of secular power has to make room for some light and shade in the picture. We can-not build a black/white scene. Some rulers are good, but most are bad.
Jesus warns Pilate that he holds delegated authority. It means that evil is lurking. The priests have painted another picture, with the sting coming at the end. For the priests to reject the claim of Jesus to be the true reflection of their one true God, they drive them-selves into the arms of a pagan empire. “We have no king but Caesar.” [v. 15b] This is devastating to hear from the official representatives of Judaism. All songs, slogans and scripture for a thousand years have spoken of God as true king, the coming Messiah as God’s true king, and of pagan rulers as a sham, a pretense, a nest of idolaters. What would Isaiah say? What happens when they read the Psalms. What can they say to the crowds? Many had hoped He would be the king who freed them from Caesar. These questions are still present in a puzzled world. Who is the world’s true Lord? Governments have what authority? How do we relate to the authority of God?
Some folks (priests) if they do not want Jesus as Lord are driven into some form of pagan empire. (Are we there now?) Pagan empires come in many forms: some are totalitarian, claim divinity, demanding absolute allegiance to itself. It may be a liberal democracy banning God from its system. It then regards itself free to carve up the world to its own advantage without moral restraint. Either is grim. Are we with Pilate, nervously sliding into a compromise? Are we with the priests, pressing a political advantage, not knowing they are pushing themselves backward into capitulation? Or with Jesus, silent, continuing to reflect the love of God into His muddled, confused world?
[John 19:16b-24] The King of the Jews – Today, in many countries, if one runs afoul of the law, they are publicly beheaded. That is the modern equivalent of crucifixion. Today we have less time and are more efficient. The reason is obvious: If you flout or revolt against the law or the teachings, this happens. Pilate’s posting is a news release. The priests were furious. Pilate did not believe Jesus, nor did the priests and they resented the belittlement. Pilate announces, “You wanted Him crucified, I have done it. I say what I want in public. He is the king of the Jews. You deserve Him. This is what I have done and keep hounding me and you will be next.
Listen to John as Jesus goes to His death: Caiaphas said only one man dies. [11:49-50] Remember the Greeks looking for Him. Jesus said: “He was lifted from the earth; He would draw all people to Himself [12:32]. Remember Peter said he would lay down his life for Jesus and Jesus questioned him [13:37-38]. Did Peter have that statement in the proper order? Bring that altogether, look up at the cross, look what Pilate had written. What do you see? Pilate had written his public notice in three languages. Hebrew, Latin and Greek. (John states Hebrew, perhaps he meant Aramaic) Hebrew was local, Greek was universal in the then known world and Latin was the official language of the empire. What is really happening – Jesus is now announced as Israel’s Messiah to all the world. What seemed to start as demeaning; this is what Jesus said would happen. The world does not know it. This is what it needs if it is to rescue itself from its desperate plight: the Messiah, promised by God to Israel. John wants us to know this is not local; it is sea to sea; one end to the other; not one, but all nations will do Him homage. [Ps. 72]
How: If we witness the Messiah executed as a common criminal or as a revolutionary? John is clear: it is through his execution that it will now happen. Jesus will fulfill one of the Bible's extraordinary prophecies. It is Jesus, the suffering righteous one, and through the sufferings of Israel and through these trials and tribulations evil would be exhausted and the kingdom of God is born on earth. One of the most popular Biblical prophecies among early Christians is [Ps.22]. From this Psalm; Matthew in [Matt. 27:46] and Mark in [Mark 15:34] Jesus quoted/screamed at the moment of His greatest agony, “My God. My God, why did you abandon me?” Many horrors are recounted and the sufferer, naked, watches the soldier’s gambling for His garments. John sets us to think of the implications. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy and sacred song. He is the righteous sufferer. He is the true King. He is the one through whose shameful death the weight of Israel’s sin and the sins of the world are finished. Jesus, the King of the Jews, God’s chosen representative will not only rule the world, but redeem it as well. AMIN
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