SO YOU ARE A KING?: PILATE'S LACK OF FAITH
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. So You Are A King?
a) Jesus was brought before Pilate, and Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” After Jesus replied, Pilate asked again, “So you are a king, are you?” This put Jesus on the spot: he is a king, but his kingdom is not of this world.
b) This interview between Pilate and Jesus is recorded in John 18:28-38. What Jesus said to Pilate reveals three serious lacks. One is regrettable, another is deplorable, and the third is commendable.
John 18:36-37
36 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.” 37 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.”
2. Pilate’s Lack Of Faith
a) Pilate could find no guilt in Jesus, but that doesn't mean he had faith in Jesus. He did not seek to join the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom “not of this world”.
b) Pilate showed even less interest in Jesus’s claim to “bear witness to the truth”. He brushed that aside with the quip, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).
c) You don't have to look far for someone who admits that Jesus was a good man, even a great man. That's a belief about Jesus, but not faith in Jesus. Our Lord Jesus proclaimed the truth that sets you free (John 8:32). Pilate didn't trust that truth and follow it.
d) So, don't be a Pilate. Pilate was a man of power and status in this world. But he had nothing that he could take with him into the next world — in which he will forever regret his lack of faith.
The End ...
1. So You Are A King?a) Jesus was brought before Pilate, and Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” After Jesus replied, Pilate asked again, “So you are a king, are you?” This put Jesus on the spot: he is a king, but his kingdom is not of this world.
b) This interview between Pilate and Jesus is recorded in John 18:28-38. What Jesus said to Pilate reveals three serious lacks. One is regrettable, another is deplorable, and the third is commendable.
John 18:36-37
36 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.” 37 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.”
2. Pilate’s Lack Of Faith
a) Pilate could find no guilt in Jesus, but that doesn't mean he had faith in Jesus. He did not seek to join the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom “not of this world”.
b) Pilate showed even less interest in Jesus’s claim to “bear witness to the truth”. He brushed that aside with the quip, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).
c) You don't have to look far for someone who admits that Jesus was a good man, even a great man. That's a belief about Jesus, but not faith in Jesus. Our Lord Jesus proclaimed the truth that sets you free (John 8:32). Pilate didn't trust that truth and follow it.
d) So, don't be a Pilate. Pilate was a man of power and status in this world. But he had nothing that he could take with him into the next world — in which he will forever regret his lack of faith.
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