Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Hello, I'm Josh.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: And I'm Gabriel.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: And today on reading the gospel, we are studying the event Jesus trial before Pilate. This is found in all four Gospels. In Matthew, chapter 27, verses 2 and 11 through 14, in Mark, chapter 15, verses 2 through 5, in Luke, chapter 23, verses 1 through 5, and finally in John, chapter 18, verses 28 through 38. Today we'll be reading from John, chapter 18. Follow along with us as we begin in verse 28.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning.
They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
So. So Pilate went outside to them and said, what accusations do you bring against this man?
They answered him, if this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.
Pilate said to them, take him yourself and judge him by your own law.
The Jews said to him, it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.
This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
[00:01:56] Speaker B: So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? Pilate answered, am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.
But my kingdom is not from the world. Then Pilate said to him, so you're a king. Jesus answered, you say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born. And for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him, what is truth?
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him.
Jesus is now coming into trial before Pilate. The Jews have not gotten their answer yet.
They want Jesus dead. And so as they're bringing Jesus in, they actually don't go into Pilate's house. Why don't they go into Pilate's house?
[00:03:28] Speaker A: It was that week long celebration ending with a Passover meal. And according to their laws, they are not allowed to touch anything or to go into places that would have defiled them ceremonially.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Yeah, so if they go into a Gentile's house, they're unclean for seven days and they would miss the Passover.
So Pilate comes out to them and they. They say, we need you to try this guy.
And Pilate's like, well, you've got your own court system and legal system. Why don't you do it?
And the answer is, they had already done it. And they determined that Jesus was guilty of death, but they were not allowed to carry out capital punishment. They were not allowed to kill people. And so now they needed Pilate to intervene. Am I correct?
[00:04:28] Speaker A: Yeah, I see the same way. And the Jews practically needed the Roman power to execute their own decision.
And it seems that Pilate knew a little bit about this kind of Jews, and he tried to anticipate it and say, hey, you just do it. And they said, no, our decision is to die, so it's not lawful for us to execute it.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:55] Speaker A: By the way, do you feel that we behave like this, Jews, from time to time, we make a decision, and after that, let's say in a group of friends, in a family, in a church, in any kind of organization, we make up our mind, and after that, we look for other people to execute our own desires or intentions or plans. Yeah, yeah, a dirty hand.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: I've seen that a lot. That.
And we also look for evidence that corroborates our beliefs and our ideas, but we don't want to be the ones carrying out judgment, so we go look for other people. You know, being a pastor, I've got many people who come to me wanting me to interact and involve myself in the lives of other people.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: I've seen that in families when one of the parent wants to play the, you know, the loving, you know, soft heart and good relationships and says, okay, wait until your mom or your dad will come home and you'll be really punished. And that spouse goes to the other.
That parent goes to the other spouse and said, look, you have to do this and this and that, using the spouse as a punishing hand.
[00:06:17] Speaker B: I wonder how Pilate and Herod felt about these. You know, the Jews showing up on their door, hey, you need to do something about this. You need to deal with this person.
I'm guessing they weren't thrilled.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: I think it was a trade.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: They are looking for, at least during those good years, they are looking to help each other and the governor and order, territorial king.
They are looking for support because they were appointed by the Roman emperor and they wanted to have a good report.
And on the other side, they Are not happy with the Roman dominion, but they used the Roman governor to execute their own plans from time to time.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
So Pilate then brings Jesus into the house. So he's now in the. The unclean territory. He's in the gentiles home.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: And the Jews had no problem with that.
[00:07:27] Speaker B: No.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: Because in their mind is he will die soon. He will not make it to the Passover for the evening.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: And so he asks, are you the king of the Jews?
And we have this, I guess, trial going on, this, this discussion, this conversation. And Jesus doesn't say. He is. He says, are you saying this or are you saying it because others, you know, he. He's, you know, if I had to have a lawyer, I'd want it to be Jesus. Not just the fact that he's God, but the way he answers questions is brilliant. And making sure he's getting to the right question went, if you ever deal with a lawyer, they. They have, oh, you can't say this. You can't say it this way or can't say it that way. You have to do it this way.
And I see this in Jesus very, very. I don't want to use the word shrewd because that kind of has negative connotations.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: Careful.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Careful. Yeah, yeah. Very careful in what he says.
So Pilate asks a very direct question. Yeah.
He asked, what have you done? Like why. Why have they delivered you to me?
And Jesus talks about his mission. Right.
[00:08:53] Speaker A: That the most important fear of a Roman governor was a social uprising, Especially one with a political or religious connotation or background.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: And this is why. The question in 33 is, are you the king of the Jews?
And Jesus answer is, you use these words? I didn't use them technically. Jesus says, but I'm curious. Jesus said, are these your own words or you heard them from someone else?
[00:09:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:27] Speaker A: You are quoting the Jews.
Why is that important for Jesus?
Because Jesus is trying to make some inroads toward Pilate's heart.
And we see that Jesus, even during the trial and even later on the cross, he is still interested in other people's salvation. He wants to keep an open door to people's hearts and even to make.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: Them think, if possible, in answering Pilate, what have you done? Jesus is saying, look, I've not done anything.
If I was the king of the Jews, as they said, the king of this nation, when they tried to come and arrest me, we would have had war. My followers, my servants would have fought them. I wouldn't be standing here. If I was the king of The Jews. But Jesus is saying, no, my kingdom's not of this world.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: And this is a statement that is so relevant in our society today.
We see nationalist religious movements around the world, and we see one getting steam here in the United States.
Some believers want our country to become a Christian nation.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: Which will be led by Christian laws to fulfill a Christian mission.
And Jesus Christ says, my kingdom is not of this world. And I'm looking back, and I'm thinking through history, some empires even added the word holy in front of the name of the empire, Holy Roman Empire, because they felt that they are the kingdom of Christ on this earth. And it was their responsibility to enact the will of Christ through laws and wars and, you know, shedding blood and so on. But for all of this, Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: And we found throughout history, when you have a government that has a state religion, there is always persecution.
I can't think of any. Not even the Jewish state nation, when God was their king as a theocracy, they were still persecuting those around them.
Whenever a nation and a religion join, you have persecution. In the Bible, we have these beasts in Revelation 13, and in Daniel, chapter 8 and 7, you have these beasts that are both political and also religious.
And so Jesus did not come to establish a physical kingdom here on this.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: Earth, a temporary kingdom.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: And he's not coming back here to establish a physical kingdom here on this earth amongst the kingdoms around us. You know, we studied prophecy a few years ago in this program, and we see that when Jesus establishes his kingdom that's going to last forever, all the preceding kingdoms are destroyed and done away with that. There's not going to be United States of America, Russia, China, New Zealand, the most important, right, Australia. These kingdoms will not be around when Jesus sets up his kingdom. There won't be remnants of them. They're going to be blown away and removed.
So Pilate then asks him straight up, so are you a king?
And it's easy to get confused in reading these answers, but it's very straightforward. Jesus says to him, you say that I'm a king. Jesus is not here telling Pilate, yes, I'm a king. He's saying, this is your accusation. You're bringing this charge against me. Mm. I'm not here saying I'm a king.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: Every time Jesus Christ preached about himself, he used titles like the Son of man.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: And just a couple of times, the Son of God. But mostly the Son of Man. And that is a clear reference to some, you know, events in The Old Testament. But Jesus Christ never referred himself as a king.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Yeah. So Jesus gives the purpose why he's come. And it's important as you're reading, you're not linking for this purpose to him being a king. This purpose is the statement that comes later. He says, for this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world again. That's not him being a king. It says to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.
So you have Jesus mission statement here.
He has come to bear witness to the truth. And what is the truth?
[00:14:54] Speaker A: Is the truth about God as a loving father. Is the truth about God's government based on love as expressed in many parables which started. The kingdom of God is like, the kingdom of God is like. But it was never about a temporary physical kingdom on this planet. It was about the kingdom of God that is planted in the heart that takes over our dreams, our plans, our day to day decisions. Until the presence of God takes over the whole life.
The heart is transformed, the plans for the life are different, the priorities are elevated. And that is the kind of kingdom that Jesus Christ talks about.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: And this is where Pilate takes him back out and says, I find no guilt.
Let's pray. Father God, we are so thankful that Jesus came to this world not to set up an earthly kingdom and have earthly power, but to set the captives free, to free us from sin, to work in our hearts and change who we are. And I pray, Father, that we will be citizens of the eternal kingdom first and foremost and that we will seek to live in ways that you would desire us to live. Amen.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: Amen.
