The testimony of the Lord Jesus before the high priest and Pontius Pilate

  Scripture Reading: Matt. 26:57-66; 27:1-2, 11, 18; John 18:28-40; 19:7-8, 12, 15

One

  On the night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He was seized and taken to Caiaphas the high priest. Although the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin sought false testimony against Him and sought to put Him to death, they could find nothing to use against Him. Some false witnesses came forward to testify against Him, but their testimonies did not match; in the end, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin found nothing. The interesting thing is that under these circumstances, when so many people asked the Lord Jesus questions and brought false witness against Him, He did not answer at all. But when the high priest asked, "I charge You to swear by the living God to tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God," He answered, "You have said rightly." Then the high priest condemned Him based on this word. In the morning, they bound up the Lord and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. When Pilate asked, "Are You the King of the Jews?", He answered, "It is as you say." It is strange that after His response Pilate declared that He had no sin and was about to release Him. When He answered the high priest by saying, "You have said rightly," He was condemned, but when He answered Pilate by saying, "It is as you say," He was declared to be without guilt. The two reactions were exactly opposite. Before Caiaphas the high priest, the Lord's interrogation concerned the matter of being the Son of God, not of being King. Before Pilate the governor, the Lord's interrogation concerned the matter of being King. Outwardly, there is a big difference between these two matters, but in the eyes of God, they are linked together. In God's eyes the Jews did not have a king, and the Son of God came to be their King. Therefore, the Lord Jesus did not answer any other questions during the course of His trial other than the two which concerned His person and His work.

Two

  We would like to turn our attention to the matter of the Lord's testimony. Before Caiaphas the high priest, the Lord acknowledged that He was the Son of God; He was testifying for Himself. Before Pilate, the Lord acknowledged that He was the King; He was also testifying for Himself. When the high priest heard the Lord's testimony about being the Son of God and that He would be "sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven," he tore his garments and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They answered and said, "He is worthy of death." Why did they refuse the testimony of the Lord Jesus? What was their intention? They were not trying to prove whether or not He was the Son of God. To them it would prove that He had sinned if He said that He was the Son of God. They had no intention of determining whether He spoke the truth; their goal was to find an excuse for condemnation. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus acknowledged that He was the Son of God, they immediately condemned Him by saying that He had blasphemed. They were not interested in knowing whether this man was indeed the Son of God. Their only interest was in getting Him to say some words that could be used as an excuse for killing Him. They were the prominent ones among the Jews, yet they were not concerned about the things of God. Their only concern was that this Jesus, who called Himself the Son of God, was threatening their position by what He did and said. If they allowed Jesus to go on, their position would be in jeopardy, and their dignity would be bankrupted. Therefore, they hastily tried to remove Jesus so that they could maintain their personal prestige. They twisted the Lord's word, saying, "This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and build it up in three days." (Actually, the Lord Jesus did not say this. See John 2:19-21.) They said this to show their concern for the temple. But by that time the temple had become a den of robbers; they were not concerned about it. When the Lord Jesus came to cleanse the temple, they even tried to kill Him (Mark 11:17-18). They only cared for the outward appearance of the temple, and they were using it as a means to add to their base gain. They did not want the reality of the temple, and they feared that it would expose their sins. They kept the form of religion but denied the truth; they even tried to do away with the truth. Therefore, when the Son of God came to the world and declared that He was the Son of God, they regarded it as a sin. They thought that no one should say this even if it was true. The Lord Jesus was condemned by the high priest because He testified that He was the Son of God, not because He was the Son of God. They thought that this statement should never be made. They thought that the truth should never be testified. They tried everything they could to overturn this testimony. Finally, they appealed to the political power of Rome to kill the Lord Jesus.

Three

  In the morning, they brought the Lord Jesus before Pilate the governor, and Pilate asked the Lord, "You are the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Are you saying this of yourself, or did others tell you about Me?" Pilate said, "Am I a Jew? Your nation and its chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My attendants would be struggling so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not from here." Pilate then said, "So then You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I would testify to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate then asked, "What is truth?" After Pilate said this, he did not wait for Jesus' answer but went out to the Jews and told them, "I find no fault in Him." This was the Lord Jesus' testimony before Pilate.

  Many people think that the question of being the King of the Jews referred to the Lord becoming the King of the Jews then. They think that it was a political question. But the Bible shows that when Pilate asked the question, "Are You the King of the Jews?", the Lord Jesus responded by asking him about the source of his question. This is the same as saying, "You have asked a question, but how much do you know about it? What is your understanding concerning it? Does your question represent your own view, or is it just hearsay?" This is very important. The Lord Jesus did not hide from Pilate the fact that He was the King of the Jews. He testified that He was the King of the Jews. But His testimony was different from the accusation of His plotters. A king is always related to a kingdom. Therefore, He said, "My kingdom is not of this world." Since His kingdom is not of this world, His attendants did not need to fight for Him. If His kingdom had been of this world, there would have been a need for war. His kingdom was from God and from above. Therefore, there was no need to fight. Warfare in the flesh was unnecessary. He was the King of the Jews and a King out of the Jews. It had nothing to do with world politics.

  Among God's children, some only know the material world. They think that not being worldly means being unattached to material things. I am not saying that we should be excessive with material things. But the greatest matter relates to the source. The word "of" is fundamental. "My kingdom is not of this world." In other words, it is not from this world and does not belong to this world.

  Among God's children, there are many things which seem spiritual. But if we trace their source, it is still the world. Although many terms are biblical, when we trace the source of their manifestation, it is the world. For example, we often say that humility is a virtue, and we admit that humility is something from the Bible. Yet the humility the Bible speaks of and the humility we have are not the same; this is where the problem lies. When we trace the source of our humility, we often find that we are humble because we are trying to avoid certain things. We are humble because we do not want to hurt others' feelings or invite others' criticisms. This humility comes from diplomacy. A humility that issues from diplomacy can be considered only as a superficial virtue. But when we trace its source, we cannot say, "My kingdom is not of this world." This kind of humility is of the world; it comes from a fear which is of the world. Brothers and sisters, if a Christian lives according to God, he can be gentle and strong at the same time because he does not have any worldly considerations and fears.

  God's children often talk about being heavenly. But what does it mean to be heavenly? Those who are always in contact with heavenly things are not necessarily heavenly. Only that which comes from heaven is heavenly. In the same way, what does it mean to be worldly? It does not mean that a person who is in constant contact with the world is worldly. Being worldly means to come from the world. It does not mean that a person will not be worldly just by avoiding contact with the world and its things and affairs. Can you not be of this world simply by escaping from reality and changing your lifestyle? No, this is not the meaning of being not of this world. We are fundamentally of this world. This is why we need God's light. When God's light shines in us, we will realize that much of our goodness has its source and rationale in the world. We do certain things because of certain reasons, and these reasons are of the world. All of our virtues are apparently spiritual, but actually this "spirituality" is of the world. They do not constitute a testimony, and there is no spiritual reality behind them.

  The Lord Jesus says, "My kingdom is not of this world." He is reigning in a realm that is not of this world. His kingdom is entirely different from the kingdom of this world. Hence, the question is not whether or not we have left the world but how many things in us are of the world. May the Lord be gracious to us and help us to not come under the influence of the world in spiritual matters.

  When the Lord Jesus came to the earth, He came to testify for the truth. The hypocritical ones did not prefer light; instead, they preferred darkness because they did evil works; they wanted to do away with the Lord Jesus. But the Lord did not bow to the evil powers. When men reviled and accused Him, He did not answer, but when they came to the question of His person and His work, He made a good confession for the truth. The Lord traveled an uncommon pathway while He was on earth. In man's eyes He gained nothing, but He is now sitting at the right hand of Power, and He will come on the clouds of heaven. Praise the Lord! All those who follow Him should pay attention to His testimony!