King Jesus and His Kingdom
John 18:28-40
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. 29 Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” 30 They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.” 31 Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” 32 that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.
33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 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. 39 But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
Today as we study Jesus’ trial before Pilate in John 18, the theme is King Jesus and His Kingdom. Compared to the other Gospels, John has relatively few references to the kingdom of God. Together Matthew, Mark and Luke use the word “kingdom” 122 times. John only uses it 5 times; twice in John 3 when Jesus tells Nicodemus “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5); and three times here in John 18:36 where Jesus tells Pilate about His kingdom.
John did alert us early in his Gospel of Jesus’ kingship. When Nathanael met Jesus he bore witness saying (John 1:49), “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Then on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem the multitudes cried out (John 12:13), “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” John records that this fulfilled the scripture in Zechariah 9:9, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt” (John 12:15).
However, the crucial treatment of Jesus’ kingship and kingdom comes here in John 18 and 19 at His trial and crucifixion. The hour has come for Jesus to be glorified (John 12:23; 17:1). The hour of His glory is the hour of His suffering and death when He will be “lifted up from the earth” (John 12:32) on the cross. This is His crowning moment. Jesus is referred to as king no fewer than ten times in these verses leading up to His crucifixion (John 18:28-19:21).
What do we learn about King Jesus and His kingdom in this passage?
1. Jesus is a Righteous King
Here I simply wish to draw your attention to Jesus at His trial so you can see His blamelessness, His sinlessness. Jesus was innocent in regard to both Jewish law and Roman law. But more importantly, He was also innocent in regard to the law of God. He was indeed a righteous king.
Notice how Jesus’ trial progresses. After Caiaphas the High Priest and the Jewish authorities condemned Jesus to death, it was time to take Jesus to the Roman authorities (John 18:28), “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.” The Jewish authorities brought Jesus to the Romans because they wanted Him executed. The Jews did enjoy a limited degree of freedom under Rome, but they did not have the authority to put a man to death. So they brought Jesus to Pilate for this purpose.
Did you notice the irony and the duplicity of the Jewish authorities in this passage? They refuse to enter Pilate’s headquarters lest they defile themselves and make themselves unfit to observe the Passover. By the way, there is no Old Testament law that declared a Jew to be unclean if he entered a Gentile house. This is part of their man-made tradition by which they set aside the law of God to isolate themselves from Gentiles.
This is an amazing level of hypocrisy. They don’t want to be defiled, and they’re about to kill the Son of God. They were meticulous to keep the letter of their own invented law while killing the one who came to fulfill God’s law. They didn’t want to be defiled by setting foot inside a despised Gentile residence so that they could observe their religious ceremony; but they had no scruples about murdering an innocent man who had done nothing but good for three years! Utter hypocrisy!
That the Jews had no legal case or charge against Jesus is evident. In John 18:29, “Pilate then went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this Man?’” Notice how they are unwilling to answer Pilate with a specific charge (John 18:30), “They answered and said to him, ‘If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.’” The Jewish authorities probably assumed that since Pilate had provided Roman soldiers to assist in the arrest of Jesus, he was already in agreement to put Him to death. Their charge is simply that Jesus is “an evildoer.” In other words, just take our word for it. He is a bad man. They were not interested in going through any kind of judicial process with Pilate. They just wanted Pilate to rubber stamp their verdict and crucify Jesus.
Pilate must sense that the issue here has to do with their religious law, not Roman law, so John 18:31a says, “Then Pilate said to them, ‘You take Him and judge Him according to your law.’” As they stand before Pilate, they find themselves in a real bind. They believe Jesus is guilty of blasphemy, and deserving of death (John 19:7), but they do not have any solid evidence that Jesus is guilty of any capital offense under Roman law. Thus, they are hard pressed to convince Pilate that Jesus really should be put to death. They expose their evil intentions when they reply (John 18:31b), “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”
This is not just a matter of obtaining Rome’s permission. The Jewish religious leaders are unwittingly revealing their inability to accomplish what they have attempted on many occasions. John reported their intentions to kill Jesus at least a dozen times in his narrative starting back in John 5 (John 5:16, 18; 7:1, 19, 25; 8:37, 40, 59; 10:31, 39; 11:8, 16, 47-53, 57; 12:10). The Jewish leaders attempted to seize Jesus and to stone Him to death a number of times. Yet all of these efforts came to nothing because it was not yet “His time” (John 7:30).
It was not God’s plan for Jesus to be killed by the Jews. He would not be thrown down and stoned to death. He would be lifted up (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-34) and crucified by the Romans just as He had said. So John 18:32 says, “that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.”
The Jewish authorities must have then accused Jesus of treason, of claiming to be a king. Luke records their accusations (Luke 23:2), “And they began to accuse Him, saying, ‘We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.’” These accusations we patently false. The implication was that Jesus was gathering a following with the intention of revolting. They intended this lie to provoke Pilate to action. The Romans had little patience for rebellions, and so the hope was that Pilate would believe the lie and quickly put Jesus down.
That this was not really the concern of the Jews becomes clear. In John 19:7 the Jewish authorities finally admit their real concern. “The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.’” Jesus claimed to be the son of God. We know this to be true because we have heard it from the lips of Jesus over and over in John’s Gospel. It would have been blasphemous if were it not true. Blasphemy deserved death. But blasphemy against the Jewish God was not a capital offense for the Romans. This is why they concoct the charge of treason.
Furthermore, if the Jews were so concerned about an insurrectionist running around in their midst, then why did they call for the release of Barrabas, who was in fact a condemned insurrectionist? John calls him a “robber” (John 19:40) but both Mark and Luke tell us that Barabbas was in jail for rebellion and murder (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19). If the Jews were really concerned about helping the Romans put down an insurrection, then why did they cry out for the release of Barabbas?
The point of all of this is that Jesus is innocent. Pilate himself will affirm this at least three times in John’s narrative. In John 18:38 Pilate says to them, “I find no fault in Him at all,” (see also John 19:4, 6, 12). There is no real charge against Him. He has no guilt, no fault, no sin. Jesus is the righteous king. He will die as “the King of the Jews” but not for any crime of His own. He had none.
So first, Jesus is the righteous king. Then second,
2. Jesus is the heavenly king
Their false accusation of rebellion leads Pilate to question Jesus in John 18:33, “Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’”
Jesus does not keep quiet, as He does before the Jews and Herod. Neither does Jesus deny the charge. So in John 18:34, “Jesus answered him, ‘Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?’” Jesus is not seeking to defend Himself, but rather to probe the heart of Pilate. “Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?’” (John 18:35). Pilate sounds annoyed, not just by Jesus but especially by the chief priests who have brought this problem to him.
Then Jesus answered the question directly, saying (John 18:36), “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.” Jesus does not deny that He is the “King of the Jews,” but He does explain to Pilate that this is no threat whatsoever to him, or to Roman rule. Jesus’ kingdom is “not of this world.” Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world because Jesus Himself is not of this world (John 17:14,16). He came down from heaven to do the will of the Father.
Jesus offers one proof that His kingdom is not of this world. If it were, then His servants would fight to resist His arrest (as Peter had attempted to do in the garden before Jesus stopped him). Jesus would not allow His followers to fight with the sword to advance the kingdom of God. His kingdom is not from earth. Pilate and Rome had nothing to worry about.
However, Jesus did speak about His kingdom and Pilate drew the correct inference. John 18:37, “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’” or, “So then, you really are a King!” Jesus replies in a way that clearly confesses this is true: “You say rightly that I am a king …” Then Jesus clarifies the nature of His kingdom, “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.” His “kingdom” is centered around revelation, not revolution; around truth, not treason. Jesus was a teacher, not a traitor. This was the purpose for His incarnation; this was His mission in life—to testify to the truth. And everyone who embraces Him as the promised Messiah (who “belongs to the truth”) listens to His voice.
Pilate, like all those who will not believe in Jesus, stares into the face of Christ, into the face of truth Himself, and scoffs (John 18:38), “What is truth?”
What kind of king is Jesus, then? He is the true heavenly king. The essence of His kingdom is that it is, “not of this world.” Christ’s kingdom does not advance by the sword but by the proclamation of the word. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we pray that His word of truth may prevail. We are praying that the Holy Spirit would bring men and women to believe in Christ’s truth and to live by it. This is how Christ’s kingdom grows.
And so Christ is a king! In fact He is the king. He is the King of the Jews, the one promised to King David. His kingdom is from God not from this world. And people are brought into it as they believe in the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who died; who rose again; who sits enthroned at the right hand of God the Father; who is coming again in glory to reign forever; and who gives eternal life to all who believe.
Finally,
3. Jesus is a Self-Sacrificing King
After he condemns Jesus to death Pilate will write a title and put it on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (John 19:21). Jesus is the king on the cross. Jesus is glorified in His death. It is here that He is crowned as king. Jesus is no helpless victim, He is a willing sacrifice. He said in John 10:18, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” Jesus displays His power not through force, but by laying down His life and taking it up again (John 10:18).
Jesus is our self-sacrificing king. He laid himself down for all who believe. He is our substitute, dying for our sins. The story of Barabbas illustrates this, doesn’t it?
Barabbas was a condemned criminal. He was the real insurrectionist, murderer and thief. Matthew calls him “a notorious prisoner…” (Matthew 27:16). This man was a sinner. He deserved to die. All four gospels make the point that this man was set free and Jesus the righteous one died in his place. When Christ was crucified, he was hung on the cross that was meant for Barabbas. This man did nothing to deserve his pardon. Because Jesus was condemned, he was set free.
Though we have no indication that Barabbas ever believed in Jesus, he still pictures what Jesus did for those who believe in Him. When we were guilty sinners deserving of condemnation, Jesus took our place. He was crucified for us. He endured the punishment we deserve so that we could be set free.
Peter reflecting upon this wrote (1 Peter 3:18), “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”
But Barabbas’ pardon was not automatic. He could have spit in Pilate’s face and said, “I don’t need your pardon! Crucify me!” And, he would have been crucified, while a different prisoner would have gone free. The pardon that Christ offers to all is only effective for those who receive it. The Bible promises (John 3:16), “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Like Barabbas, the guilty rebel, you must accept the pardon that Christ’s death offers you.
As John’s portrayal of Jesus’ trial before Pilate shows, Jesus really is the King. He is a righteous king, a heavenly king, and a self-sacrificing king.
Here is the question: Is Christ your king? Is He your Lord? Have you received His word? Have you believed upon Him?
