From Above
The King – Part 4
(John 19:9-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 27, 2010)
He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 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?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
He entered his headquarters again... (9)
Pilate heard the accusation that the leaders of the Jews made: “He has made himself the Son of God.” These words, “the Son of God,” had an impact on Pilate. He had been afraid of what was taking place in the demand that a man be put to death, a man he had three times declared to be without guilt. Now he was more afraid. Pilate takes Jesus inside the headquarters again.
He says to Him, “Where are you from?” Where is Jesus from? He is God with God from before all eternity. He has come from above, in order to accomplish something here below. He came from heaven, and He came into the world. This is something that we have known from the opening words of this gospel. (See John 1:1-2, 11, 14.)
It is also something we were prepared for by the Old Testament. Just think of the title “Lord.” Jesus is Lord. According to His eternal divine nature, He reigns. He is robed in majesty. His throne is established from of old, and He is from everlasting. The floods of all the powers of men that are beneath Him, all the lesser authorities of kings and would-be kings, those floods lift up their voice in claims to absolute authority over the bodies and souls of people. But the Lord on high is mightier than all the thunders of many tumultuous waters. His decrees are trustworthy. His house is holy. He is Lord forever.
“You will not speak to me?” (10)
This great Lord of heaven and earth is facing an official of the Roman Empire. Pilate has asked Him what the governor must consider to be a very simple question: “Where are you from?” Jesus, the Lord, the Lord of heaven, will not answer.
Jesus' response or lack of response is a surprise to a man like Pilate. People in positions of authority come to expect that everyone will flatter them with attention and that everyone will do whatever is necessary to win the favors that the rulers themselves believe to be theirs to dispense.
Nothing could be further from Jesus' mind. He came to earth to do a job. The time has now come for Him to die. He will fulfill God's decree. He does not need or desire Pilate's strength in order to accomplish His mission, and He certainly is not seeking Pilate's help to abandon His mission.
Jesus answered him... (11)
Pilate assumes that Jesus, like any other normal person, wants to be released. He does not. He knows that He will be crucified. Without this one death Scripture cannot be fulfilled, and the people of God will not be forgiven. Jesus does not want to be released. Pilate also assumes that his own authority is the key to everything that is going on here. It is not. Jesus is a much higher Ruler than Pilate.
None of what remains here needs to be explained to Pilate, but at this point Jesus does speak. He says something about the the nature of all authority, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” He then speaks a word as the coming Judge with all true authority concerning the relative guilt of Pilate and the Jewish authorities that have played their part in the murder of Jesus, “He who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Like everything recorded in John's gospel, all of the miracles, the events, the words, “are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” These words are recorded for our benefit. Jesus is telling us that all authority comes from above. He wants us to know that He is the King who has authority from above to save, to sanctify, and ultimately to perfectly judge.
Application: What does it mean for our duty to love, that certain things come “from above?”
(John 19:9-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 27, 2010)
He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 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?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
He entered his headquarters again... (9)
Pilate heard the accusation that the leaders of the Jews made: “He has made himself the Son of God.” These words, “the Son of God,” had an impact on Pilate. He had been afraid of what was taking place in the demand that a man be put to death, a man he had three times declared to be without guilt. Now he was more afraid. Pilate takes Jesus inside the headquarters again.
He says to Him, “Where are you from?” Where is Jesus from? He is God with God from before all eternity. He has come from above, in order to accomplish something here below. He came from heaven, and He came into the world. This is something that we have known from the opening words of this gospel. (See John 1:1-2, 11, 14.)
It is also something we were prepared for by the Old Testament. Just think of the title “Lord.” Jesus is Lord. According to His eternal divine nature, He reigns. He is robed in majesty. His throne is established from of old, and He is from everlasting. The floods of all the powers of men that are beneath Him, all the lesser authorities of kings and would-be kings, those floods lift up their voice in claims to absolute authority over the bodies and souls of people. But the Lord on high is mightier than all the thunders of many tumultuous waters. His decrees are trustworthy. His house is holy. He is Lord forever.
“You will not speak to me?” (10)
This great Lord of heaven and earth is facing an official of the Roman Empire. Pilate has asked Him what the governor must consider to be a very simple question: “Where are you from?” Jesus, the Lord, the Lord of heaven, will not answer.
Jesus' response or lack of response is a surprise to a man like Pilate. People in positions of authority come to expect that everyone will flatter them with attention and that everyone will do whatever is necessary to win the favors that the rulers themselves believe to be theirs to dispense.
Nothing could be further from Jesus' mind. He came to earth to do a job. The time has now come for Him to die. He will fulfill God's decree. He does not need or desire Pilate's strength in order to accomplish His mission, and He certainly is not seeking Pilate's help to abandon His mission.
Jesus answered him... (11)
Pilate assumes that Jesus, like any other normal person, wants to be released. He does not. He knows that He will be crucified. Without this one death Scripture cannot be fulfilled, and the people of God will not be forgiven. Jesus does not want to be released. Pilate also assumes that his own authority is the key to everything that is going on here. It is not. Jesus is a much higher Ruler than Pilate.
None of what remains here needs to be explained to Pilate, but at this point Jesus does speak. He says something about the the nature of all authority, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” He then speaks a word as the coming Judge with all true authority concerning the relative guilt of Pilate and the Jewish authorities that have played their part in the murder of Jesus, “He who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Like everything recorded in John's gospel, all of the miracles, the events, the words, “are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” These words are recorded for our benefit. Jesus is telling us that all authority comes from above. He wants us to know that He is the King who has authority from above to save, to sanctify, and ultimately to perfectly judge.
Application: What does it mean for our duty to love, that certain things come “from above?”
The world that we live in has its own system of power. This includes the authority of men like Pilate. They assume that they are in charge within their sphere of influence. What does Pilate believe about the origin of his own authority? He might suppose that it comes from Rome, from the emperor. But where did the emperor get his authority? That is a harder question.
We often assume that rulers win their authority by their power. The emperor won, so he got to be in charge. That answer sounds self-evident, but it begs another question. How does one man win and another man lose? One becomes supreme ruler, and the other is put to death. How does that happen? At that point we might think about military advantage, charismatic leadership, societal circumstances, the list goes on... But where did all these things come from. Eventually we run out of answers, and we just settle on something like this: “That's just the way that it is.”
Jesus has a different answer. If Pilate has authority as a civil ruler, it is because it was given to him from above. There is Someone who rules over all. He is the only Being who just is. That is the point of His Name, Jehovah, or Yahweh, often simply translated by the word “Lord.” It means “I AM.” “I am who I am, I have been who I have been, I will be who I will be.” “I AM.” It is this Name that our Lord owned in front of His enemies when He said, before Abraham was, I AM, and they took up stones to stone Him.
The Husband of the church who calls us to love our wives with the love of the cross, the Lord who calls us all to love like He loves, is the I AM. When we hear the command to keep on loving even when it is so costly, even when you are being made to look ridiculous, even when the one you are trying to love shows you such disrespect, we could reasonably ask some questions.
By what authority do you give us such a hard command? The answer: “It came from above.”
Then we ask a very important follow-up question: “Where am I ever going to find the depth of heart necessary to keep on loving when I am being treated so badly by the one I am trying to love. You know the answer already, don't you? It is a very good answer. Where does my help come from to love like Jesus loves? “It comes from above.” Heaven and heaven's God is not only the source of all authority, with kings and kingdom rising and falling by His decree. Heaven and heaven's God is the source of every good gift. Ask God to help you to love like Jesus loves. That kind of love comes from above.
Jesus had a half-brother named James who wrote the book of the Bible that bears his name. James said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” All authority is from above. All true love is from above. Jesus Himself is the Person, the Husband, and King who came from above. He can help you now in your calling to live out His love.
We often assume that rulers win their authority by their power. The emperor won, so he got to be in charge. That answer sounds self-evident, but it begs another question. How does one man win and another man lose? One becomes supreme ruler, and the other is put to death. How does that happen? At that point we might think about military advantage, charismatic leadership, societal circumstances, the list goes on... But where did all these things come from. Eventually we run out of answers, and we just settle on something like this: “That's just the way that it is.”
Jesus has a different answer. If Pilate has authority as a civil ruler, it is because it was given to him from above. There is Someone who rules over all. He is the only Being who just is. That is the point of His Name, Jehovah, or Yahweh, often simply translated by the word “Lord.” It means “I AM.” “I am who I am, I have been who I have been, I will be who I will be.” “I AM.” It is this Name that our Lord owned in front of His enemies when He said, before Abraham was, I AM, and they took up stones to stone Him.
The Husband of the church who calls us to love our wives with the love of the cross, the Lord who calls us all to love like He loves, is the I AM. When we hear the command to keep on loving even when it is so costly, even when you are being made to look ridiculous, even when the one you are trying to love shows you such disrespect, we could reasonably ask some questions.
By what authority do you give us such a hard command? The answer: “It came from above.”
Then we ask a very important follow-up question: “Where am I ever going to find the depth of heart necessary to keep on loving when I am being treated so badly by the one I am trying to love. You know the answer already, don't you? It is a very good answer. Where does my help come from to love like Jesus loves? “It comes from above.” Heaven and heaven's God is not only the source of all authority, with kings and kingdom rising and falling by His decree. Heaven and heaven's God is the source of every good gift. Ask God to help you to love like Jesus loves. That kind of love comes from above.
Jesus had a half-brother named James who wrote the book of the Bible that bears his name. James said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” All authority is from above. All true love is from above. Jesus Himself is the Person, the Husband, and King who came from above. He can help you now in your calling to live out His love.
1. Where is Jesus from? Where is He going? How will He get there?
2. What is Pilate's understanding of his own authority?
3. What is Jesus' understanding of the authority of rulers?
4. Who is the one who delivered Jesus over to Pilate?
2. What is Pilate's understanding of his own authority?
3. What is Jesus' understanding of the authority of rulers?
4. Who is the one who delivered Jesus over to Pilate?
posted by Pastor Magee at 4:01 AM
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