Behold Your King (John 18:28-19:16a)
What makes for a good king?
We all have ideas about what a king should be. They sit on thrones. They wear crowns. They have subjects and they rule with justice and authority. When a king walks in the room, you stand. And when he speaks, you listen. That is what makes for a good king, right?
When we come to these chapters nearing the end of John’s gospel, we behold an unlikely King. A King of majesty and meekness. A King of glory and grief. Jesus is not just a good King — He is the greatest King, the King of all kings. And yet, as we will see in this passage, Jesus is no typical king.
Last week, Jeremy brought us through Jesus’s arrest. Today, we will walk through Jesus’ trial. Like a swelling wave that’s about to crest, these are the final verses in John’s gospel before Jesus is crucified.
Before we walk through the text, let us get our bearings with a little bit of structure. This is narrative, from beginning to end. And John signposts the narrative with five scenes. These scenes follow Pilate back and forth as he goes out from his headquarters to speak with the Jews, and back into his headquarters to speak with Jesus. Out with the Jews. In with Jesus. It is a deliberate literary pattern — a back-and-forth that John means for us to see.
We have the true light.
We have deep darkness.
And caught between the two, a man who, in the end, proves to love the darkness rather than the light.
There is a sense in which Pilate is on center stage here in these verses. But make no mistake of who the main character really is.
Pilate’s flaws are typical of an insecure leader. He so craves the applause of man, that he flexes his power. But it is all show. No spine.
But not so with Jesus. With Him, it is opposite. He looks like a powerless victim. But if we look more carefully — if we behold this King — we will see Him for who He is. And we will see that Jesus is no typical king.
Jesus is no typical king.
That is our big idea for this morning. Jesus is no typical king.
And we will observe that in five ways. John gives us five scenes, so we will consider five aspects of Jesus’ kingship — how He’s not the King we might expect — but how He is the King we most desperately need.
His Word (John 18:28-32)
It is dark. It is the early hours of Friday morning. Jesus has been betrayed, and arrested. He was brought before Caiaphas — the Jewish high priest — and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court — and they declared Him guilty of blasphemy.
They take Him away and they bring Him to the governor’s headquarters (John 18:28). This was Pontius Pilate — the Roman governor’s official base in Jerusalem — where he would stay and hold court during major Jewish festivals. It is Passover week — the greatest of the Jewish festivals — so naturally, Pilate and his soldiers are in town.
So the Jews bring Jesus to Pilate. They want Jesus dead, but they do not have the power to do it. The Jews were under Roman occupation, and the authority to exercise capital punishment belonged not to them, but to the state. If they wanted this blasphemer dead, Rome would have to do it.
But did you notice the irony and hypocrisy of John 18:28? “They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.” These Jews wanted to be clean for the Passover, and yet their hearts were full of filth.
Nowhere in God’s Word were they instructed, “You must not enter a Gentile dwelling.” No, that phrase isn’t in the Bible. It was in their man-made traditions. And as Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees earlier in His ministry, they left the commandment of God and held tight to man’s traditions. They clung to man’s word about God’s word, and yet they missed God’s Word altogether.
We will see more of the hypocrisy of their words — and the emptiness of Pilate’s words — but we must pause here and be warned of this danger: The danger of religious hypocrisy.
Outward religion cannot redeem you. Special ceremonies do not save. Attending this church service has not scored you any points with God or washed away any of your sins.
Sin has not just dirtied our hands, but our hearts — all of us. And if you want to be clean before God, it must be from the inside out. Not by your work, but by faith in God’s work — in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
After all, only King Jesus can say, “You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you.” We will see more about His Word in just a bit.
In John 18:29, Pilate opens the judicial proceeding. He asks, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” The Jews respond, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you. (John 18:30)”
In other words...seriously? Pilate, you just authorized hundreds of Roman soldiers to come and arrest this man, and now you are asking us what He did wrong? They expected Pilate to confirm their judgment right away and sentence Jesus to be crucified. But now he wants to hedge his bets — play it safe — even, try to remove himself from the picture?
So he says in John 18:31, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
This is a bit of a cat and mouse game. Pilate knows they have no authority to exercise capital punishment. Not on Rome's turf. But to stroke his ego and scratch his back — he makes these Jews beg him for it. So they tickle his ears, and give him what he wants, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”
We need you, Pilate. You are so powerful. Will you help us? Please?
John 18:29 is the first introduction to Pontius Pilate in John’s gospel. The synoptics present Pilate no earlier either. This is where we meet him. And within three verses — John 18:29-31 — we see one thing about this man more clearly than anything else: His words are empty. He says things, but He does not really mean them. His tongue slithers toward himself. He puffs out words, but they change like the clouds.
He is a man who appears powerful, but talks weak. He is a man of typical self-interest, in a high office. He is what you would expect of a typical king.
But did you notice how John presents Jesus here in this first scene? “This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 18:32)” Pilate is outside, talking with the Jews. Jesus is inside, and unseen. But nothing is moving forward by Pilate’s empty speech. No, it is Jesus’ word that is driving this ahead.
He said he would be delivered over into the hands of the Gentiles — Luke 18:32. He said in John 3, and again in John 8, and again in John 12, that the Son of Man would be lifted up — crucified and glorified. Not in two acts, but in one.
He knew when his hour would come, and just before this he said, “My hour has come.” He said, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
Jesus was sovereign over all that took place. And Jesus was the sacrifice, in our place. His word never returns void, and always accomplishes its purposes.
Jesus was sovereign over all that took place. And Jesus was the sacrifice, in our place. His word never returns void, and always accomplishes its purposes.
So can I ask you a question? How’s your trust in God’s Word been lately? Or does your Bible have claw marks because you are clinging to it — and you know it will be fulfilled? Or, have you and your Bible been more like casual friends?
Can I encourage you with something?
This is an encouragement I need to hear often. Trust God’s Word. Particularly, trust that God’s Word is at work, even in ways you cannot presently see.
Jesus is no typical King.
You can always trust His Word.
He means what He says. He says what He means.
And He will do all of what He is promised—every dot and iota of it.
His Kingdom (John 18:33-38a)
The scene changes. Pilate was outside, speaking with the Jews. Now he goes inside to speak with Jesus. And he asks Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews? (John 18:33)”
Now, that phrase is interesting — King of the Jews. Jesus knows that Pilate does not care about Jewish religion. He would not have known anything about prophesies of a Messianic King. Pilate was a statesman. He just wanted to keep the Jews in order, under Rome’s thumb.
But presenting Jesus as a threat to Caesar — now that would change things. If someone posed a legitimate threat to Caesar, Pilate would shut that down immediately — not gonna happen — not under his watch.
So the Jews crafted their charge against Jesus with language they knew would get under Pilate’s skin. Not just that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, but that He claimed to be the “King” of the Jews.
Jesus answers, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? (John 18:34)”
Did you see what just happened here? The man on trial turns the tables and prosecutes the prosecution. Who is really on trial now? Pilate feels shaken up. Tossed around. He was not ready for Jesus’s strength and composure. The man who appears to be in charge is flustered. And the man who has been arrested is not shaken one bit.
Pilate may be able to put shackles around Jesus’ wrists. But he cannot shackle Christ’s kingdom.
Jesus is no typical king. He does not derive authority from any earthly court or military conquest or booming economy.
Do you remember in John 6? After He fed thousands, it says that they wanted to take Him by force and make Him king. But Jesus withdrew, off to a mountain, by Himself. He would be enthroned as King. But not in the way they would have expected. His kingdom is not of this world.
So Pilate asks, thinking only in worldly, physical, typical terms in John 18:37, “So you are a king?”
Jesus both affirms — and corrects.
Having described His kingdom negatively — what it is not — now he will describe it positively — how King Jesus exercises His rule and reign.
“Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’ (John 18:37)”
He reigns not with troops and taxes, but with truth. And to belong to His kingdom is to believe the truth.
Jesus is no typical king. And His kingdom is no typical kingdom. He reigns not with troops and taxes, but with truth. And to belong to His kingdom is to believe the truth.
Jesus says He was born, as a man, and yet He came into the world, as God. And the God-man Jesus is the truth. He is the way, and the truth, and the life — and no one comes to the Father, except through Him.
Which makes Pilate’s response, so painfully ironic, “What is truth? (John 18:38)” As Truth Himself stands right before Him.
Here is a man who has been so jaded by a career in politics, full of half truths here and white lies there that he essentially says, “Well you got your truth. I got my truth. What is truth anyways?”
And ironically, this is from the man presiding over the trial. The man who is charged to determine truth does not even know what truth is. And if you are wondering, you know, maybe we are being a little hard on Pilate. Maybe this is a sincere question, and he is seeking truth. I wish that were the case.
The clearest way we can know that his question is calloused — not curious — is by what he does immediately after. He walks away.
Jesus does not say that if you are “of the truth” you will not have any questions. Jesus says that if you are “of the truth” you will listen to His voice. Pilate asked. But he did not listen. So his question was no real question at all.
Are you here this morning, seeking truth? Maybe you have been considering the claims of Christianity or what it would mean for you to follow Jesus? Maybe you have been chasing after worldly kingdoms—the impressive career, the perfect home — and you are feeling dissatisfied. Maybe you have been in church for a long time, but you have got questions, you have been afraid to ask.
Oh dear friend, there is no safer place to seek the truth than right here. With God’s people. Under God’s Word.
Belief in Jesus involves more than your mind, but not less than your mind. When you come to church, you do not need to leave your mind or your questions at the door. So ask your questions. Myself, or any of the pastors, or the members beside you would be delighted to talk with you after the service.
But when you bring your questions, bring your ears too. Do not walk away like Pilate. Listen to Jesus’ voice. He is the truth. He is the king. And He is the Saviour — of all who turn from their sins and trust in Him.
We have considered His kingdom. Let us step back outside, and go to the next scene. Let us consider our third aspect of Jesus’ kingship.
His Righteousness (John 18:38b-19:8)
Now, if Pilate had a backbone, this would have ended right there. The Jews brought Jesus before Pilate because they wanted him dead. Pilate tries Jesus, and finds Him “Not guilty” — that is the verdict. He has done nothing wrong — and He is certainly no threat to the Roman empire.
If Jesus was not guilty, well then Pilate should have let Him go.
But to save face and accrue favour, Pilate gets an idea (John 18:39).
He does not want to crucify Jesus. But he does not want to look like he let Jesus off the hook either. He wants the Jews to like him. He craves their applause. So he’ll let them, let Jesus off the hook — or so he thought.
But what do they say? “‘Not this man, but Barrabas!’ Now Barrabas was a robber. (John 18:40)” Barrabas was an insurrectionist, a rebel, a murderer, unrighteous by Mosaic law, and a legitimate threat to the Roman Empire.
This exchange — between Jesus and Barrabas — is recorded in all four gospels. It is a clear picture of the gospel's most central truth: substitution. Jesus gets what Barrabas deserves. And Barrabas gets what Jesus deserves.
The innocent is punished, and the guilty goes free.
If you are a Christian, then this is your story. You are Barrabas. You rebelled against God’s law. You broke His commandments. You were captive to sin. And upon your faith in Jesus Christ, God counted you righteous. So you receive what Jesus deserves. And Jesus received what you deserve.
Christ died as a substitute — for our sins — the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.
Literally, the name Barrabas means “son of the father”—bar-abbas. Fitting, right? The True Son was given up so that all who would believe in Him would be sons and daughters of the Father.
Pilate was not expecting the swap. Barrabas was a known murderer. And Jesus was clearly innocent.
But yet again, captive to the applause of man, Pilate tries to find a middle way.
Instead of crucifying Jesus — which he did not want to do — or letting Him go — which the crowd did not want — he says, let us just flog Him instead (John 19:1-3).
With mockery and cruelty, they beat Jesus and they spit on Him, and they gave this ‘King’ a royal coronation.
They took our King, and this is how they treated Him. Even though they knew He did nothing wrong. Pilate declared His innocence.
Thank God Jesus is no typical king. Adam’s sin meant thorns and thistles, and Christ would bear the thorns of the curse upon His head.
Unrighteous King Solomon was arrayed in splendour, and the righteous king Jesus was robed in shame.
Isaiah prophesied of one who would say, “I gave my back to those who would strike... I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” The Suffering Servant is the righteous king.
This is not the picture of a typical king — a king you would expect — laying back, clothed in fine garments, eating and drinking with comfort and ease. No, this king was beaten and bruised. He was scorned and shamed.
Behold king Jesus. Here He is. He is not the king you would expect. But He is the righteous king you need.
“Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!’ (John 19:4-5)”
Again Pilate establishes Jesus’s innocence. He brings Jesus out thinking, “Surely we can be done now, right?”
“Behold the man” — Look at this guy. Look at what we did to Him. Clearly, He is no threat.
But the Jews are bloodthirsty. It is like they are ravenous and enraged. These are God’s chosen people, acting worse than pagans, and leading the charge are the priests.
“When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’ (John 19:6)” And then, for a third time, the exact same phrase in the Greek, Pilate declares Jesus’s innocence.
“Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.’”
The holy Son of God put on flesh and dwelt among us. And here at the end of His life, John reminds us that He was truly righteous — put on trial, and entirely without guilt.
So if you trust in Jesus Christ, then the holy, holy, holy God declares you, “Righteous, righteous, righteous.” I find no guilt in you.
Oh dear saint, if you wonder whether you are truly righteous enough before God, be encouraged by your Saviour’s righteousness. He was blameless, that you might be counted blameless. If you are in Christ, then your righteousness is His righteousness. Nothing less. He is no typical king.
At this point, Pilate just wants this to be over. Pilate wanted to stay out of it — and not really take a side. He wanted to find some middle way between darkness and light.
But as we will see with Pilate, there is no middle ground with Jesus. You will crown Him or crucify Him. There is no in between.
The Jews answer Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God. (John 19:7)”
Pilate was not a religious man. But he was superstitious. The Greco-Roman mind had ideas of gods intermingling with life on the earth. And Pilate’s wife, the night before, Matthew tells us, had a dream about Jesus. And she warned him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man.”
And so with this claim that Jesus is not just “King of the Jews” — which Pilate would have heard in geopolitical terms, but that Jesus, “has made himself the Son of God (John 19:7)”—Pilate becomes even more afraid (John 19:8).
He goes back in to talk with Jesus, which brings us to our fourth scene — our fourth aspect of King Jesus.
His Authority (John 19:9-11)
Fearful of Jesus, and fearful of the Jews, much-afraid Pilate retreats back to his headquarters. He asks Jesus, “Where are you from?” implying, “You are not from heaven or anything, are you?”
And Jesus, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53, opened not His mouth.
And Pilate — as has been typical of him throughout these scenes—feels threatened and spews out threats.
“So Pilate said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? (John 19:10)”
Pilate declared Jesus innocent — not once, not twice, but three times. And now with character lower than Barrabas, he threatens the innocent man with crucifixion!
But Jesus is not phased with empty threats. He responds in John 19:11a, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”
Pilate’s authority came from Caesar. A man who wanted to be deified.
But Jesus’s authority comes from above. Because He is God who became man. He is not of the earth. His kingdom is not of the world. He made the world and all the kingdoms in it.
He exercises authority with perfect justice. Never has He made an empty threat. You cannot believe in Jesus apart from submitting to His authority as King.
He calls the shots. He is in charge. And every earthly authority is under His reign.
He calls the shots. He is in charge. And every earthly authority is under His reign.
So what measure of authority has God entrusted to you? At work? With your wife? With your kids? With a ministry in the church God means for our authority to reflect His. We are to rule — as King David says — in the fear of God — using our authority under God’s authority.
So while you might have a measure of authority, it is all borrowed. You do not own it. God has a monopoly on authority. King Jesus has been given all authority — in heaven and on earth.
So to whatever degree of authority you have, use it as a gift. Not for yourself — not for selfish gain — but for the life of others under your care. Your authority has been given you from above.
Pilate uses his authority in typical, self-serving ways. To coerce. To manipulate. All take. No give. Yet King Jesus uses His authority for our sake. He loves. He gives. He lays down His life, that we might find it — and that He might take it up again.
As for the last phrase of John 19:11, “Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” This most likely refers to Caiaphas, the High Priest. John presents Caiaphas leading the plot to kill Jesus, back in John 11. And in John 18:28, the Jews left Caiaphas' house to go to Pilate and plead for crucifixion.
So three brief comments here — on what it means to have a “greater sin.”
First, all sin condemns. Greater sins, lesser sins. Big sins, small sins. We serve an infinitely holy God, and He will not brush over any sin. Being mostly righteous is not good enough. Being 99% righteous falls entirely short. Unless you are found utterly righteous — entirely righteous — righteous, righteous, righteous — you will face God’s wrath for your sin.
All sin condemns.
Second, some sins are worse than others. Jesus says it plainly here. And we know it to be true. There are some ways you hve been sinned against that hurt, but healing and forgiveness came rather quickly. There are other ways you’ve been sinned against that cut deeper, hurt harder, and left you more wounded.
And if that is true, horizontally, with others, how much more, vertically, with God. Some sins are worse than others.
Third — and I think this is the main thing Jesus is getting at here — more light means more weight. The more you know, the more you will be held accountable to it. More light. More weight.
Jesus says, Luke 12:47-48, “The servant who knew his masters will but did not get ready or act according to it, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating.”
Caiaphas, and the Jews, had revelation. They had more light, and thus their sins carried more weight.
They anticipated the coming Messiah. But they were looking for the wrong thing! They were looking for a brazen warrior, a revolutionary to usurp Rome. They were looking for a typical king.
So when Jesus came to His own, His own received Him not. They rejected His authority. In fulfillment of Psalm 2, they raged and plotted with the Gentiles. They did not kiss the Son. They crucified Him — all it was all in vain.
King Jesus is not a King of typical authority — He has all authority. In heaven and on earth.
He has inaugurated His Kingdom in His resurrection. He will consummate His Kingdom when He comes again.
Do not rage against this King. Find refuge in Him. Submit to His authority now.
His Humility (John 19:12-16a)
Pilate talks with the Jews one last time. We will see no more of Pilate after this. And in his final scene, we see this “governor” governed by the crowd.
The Jews say, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. (John 19:12)”
They knew they were right at the edge of pushing Pilate over to crucify Jesus, so they play their trump card — the one thing He is most afraid of — Caesar.
They essentially say, “If you let Him go, Caesar is going to hear about it.”
“So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. (John 19:13) ”
InJohn 18:29, the trial began. Pilate tried to end it, multiple times, but this judge was too weak to keep order in his court. The judge became the gallery’s puppet. And in John 19:13, they string him along to take his seat.
And again, with painful irony, Pilate puffs out words that are far truer than he knows: “He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’”
This whole passage has been heavy. The irony has been thick and tragic.
But as the wave keeps swelling, just before it crests, the saddest moment of this passage comes here (John 19:15-16). Pilate struck the gavel. And the Jews pulled his strings. Pilate tried to avoid the issue. Pilate tried to be neutral with Jesus. But Pilate proved to love the darkness rather than the light.
Hours later, these Jews would celebrate the Passover feast — thanking God that their hands were clean and undefiled. They would feast on a lamb laid on their table — as the Lamb of God would hang on a cross.
They charged him with blasphemy. But look again at John 19:15 — who is doing the blasphemy now?
Hours after shouting, “We have no king but Caesar, ”... They would have prayed the Hallel Passover prayer: “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God; and beside thee we have no king... we have no king but thee.”
Beware of religious hypocrisy. More light means more weight.
King Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.
Will you crucify Him? Or will you crown Him?
There is no king like Jesus.
Because Jesus is no typical King.
Let’s pray.