John chapter 18 verse 28.
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman Gummider.
! By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness, they did not enter the palace,
because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked,
What charges are you bringing against this man?
If he were not a criminal, they replied, we would not have handed him over to you.
Pilate said, Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.
But we have no right to execute anyone, they objected.
This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him,
Are you the king of the Jews?
Is that your own idea? Jesus asked. Or did others talk to you about me?
Am I a Jew? Pilate replied.
Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?
Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world.
If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.
But now my kingdom is from another place.
You are a king then, said Pilate.
Jesus answered, You say that I am a king.
In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.
Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
What is truth? retorted Pilate.
With this, he went out again to the Jewish gathered there and said,
I find no basis for a charge against him.
But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover.
Do you want me to release the king of the Jews?
They shouted back, No, not him. Give us Barabbas.
Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again,
saying, Hail, King of the Jews.
And they slapped him in the face.
Once more, Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there,
Look, I'm bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,
Pilate said to them, Here is the man.
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him,
they shouted, Crucify! Crucify!
But Pilate answered, You take him and crucify him.
As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.
The Jewish leaders insisted,
We have a law, and according to that law, he must die,
because he claimed to be the son of God.
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,
and he went back inside the palace.
Where do you come from?
He asked Jesus.
But Jesus gave him no answer.
Do you refuse to speak to me?
Pilate asked.
Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?
Jesus answered,
You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.
Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free,
but the Jewish leaders kept shouting,
If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.
Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.
When Pilate heard this,
he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat
at a place known as the stone pavement,
which in Aramaic is Gabbatha.
It was the day of preparation of the Passover.
It was about noon.
Here is your king, Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted,
Take him away!
Crucify him!
Shall I crucify your king?
Pilate asked.
We have no king but Caesar,
the chief priests answered.
Finally,
Pilate handed him over to them
to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
So we're continuing this morning
to think about the journey
that John records of Jesus towards the cross.
And we come to the second trial
that Jesus faces.
Last week,
he was before the Jewish religious leaders.
And the big question there,
as we were thinking about it,
was related to truth.
But this time,
as he stands before Pilate,
who represents the Roman Empire,
we can think about power.
Here is Jesus standing before the man
who represents the might of Rome,
the greatest empire,
the most powerful empire to date.
And at a human level,
it might seem something of a mismatch.
Here is Jesus,
this man who has no wealth or status.
He has no position or power within society.
He has very little recognition or honor
beyond a very small circle of followers.
But yet,
as we come today,
2,000 or so years later,
we recognize that the empire of Rome is gone.
It's of interest to historians,
but nobody else.
But the kingdom of Jesus
is one that grows and continues to grow.
And that billions of people since this moment
have come to worship him.
So we can learn some really interesting things about power
from our trial scene here.
So we're going to think about the limits of power.
We're going to consider the problem of power.
And we're going to see how Jesus transforms power
for a few minutes together.
First of all,
thinking about the limits of power
takes us to the question and answer
in verses 33 to 36 of chapter 18.
Are you the king of the Jews?
So it was a question that the religious leaders
wanted an answer to as well.
There is this driving concern.
Is Jesus a political figure?
For Pilate, perhaps,
is he a threat to Caesar
and the authority of Rome?
Is this another freedom fighter Messiah
that they are going to need to send troops
to crack down on?
How does Jesus answer the question,
are you a king?
In a sense, he says,
well, yes, I am.
But another way,
no, I'm not,
or at least not the way you think.
Verse 36,
my kingdom is not of this world.
If it were,
my servants would fight
to prevent my arrest
by the Jewish leaders,
but now my kingdom
is from another place.
I am a king,
I have a kingdom,
but it doesn't work
according to the usual
operating systems.
My kingdom is not of this world.
And because of that,
and we've seen this already,
Jesus won't use force.
So he's already showing
he's different to the Roman Empire.
He's different to so many
of the great men of history.
He's already said to Peter,
put your sword away.
I don't want you to fight this.
And Jesus says,
I would and I could
summon legions of angels to help me,
but that's not God's way.
And so I won't use force
because my kingdom
is from another place.
Here is a king
standing before the might
of the empire
and this kingdom
looks and feels
so very different.
He won't resist,
he won't fight,
he won't use force.
Why?
Because Jesus understands
this is God's way.
Verse 34,
this took place
to fulfill
what Jesus had said
about the kind of death
he was going to die.
Here is God's king,
Jesus,
and he has come
to lay aside power,
to sacrifice himself.
He voluntarily gave up
his life to death
as a substitute
for his people.
No king,
no Caesar,
no empire,
no emperor,
no president
operates in this way.
It is not their default setting
to say,
I have power,
but I'm going to give up power
in order to serve others.
Jesus is a different king.
Jesus didn't come
to bring
some kind of
political regime change
because that always
requires force.
Jesus came
to bring heart change
and that requires grace
and love
and sacrifice.
And so the way
of Jesus
in his life
was so different.
His was
a kingdom
marked by grace.
that transformed
lives.
It saw those
who were naturally
excluded
being welcomed.
It saw those
who were filled
with shame
coming to Jesus
and being honored.
Those who were needy
could have their needs
met and satisfied
in Jesus
and those who were
profoundly aware
of their sin
and guilt
could have that
forgiven.
It's a very different
kingdom.
It's a very different
operating system.
It's interesting
to trace then
what happens
to the church
after Jesus
returns to heaven
and sends the spirit
because the way
of the early church
was absolutely
the way of Jesus.
To look at the story
of the first church
in the book of Acts
and in the first
couple of centuries
is to discover
here are a group
of people
who are doing
mission
from the margins
of society
with a clear
understanding.
We are a people
who've been changed
by God's grace
and we want to
follow the way
of grace.
We follow a loving
saviour
and so we want
to live lives
of love
and service
and as a tiny
minority
they turned
the power of
Rome on its head.
They turned
the Roman Empire
upside down.
I've been reading
this week
a book by
a sociologist
called Rodney Stark
called The Triumph
of Christianity
and he's asking
the question
how is it
that this tiny
group of followers
of Jesus
could have such
a massive impact
on the Roman Empire?
And some things
that historians
and sociologists
notice
is that unlike
Rome which said
mercy
was weakness
for the Christian
church
mercy
was a great
virtue.
they saw
that Jesus
was full
of kindness
and compassion
and so they
lived with
kindness
and compassion
to others.
That made
a huge difference.
Another thing
that made
a huge difference
is that they
followed the
example of Jesus
when it came
to how to
treat women.
They gave
rights and honour
and a place
of security
to women
not regarding
women as
playthings
and again
that made
a huge difference
in society.
When the
great plague
came
when smallpox
arrived in the
empire
when people
were running
for their
lives
when they
were literally
throwing their
own family
members out
onto the
streets
the Christians
were different
because they
stayed and at
great risk
to themselves
would nurse
their own
friends and
family
but also
strangers
that nobody
else was
caring for
and these
actions
following
the example
of Jesus
had a
massive
impact.
So they
lived the
message
and they
spoke
the
message
and people
flocked
because they
saw here is
a better
community.
Here is a
safer,
kinder,
more respectful
community.
It includes
people and it's
got a message
at its heart
of love and
grace.
It's the way
of Jesus.
It's not about
power and force,
it's about love
and grace.
Well that was
then but what
about now?
Shouldn't it be
the way for the
church in the
21st century?
That we too
are called to
do mission on
the margins
following the
way of Jesus.
Next week,
Saturday,
Hope Church
Leith have got
an open day.
See their new
building, come
and meet the
community and
as Derek was
writing, inviting
people, he said
this, it's
striking, it's
very Derek, as
he was talking
about who's
this church
going to be
for.
He said he
wants it to
be for the
last, the
least and the
lost.
Why?
Because that's
the way of
Jesus, that's
the way of
grace.
As Christians,
as a church,
we won't
change the
world by
political force
and we
shouldn't try.
That whole
idea of
Christendom,
well it
failed, trying
to impose a
set of values
and a
religion.
But we
can change
society, we
can change
our communities
by grace and
love.
Imagine the
possibilities.
As we think
about the
people that
work with
us, as the
people who
live around
us, in the
confusion, in
the anxiety, in
the loneliness
that so many
people experience,
if we determine
to be a
community that
recognizes the
dignity, the
worth, the
value of every
person that we
meet, if we
care for
neighbors because
our hearts have
been changed
and gripped
by grace, if
we refuse to
exclude but
always choose to
welcome, when we
want to show
mercy to those
both who are
like us and
those who are
unlike us.
Imagine how
different this
city would be if
Christians in our
city, if we
acted this way.
just like the
first church, just
like Jesus, but
clue is on the
margins.
But that doesn't
stop God's
kingdom.
And what our
world needs to
see, what we
need to see, are
the limits of
power.
Political power
is limited.
It can make some
changes, but it
cannot change
hearts.
We need to see
the limits of
force.
And instead to
be gripped by this
kingdom from
another place.
This king with a
different set of
values.
Because what our
world needs and
what we need is
grace and truth,
not expressions of
raw power.
Jesus' message and
his message about
power is always
going to sound so
different to the
world.
So different to
what we hear in
our news, but it's
a message we need
to hear.
Because it
connects to, the
limits of power
connect to the
problem of power
that Pilate and
his actions and
reactions
demonstrate.
So there's a
popular phrase and
an idea I think
that people admire,
maybe we've heard
it, the idea that
truth speaks, you
know, speak truth
to power.
power.
We admire those who
speak up, who
take risks to
stand up for what
is right, to stand
up for justice, even
in the face of
powerful figures who
would resent it.
I don't know how
many of you saw
this week the story
of the senator in
the States, Cory
Booker.
And we come across
that story and all
the kind of the
stuff that was
happening in the
news.
This guy gave a
25-hour speech.
An incredible act
of endurance.
He was asked how
he managed to do it.
He had to fast for
days.
He had to go without
water for days because
you weren't allowed
any bathroom breaks.
So he took this
deliberate stand.
He said he felt this
was something he had
to do.
This wasn't about
political left and
right.
He felt like he
wanted to make a
stand for what he
saw as a right and
wrong issue.
As he was seeing
the impact of
government policies,
he wanted to make
a stand and say
there are certain
things that I
believe are wrong.
And the world
took notice because
of that 25-hour
stand.
Truth speaks to
power.
We admire it, I
think, when we come
across those examples
in the Bible.
Think about Daniel
and his friends
standing against the
might of an empire.
No, we will not
bow down to your
statues.
No, we will not
worship the king as
if he were a god.
And we admire John
the Baptist, perhaps,
as he confronted the
religious leaders,
calling them a brood
of vipers because
they're hypocrites,
challenging King
Herod for being
immoral, speaking
truth to power.
power.
And we hear Jesus
speaking truth to
Pilate.
And Pilate is not
ready to listen.
Verse 37, we have
Pilate saying, you
are a king then.
So at this point it
seems as if Pilate
said, okay, I
understand power, I
understand kingship and
rule and authority.
Okay, we're speaking the
same language right now.
I get Jesus, he's in
the power business as
well, but what does
Jesus say?
Verse 37, you say
that I'm a king.
In fact, the reason I
was born and came into
the world is to
testify to the truth.
Everyone on the side
of truth listens to
me.
Not in the power
business, Jesus is in
the truth business.
He's come to testify to
truth.
It is true that he is
the eternal son of
God.
It is true that he is a
king, but he's a
different kind of king.
He's the servant king.
It is true that he's
come to build a
kingdom, but that's not
by raw aggression.
It's by a kingdom of
love and sacrifice.
What will Pilate do
with this message?
It's one of the things
that John's gospel
records for us.
Jesus makes these
great claims, great
statements about who
he is and why he came
and how do different
people react.
And as we read John's
gospel, there's always
that invitation drawing
us in.
How do we respond?
How do we react to the
truth claims about
Jesus?
So the gospel begins
with some really
positive responses.
So we've got John who
writes the gospel.
He says, Jesus is God.
And he reveals the
glory of God to us.
We look at Jesus and
we see the glory of God.
We have John the
Baptist saying to
people, listen, this is
the Lamb of God.
He's been sent to take
away the sin of the
world.
You should all listen
to him.
We have Andrew
excitedly coming to his
brother saying, listen,
we found the Messiah.
Come and meet him.
After a wedding, when
Jesus turns water into
wine, the disciples
believe because they see
Jesus' glory.
But we also see lots of
negative responses.
We thought about a lot
of them last week.
The attempts especially
of the religious leaders
to get rid of Jesus, to
kill him, to stone him.
But we also meet the
people who walked away.
They found his claims to
truth too hard to take
and so they simply
stopped listening.
They doubted his
identity, rejected his
teaching, rejecting his
offer of salvation.
So here's our question
today.
What will Pilate do in
this moment?
Pilate in verse 38 makes
that famous statement,
what is truth?
But he never waits for the
answer.
What is truth?
Retorted Pilate and with
that he went out.
And the striking thing,
and you would have heard it
as we heard the text read,
is that Pilate clearly
knows Jesus is
innocent.
He is working so hard
to find a way to have
Jesus released,
but at the same time
he will have Jesus
beaten and mocked with
a crown of thorns and the
robe placed on him.
And ultimately,
he will hand Jesus
over to be executed.
Why?
Because Pilate values
power more than he values
truth.
The turning point is there
in verse 12.
As soon as the crowd
starts shouting,
anyone who claims to be a
king opposes Caesar,
it's at that point
that he's going to hand
Jesus over to be
crucified.
Pilate is standing
before Jesus.
He is the way
and the truth
and the life.
He is the one
who's come from God.
He reveals the truth
of God.
He would bring people
back to life
in proper relationship
with God.
But Pilate,
he chooses his own God.
Ultimately,
he chooses power
over truth.
He chooses power
over Jesus.
One of the things
that we see,
so we admire,
when people speak
truth to power.
It's a really
attractive quality,
but it often meets
with very fierce opposition
because it means
someone's power
and control
is being threatened.
And so there is
that effort to fight
and to silence the truth.
Maybe you remember
that famous scene
in the movie
A Few Good Men.
As you get to
this climactic
trial scene,
you have Jack Nicholson
shouting across the court,
you want the truth,
you can't handle the truth.
And we see it all
through the pages
of scripture
and through history.
Daniel and his friends
will that the king
would get rid of them
by throwing them
into a fiery furnace
or throwing them
to the lions.
John,
as he speaks,
truth to power
to Herod,
he's beheaded.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
as he spoke against
the Nazi regime,
was killed by them.
Martin Luther King,
as he spoke
for civil rights,
ended up assassinated.
The problem is apparent
because people love power
so much
and will cling to it
at all costs.
There is a very real problem
with power.
It can serve truth
and it can serve people,
but it can also be
very self-serving
so that we would resist
the truth.
We would build our identity
on the power and influence
that we have.
And again,
this isn't just for
power-hungry leaders
over there.
This is for all of us
right here.
We will all have
some measure
of power and control,
some measure
that we will want
to hold on to.
So whether we're a child
or whether we're an adult,
and whether we're
looking at ourselves today
and we think,
well, I'm at the bottom
rung of the ladder
or whether we're
at the top of the tree,
there are going to be
places where we have power.
That might be in a company,
it might be in a community,
it might be within our family,
it might be in a team,
or it might just be
in our own lives.
And we need to beware
to draw lessons from Pilate,
to be aware of our own hearts,
that temptation
that we will all have
to use power
for selfish reasons,
to take our influence
and say,
I'm going to use my influence
to make sure it's my agenda,
it's my needs,
it's my ego.
Sometimes we feel
that we just need control
and we need status.
But more than that,
the warning of Pilate
is that we beware
the temptation
in our own hearts
to walk away from Jesus
and His truth.
where we don't want
that truth
to get too close to us
because we understand
the implications.
If I walk towards Jesus,
if I submit to Him
as Lord,
then He's in charge
and not me.
Then there's going to be
power and control
and influence
that I have to give up.
Jesus spoke a bit,
denying ourselves
to follow Him.
That can be really hard.
Well, you and I
may not have Pilate's power,
I imagine we will all face
Pilate's temptation
to make power and control
an idol that rules us.
Martin Luther has a really
helpful definition
of what an idol is
in our hearts.
He said this,
he said,
a God is whatever
we expect
to provide
all good
and in which
we take refuge
in all distress.
Whatever you set
your heart on
and put your trust in,
that,
I tell you,
is your true
God.
And we can do that
with power.
If I have power,
then I've got the good life.
If things are going badly,
well,
at least I've got my status.
We can set our heart on,
I want to be somebody,
to be a person
of significance.
Jesus challenges
our hearts
because He says
to follow me
involves sacrifice.
It involves being willing
to deny ourselves daily,
to deny our claim
to power daily
in order to follow Him,
to have Him as King.
How can we do it?
Why should we do it?
That leads us
to our last thought.
Let's think about
how Jesus
transforms power.
This takes us
into chapter 19.
And what becomes clear
is there is this moment
of recognition
where Pilate goes
from thinking,
I'm the man,
I'm in charge,
I'm calling the shots,
to all of a sudden
understanding
that he's not.
And Jesus speaks to him.
Chapter 19
and verse 7,
Pilate hears
the Jewish leaders
say of Jesus,
we have a law
and according to that law
he must die
because he claimed
to be the Son of God.
And when Pilate heard this
he was even more afraid.
So Pilate is beginning
gradually to realize
the man in front of me
though he looks weak,
though I have humiliated
and beaten him,
he is a force
far greater than I am.
But still he tries
to hold on
to his power claims.
Listen to him
in verse 10,
do you refuse
to speak to me?
Pilate said,
don't you realize
I have power
either to free you
or to crucify you?
Like so many people,
he's persuaded government,
that's where power is,
that's where influence
is found.
Listen to Jesus,
you would have
no power over me
if it were not given
to you from above.
Therefore the one
who handed me over
to you is guilty
of a greater sin.
You would have no power
unless God had given it
to you
and this was God's plan
all along.
And we have this
remarkable truth
that while evil things
are happening
God takes up
these evil actions
of the Jewish leaders
and of Pilate
in order to accomplish
his good plan
of salvation.
We discover
that this is God's plan
Jesus already told us.
The Bible tells us
it's God's plan
that his son dies
as a sacrifice
to be our savior.
The cross is God's idea
and he is driving
the agenda.
But nevertheless,
Pilate is responsible
for his own moral choice.
So are the Jews.
There is real guilt.
But what they intended
for evil,
God intended for good.
Where do you come from?
He asked Jesus.
Jesus says
you'd have no power
if it were not given
to you from above.
And remember
that all the time
John's gospel
has been saying to us
remember
Jesus
is from above.
Remember
Jesus is the king
who is eternal.
He has unlimited power.
He is God.
He is not being forced.
He is not being dragged
against his will.
This is voluntary sacrifice.
the same Jesus
who just a few hours earlier
took off his robe
in order to wash
his disciples' feet
is the same Jesus
who willingly goes on trial,
who is willing
to be clothed
in a purple robe
and mocked
as they put a crown of thorns
on his head.
It's the same Jesus
who in chapter 19
and verse 23
will be stripped
of his clothes
as he hangs
dying.
Jesus is
a king
and he is
a servant.
And Jesus
transforms power
because he gives it up
for the sake of others.
He transforms power
by embracing sacrifice
so that he can embrace
sinners by his grace.
For the king of heaven,
real power
is service.
Not ruling by force.
Not ruling for self-interest.
Not ruling to be seen
as a somebody.
Jesus came to save us
by service
and by sacrifice.
And when our hearts
are transformed
by that truth,
when our hearts
are filled
by that truth,
that Jesus
loved me
and gave himself
for me,
that Jesus
left the glory
of heaven
to become one of us
in order to die
for us,
to save us,
when we understand
that,
when we're moved
by that love
and that sacrifice,
then we too
are given the power
to follow
the way of Jesus
from transformed hearts.
Here's how we can
do mission
on the margins,
not grasping
for power,
but ready to serve
and sacrifice.
Following Jesus'
pattern,
relying on the power
that he provides.
Let's pray
to give thanks.
God,
our Father,
we thank you
for the willingness
of Jesus
to voluntarily
come to this place,
to come to this earth,
to be arrested,
to be tried,
to be mocked,
to be beaten,
to be questioned,
to be rejected,
and to be killed.
To do that
out of love
as an act
of sacrifice,
to save us
from our sin,
to bring us
into your kingdom,
to give us
a new way
of understanding
power,
and a new power
within us
to live
the way
of Jesus.
We pray
that you'd
help us
to pursue
lives marked
by mercy,
marked by
loving sacrifice,
that we too
would be willing
to give up
power,
to deny
ourselves
in order
to follow
Jesus,
our humble
servant king.
Help us
towards this,
we pray.
in Jesus'
name,
amen.
Now we come
to the point
of our service
where we'll
shortly come
to the Lord's
table,
and as we
do so,
again we're
taken to
the cross
of the Lord
Jesus,
in visible
form.
As the Christian
church,
we should never
stray far
from the cross,
it should be
in our thoughts,
in our words,
in our songs.
It should
determine our
actions and
our attitudes,
as we thought
about from
John's gospel.
It should
influence our
affections,
how we
love.
I came across
a quote this
week I'm going
to share
from Tim
Chester.
He wrote
this,
when we go
to the cross,
we see our
God dying
for us.
If you let
any other
God down,
then it
will beat
you up.
If you
don't make
it or
you mess
up,
then you'll
be left
feeling
afraid,
downcast,
or bitter.
But when
you let
Christ down,
he loves
you still.
He doesn't
beat you
up,
he dies
for you.
Jesus
transforms
power by
his loving
service and
sacrifice.
And so
as those
who've been
saved by
grace,
we come
to the
table.
We come
as those
who are
both blessed
and broken.
We come
as those
bringing
nothing in
our hands
except our
sin and
our shame,
and we
cling to
the cross
for our
salvation.
We come
to receive
these elements
that represent
his broken
body and
his shed
blood,
and we
recognize
as they
point us
to the
cross,
these are
the source
of our
hope and
our healing.
we come
to the
table knowing
that Jesus
meets with
us, he
is the
host,
that he
speaks to
us again
of his
grace, his
mercy, and
his love,
and he
would give
us power
to enable
us to go
into this
world to
live for
him.
Who is
the Lord's
supper
for?
It's for
those who
can say
the Lord
loves me
and gave
himself for
me.
It is for
those who
have given
up looking
to our
own power
and ability
to save
us, rather
we are
trusting
ourselves
entirely
on God's
powerful
grace shown
to us in
Jesus to
save us.
If that's
your personal
testimony and
experience,
then the
table is for
you.
If you're a
member of
God's church,
God's family,
anywhere,
then please
come and
share this
meal with
us.
If you're
here today
and that's
not yet
your story,
then just
stay in
your seats
when other
folks are
coming up.
As we
sing a
song
together,
you can
use it
as words
of God's
invitation
to you,
that you
too would
come to
Jesus,
come to
this one
who is
all-powerful
and yet
was willing
to sacrifice
and serve
to save
and to
forgive you
and me.
So in
just a
moment,
we're
going to
stand as
we're
here.