Jesus before Pilate

Jesus before Pilate. What an interesting conversation between Jesus and Pilate. Notice, in the verses above from John 18, Jesus never directly answered the question of Pilate.

33. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?

34. Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

35. Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

36. Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

John 18:33-36, King James Version

Jesus before Pilate

What an interesting conversation between Jesus and Pilate. Notice, in the verses above from John 18, Jesus never directly answered Pilate's questions.

Pilate first asked, "Art thou the King of the Jews?"

How did Jesus respond? He responded with a question for Pilate. Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

How does Pilate respond to this question from Jesus? He responded in like manner. Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

Again, bypassing the question, Jesus simply stated that His kingdom was not of this world. What can we learn or apply from this conversation when we see Jesus before Pilate.

Note how quickly Jesus bypassed all of the questions from Pilate, and went to the heart of the matter. He was not here to set up an earthly kingdom at this time; He was here to bring the truth to the lost--to those who were ready to receive the truth.

It is interesting that we are still facing these same issues today. How do we discover what is truth and what is not? Who has the truth? Does the world live in the truth, or have they created a fictional world that exists without God? Is this the world that we, as Christians, really want to emulate?

Let us, by the grace of God, live our lives in such a manner that we demonstrate that God not only does exist, but that He rules the world. This means, of course, that He rules our world! Does He?

What an interesting thought to ponder.

Next: Justice? - verses 37-40