A DIFFERENT KING, A DIFFERENT KINGDOM
35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." 38 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 fault in Him at all.
Chapter 18 covers John's account of Jesus' arrest by the Jews and His interaction with Pilate. Jesus is so impressive as He faced abuse, hatred, and false accusations from the Jews. The treatment Jesus received from Pilate was far fairer. And one thing is clear: Jesus is not intimidated by Pilate.
When Pilate asked Jesus what He had done to be delivered up by the Jews, Jesus did not answer his question. Instead, Jesus spoke of His kingdom and that His kingdom was not of this world. And Jesus spells out a characteristic of His Heavenly Kingdom. His servants do not fight with flesh and blood weapons. Earthly kingdoms resort to earthly strategies to protect their kings. But Jesus' kingdom is not of the earth.
Pilate asked Jesus a direct question that Jesus answered directly. When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, the answer was yes. And then Jesus testified of His purpose. He was born and came into the world to witness the truth. And those who were of the truth would hear His voice. In
John 14:6, in speaking with His disciples, Jesus declared that He was the way, the truth, and the life. And no one could even come to the Father but by Him.
All of these verses and many other things that Jesus said put Him in a very unique category. He is exactly what He said: a King with a Kingdom that is spiritual and eternal. The way to God, the only way. And the personal embodiment of truth. He is all of this and more, or He was a con artist and a liar. There is no middle ground.
Pilate scoffed at Jesus and asked the question that man has continued to ask through the centuries. What is truth? But something about Jesus spoke to Pilate, and he did everything he could to see Jesus released. Pilate may not have recognized Jesus as a king, but he could not find fault in Jesus. Pilate may not have been able to acknowledge Jesus as a witness to the truth, but he knew He was different. Pilate is a great example of Jesus speaking to the heart of mankind even when their minds cannot grasp what He is saying.
APPLICATION
It's good to acknowledge Jesus as our King and that we are a part of His Kingdom while we are here on earth. In that realization, we also acknowledge that our fight as servants in His Kingdom is not with flesh and blood. We will not establish the Kingdom of God by force. Even if we elected an entire government of believers in every sector, we would have some good policies in place, but we could not force the Kingdom of God on anyone. That only comes when people make a conscious decision to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Kingdom of God is within us.
Different King and a different Kingdom. Our role is to continue to witness to the truth with our lives and example. As we do, many will hear His voice and come out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.