I Am A King

 The Passion of the Lord (full Gospel Jn 18: 1-19; 42)

Jn 18: 28-40

They brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.

It was morning.

And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,

in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.

So Pilate came out to them and said,

“What charge do you bring against this man?”

They answered and said to him,

“If he were not a criminal,

we would not have handed him over to you.”

At this, Pilate said to them,

“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”

The Jews answered him,

“We do not have the right to execute anyone,“

in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled

that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.

So Pilate went back into the praetorium

and summoned Jesus and said to him,

“Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus answered,

“Do you say this on your own

or have others told you about me?”

Pilate answered,

“I am not a Jew, am I?

Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.

What have you done?”

Jesus answered,

“My kingdom does not belong to this world.

If my kingdom did belong to this world,

my attendants would be fighting

to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.

But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

So Pilate said to him,

“Then you are a king?”

Jesus answered,

“You say I am a king.

For this I was born and for this I came into the world,

to testify to the truth.

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

 

When he had said this,

he again went out to the Jews and said to them,

“I find no guilt in him.

But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.

Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

They cried out again,

“Not this one but Barabbas!”

Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

 

On this solemn day, we reflect on the death of Jesus, the ultimate sign of his love for us. On Sunday he was hailed as a king, and today he is condemned to death for claiming to be a king. Because he knew he had to die so that we might live, Jesus bore the unreasonable accusations and charges made by people who did not understand the nature of his kingship, one that surpasses the limits of worldly concepts. His kingdom is NOT of this world, but of the world of the spirit and as such is available to ALL who believe and accept him.  We never seem to get that, and still fight among each other over petty things.  

As we read and reflect on the Passion today, may barriers that separate us disappear and above all, may we accept once again, Jesus as our King, Lord and Savior.

Bro. Rene