Jesus is King
30 Days in John - day 25
Years ago I met a stranger who had come to visit our church cemetery hoping to find the grave of a distant relative. A number of the old plots were marked only by stones. No name nor proper headstone, just a rock to say someone was buried there. I told her that they used to keep records by people’s memories and many of those memories were buried in that same graveyard.
She was going to go look around anyway, and as we parted I said, “I hope you find what you are looking for.”
She responded, “So do I,” but in a way that suggested she meant she was looking for more than an ancestor’s grave. Some people are looking for graves and some are looking for answers.
Sometimes we say more than we realize.
John 19 tells us about when Pilate providentially wrote more than he intended:
Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’ Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” (John 19:19-22)
Rome would do this as a warning to others not to make the same mistake. This wasn’t unusual. It is likely the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus had their crimes placarded above their heads as well.
What is unusual was not the sign, but the wording: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Matthew preserves the idea of an accusation while John calls it a “title” (NKJV). Pilate was making a political accusation. God was making a divine proclamation.
Pilate wrote that title in three languages: Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
Aramaic - the language of religion.
Latin - the language of law.
Greek - the language of culture.
No part of life was left out.
Pilate wrote truth whether or not he intended it or believed it:
Jesus is King over all.
He is King over religion, law, and culture.
He is King over life and the grave.
He is the King you are searching for.
