The Politics that Really Matter

Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.  And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”  And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”  Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”  But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place” (Luke 23:1-5).

The Jews were subject to Roman rule and they could not sentence a man to death. They had to use the Roman judicial system to achieve their wicked goal, but the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, was not a Jew. He did not care less that this carpenter claimed to be the Son of God. The Jewish elders had to conspire to present Jesus as a threat to the political stability of Judea and to the position and power of Pilate himself. Like the Jews of Christ’s day, we often get caught up in the petty politics of our day. We may believe that our success and happiness are dependent on the right winner in the latest national, state, or local election. We sometimes believe that our peace and prosperity depend on maintaining our power and position at work or even in our local church. The impotence of the conspiracy and inaccuracy of the charges leveled against Christ prompted a declaration of innocence from the lips of Pilate, and they serve as an exhortation to us to stay focused on the politics that really matter.

Jesus was accused of perverting the nation. In reality, Jesus Christ came to purify the perverted Jewish nation. God chose the Jews to bring the Messiah to the world… “You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed’” (Acts 3:25). Before becoming King, Jesus wants to be the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Jesus was accused of preventing tribute to Caesar. Nothing could be farther from the truth as we recall His very direct admonition… “’Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’  He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’” (Luke 20:24-25). The future problem would be the Caesars and other earthly kings that seek to be worshipped as gods. In the heart of a true disciple, there is room for only one to be worshipped as served as King… “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Luke 16:13). We are to obey earthly kings, but worship and obey Jesus, the King of kings… “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

Jesus was accused of presenting Himself as a king. Here in the presence of Pilate, Jesus refused to declare that He was the King of the Jews. The Spirit inspired Luke to record here that Jesus merely noted that Pilate said He was King of the Jews. The same Spirit moved John to include more detail in His record of this encounter… “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” (John 18:36). Convinced that Jesus was nothing more than a religious conspirator and therefore a threat only to the complaining Jewish leaders, Pilate declared, “I find no guilt in this man”. Unbelieving accusers have often tried to install Christ as an earthly ruler. As recently as 2006, Poland’s parliament had scheduled a serious vote make Jesus Christ the Honorary King of Poland… http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,237824,00.html. True believers have experienced the blessings of Christ’s rule in their hearts here on earth and eagerly anticipate His eternal rule in heaven… “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16).

As we grow up into Christ, we anticipate His eternal reign as we keep our hearts set upon…

The Politics that Really Matter.