Day 15

John 18: 33-36

³³So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" ³⁴Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" ³⁵Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?" ³⁶Jesus 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."

King of the Jews (John 18: 33-36)

Pilate’s questions show that there was more to the event than John has recorded. When he asks, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ the you is emphatic, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ It is possible that Pilate was expecting some sort of revolutionary that the area produced from time to time. But one look at Jesus would have shown him that such an idea was wide of the mark. ‘My kingdom is not of this world,’ Jesus replied (verse 36). We have noticed that ‘kingdom’ speaks about ‘reign’ rather than realm, but there is also a sense of activity behind the statement. It is as though Jesus was saying, ‘Yes, I am sovereign to those who follow me.’

Think: If Pilate was indeed expecting some sort of revolutionary, how might this have coloured his attitude toward Jesus?