King Jesus

 King Jesus

August 17, 2026

John 18:33-38 (NKJV) 

33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say [rightly] that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

“Who do men say that I am?” In John 18, we see one of the final chapters in Jesus’ earthly life in which Pilate interrogates Him about the charge that the people were calling Him King of the Jews. This made Jesus a threat to both the religious and political powers that be. Rome brooked no opposition so would eliminate anyone threatening to rebel against the authority of Caesar and try to take power over Judah. Pilate dismissed Jesus as a real threat saying “I find no fault in this man.” Herod and Caiaphas however still viewed Jesus as a real threat. Their power as king and high priest depended on the good will of Rome and their ability to maintain peace among the people. The crowds shouting “Hosanna!” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey were a direct statement that the people were looking to Jesus as the king. This they could not abide, so they plotted to put Jesus to death.

There were many in Judah that wanted to see Jesus assume the throne and drive out the Romans. These were the zealots and Judas seemed to be working with them to force Jesus’ hand. Only after the arrest of Jesus did Judas realize his mistake and took his own life. But even though Jesus did not claim political power, he was still a threat to the religious order. Caiaphas the high priest was appointed by Rome and could not allow a higher religious authority to arise. Jesus as king, even in a non political sense, would have removed his authority over the temple and the people. Caiaphas himself said that it was necessary that one man die for the nation, not realizing that he was prophesying the true role of Jesus’ death on the cross.

So the political and religious powers of the day conspired and put Jesus to death on the cross, but that did nothing to prevent Him from becoming the eternal King of the Jews. As Jesus told Pilates, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus is King and His kingdom is everlasting. One day soon, we will see Jesus returning in power to overthrow the evil rulers of this world, but until then we serve Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, living in this world, but preparing for the next, serving King Jesus both now and forevermore.