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. -- John 18:36-37
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -- George Orwell
I finished up the Gospel of John as I am making my first pass through the New Testament this year. Any number of verses stand out, but these seem particularly relevant to us today. Do you know what they called the Jews in Jesus' day who wanted to re-establish the kingdom of Israel by force of arms? They were known as Zealots. Barabbas, called a robber by John, is sometimes depicted as or as being associated with the Zealots. One of Christ's own disciples, Simon (otherwise known as "the Cananaean") is designated as "the Zealot" in Luke's Gospel. Judas Iscariot may have been in league with the Zealots or, at the very least, inclined to their way of thinking. His betrayal may have been motivated by the apparent disinterest of Jesus in such a scheme. Perhaps, some have suggested, Judas was actually attempting to ignite the revolution by turning Christ over to the Jews, thinking that the Zealots would try to rescue the Lord or to avenge His martyrdom.
As our Lord makes clear to Pilate, establishing a temporal kingdom was never His purpose. He had been offered all the kingdoms of this world in His wilderness temptation and had rejected Satan's condition without a thought. The Lord had a far greater revolution in mind than merely overthrowing a king here or there. God does not worry too much about governments. See what Daniel had to say about it: He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; ... (Daniel 2:21). The Lord can fix a government any time He chooses — not that it is necessarily easy on the citizens, but it can be done. Kingdoms, empires, republics and nations come and go. Every individual soul is eternal.
The empire that Jesus came against was not Rome. He intended to destroy Satan's kingdom and rule upon the earth. The weapon He wielded and wields today is the Sword of Truth, and the truth is that humanity has been dominated by and subjected to lies and deception since the Garden. Christ came to bear witness to and personify the truth. Through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, He overthrew the devil's power on earth and stormed the very gates of hell to break down the fortress of guile that held us in thrall.
It is our attitude toward truth that determines whether or not we will be able to follow Christ. Those who seek and accept truth are empowered to hear and receive Him. Those who prefer deception, who pursue appearance over reality, who cling to the seen and dismiss the unseen, will never comprehend the truth or see the light.
In the end, of course, Pilate poses the famous question, "What is truth?" He perfectly embodies the worldly-wise, world-weary person who has achieved some degree of success yet realizes something is missing. Pilate was a man of honor in a sense, but the truth was too upsetting for him to accept, especially when he looked upon the truth embodied. Sadly, some really can't handle the truth -- at least, not yet.
We live in a world of deceit, of masks and disguises, of fact-filled lies, and beguilement. To tell the truth is to resist and to rebel. To live the truth, to be true is even more startling and disruptive.
Viva La Revolution!
4 comments:
Good post, Mush.
Pilate is an interesting person. It is difficult to "read" him. Also too because of the depictions in movies mixed with the words of the Gospels. Is he having a Saul/Paul moment but it doesn't stick? Is it safe to say Pilate is genuinely conflicted for a moment and wants to know the Truth? Does he (in a sense) represent the Jesus who would have accepted Satan's offer of all the kingdoms of the world?
It is an opportunity for Pilate that he seems unable to accept. And I think he did "take the deal".
We have a tendency to think like Faust that we can make a deal with devil and yet not be drawn fully into it -- that we can break free of it "when it really matters".
The thing Jesus never did was to accept the devil's first premise when Satan is building his case and making his offer. People will sometimes make a big deal out of the fact that Jesus didn't disagree with the claim that Satan owns the kingdoms of this world.
Jesus understood the Fall in a way no one else could. He had "fallen" in the Incarnation but without separation. The devil is a good pitch-man because he is as deluded as those he deceives.
Excellent points, Mush.
"The thing Jesus never did..."
This is one of those cases again where it may be just as important what Jesus didn't do as what he did do. Those are harder to see (non-acts, non-responses, etc), but wonder-full when they hit you.
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