Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ”Are you the king of the Jews?”
I want to look at this verse closely because it references something by inference, and then it sets the stage for everything that follows.
John does not tell us everything that was said to Pilate by the Jews. We do not know if Pilate already had information on Jesus. Now that I think about it, an effective governor would probably keep his thumb on the pulse of the people being governed. Pilate could have heard that Jesus claimed to be king of the Jews from the Jews themselves or those who kept him informed. Regardless of the source, Pilate knew enough to ask Jesus about whether or not he considered himself to be “king of the Jews.”
Being a political man, Pilate would be sensitive to any indication that Jesus was inclined towards insurrection. The question in the back of his mind was always, “Who is trying to get me?” Pilate would want to know if Jesus was a threat. Somehow the idea was planted in his mind that Jesus aspired to be king of the Jews. For this to happen he would have to throw off their Roman overseers. If Jesus were like the other rebels who led Jews into rebellion against Rome, this would be a threat that Pilate would take seriously.
Looking at Jesus the man, I am sure he saw no threat. Jesus is the embodiment of love and humility. Such people don’t try and overthrow anybody. So Pilate’s question might have been a sarcastic, “So YOU are (supposed to be) the king of the Jews?!!!” Or, maybe he was really curious. Maybe his tone was more of wonderment. It is possible, too, that Pilate simply asked a straight forward question. Yet it is more than a question. It is a theme that comes up over and over during the next part of the story. It is both a question and a cause as we will see later.
Application: Talking with God is difficult if we approach God from a worldly point of view. One who believes, who realizes that we owe our existence to the Creator, approaches God’s throne with deep humility.
Food for Thought: What would it take for Pilate to understand that the answer to his question is yes, Jesus is the king of the Jews, and that at the same time that Jesus is not a threat to Pilate’s worldly position?
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