”You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
In the prior verse, Jesus admits to having a kingdom, even though it is not of this world. Pilate hears this and then, perhaps in surprise, says, “You are a king, then!”
Being in the presence of a king is not a small thing. Kings represent people, and what happens to the king affects all the king’s people. Like the game of chess, if you capture the king you have won the game.
Not all kings fought, of course. Some kings were content to manage their kingdom and respect the neighboring kings around them. Sometimes they would get together and hobnob in kingly fashion. Occasionally they would create alliances so that if one king was attacked the other kings would come to their aid.
Jesus does not threaten Pilate, so Pilate can afford to be intrigued by him. Who is this man and why is he so hated by his people? Is he crazy? The people outside of the palace shouting that Jesus must die seemed a lot crazier. Amid all the Jewish insanity, the man Jesus seemed saner than anyone. Yet here he is, calmly talking with Pilate, about a kingdom that is not of this world.
I think Pilate must have liked the idea of someone as lowly, humble and non-threatening as Jesus being called king of the Jews. Perhaps it amused him. The idea of Jesus as king irritated the chief priests and other Jewish leaders. That fact alone might have been appealed to Pilate. Was Jesus crazy? No, I don’t think Pilate entertained that thought. Was Jesus different? Yes. Pilate was keenly aware that Jesus was a different kind of Jew than he had ever met before.
The solution, for Pilate, was that Jesus was a kind of imaginary king. Not a real king in the worldly sense. His followers had scattered and were not a threat. Jesus himself was not a threat. Pilate had been told he claimed to be a king and Jesus himself agreed with this claim with the caveat that his kingdom was not of this world.
“Okay,” thinks Pilate. “You are a king, then!”
Application: Pilate does not understand that there is life beyond this earthly life. As Christians, we accept that God is real and that there is a real life after death where Jesus will be our visible Lord and King.
Food for Thought: What happens in our lives when we realize that Pilate was right about Jesus being king?
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Every knee will bow to King Jesus (Philippians 2: 9 – 11). Our proper place is to bow to Him in worship and adoration. When we understand who He is, we will do so willingly and thankfully.