The Lord Jesus had every right to be the king and ruler over everyone. Someday soon He will reign in righteousness over the whole earth. But first, in admirable meekness, He allowed man to show what they really thought of Him. What came pouring out was either a hatred or an indifference to God that makes us read this portion of John’s gospel with wonder at the grace and patience of our Lord Jesus.
The Game of King
The Roman soldiers had a game they called “King.” Today if you were to go to Gabbatha, the place where Pilate had his judgment seat, you could see the positions on the game board for “King” scratched into the stones of the Pavement. The soldiers would gamble that they could win the game and begin to roll the dice and move a game piece like a bowling pin around the positions. After the piece had reached the different spots for robing, crowning, and receiving a scepter, the person who got to roll the dice the last time would yell out “King” and collect the gambling money. Consider what went on inside that courtroom the night it met a perfect man for the first time. “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote Him with their hands” (John 19:1-31Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. 2And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, 3And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. (John 19:1‑3)). That night, with the “Word become flesh” in their grasp, they didn’t need a game piece. They beat His back with a whip, slapped His face, pounded a crown made from sharp thorns onto His head, and mockingly shouted the title “King of the Jews.”
No King but Caesar
The Romans had shown how little they cared for justice. Now the Lord displayed His dignity and the moral glory of His person as He stood before Pilate. At the same time the Jews showed how completely they were ready to reject their true king. Pilate would have had absolutely no power over Jesus unless God had allowed him to act. The Lord submitted to the will of God. That submission helped to show the open rebellion and hypocrisy of the Jews. They claimed to be fully subject to Caesar and demanded the cruel execution of the only fully righteous one that had ever lived. In this way they passed judgment on themselves. Pilate didn’t care enough for justice to withstand the false accusation that he would be betraying Caesar if he let Jesus go. He turned Jesus over to them to be executed by cruel crucifixion. It is beautiful to realize that the Lord willingly submitted to the will of God while everyone else showed complete disregard for anyone’s interests but their own.
Universal Testimony
“And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:1919And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. (John 19:19)). God made sure that the “crime” posted at the top of the cross showed the truth to everyone who would pass by. The Jews hated Pilate and had manipulated him at the trial, where he did not act in justice. He now refused to be manipulated again. The result is a testimony by God to the true right that Jesus had to rule over His brethren. Hebrew was the language of the Jews, the religious people. Greek was the language of culture and learning. Latin was the language of law and politics. The law turned its back on justice that morning, the religious leaders showed angry, hateful hearts and the world of culture showed the height of its achievements in an angry mob. God made sure that each would have to look at the truth.
Further Meditation:
1. Why did Pilate turn an innocent man over to a mob?
2. How do we know the Jews weren’t sincere when they said “We have no king but Caesar”?
3. The Collected Writings of J. N Darby Vol. 33 is difficult reading but a real help in understanding the book of John.