We have King of Authority But He is a good King
The bible spends a fair amount of time talking about Kings / Kingdoms
The Jewish people understood the structure of King and Kingdom
Operated under a theocracy – governing system that saw one supreme civil ruler.
God was there king.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings[c] of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
Psalm 47: 6 – 9
So when Jesus spoke of Kingdom – It’s understood
Type of King we have – Comparison
· To be King is His birth rite
o Born into Kingship
o Cannot be voted in / out
o King until death / Jesus lives forever
· In a Kingdom Government, the King is the Government
o Not represent Authority, He is Authority
o Decisions are made on their righteousness, not political gain
· The Welfare of the Kingdoms Citizens is the Personal Responsibility of the King
o We have a King of authority and He is a good King
So when Building this Church …
I’ve needed to ground myself in what kingdom is being built.
I found myself in God’s word reading Pilates encounter with Jesus
Starting in John 18:33
Pilate asked Jesus if He was King
Jesus spoke as one of authority
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
From there Pilate’s main question was “what is truth?”
John 18:36-37
A Verse caught my eye that I had not paid much attention to before
Pilate told Jesus He had authority over him.
Jesus flipped that right around.
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free,
Pilate from then on, Worked towards Jesus’ freedom.
John 19:11-12
What I see is Pilate was affected by Jesus response and He began to listen to Jesus.
He was determined to see Jesus be free.
But I think he didn’t understand the importance of Jesus’ statement.
Pilate was still exercising his authority
Working to convince the people for the out come he now wanted.
Pilate presented Jesus two different ways to the people
“Here is the man” / He is of no threat
“Here is your King” / Shame and Guilt
But if he wanted TRUTH
There is a question to have asked Jesus
“What is it that you want to have happen?”
We must be cautious of the seeking of truth while trying to maintain control
Trying to control the outcome or how things will go.
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Song: If - by beautiful eulogy
If in one unfortunate moment
You took everything that I own
Everything you've given from heaven above
And everything that I've ever known
If you stripped away my ministry
My influence, my reputation
My health, my happiness
My friends, my pride, and my expectation
If you caused for me to suffer
Or to suffer for the cause of the cross
If the cost of my allegiance is prison
And all my freedoms are lost
If you take the breath from my lungs
And make an end of my life
If you take the most precious part of me
And take my kids and my wife
It would crush me, it would break me
It would suffocate and cause heartache
I would taste the bitter dark providence
But you would still preserve my faith
What's concealed in the heart of having
Is revealed in the losing of things
And I can't even begin to imagine
The sting that kind of pain brings
I would never blame you for evil
Even if you caused me pain
I came into this world with nothing
And when I die it'll be the same
I will praise your name
In the giving and taking away
If I have you I could lose everything
And still consider it gain
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I believe that was the crutch of the Jewish leaders. There self-righteous pride in keeping Law and Knowledge kept them from seeing God’s Kingdom on the move.
Pilate’s story was like the rich man asking Jesus how does he get into heaven. There was something Pilate just wasn’t willing to give up.
The attack the Jews placed on Pilate stopped him in his tracks.
The Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
John 19:12
Friend of Caesar was a political term
It did not mean that Pilate was being a bad friend or not seeking Caesars best interests.
Not being a friend of Caesar was an accusation of treason and a threat that Pilate would share Jesus’ fate.
It was too much for Pilate to lose to pursue Jesus any further.
“Shall I crucify your King?”
We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
John 19: 15
They have no other King but Caesar.
The Jewish People sleeked their own righteous outcome while blindly denying God almighty as their King.
Forget the man Jesus in front of them. They denied YAWAH as King.
The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
Psalm 10:16
Who’s Kingdom do we seek?
Following / Trusting in Jesus does not mean we can control the outcome
If we are not careful we may bend our beliefs for our plans
But we have a good king
A good King in Jesus who died for Pilate and you and me
One who works in and through the process of breaking down our desire to control his kingdom and gracefully brings out His will through those who listen to Him.
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