The Passion of Christ, Part 3: The Rejection of the King

The Passion of Christ, Part 3: The Rejection of the King

John 18:28-40

Introduction:  As we come to our third week looking at the Passion of Christ you might think, is it really necessary to take so much time on this?  Let’s get on to the resurrection already!  To our benefit, we know the end of the story, and that is good news!  It’s also true, that as God inspired John to write this Gospel, He chose to emphasize the cross, the “lifting up” of the Son, as the climax of the story and the vindication of the self-revelation of Jesus as the promised Messiah.  And in the broader teaching of Scripture the death of Jesus is at the heart of the Gospel message: “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures…”  (I Cor 15:3).   As Paul wrote earlier in that same letter, it was at the core of his preaching ministry: He said in 1 Corinthians 2:2: “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified…”  John certainly wrote long after Paul, and we are pretty sure that he wrote long after the other evangelists, but even decades after the crucifixion and resurrection, he still felt it important to give a careful, accurate account of the things he saw and heard.  He wants us to see the glory of God revealed in the Cross of Calvary.

     John has emphasized a couple of truths already in our study of the Passion that will carry through this part of the narrative. First, Jesus was not a victim of circumstances who was taken against His will. On the contrary, He was in control, allowing himself to be arrested so that he could carry out the Father’s plan.  A human king rules the best he is able and his will is usually carried out by his subjects. But a Divine King, the King of Kings, is in absolute control, He is Sovereign over the universe, and His will will be done.

     Secondly, the story emphasizes the complete failure of religion and human effort and the absolute necessity of salvation by the grace of God. Isaiah described the complete inadequacy of human effort to justify when he wrote in Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” We are powerless to save ourselves. We don’t need to be more religious. We need God, we need grace!  

       As the story continues in John 18, the religious leaders reject the One who is of truth, King, and choose instead that a thief be released to them.  The Sovereign hand of the King in guiding the events of the passion reveals both His power and His love. He is sovereign and omnipotent, therefore, we can trust Him, He knows us and He loves us, so we must love Him.

The Big Idea:  The truth is, Jesus, the Passover King, chose to give himself as the Lamb. Do you believe Him? Will you obey Him?

I. “Rules” or Relationship (18:28-32)?  When you are talking about the question of how humans can approach God, that is really what it comes down to. Do we think we can be justified, or sufficiently righteous to approach God, through obeying the external “rules” or “requirements” of a religious system? Or is our faith about knowing God and having a personal relationship with Him in Christ?  In this scene we see the supposedly spiritual leaders of the Jews full of legalistic zeal for the religious system that had grown up around Israel.  Ironically, the religious leaders were determined to kill Jesus by the hands of the Romans, an act which would fulfill God’s plan, confirming that Jesus is who He claimed to be (18:28-32).  They were intent on killing their own Messiah!

            The irony in v.28 is hard to miss: “But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.”  The leaders didn’t want to enter a gentile house, lest they become “unclean” and so unworthy to eat the Passover.  At the same time they were rejecting the Great I AM, the very God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush and delivered the nation from Egyptian bondage. They were zealous in wanting to be able to eat a ritualistic meal of remembrance, yet they were seeking to execute the Son of God, the Lamb Himself who takes away the sin of the world. They wanted to be worthy to eat the Passover, and they were guilty of the most heinous crime imaginable: rejecting the Son of God.  Though they did not want to risk reprisals by Rome (or by the people!) this scene makes it clear that they were determined to see Jesus put to death.  And that is just what they did.  Later, preaching on Pentecost, Peter would say “…you nailed Him to the cross by the hands of godless men…”  (Acts 2:22,23). The Romans were the hammer the Jewish authorities used to drive the spikes through the hands and feet of Jesus. They wanted to keep the rules, but they had already rejected the One, the only One, who could save them.  Before we judge them too harshly we need to look at our own hearts. We need to be careful, to stay on guard, that our “religion” or our traditions don’t blind us to what is more important: a living relationship with God through Christ.  It’s not about the externals, the style of worship, the way I dress, if I prefer chairs or pews. It’s not about me at all.  It’s about Jesus.  Knowing Him, loving Him. If we know Him we’ll love Him.  If we love Him we’ll obey Him.  Earlier in the gospel Jesus told some leaders,

“Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  ²⁵ Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  ²⁶ "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  ²⁷ "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  ²⁸ "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand…” (John 10:24-28).

            The Inquiry and the “charges” against Him (v.29-30a) follow…

“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." 

It is interesting that Pilate inquires about the charges against Jesus, but John never tells us directly what the leaders answered.  Later Pilate goes back to Jesus and asks Him if He is “King of the Jews” (v.33) which implies this was part of the charge the leaders made.

Vv.31-32 reveal that God was working even through this process of Jesus being delivered to the Romans.

“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…” (John 18:31-32).

Jesus said He would be handed over to the gentiles and the Scriptures predicted a death that could only be crucifixion. God was working. The King was in control, carrying out His plan. He did that for us. He loved us that much.  The truth is, Jesus, the Passover King, chose to give himself as the Lamb. Do you believe Him? Will you obey Him?

II. The Truth and the Kingship of Jesus (33-38a). Pilate’s dialog with Jesus begins with one question in v.33 (cf. 37), “are you the king of the Jews?” and ends with another cynical question in v.38, “What is truth?” 

            Pilate’s question gets to the heart of the matter: “Are you the King of the Jews?” The implication is that is the charge that the leaders raised against Jesus (even though John never explicitly states that).  This is the issue that has been woven through the Gospel from the first chapter.  You remember the confession of Nathanael at the end of chapter one: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" (John 1:49).  The Jews had a messianic hope, they were looking for a Messiah, a descendant of David who would have an eternal reign. Of course He would be king, but what would that look like?  What would it mean?  In one sense, much like the nation in David’s day, the people were looking for a king like the nations around them, a king like Saul who stood head and shoulders above others, a king who could lead them to victory over their oppressors. A King like the world.  The Scriptures however spoke of a suffering Messiah, as servant, a rejected King.  The Passover King would have another kind of Kingdom, another kind of deliverance.  He would lead by serving. He would save by dying.

            In v.34 Jesus initially answers Pilate with a question, giving him opportunity to think more about the meaning of his words: “Did you say this of yourself concerning me, or did others speak this about me?”  Jesus used questions to get those around him to think.  What was going on here?  Is Pilate mocking? Does He just hate the Jewish leaders so much that he feels some sympathy for Jesus? Or, could it be, that he has an inkling that there just might be some truth behind this story? Later, when the allegation becomes that Jesus called himself the “Son of God,” it says that Pilate becomes “all the more afraid” (19:8).  That seems to imply that he began to feel a little fear, at least an uneasiness, earlier in the story.

            Pilate’s ‘judgment’ contrasts the determination of the leaders to condemn Jesus. From his perspective, he found no fault at all (v.38b). Pilate is no “hero” in this story – but at least he admits that this whole scene was an injustice, Jesus was innocent of any crime. He only spoke the truth.  The truth is, Jesus was innocent. But as the Passover King He chose to give himself as the Lamb. Do you believe Him? Will you obey Him?

III. Truth, Justice, and the Way of the Lamb: “Shall I release the King of the Jews?” (38b-40). By now the reader of the Gospel knows how this question will be answered, how it must be answered. “Shall I release the King of the Jews?” (38b-40). We know better. The Kingship of Jesus has been linked to Passover, at least indirectly, from the start. John the Baptist said “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  He is the King, but He is also the Lamb. He is the Passover King, the Lamb who would be seated on the throne in Heaven in Revelation 5:6 who alone is worthy to open the scroll.

         Here in John 18, Passover was at hand, the Lamb had been bound, as it were, for the sacrifice.  The King is also the Lamb. And the hour was at hand.

The leaders don’t see Him for who He is, they reject their own Messiah.  But that responsibility extends to the entire nation. No one is standing up for Him at this time. Peter refers to the choice of the “people” in Acts 3:12-15,  

"Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?  ¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.  ¹⁴But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”

The failure of the religious leaders simply exposes the failure of religious effort to draw us near to God. We desperately need grace! Richard Baxter put it this way:

As we paid nothing for God’s eternal love and nothing for the Son of His love, and nothing for His Spirit and our grace and faith, and nothing for our eternal rest...What an astonishing thought it will be to think of the unmeasurable difference between our deservings and our receivings. O, how free was all this love, and how free is this enjoyed glory...So then let “Deserved” be written on the floor of hell but on the door of heaven and life, “The Free Gift”. - Richard Baxter

Grace! The only way that sinful humans could be reconciled to a Holy God.

What is God saying to me in this passage? The truth is, Jesus, the Passover King, chose to give himself as the Lamb. Do you believe Him? Will you obey Him?

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Because of who He is, because of what He has done, we are here today. We gather together to know Him better through His Word, and to learn what He expects from us. We come together because He has told us we are part of a community, a family, and we need each other. And so we receive from Him His truth, and we offer Him our worship.  On Wednesday night we were reminded in our study of Psalm 26 the need for cleansing, the priest needed to symbolically wash his hands and feet in the laver before ministering before the Lord – we have been washed in the blood (I John 1:7) and still we “confess our sins…” (I John 1:9). Remember the upper room, as Peter asked that not only his feet but his entire body be washed?

“Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean…’” (John 13:9,10).

What is standing between us and our fully experiencing God’s presence and our fully embracing his mission? Well only three things come to mind: the world, the flesh, and the devil.  The world would attract and distract us with things that don’t matter, the flesh would entice us to seek pleasure instead of seeking God, the devil would deceive us into exalting our will or our “rights” instead of seeking God’s glory. God said through Isaiah:

"Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live…” (Isa 55:2-3).  

Jesus chose, as the Suffering Servant, as the Paschal King, to lay down His life for His sheep.  In that scene in the upper room, after washing their feet, He said “As I have done for you, so you should do to one another.”  Are we willing to do that, to have the attitude of a servant?  Do not look out only for our own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.  Is that your heart this morning? Is it my heart?  That is the mind of Christ and I know it is what He would have us to do as we follow Him. Pilate asked “what is truth”? The answer is “Jesus.”  Jesus is truth, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It means believing Him, taking Him at His word. It means submitting ourselves to His authority in our lives.

·        What does He say about your marriage? Are we willing to sacrificially love, to mutually submit?

·        What does He say about your work? You might say, “You don’t know my boss!”  Well, Jesus does. Whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord!

·        What does He say about your finances? Do you regard yourself as a steward, do you realize that He is interested not only in your tithe, but in how you use 100% of what He has given you?

·        What does He say about loving your neighbor? Who is your neighbor? Remember the Good Samaritan?

·        And what about forgiving your brother? Are there hurts from the past that you need to let go of? How many times? Seven? No, seventy times seven times!

 As we prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Table, invite Him to examine your heart, to expose your sin, and then confess it, call it what it is, and receive the cleansing He longs to give you.                   Think about that.  Amen.