Then they led Jesus
from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did
not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat
the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation
do you bring against this Man?" They answered and said to him, "If
this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you." So
Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your
law." The Jews said to him, "We are not permitted to put anyone to
death," to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what
kind of death He was about to die. Therefore Pilate entered again into the
Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, "Are You the King of the
Jews?" Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did
others tell you about Me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew,
am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You
done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of
this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed
over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say
correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come
into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My
voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he
had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him.
But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you
wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?" So they cried out
again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas." Now Barabbas was a
robber. John 18:28-40
What is truth? That is what Pilate asked Jesus. Jesus had
just told him the truth—that He was a king. So here we have it. TRUTH. Jesus is
King—but He also said that His kingdom is not of this world. So of what “world”
is He King? Is there some other “world” out there—maybe on Mars or on a planet
in some other solar system? No, I think Jesus’ Kingdom is a spiritual one for
He said it is not of this “realm”—this royal domain. That made Pilate feel
better—Jesus was not a political threat to him or the Roman Empire. We can not
see Jesus’ Kingdom, yet it is all around us. A Spiritual Realm.
Dear Jesus—as we
approach the celebration of Your birth give us the boldness of the Wise Men to
seek You and the enthusiasm of the shepherds to go out and tell others about You.
Let us “Go Tell It On The Mountain”—to declare Your righteousness and that You
are The King of Kings and our Lord and Savior. The Truth, the Way, and the
Life.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New American Standard
Bible (NASB).
No comments:
Post a Comment