The Christmas Story Before Pilate - Part One

Posted 12/9/14 by Donald Barnhouse
SCRIPTURE
John 18:33-37
 
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 are 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.”

LESSON

In John 18:37 we have, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world." This is Christ's announcement of the purpose of Christmas-Christmas as announced in Pilate's Judgment Hall, approximately six or eight hours before He was crucified. He tells why He came. Let's go back and look at the circumstances. Earlier in the chapter we read that Pilate said to Jesus, "'Are you the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, 'Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say this to you about me?' Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?' Jesus answered, `My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.' Pilate said to him, 'So you are a king.' Jesus answered, `You say that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice"' (John 18:33-37).
 
It's very interesting to note that in one of the greatest moments of tension in the life of the Lord Jesus, He answered with the Christmas story. He knew He was going to die. He had steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and had said, "My hour is come." The night before, He had prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, and had sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. Then He had been arrested. When darkness came, Peter had followed afar off and denied Him with oaths and cursings. Jesus has looked at Peter and Peter has gone away weeping. Now daylight comes. The judge is out in his Praetorium. And Jesus explains the Christmas story.
 
"Why were you born, little baby?" Oh, the world does not know the Christmas story. The Christmas story of Christ in a manger, with Mary the big personage in the picture, is a satanic deformation if we do not understand that this baby grew up. The Christ who remains a baby will not be the Lord over the life of any being. And if you are to understand Christ-well, picture in your mind a Christmas card that is higher than it is wide, and in the front page a hole shaped like a cross. And through the cross you can see the little baby on the other side. If you do not see Baby Jesus through the cross, you have not seen Baby Jesus! You have not seen why He came. You have not understood what He meant when He said, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I forth."
 
Now the little baby has grown up, and in a few hours He is to die. He stands accused before Pilate, and Pilate says, "Are you the King of the Jews?" A Roman governor would, of course, be extremely interested in those of royalty in the province he governed.
When the British arrived in Africa, one of their first points was to find out who the chiefs were, to pamper them and give them special gifts. Many an African chief was knighted by the king or queen and given the title, "Sir," in front of his long,
unpronounceable name. Many of these paramount chiefs were looked at very carefully. Their sons were sent to Oxford and Cambridge, and they went back to take their positions in Africa. At times Britain tried to exile them from their homes by keeping them in England and not letting them go back where they could make trouble.
 
If an empire is going to have trouble it is often going to have trouble with the local princes. So a well-trained Pilate, a Roman out "in the sticks" of Jerusalem, exercising his sovereignty, would naturally be extremely interested in anybody who might pretend to be a king. For here could be a seedbed of revolution; here could be rebellion.
 
"Are you the King?" And the Lord Christ, in order to set Pilate right, simply said to him, "Did you think of this by yourself? Or did someone put you up to asking this question?"
 
And right away, of course, Pilate can begin to adjust, and not think of Jesus as a potential threat against the Roman Empire. Jesus' question naturally revealed the cabal that was against Him. It showed that there was a group of men who wanted His life and who had yielded Him over for their own sinister purposes.
 
So Jesus set Pilate at ease. He said, "My kingship"-and this is the true meaning of the word. Kingdom is a much weaker word than Kingship, for dom on the end of a word, like dukedom or Christendom, is a suffix that indicates territorial sway, domination, dominion. But the Lord is saying, "I'm not talking about how many geographical miles might come under My sway or be in My realm. I'm talking about My kingship." Now, ship is a quality of being, and if a man is a king, his kingship and his authority centers in himself, and not in what land he might hold.

STUDY QUESTIONS

  • Why is the incarnation of Jesus Christ so significant?
  • What does the incarnation accomplish?
  • What do we gain through the incarnation of Jesus?