John 19:1-16a – “True Kingship”
(Matt Koerber)
John 19:1-16a Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
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The theme of “kingship is found throughout this passage. The charge laid against Jesus is that he was claiming to be king (v.12.) It seems that his religious opponents settled on this charge because it would carry weight with the Roman authorities. The real reasons have been discussed at length in the book: jealousy, claims to be God (v.7), fear of losing control, etc. The contrast between his claims for kingship contrast with his apparent powerlessness. So Jesus is mocked by the soldiers. They pretend to Hail him as “King of the Jews”, dress him up in sham royal clothing and crown him with thorns. But as the section comes to attend the theme of kingship returns in a very unexpected way. The religious leaders (“chief priests”) proclaim “we have no king but Caesar.” Given God’s claim to be the king of Israel (1 Sam 8:7) and the OT promises for a coming Messiah this is a blatant rejection of God. How did the people who should have known God the best end up so wrong in their opposition to him?
I would imagine that if they stopped and thought about it, the chief priests would not want to make the claim, “we have no king but Caesar.” If we trace the story backwards we can see that their initial concerns were quite different. After Lazarus was raised from the dead the chief priests and the pharisees gathered together to take council together (John 11:45-53.) They were afraid that Jesus was growing in popularity and seemed to have the ability to perform miraculous signs. This threatened their own standing in the community, but it also threatened their tentative grasp of control. In particular they say,
John 11:48 “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
In other words, they fear the power of Rome. They are afraid that the Galilean troublemaker will upset Rome and that the consequences will land on their own heads. So, out of fear of Rome, they make a practical decision. They will eliminate the one troublemaker and it will be safe for everyone. This is not a moral decision, it is a practical decision. This is what modern people call, “politics.”
John 11:49-50 Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”
How ironic it is that when the plan comes to fruition, likely these same religious leaders find themselves chanting, “We have no king but Caesar!” Again, this is the practical thing to say. In making the case against Jesus a question of loyalty to Rome they are pressing the buttons that will ensure Pilate takes action. After all, Pilate cannot allow his commitment to Caesar be publicly called into question. But in taking this step, they have made themselves to be the very thing they hate. They have denied the unique Kingship of God and the Messianic hope that spilled forth from the prophets of old. At first they are ruled by fear, then they take practical steps to control the situation, but they end up in outright rejection of God.
I wish the problem was limited to this particular group of first century religious leaders. Unfortunately, this is a window into the reality of the human condition. Seeking control, we make one compromise after another, until we find ourselves at odds with God’s purposes. In calling for the death of this inconvenient troublemaking prophet, they end up calling down condemnation on God himself. The story is repeated a thousand times over. This is the human condition.
And yet, Jesus is undeterred. He is surrendered to the necessity of the cross. And so he moves forward toward death. He has the power to resist them – we have seen before that he can calm storms and hold sway over death itself. But he is determined to die for his enemies. In chapter 11, Caiaphas spoke better than he knew. It is better that Jesus should die, and through his death save not only his nation but people from every nation. It is better that he should die – not because it removes an inconvenience, but because his death pays the penalty for our sin. At the very moment the crowds thought they were eliminating he was purchasing salvation for his rebellious people. The apostle Paul, himself a former opponent of Jesus, summarized the gospel this way:
Romans 5:8-10 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
Weekly Prayer: Spiritual Renewal for Our Congregation
Daily Prayer Request: “Worship that Exalts and Delights in Christ.” When I set up the list of weekly and daily prayer requests at the beginning of this blog, I didn’t really think about what the reading would be for today. I have to admit that at first it seems a little strange to pray for exalting Jesus when we just read about the way he was mocked. We know that our natural human and sinful tendency is to do exactly what the chief priests did and act as enemies of God. But we live on the other side of the resurrection, after the Spirit has been poured out on the church, and we approach these prayers from the position of faith. From that vantage point we see that when Jesus is being mocked he is at his greatest. When he is being betrayed he is actually saving us. And when he is lifted up on the cross, he is exalted. The greatness of Jesus is most clearly visible at the cross. Let’s pray that we can be people who appreciate the gospel and worship our savior with understanding and vigor. (MK)