Community & Discipleship

Is Jesus Your King? (John 18:28~19:16)

2016.06.12Stephen Cha

Jesus is the King who was born for a purpose: to be our sinless substitute, to bear witness to the truth, and to give eternal life to all who trust in him. If we recognize him as King, we must surrender our lives to him, follow him, and help extend his kingdom.

Jesus was born as the promised King (vv. 37)

Jesus says, 'For this purpose I was born.' This purpose goes back to Genesis 3:15, where God first promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. Through Abraham, Judah, and David, the promised line led to Jesus. Isaiah's prophecy of the mighty God who becomes a man and the prophecy of his birth in Bethlehem were fulfilled in him. At his birth alone at least eight prophecies were fulfilled, and close to 27 were fulfilled on the day he died. Jesus came as the King God sent for us.

Jesus came from outside this world to bear witness to the truth

Jesus came from outside this world, not only from our human life, and he bears witness to the truth. This truth is who God is: holy, loving, and so loving the world that he gave his only Son to take our place. Through Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, those who believe in him will live with him forever. His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom of power, but it grows in this world through the lives of those who obey him.

Jesus is God who became man and is worthy of worship

Jesus is more than a good teacher or a prophet like Moses or Muhammad. Moses never claimed to be God, but Jesus lived a sinless life and showed authority over nature, sickness, and death. He received worship, and when he declared sins forgiven, the Jewish people understood the claim that only God can forgive, so they picked up stones to kill him. Jesus is God who became a man as our substitute. As C.S. Lewis's trilemma shows, he cannot be merely a liar or a lunatic, so he must be who he claimed to be.

Small matters can blind us to what God is saying (vv. 28)

The Jewish leaders would not enter Pilate's headquarters so that they would not be defiled and could eat the Passover. Yet they had no trouble condemning an innocent man who taught people about God. Their conscience was troubled by a small matter while they ignored the great matter God was placing before them. We must not respond the same way, focusing on little things while missing what God is saying to us.

Pilate chose to please people rather than do what was right

Pilate found no guilt in Jesus several times and knew what was right. Yet he wanted to please the crowd. He offered them Barabbas, had Jesus scourged and mocked, sent him to Herod, and finally washed his hands and handed Jesus over to be crucified. Pilate's conclusion was clear, but his choices were shaped by fear of upsetting people. This is an example we should not follow.

Apply to Life

  • Let us recognize Jesus as our King and surrender every area of our lives to him.
  • Let us trust him, walk with him, and follow him wherever he calls us to go.
  • Let us grow in knowing Jesus so that our worship and obedience deepen.
  • Let us take part in extending the kingdom Jesus is building through our obedience.
  • Let us not let small matters distract us from God's word, and let us not be like Pilate, who chose to please people over doing what is right.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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