Long Live The King!

            “Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”  Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek.  So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”  Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”” (John 19:19–22).

            The kingship of Jesus remained a matter of vigorous debate to the very end of His life, even to the point of arguing over the inscription to be affixed to His cross.  There were those like Nathanael who, even early on, were convinced of Jesus’ kingship (John 1:49).  Later on, following a display of His miraculous powers, a large crowd decided that this was the kind of king they needed.  They planned to force Jesus into a kingly role that clashed with His own vision of what God desired, so He refused to be crammed into their mold (John 6:14-15).  Then, as He entered Jerusalem for the final time, the Passover crowd hailed Him as the fulfillment of their expectations of a coming Messianic king (John 12:12-13).

            But most of the Jewish leadership was not so favorably disposed toward this “king.”  They deliver Jesus to the Roman authorities in hopes of having Him executed.  Pilate, the Roman governor, questions Jesus about His kingship and the Lord affirms that He is indeed king of a spiritual kingdom (John 18:33-37).  After questioning Him, Pilate knows Jesus is innocent of the charges against Him and tries to have Him released.  But the opponents of Jesus respond with a telling statement: “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

            Ironically, the death and resurrection of Christ proved to be the stage for His exaltation to His kingly throne (Acts 2:29-36).  God turned the tables on the resisters.  Long live the King!

 

God loves you!

Mike

Eyes Wide Shut

Physical vision problems are a worldwide concern.  The World Health Organization shares the following estimates: “Globally, 1 billion people have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed.  This 1 billion people includes those with moderate or severe distance vision impairment or blindness due to unaddressed refractive error (123.7 million), cataract (65.2 million), glaucoma (6.9 million), corneal opacities (4.2 million), diabetic retinopathy (3 million), and trachoma (2 million), as well as near vision impairment caused by unaddressed presbyopia (826 million).”*  If you or someone you love has vision issues, no one has to tell you how difficult it can be.

In the trial of Jesus before the Jewish leaders in John 18:28-40, we see another kind of “vision” problem at work: spiritual blindness.  This blindness was driven by their hatred of Jesus and revealed itself in the following ways:

 

❏    Their spiritual blindness caused them to worry about ceremonial defilement while ignoring moral defilement (18:28).  They were rail-roading an innocent man toward his death but were concerned about defiling themselves by going into the Roman Praetorium.

❏    Their spiritual blindness caused them to take refuge behind a law and system they despised (18:31; 19:15).  Most Jews hated the Roman occupation of Judea and chafed under the burden.  But in this case, they are willing to claim: “We have no king but Caesar.”

❏    Their spiritual blindness caused them to choose a murderer, insurrectionist, and thief over the sinless Son of God (18:38-40).  They have one final chance to do the right thing and have Jesus released.  But they choose a criminal over the Christ.

 

            It has been said that there are none so blind as those who will not see.  This text bears that out.  These Jewish leaders are following in the steps of their ancestors who were rebuked by Jeremiah: “‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see; who have ears but do not hear” (Jeremiah 5:21).  How incredibly sad.

 

God loves you!

Mike

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment