The King Who Came to Testify
Notes
Transcript
Handout
text: John 18:28-40
28 Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?”
30 “If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”
31 “You take Him and judge Him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “We are not permitted to execute anyone,” the Jews replied.
32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.
33 Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
34 “Are you saying this on your own,” Jesus asked, “or did others tell you about Me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
36 Jesus answered, “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 not of this realm.”
37 “Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.
39 But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 “Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)
PRAY
Introduction:
Many of us can probably remember learning in elementary school (or somewhere along the way) the importance of the six questions, who? what? when? where? why? and how?
Asking these questions is how we study, investigate, research, and learn new things.
As adults, we may start to lose the wonder and curiosity we had in our younger years, but our children (or grandchildren or great-grandchildren) make up for it with their seemingly incessant questions.
We are in a stage as parents where our kids are constantly bombarding us with questions. It can be overwhelming sometimes.
How hot is lava?
How far is Neptune from the Earth?
Which dinosaur is the tallest or longest?
What does this word mean? How do you spell it?
Why do we have to go to bed while it’s still light outside?
And that’s just a 5 minute conversation on a typical weekday evening. The questions seem endless.
But while it can be overwhelming, there is something good and healthy about asking lots of questions.
Rudyard Kipling was a well-known author around the turn of the 20th century, probably best known for Jungle Book and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. He also wrote a bit of poetry, including this poem he wrote about his daughter Josephine, who apparently also liked to ask questions:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.
I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small—
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!
She sends 'em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes—
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!
In his book Foundations for Lifelong Learning, John Piper quotes this poem and then comments,
“One point from this poem I would like to draw out is that too many Bible readers leave behind the childlike curiosity of how and why. I agree that who and what and where and when are valuable questions. But they are the questions that usually require the least thinking.
And yet in Bible study, they are often as far as some people get. The really fruitful questions are how and why… That kind of perplexity—the habit of asking questions—leads to hard thinking and wonderful discoveries.”
–John Piper, Foundations for Lifelong Learning
Who and what and where and when are important questions for Bible study, and we should not neglect those. But the questions how and why are most important, because they reveal things like goals, purposes, causes, means, methods, manners, and other extremely important information.
For example, from this passage (John 18:28-40), one answer to the question what is that Jesus was born and came into the world. That’s a very important fact for us to know. We absolutely must believe that truth.
But far more important for us to know and believe is why. Why did Jesus come into the world? What was his aim or goal or purpose in being born as a human? What is it all about?
Jesus’s entrance into our world will mean little to us if we don’t see why He came. When we understand why He came and realize just how desperately we needed Him to come, we trust Him and love Him and obey Him better.
So as you read and study the Bible, make sure to ask questions. That’s how you’re going to learn and grow in your relationship with God. And especially ask the questions how and why, as they will be especially fruitful for you.
In our passage today, we’ll see that Jesus gives the answer to the question why He came, so we’ll want to pay close attention to that.
Three points for us to consider this morning:
The Reality that Jesus is King
The Reason that Jesus Came
The Response that Jesus Demands
We’ll take them in that order.
The Reality that Jesus is King
The Reality that Jesus is King
(John 6:14-15; 12:12-19; 18:36-38)
Some people only think of Jesus’s kingship as a future reality. Certainly His future kingdom will have aspects that are not present now. But Jesus is the king now, and…
He makes this claim in John 18:36-37
36 Jesus answered, “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 not of this realm.”
37 “Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
By speaking of His kingdom, Jesus is claiming to be a King.
But His kingdom is not of this world or this realm - it is spiritual, not physical
When Pilate says, “Then You are a king!” Jesus does not deny the claim but affirms it in an indirect way.
But Jesus is not the kind of King the Jews wanted or expected. Earlier that week crowds had welcomed Him as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey:
12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
13 They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
14 Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”
The crowds welcomed Him as the Son of David, heir to his throne.
They were looking for a conquering, warrior king to defeat the Romans.
A couple of years before that, right after Jesus had fed the 5000, we read,
14 When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
15 Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
They saw the miracles Jesus did and wanted the prosperity He could bring. They wanted a king like Solomon who would bring about a time of peace and prosperity.
But that’s not why Jesus came.
The King they really needed
Jesus came to meet their greatest need - to atone for their sin so they could have a right relationship with God.
He came to reveal God’s truth to them so that they could be saved from their sins.
The eternal heavenly King
Although His human nature had a beginning, Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the eternal God who never had a beginning. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
The King now and forever
And again, this is not only a future reality, but Jesus is the King right now.
He is on His throne now, and He will reign forever.
Jesus is the King.
The Reason that Jesus Came
The Reason that Jesus Came
(John 18:37)
But Jesus didn’t come the first time to set up an earthly kingdom, to build a grand palace, to conquer physical enemies, and to have people serve Him.
The Bible gives us many different statements about the reason that Jesus came, which shows us that there are many reasons. God always has more purposes in every circumstance than we can begin to imagine.
But Jesus states here one of those purposes, one reason that He came, which encompasses many other purposes:
37 “Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
Jesus came to testify (bear witness) to the truth by His words and His works. Both the things He said and the things He did give witness to what is true.
What truth does Jesus bear witness to?
Jesus testifies about the glory of God
Jesus testifies about the glory of God
(John 1:14-18; 10:37-38; 12:27-28; 14:7-11)
He makes God known to us - and we need to know God if we are to be saved (John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”)
The purpose of His incarnation is to make the Father known to us:
14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ”
16 From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
Not only His words, but also His works, reveal God to us:
37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me.
38 But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”
Jesus’s death on the cross reveals God’s glory to us like nothing else:
27 Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
28 Father, glorify Your name!” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
To know Jesus is to know God
7 If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.
11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
So Jesus came to bear witness to the glory of God - to make God known to us.
Jesus testifies about the sinfulness of man
Jesus testifies about the sinfulness of man
(John 3:19-20; 5:39-47; 7:7; 8:34-36; 9:39)
He shows us our desperate condition and need for Him.
Our natural human condition is to reject God
19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
Jesus testifies about the way of salvation
Jesus testifies about the way of salvation
(John 3:3; 14-17; 10:7-14; 11:25-27; 14:4-6)
Salvation is the work of God (John 1:13, 3:3)
3 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Jesus is the way to God (John 1:12; 3:14-17; 10:7-14; 11:25-27; 14:4-6)
12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 “Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The Response that Jesus Demands
The Response that Jesus Demands
(John 3:11-12, 15-16, 36; 6:29, 40; John 10:27-28; 14:15; 20:27-31; 21:18-22.
The reality of who Jesus is and what He has come to do demands a response from us.
We can accept Him or reject Him.
We can submit to Him as King or oppose Him.
We can love Him or hate Him.
We can follow Him or walk away from Him.
The one thing we cannot do is remain neutral.
If you don’t accept Him, you are rejecting Him.
If you don’t submit to Him, you are opposing Him.
If you do not love Him, you hate Him.
If you do not follow Him, you are walking away from Him.
There is no middle ground.
We Must listen to His voice - sadly Pilate did not.
37 “Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.
His sheep do listen to His voice and follow Him:
27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
We must Believe His Testimony
Jesus rebukes Nicodemus and the religious leaders for their rejection of His testimony:
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things?
11 Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony.
12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
Jesus tells the Jewish people of their need to believe Him
28 Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
29 Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
The whole purpose of John’s Gospel is to lead us to believe:
31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
True, saving faith also includes love for Christ, and it will lead us to obey Christ as our King.
15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
And His call for every one of us as His disciples is to follow Him, even to death.
18 Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after He had said this, He told him, “Follow Me.”
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”
21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
His promise for you is that if you have this kind of faith - if you receive Jesus for all that He is and give yourself completely to Him, you have eternal life:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
Today you have heard Jesus’s testimony. What is your response?
Will you listen to His voice?
Will you believe what He says?
Will you obediently follow Him?
John 1:12, 14-18; 2:11; 3:3, 11-12; 14-16, 19-20; 36; John 4:32-35; John 5:39-47; John 6:14-15, 26-29, 35; 38-40; 7:1-7; 17-19; 37-39; 8:26, 34-36; 9:39; 10:7-16; 27-28; 11:25-27; 12:27-28; 44-50; 13:31-32; 14:4-11; 15; 15:26-27; 16:33; 17:1-5; 6, 22, 26; 18:36-38; 19:14-15; 19-22; 20:27-29; 30-31; 21:18-22.
