Are You King?

“As soon as it was morning, the chief priests had a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin. After tying Jesus up, they led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate. So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews? ” He answered him, “You have said it.” And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Are You not answering anything? Look how many things they are accusing You of! ” But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.” (Mark 15:1-5 HCSB)

Pastors are never accused of being brief. And in all honesty, we rarely are. But here, the evangelist Mark is quite brief in his telling of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Five short verses comprise the complete event and they leave me reeling, a bit. How about you?

Mark assumes his readers know Pilate and his position as prefect or procurator of Judea. Normally, he would rule from Caesarea Maritima near the Mediterranean coast northeast of Jerusalem. But during Jewish holidays and feasts, like Passover, he would come to Jerusalem to oversee things and ensure a quiet, peaceful observance or celebration. There’s nothing quite like a rambunctious group of pilgrims to stir things up and cause problems. So, the Roman procurator’s presence in the holy city helped to ensure a peaceful holiday observance or a swift response to trouble makers. It is within this context that Mark’s story unfolds.

Mark begins this chapter the same way he has begun many of his stories: immediately (as soon as) it was morning. His use of this word translated as “immediately” (Greek: eutheós) seems to be Mark’s way of emphasizing just how imminent God’s kingdom is for the people of God. In essence, God is active and is on the move. Right Now! Immediately! Because of this, we need to pay close attention to what God is doing, what He’s saying and how He’s calling us to respond.

Roman officials began their work days early and the chief priests know this and they must be prepared and prompt. Jesus’ trial lasted several hours overnight and now they must be ready to present their case and their prisoner before Pilate. It would appear from the text that they held another meeting as the early morning light begins to show. However, this same word was translated as “plan” in earlier use. It doesn’t appear that they had another meeting or a different gathering of the Sanhedrin, but they developed a plan on how to proceed and get a guilty conviction before the Roman prefect. Remember, they only had a confession from Jesus of being the Messiah which they pronounced as blasphemy – clearly a religious charge. They could not get a Roman conviction and death sentence for Jesus based on that charge.

So, the charges made against Jesus are not read or, at least, not relayed by Mark. But Pilate’s questioning reveals them: “Are you the King of the Jews?” The Sanhedrin’s plan is becoming more clear. Jesus has confessed to being the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. But that is not a charge that raises any concerns for Rome or for Pilate. So, the Council must come up with a better plan if they want to get rid of Jesus. So, they take the charge that Jesus has confessed to and they dress it up as a political threat to Rome: Messiah, or the king of the Jews.

It is a bit ironic that the man who sought to bring spiritual revolution to the people of God now stands accused of political insurrection. The kind of Messiah the people wanted and the very kind that Jesus refused to be is now the kind He stands accused of being. When Pilate asks, “are you the King of the Jews?”, Jesus replies “you say” or “you have said it.” He doesn’t directly deny it but He also doesn’t directly acknowledge it. It is a bit ambiguous, intentionally. John records for us that Jesus asks if Pilate is asking this on his own or if others have told him. Pilate says that he’s not a Jew but that Jesus’s own chief priests handed Him over. Pilate then asks, “what have you done?”

John then records that Jesus tells Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” I’m a king, but not the kind of king you think. In essence, I think that is what the ambiguous response Jesus gives in Mark’s story means: “Am I a king? If you want to use that term – or, as you say it.”

Mark doesn’t leave it at that. He tells us, “the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.” It could be that Jesus answer was just ambiguous enough to cause them to jump in with additional accusations or that His answer isn’t ambiguous but simply deflects their charge that He acknowledges being a king, but not an earthly king. According to Luke’s account, they additionally charged that He is subverting the nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar and saying that He Himself is the Messiah, a King.”

Jesus, the king… As Americans who have resisted any and all attempts at having any king over us, we really don’t respond well to the idea. Even as American Christians – who acknowledge the lordship of Christ, I think we struggle with this “kingly” relationship with Jesus. We may acknowledge it, but it seems we do so almost begrudgingly. To cut to the chase, it really comes down to the issue of authority and sovereignty – His authority and sovereignty over our lives.

As He told Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. It’s not an earthly kingdom. I’m not seeking to overthrow Rome, but I do seek to rule in the hearts of men. It is clear from the accusations leveled against Him by the chief priests, most of the people didn’t understand His words or His mission. He’s not subverting Rome’s rule over the populace and He certainly didn’t refuse or oppose taxes being paid to Caesar. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. He says it’s possible to do both. But He does imply there is some inevitable conflict – a point where what Caesar desires conflicts with what God deserves and demands. Caesar is entitled to the honor and respect due his position, but not beyond that. Therein lies the conflict. When Caesar demands what only God deserves.

Let me be a little more direct. Caesar is a man, not a god. A man doesn’t deserve what only belongs to God. Can I get an amen?

But that’s exactly where Jesus is in direct conflict with the chief priests and in direct conflict with our perceived independence. Jesus is the Messiah – the Son of the Blessed One. He is not only the king of the Jews, Jesus is the King of kings. Jesus is the Lord of lords. Jesus deserves our loyalty, obedience and sovereign rule over our lives. Listen to the words of His prayer: “Father in heaven, may Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus wants the sovereign rule of God in our lives. But, is that what we really want?

Believe it or not, that’s the difference between unbelief and faith. The authority and rule of God over our lives. When we exercise our independence and right to rule over our own life we deny the right of God to do so and we rebel against His sovereignty and we declare ourselves unbelievers. James says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe — and they shudder.” (James 2:19 HCSB) You see, belief in the one true God or even belief in Jesus as the Son of the one true God is not sufficient for saving faith. It comes down to that question of sovereignty, His versus yours.

Above I stated that Caesar is a man and not a god. By that, I mean that any man that God has allowed to hold a position of authority and to rule over men’s lives is only a man and not a god. As such, he is subject to God, to God’s laws and is responsible to God for how he rules over men. I suspect that at least a few of you may have given me that “amen” I requested. In America, we feel very strongly about that idea and I fear that it feeds over into our belief in and relationship with God. I think we tend to resist the idea of or belief in any God in American culture because of the effects such a belief has on our own sovereignty. While this certainly isn’t unique to America, it is very prevalent here.

So, what I’m saying today is that the issue that Israel faced, the issue that Pilate faced, is the same issue you and I face. Will we acknowledge not only our belief in God but also acknowledge His right to rule over our lives and to be our King. Pilate asked Jesus, “are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus tells him that He is, but His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.

This is a kingdom in which God reigns over the lives of men and they bend their knee in obedience to Him and His will. It is a kingdom in which the principles that Jesus proclaimed and lived out every day of His earthly life are the same demands that God makes upon us. A kingdom where love of God and love of neighbor are our primary goals. A kingdom where grace is given to others because the grace of God has been given to each of us.

For a moment, I want you to stop and imagine what our church would look like if we looked more like and responded more like our Lord. How would your life be different, how would your marriage be different, how would your family and home life be different if we bowed our knee to the will of God and diligently sought to be more like Jesus each day. That’s what faith is really all about. It’s not just holding up a Bible and claiming to believe that it’s true. It’s not just reciting a set of beliefs or even joining a hip, new, cool church that has a band, lights and fog machines. It’s about believing God so much that you stop seeking your own will and pushing your own agenda and you begin to seek His will and pursuing His agenda.

Let me take you back to that verse from James… he says that the demons of hell believe there’s only one God, but they tremble at the very thought of it. Why would they believe but tremble at the thought? Because they know the truth but they refuse to submit to it. They know there’s only one true God but like many modern Americans, they REFUSE to submit to Him. They say it, but they don’t surrender to it.

Will you? Is He just the King of the Jews or is He also yours? As for me and my house, we bow before Him. I hope and pray you’ll join us…