You can tell Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate at least two different times. But sending Jesus to Pilate was simply a formality because the Jewish rulers were no longer debating whether Jesus was guilty. The Sanhedrin court had already condemned Jesus as a blasphemer late Thursday or early Friday. And Dr. Luke recorded that interchange in Luke 2, verses 66-71 when he wrote, when it was day, the council of elders, that's the Sanhedrin, of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him, Jesus, away to their council chamber saying, if you are the Christ, Tell us. Now, this is the English translation of the original Greek, and this is Luke writing under the direction of the Apostle Paul. It is the Apostle Paul that stopped calling Jesus Messiah and started calling Jesus Christ. Because Messiah means nothing to nine-tenths of the world. It only means something to the Jews. And so Paul is the apostle that God used to open the Gospel up to the entire world, as opposed to just the Jews. And so when it says, if you are the Christ, the Sanhedrin didn't use that terminology. The Greek means the anointed one, which they were referring to the word Messiah. If you're the Messiah, if you're the one we've been waiting for, the one that Moses predicted, tell us. But he said to them, if I tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." And again, the phrase, Son of Man, has nothing to do with Him being born of a virgin woman and being a human being. Son of Man, He's taking that from Daniel chapter 7 that predicts the coming of the Messiah. So, the phrase, Son of Man, that Jesus was most comfortable using about Himself actually refers to His deity rather than His humanity. And they all said, are you the Son of God then? And again, remember, the phrase Son of God does not mean that God married marry and they had a child. That's not the way this works. Son of God means, are you of the same essence or substance of the Father? In other words, they're asking, are you deity? That's what Son of God meant. And He said to them, yes, I am. Then they said, what further need do we have of testimony? For we heard it ourselves from His own mouth." From this moment on, it was a done deal as far as the Sanhedrin was concerned. Jesus had blasphemed, guilty, punishable by death, and because He'd made Himself equal with God. He was unequivocal about it. He was unambiguous. Yes, I am. Right? So it's very important to understand that the straw that broke the camel's back in relation as to why these religious hypocrites finally pronounced the death penalty on Jesus was because he made himself equal with God. So the next time somebody tries to tell you that Jesus never said that He was God, remind them that His straightforward, unambiguous, clear, and unashamed declaration to these men was, Yes, I am. Now keep in mind that these evil religious frauds were seeking here to use Pilate to their own ends. They weren't interested in justice. They weren't interested in keeping the law of God. They weren't interested in defending God by rebuking a blasphemer. They wanted Jesus dead. And they were prohibited from carrying that out without Pilate's permission. That is the only reason, as far as they were concerned, that they brought Jesus to Pilate. But something else was at work here because this same Dr. Luke wrote this in the book of Acts 4, verses 27-28. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. Look at verse 28. To do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur. So, if you're going to be honest about the Bible, you've got to deal with the issue of predestination because it is a biblical word, it's a biblical term, it's in the Bible, isn't it? I'm into that. So two very important things are at work here. Number one, the evil intentions of wicked men to kill Jesus to rid themselves of this thorn in the flesh. And number two, the omnipotent sovereignty of God and bringing the sinless lamb of God to the slaughter so that the glory of God's grace would be seen and demonstrated and valued. Now to be biblical about this, we must not think that God saw the wickedness of these evil men and then responded to their evil intentions by turning this whole scenario around in order to get some good out of it. That is not what was happening here at all. And it is dishonoring to God for you to think that way. God does not turn the evil intentions of men so that some good can come forth, even though that is almost exclusively taught today by the modern church. And it comes from a verse that Joseph spoke to his brothers in Genesis chapter 50. And almost every time that verse is quoted, it's misquoted. Because Joseph did not say, you meant it for harm and God turned it for good. That's not what it says. It's never said that. It says you meant it for harm and God meant it for good. Showing that God's sovereignty works in parallel with man's evil intentions in such a way that God is always sovereign and man is always accountable for what he does. Now if you want to ask me, how does that work? I'm going to tell you I don't have a clue. But I'm going to tell you that I don't have a clue about the Trinity, and I don't have a clue about the dual nature of Jesus Christ. I know some statements that God is one in His essence and is eternally manifested in three distinct persons of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And I don't understand that, but I believe that, and I will stake my life on that. And then I know another statement. Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time in the same body without conflict or contradiction. I don't understand that either. But I believe that and I will stake my life on that. And I would love to tell you that I thought this up last Thursday because I'm just a brilliant guy. But the first quote is from Tertullian about 1800 years ago. And the second quote is from John Chrysostom about, well, in the fourth century, however long ago that was. And so, then there's another statement, that God operates in His absolute sovereignty in such a way that He never abrogates the responsibility that we have to do the right thing. And that's why God can send people to hell, is because if they don't do the right thing, He can damn them. And yet He's always sovereign, and you're not a robot. And that's it. And if you feel attention in that statement, wonderful. You're hearing it correctly. And if you can come up with a way that works, let me know. Because 2,000 years of church history hasn't come up with it. But that's what the Bible teaches. We are always accountable for what we do. And God is always sovereign. And no, we're not robots. And so how does that work? I don't have a clue. Okay. God doesn't turn the evil intentions of men so that some good can come forth. God is not in the business of using His sovereignty to try to salvage something good out of a bad situation. That is not what Luke wrote. Here's what he said. In this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur. Herod and Pontius Pilate wanted to do what they did. They thought about it. They chose it. They were fully accountable for what they did. And before the foundation of the world, God predestined that to happen. Both are true. Luke says that God's hand and purpose in the capture, trial, and sacrifice of Jesus was predestined. And that means that God's purpose that He determined in eternity past rules here. That is what the infallible Word of the Living God says. And that means that God is sovereign over all the evil intentions of all these wicked men. And that means that God does not respond to evil. God does not respond to anything. God initiates. God causes. God allows. Hallelujah. The Bible teaches that God sovereignly allows evil to exist, and He uses evil to further His own purpose in the earth. And our job is to trust that this good, powerful, and wise God knows what He's doing. We may not know what God is doing. We may not like what God is doing. We may categorically hate what God is doing. I don't think God minds you saying that. Here's where you need to be different. But after you get through saying, I don't have a clue what God is doing, You must say, I know that God knows what God is doing. And what God is doing is right. And He's deserving of my worship. The Lord has given. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. That is being saved. And if you've noticed, God doesn't feel obligated to have to defend Himself to any of us. Have you noticed that? So He's not in the business of having to explain Himself to us. Here's what you've got to understand. The way you're looking at events is at best partial. God sees the beginning, the middle, and the end all at the same time. You don't even know about the past most of the time. You have no idea about the future. And the current events are sometimes not clear to you either. So for you to question what God is doing is the height of your arrogance. And it's a sin and you need to repent. Now, I'm not telling you this is it. Have I always enjoyed what God did? Of course not. But that's what Christianity is for. That's what the Bible is for. That's what the Holy Spirit is for. It's that when I get like that, I get convicted that I'm wrong. And I need to repent and bless the Lord. I don't know what tomorrow holds. But I know who holds tomorrow. And I know who holds my hand. Hallelujah. And that makes tomorrow okay. I have no idea how it's going to work out. And I can almost promise you it ain't going to work out the way you want it to. But it will work out. To God's glory. The Bible teaches that God sovereignly allows evil to exist and he uses evil to further his own purpose in the earth. And that means that no human being, no matter how rich he may be, no matter how politically connected he may be, no matter how influential he may be, no human being is the first cause of anything in the earth. God is. God is always the alpha. God is always primary. God is always first. God is always the originator of what goes on. And that means that God is absolutely sovereign over everything all the time. That's why you bow your knee to Him. Hallelujah. So right at this very moment when Jesus is weak in His body and exhausted, dripping blood, He is ruling and reigning as the supreme sovereign over the entire universe. And God is using these worldly and sinful people to bring about the purpose of God in the crushing of the darling of the Trinity. Now it's important that you understand that God didn't cause these men to do this evil. No, no. Turn with me to James chapter 1. Look in your Bible. James chapter 1. I want your eyes to see this. It's important that you see what God wrote in His Word. Look at James chapter 1 beginning with verse 13. James chapter 1. The epistle of James chapter 1. This is not the James that was killed early on in the book of Acts. This is the other James. There's three James that I'm familiar with. This is one of the three. Turn with me, it is not an apostle. James 1, verse 13, Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot, cannot be tempted by evil. He cannot. He has no ability, no power to be tempted by evil. He doesn't possess the capability of being tempted by evil. Wow. Think about that for about six months. Huh? And he himself does not tempt anyone. Okay? There it goes. But each one is tempted when? When he is carried away and enticed by what? Satan. No. By his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. When sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. So even though James said that, most people are deceived about this subject. Okay. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Easy for James to say, huh? He didn't live in the first century. Oh, wait a minute. Yeah, he did. Well that's easy for James to say he didn't have to go through the purse. Well yeah he did. Well that's easy for James to say. Well. No it wasn't easy for James to say. The Holy Spirit moved on this man to write this. Every good thing given in every perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow look what he said in the exercise of his will. he brought us forth by the word of truth so that we would be kind of first fruit a kind of first fruits among his creatures so how were you brought forth into salvation by the exercise of God's will that's how you were brought forth James reveals to us here that people carry out evil when they are carried away in enticed by his own lust So you're that we don't we do not ascribe to the theology of Flip Wilson. The devil does did not make you do it. All the devil can do is give you an opportunity to do what you already want to do anyway. He gives you occasion to be and to do and to say and to think what's already in you to be and do and say in the first place. That's all temptation is. So the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is already inherent in the fallen nature of every human being born after the fall. And that is exactly what the Apostle John was talking about in 1 John 2, v. 15-17 when he said this, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, what? The love of the Father is what? That's just another way of saying you're not saved. You're not born again. Because if the love of the Father is not in you, you don't love Him. You're not saved. And so what world is he talking about? For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lust, but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Now, notice what John is saying here. He said if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. So that's not talking about your love for God. It's talking about God's love for you. So what John is teaching is that if you love the world you're not saved. So by definition to be a world lover is what being lost is all about. So just what world is John talking about is he talking about the dirt the trees the rivers or even the people in the world. No. Moses wrote in Genesis 1.31 that God saw all that He made and He called it very good. Don't you call what God made bad. What God made is very good. And John wrote in John 3.16 that God so loved the world. So is John talking out of both sides of his mouth? No, the world that he's referring to is the world system that dominates and governs everyone who has not been born from above. In verse 16, he tells you what he meant by using the word world. For all that is in the world well there's this three things here that's not all that's in the world there's grass there's animals there's concrete there's peanut butter sandwiches there's there's air conditioning that's these three things are not all that is in the world but he's talking about very narrowly the world system that dominates the hearts and minds of the people who were lost all that is in the world the lust of the flesh The lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but it's from the world. So this is the lust that James was talking about. And that lust resides inside the flesh in the nature of every single human being who was born after Adam failed God. And that is the lust that dominated the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes. And that is the lust that dominates and drives Pontius Pilate. So even though it is God's will that Jesus be captured and beaten and murdered, he doesn't have to actively and sovereignly create the desire to kill Jesus in these people. They already have that desire. God doesn't have to force Pilate to use pragmatism to govern his decision to allow Jesus to be murdered. He was already pragmatic because he was already lost. All of these people were lost. All of them were worldly. All of them were driven and dominated. by the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. None of them were led by God's spirit. That is why all of these men were all fully accountable for what they did. And that is why God condemned them for what they did. So in his absolute sovereignty, God passively stepped aside and allowed these evil men to do what was already in their hearts to do anyway. All God did was manage their wickedness to the degree that his predestined purpose would be carried out. So here's a pop quiz. What is the P word that is the management, the sovereign management that God exercises over all people, both saved and lost, and all the earth and the dirt and the trees and the hurricanes and the stars and everything? What is the P word that God uses where He manages all of these millions of things in such a way that His will is always carried out? Providence. That's exactly what providence is. That's right. That is the management, not the creation, but the management of the wickedness. So under the terms of the Roman... So, they weren't allowed to do everything that they wanted to do. For example, they would have killed Jesus right on the spot. They cut James's head off with a sword. They would have cut Jesus's head off, too, right then and there. They didn't have to crucify Him as far as they were concerned. But for Jesus to be our Savior, He had to be crucified. So God managed the evil intentions of their thoughts in such a way that He positioned them to choose to crucify Him rather than just kill Him. That's an example of what I'm talking about. So under the terms of the Roman occupation of Palestine the Jews could not carry out the death penalty on their own. They had to get permission from the pagan Roman rulers. So as far as they were concerned the only reason Pilate is in this picture at all is because these Jewish rulers needed a political okay to get the job done. But now we know that something far more powerful far more important is at work here than the evil worldliness of these wicked men. God's absolute sovereignty is shining forth here. Now also keep in mind that Pilate was not fooled by the hypocrisy of these Jewish leaders for a second. He had been in power now at least three years and he had seen them exercise their double standard and watched them favor the powerful over the weak and saw how they brutally and mercifully ruled over the people using the word of God as a hammer to keep the people in fear and beat them down. So he wasn't fooled one bit about their logic or their reasoning or their religious conclusions about Jesus or anybody else. In fact, he despised them. In fact, I'll tell you he was bored stiff when they brought Jesus to him. Because they say, oh boy, here they come again, want me to do something else. So his inclination was to let Jesus go to begin with. Now that doesn't make Pilate a good man because he wasn't. He was an evil and unmerciful man himself. Pilate was worldly in every sense of that word. But what it makes him is a good politician. who understood the basic law of politics which is this people only like a politician when they know he has the power to do something they want and when they fear that he can do something negative to them as soon as they sense a politician is weak and can no longer help them or hurt them their loyalties vanish very quickly so our last president they call it being a lame duck and that's when he has no more power to hurt you and so they don't pay any attention to what he wants. So the name of the game in politics is the fine art of pragmatism and pragmatism is simply another word for worldliness. So pragmatism says whatever works must be good and the logic of pragmatism when the modern church uses it is whatever brings in more people whatever brings in more money whatever gives us more influence in the community must be of God regardless of what the Bible says. And that is why pragmatism is something to be repented of, something to be ashamed of, something to run from, not something to use and celebrate and put in a book in order to teach others how to grow the church. Now everybody who comes to a politician tries to butter him up. It's kind of like going to mama. When I was a little boy, and I did something wrong and I knew my dad was not going to have any mercy at all because the man is law and the woman is grace. Right. And so you you butter your mama up and you tell her how pretty she is and you love her and you hug her and and you and then you and her heart just goes into into liquid and oh my little darling my little darling. And then when my dad got home it was World War Three and it was unmerciful and it was just it was disastrous. And. And when I got saved I went to my dad and I told him I said you're the smartest man I know. And you used to beat me every once in a while just on GP general principal. He said I know you're doing stuff I don't know about and I know it's wrong. So it's time. And so I went after I got saved I went to him and I said you didn't beat me enough. I did more than what you thought I did. I was guilty of a lot more. And so now OK they everybody comes to politician tries to barter I don't care if you're a Christian or not. All these evangelicals meeting with what's his name up in the tower. They're buttering him up because they want some out of because they sense he has the power to give them what they want now of course their intentions are pure their intentions are noble there on our side and so it's OK for us to do that it's just wrong for the other side to do that. That's the hypocrisy of politics. So the smart politician is not impressed by people's praise nor is he fearful of their anger. He knows that love is in short supply in politics and the only reason anybody is standing before him is either because they want to try to manipulate him to be on their side or to rebuke him for not being on their side. And this is the main reason why I cry out so strongly about the American church getting neck deep in politics while pretty much abandoning their primary mission, which is to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints and herald the whole purpose of God's word clearly and consistently with conviction and authority so as to call lost people to repentance and faith in Christ and to call saved people to holiness. That is our mandate. That is what we are to do. The church of Jesus is to maintain a clear and unmistakable distinction from politics and government and those who serve in it, so that we may hold all of those in positions of power and authority to account. But even though government is not the church and should not function as the church, government is still of God and was given to us by God. Therefore, government and politics and politicians are to rule wisely, justly, and impartially according to the revealed Word of the living God. And that's why we need to be in their office laying hands on them and praying for them and calling them to a humble life and to a life of repentance. Now I pray that since this last election, that those of us who are saved today can look back and see that we already had the marriage between the church and the government for the better part of the first 1,500 years of the church's existence on the earth. and it didn't work then, and it's not going to work any better now. Listen, we don't want Christendom. We want Christianity. It is very important that we realize that political conservatism is not the same thing as Christianity. And while it may be true that the Republican Party is closer to our positions than the Democrats, politics by definition is not godly, no matter what party label it carries. All political parties, all politicians and government in general operates on the basis of worldliness and pragmatism, not holy conviction. So whatever wins is deemed to be good. And understand that whether you like this or not, the government is not the church. And the name of the game in politics is compromise. Always. That is how we rule our nation. By compromise. That is a dirty word in the church. But it is the rule in government. You don't get everything you want in government. You compromise and get 30%, 42%, 61%. You always compromise in politics or you don't get anything done. That's the name of the game. That's why the church is better than government. Now please don't misunderstand me. I love my country and I'm in awe of how God raised this nation up. And I'm just as upset about many of the things that are going on as anybody else is. But we must always maintain three things. God over government. Christ over country. And biblical purity over politics. We need to remember that Ronald Reagan was wrong. And the United States is not the shining city set on the hill. The church of Jesus is. Now having said all of that I do not believe that we can simply check out not be involved with what's going on at all. I don't I don't recommend that I don't practice that. And so we are to pray with and for politicians and we are to hold them accountable. The biblical formula for transfer and that's a lot harder isn't it? It's easy to just check out. It doesn't take the Holy Spirit for you just to abandon your responsibility as a citizen and just say I don't care. That doesn't take any courage. It's easy. What takes courage and strength and patience and the Holy Spirit is for you to deal with these people and work with them and pray with them and lay hands on them and go down to the mayor's office and pray with them. Amen to that. The biblical formula for transforming the nation has nothing to do with Washington or the Supreme Court or even politics. And this formula is very simple but profound. Number one, men must repent for not being godly, loving, and strong leaders in their home. Period. If that doesn't happen, nothing else works. They should repent of their sexual lust and of copying out to their God-given mandate to lead and rule their homes with love and truth. Number two, prayer meetings, Bible studies, catechism, family devotion should be common in the home of believers. And it is the responsibility of the husband and the father to see to it that this is done. Number three, as husbands and wives and children begin to understand what God expects of them, they should then strive by the power of the Holy Spirit with the grace of God to be submitted to that model. Number four, as these godly and loving families who are led by godly and loving men come to church, they will transform the DNA of that local assembly. Truth will be preached. The assembly will then be grafted into the one single church of Jesus. Because until you're biblical, you're not part of Christ's church. You're a religious organization of men. You're only a part of Christ's church if you're one, holy, universal, and apostolic. Thank you. It's true anyway. As God raises up godly and loving churches comprised of godly and loving families led by godly and loving men, the church will influence the community out of which governmental leaders will rise to rule with justice and conviction. And number six, as the communities are influenced to be godly and loving based on the influence of godly and loving churches that are comprised of godly and loving families led by godly and loving men, the nation will be influenced to repent and be godly and loving. There it is, right there. Now, this is a lot harder and takes a lot longer than pulling a lever and voting for the right guy to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office so he can appoint the right Supreme Court judges. But this is the biblical pattern and we are spinning our wheels to assume that we can see a wholesale return to godliness and Christian love in this nation without engaging in this effort. And that is the purview of the church, not the government. So the Jewish religious leaders, so you see a man who doesn't lead his family, I'm going to show you the problem with the country. It's not the politicians, it's that guy. So the Jewish religious leaders were neck deep in the government of Rome in the first century and they brought Jesus to pilot to try to manipulate him into agreeing that Jesus must die so they were on their best behavior and pilot is on his guard as well. Now the apostle Levi tells us that it was on Friday morning when Jesus was delivered a pilot John Mark wrote to tell us that it was early on Friday morning so Jesus had been up Since Thursday morning he has already prayed so hard that he sweat blood and he has spent the last 12 hours at least being dragged and pushed around and slapped and spit on as he has been interrogated relentlessly. But notice that up until now he has said very little. The greatest amount of dialogue that Jesus will have in his trial from now on until he screams in agony on the cross as he absorbs all of God's just wrath against all of the sins of all of God's elect will be with Pilate. And I think that is significant. Now look again at Luke 23 verses 1 and 2. Then the whole body of them got up and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, here's their accusation. We found this man misleading our nation, forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ the King, or the Messiah. Now, the only reason these religious frauds are bringing up Caesar in this discussion is to try to impress Pilate. They couldn't care less about Pilate or Caesar in fact they hated both of them. Look what Dr. Luke wrote in Luke 13 verse 1. Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices so Pilate took a bunch of Galilean Jews and he slaughtered them took their blood and went into the temple of God in Jerusalem and mixed their blood with the blood of the animal sacrifices and polluted their sacrifice and he did it boldly he looked right in the face when he did it and he dared God to do anything about it God never said a word to him God never moved there was no sign from heaven and the Jews were startled at this So about two years earlier when Pilate had first taken command of the region he went out to show the Jews who was boss and to strike fear into their hearts by slaughtering some Galileans then taking their blood and mixing it with the sacrifices in the temple in Jerusalem and forcing them to offer that to God. In other words Pilate was saying your God is dead. Look what I do and yet God does nothing. I am God to you. Fear me not your make believe deity. So the average Jew as well as these men despise pilot and prayed regularly for his death ancient rabbinical writings that we have discovered shows many many many prayers of how they prayed for the Romans to be destroyed by God's power. They despise the Romans. So that's why when Jesus got up and said love your enemies they didn't think that was funny they didn't think that was being spiritual they thought that was ridiculous. So the fact that these Jews are bringing up the charge that Jesus had been teaching things against Caesar was simply to butter pilot up but pilot was wary of them and quite bored with the whole ordeal he thought this was nothing more than a religious matter something that he neither had the jurisdiction over nor wanted and so he completely ignored the charges that he would have control over and cut to the chase and asked Jesus a very direct question in verse three are you the king of the Jews. Why did he ask that? The fact that he ignored their charges concerning paying taxes to Caesar and asked a theological question here is quite telling and I think this fact is mostly missed when this passage is read or preached. Why is Pilate asking this question? He has no jurisdiction over religious matters. And even though the Sanhedrin had brought up charges that he would have control over, he completely ignores them and goes for the more eternal issues. And to prove that this is significant, look how Jesus answers him. It is as you say. Now the Greek here is a little complicated. And this statement by Jesus could mean nothing more than that's what you say. which is how most people take it but this could also be interpreted as Jesus saying that's what you think or that's what you believe or that's what you have said. Now I'm not just getting this Matthew Henry some of the ancient people in the church all believe this which indicates that it is possible that pilot had been talking about Jesus before this moment And since he is omniscient Jesus knows that. And so what Jesus is doing here by answering Pilate like this is very troubling to this man. And we know it is troubling based on two things. Number one, the dialogue that the Apostle John recorded for us goes into much greater detail. And number two, the response that Pilate has. So let's look at this. Both the Apostle Levi and John Mark echo what Dr. Luke wrote here. But John goes into much more detail about this exchange. So I want you to go with me to John chapter 18 beginning with verse 33. John chapter 18 beginning with verse 33. The Gospel of John chapter 18 starting with verse 33. Therefore Pilate entered again into the praetorium, that's the judgment hall, and summoned Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus answered, listen to this, Are you saying this on your own initiative or did others tell you about me? Pilate answered, I'm not a Jew, Emma. Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm. Therefore, Pilate said to him, So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born and for this I have come into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Why did Jesus talk this way to Paul? He didn't talk this way to Annas or Caiaphas. Now look closely what Jesus asked Pilate in response to him asking Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. Are you saying this on your own initiative or did others tell you about me? Now how many of y'all know that when Jesus asks a question he's not waiting for you to give him an answer? It's a rhetorical question. When God said where are you Adam he wasn't trying to find Adam's location. Pilate hadn't said anything. He had only asked Jesus a very serious theological question that had nothing to do with what the secular charges that the Sanhedrin had hoped he would latch onto. And then Jesus' response initially by asking him if Pilate had said this on his own initiative or did others tell him about Jesus. Now as far as I'm concerned this is just too much dialogue to be coincidental. And it's getting to the very heart of the moment. You must remember that Pilate was a cruel and unmerciful pagan tyrant who showed no hesitation in condemning people to die. He was used to having people grovel at his feet begging for their lives and yet here he is engaged in a very deep and serious theological discussion with Jesus. Now I can only imagine what the seventy men of Sanhedrin were thinking right about now. Now keep in mind that when Pilate is questioning Jesus he was alone with him inside what was termed the Praetorium. which was the place where judgment was rendered by the Romans. So the Sanhedrin had to stand outside unable to hear what is going on. So this allows Pilate to speak more freely. But remember the only reason they had brought up taxes and Caesar was because they fully expected Pilate to go off in his fury and immediately condemn Jesus to die. They really thought this was going to be quick. And yet they wait and wait outside pondering why it's taking so long. The last thing these men expected or wanted was for this pagan to begin discussing theology with Jesus. And yet that is exactly what's going on. And the question I want to ask is why? If all that is important is that Pilate condemned Jesus to die, if that is all that God is wanting here, then why all the words? All Jesus would have had to do is say nothing and Pilate would have come to the very same conclusion that he eventually did come to. So why is Jesus going back and forth with this evil man? I think that Jesus is doing to Pilate exactly what he did with Nathaniel. Even if it was for a different reason. You will remember that in the very first chapter of John near the beginning of his ministry when Jesus was choosing his disciples this interchange went on from John chapter one verses forty four three forty nine go there with me John chapter one verse forty four three forty nine John the Gospel of John chapter one the very first chapter of John Chapter one verses forty four three forty nine look what it says. Now Philip was from Bethsaida of the city of Andrew and Peter and Philip found Nathaniel and said to him we have found him of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. Now amazing statement right. We've been looking for him for centuries and me and Andrew and Peter have found it. He's right over there. And Nathaniel says right. Sure you have. Because we would all just say oh praise God. Right. Sure. Sure we would. And he calls him Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph Nathaniel said to him can any good thing come out of Nazareth. Philip said to him come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said to him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Boom. Huh? A 21 second sermon. and this man got saved. Right. So Nathaniel was a skeptic. I think that's safe. And when Philip came to him and told him they had found the Messiah he didn't buy into it. and with Philip told him that the long awaited Messiah with Jesus of Nazareth. Nathaniel's only response was can any good thing come out of Nazareth which was both a slam to both Jesus and this little community and it had a history of being a bad place so it's kind of like saying can any good thing come out of Gulfport can any good thing come out of North Gulfport can any good thing come out of come out of Gaston Point can any good thing come out of the south side of the tracks what he's saying basically. And Philip's only response was come and see. So as Nathanael was walking up to Jesus, Jesus bursts out, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. And Nathanael was startled by this comment and said, How do you know me? I don't know you. How do you know me? Who are you? Which is like saying, I don't know you, so how do you know who I am? And Jesus delivers the coup de grace. Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Now, I have no idea what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. The Bible doesn't tell us. It could have been some wicked sin that Nathanael thought nobody knew about but himself. But it could have been a time of deep conviction and prayer that Nathanael was certain nobody saw. But whatever he was doing, this statement by Jesus was enough to convince Nathanael that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. And so he blurted out, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the King of Israel. Now that's exactly what I think is going on with Pontius Pilate even though it was for a completely different reason. That was to shake Nathaniel up so he would be saved. This is to shake Pilate up so he would be damned. Jesus responded to Pilate's question, Are you the king of the Jews? With a reply that only Pilate knew. Are you saying this on your own initiative or did others tell you about me? A pilot was caught completely off guard the brutal unmerciful ruler standing before the disheveled worn helpless man in chains blood dripping down from his beatings and yet the man in the chains is now totally in charge speaking directly to pilots very soul telling him things that only pilots closest associates knew about. In Alabama English Jesus was reading his mail. Now normally Pilate would not spend five minutes conversing with the man he was going to condemn. But here with Jesus, he sees the need to reply. So he says, I'm not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priest delivered you to me. What have you done? Now why did he say this? You can begin to sense that Pilate is actually trying to defend Jesus. It's amazing. Again there's no reason for Pilate to almost defend himself to this man who stands before him and yet in his own way Pilate is saying I'm not a Jew. God doesn't speak to me. I have nothing to do with your religious issues. I am what you term a pagan. And yet your own people have brought you to me to give them permission to kill you. What in the world did you do to make these religious frauds so mad at you? And very calmly Jesus looks Pilate in the eye and says my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews but as it is my kingdom is not of this realm. That's not the average thing Pilate hears from a condemned man. So very straightforward Jesus tells this wicked ruler that he has a kingdom that is not of this world and to prove that his followers were not fighting with swords to set him free. But the logic as to why his followers were not fighting on his behalf that Jesus uses here is amazing as he said so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. Now Pilate had never met anybody like Jesus. You have never met anybody like Jesus. Nobody speaks like this man speaks. Instead of trembling before Pilate and begging for his life, Jesus is very precisely letting Pilate know that the only reason he is standing there before him was because of God's will and the predetermined plan of God. Jesus has absolutely no fear, no trepidation about His impending torture and death. The very glory of God has already resigned Himself to carry out God's will from the very moment that an angel came and strengthened Him back in the garden during his long, agonizing prayer that lasted several hours. And this statement by Jesus drew this response from Pilate, so you are a king. Now we're back to the very simple but profound question that everybody must answer. Who is Jesus? Nobody can be saved without correctly knowing who Jesus is. And those who were chosen will come to the same conclusion about Jesus. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Hallelujah. That divine revelation about who Jesus is is the rock on which the entire church is built. And all who are a part of Christ's church embrace that one single revelation. And it is this one revelation being revealed to lost sinners through the preaching of the Gospel and their glad embrace of this revelation that forgives sins and saves souls. And with that belief in who Jesus is, comes devotion to Jesus, and obedience to Jesus, and the command to deny oneself and take up one's cross and follow Jesus. So you do not add Jesus to your already planned out life. Jesus is Lord, not some addition to your life that you can use to accomplish all of your dreams. Know all who come to Jesus and who believe and who confess this one single revelation die. They die to sin, they die to their own agenda, their own plans, and they spend the rest of their lives living and saying and doing all that they say and do for no other reason than the glory of God. This is what Jesus was confronting Pilate about. And I think he saw it. I think Pilate understood very well what Jesus was saying here. And Pilate hears Jesus say, you will say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born and for this I have come into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. This is getting close to home now. Jesus is going in. The circle is getting smaller and smaller. This is a similar thing that Jesus did to Martha on the road after Lazarus died. Martha is out there rebuking Jesus. Just pouring out all of her grief. And Jesus said, I know we are going to see the glory of God at the resurrection. Jesus said, I am the resurrection. That if a man believes in me, he will never die. Do you believe this, Martha? What was Martha's response? She walked around and turned around, left Jesus, stay in the middle of the road and went into the house and got Mary and said, Jesus, won't you? Because I know he talking to me. She never answered him. I have no idea. He loved Martha, Mary and her brother, Lazarus. I have no idea if you say Mary's the one that came out and Mary's the one that demonstrated fruit of salvation. I hope Martha will say it. I just don't know. But you don't just turn around and walk away from Jesus when he asks you a question like this. This is the moment of truth. This is exactly what's happening to Pilate here. Meaning you, Pilate, have said that I am truly a king who is not of this world. You have said that many times to those who are the closest to you. You have walked in the Praetorium many times pondering who I am. You know as well as anybody else that the Sanhedrin are wicked, false religious hypocrites. And you know full well that I am not like them. And that has deeply troubled you. Because you realize better than most that to embrace who I am means the end of your political ambition. You will have to forgo everything you have worked so hard to achieve. You will have to abandon all of your dreams and follow me in broken, humble obedience. Because even though you are a powerful ruler, you cannot come to me except by grace and through faith. And God does not grant saving faith to anyone who is not of the truth, or in other words, chosen by God. Those are the only people who can come to me. So you don't even have the power to come to me if God doesn't allow you to come. Now the prisoner is in charge now. The weak, beaten man standing before Pilate is shining in the brilliance of his glory. And Pilate knows it. And as he stares deeply into Jesus' eyes, Pilate trembles. He knows full well that everything Jesus has just said is true. And now he must either embrace Jesus and fall before Him and worship Him, or he must condemn Him to die. And so at this moment of great stress, Pilate leans on what he knows best, his pragmatic worldly nature. So he responds with a rhetorical question, what is truth? which is just a cop-out statement designed to change the subject. Jesus is getting too close for comfort here and so Pilate deflects to this philosophical rhetorical question which has nothing to do with anything that he and Jesus have been discussing. When you're talking to somebody about the Lord you got to be careful because they will always do this. This is common. But it does illustrate the fact that Pilate was not going to be saved. Now for many years I believed what most people believe today that God wants to save everybody but he can't unless they let him. I believed and taught that all God can do is offer people salvation but they are the ones that have to make the decision to take God up on his offer. Like many of you I embrace the concept even though I couldn't explain it. That somehow we were able to keep the free will that Adam had even after the fall. That while the fall was damaging it was not that damaging. And this passage here with Pilate would be used to prove that logic. And so back then I would have told you that Jesus was trying very hard to get Pilate to repent and be saved here. But it was up to Pilate and all Jesus could do was offer it. I hope you know that I categorically reject that concept today. I have come to believe from Scripture that God is sovereign and his absolute sovereignty God determines what his will is and then works to bring his will to pass using both good and evil in the process and so God never loses he never knows defeat he saves all those who have been chosen for salvation from before the foundation of the world he doesn't miss a single one so salvation is not the product you know what they always ask you what about the poor native on the island in the Pacific Ocean. I got two answers for you number one perhaps you need to get on the plane and go preach the gospel to him since you're worried about him and number two if God wants him saved somehow the gospel will get to him. So salvation is not the product of human self-determination. Salvation is not some offer that God makes. Salvation is the sovereign work of God in Him graciously coming to the elected sinner and forcefully and decisively changing his nature without his permission, without his cooperation, so that the sinner will have both the desire and the ability to repent and trust in Jesus. And that means that Jesus is not trying to do anything here. He is simply doing it. Now Jesus is preaching the gospel to Pilate because our Lord is modeling the truth that we need to sow seed into everybody's life and then hope and pray for them to be saved because unlike Jesus we're not omniscient. So we have no idea who's chosen so we preach to everybody. But if Jesus wanted to save Pilate he would have. So like Pharaoh back in Egypt, Pilate is an example of someone whom God chose not to intervene with. And someone that God has decided to leave to Himself. And the way that Moses put it is like this in Exodus 7 verse 3, But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that I may multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. So, why did he harden Pharaoh's heart? So that the wonders and the signs and the miracles and the glory of God could be displayed. So God is hardening Pilate's heart here rather than merely offering salvation to Pilate and then waiting breathlessly for his human decision. Jesus is saying all of this to show us the great danger of being worldly. Remember what John said. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not any. Ian Murray is the editor of the Banner of Truth. And Ian Murray said this, quote, worldliness is departing from God. It is a man-centered way of thinking. It proposes objectives which demand no radical breach from man's fallen nature. It judges the importance of things by the present and material results. It weighs success by numbers. It covets human esteem. It wants no unpopularity. It knows no truth for which it is worth suffering. It declines to be a fool for Christ's sake. Worldliness is the mindset of the unregenerate. It adopts idols. It is at war with God." So like he did with the rich young ruler, which was to show us the danger of loving and trusting in money and possessions, Jesus is illustrating here with Pilate how that loving the world, how being pragmatic is the very definition of what it means to be lost. So the ongoing prevailing testimony that a person enjoys and embraces the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life means that this person is worldly. And being worldly means that the love of the Father is not in that person. And that is just another way of saying that God has hardened His heart. So I ask you this morning, are you worldly? Does the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life dominate you? Do you find the fullest expression of your delight in the things that are passing away? Are you pragmatic? Are you at war with God? Come to Jesus. Fall at His feet. Embrace and trust in the revelation that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And find rest for your souls. Amen.