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That's connectwithskip.com. Now let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Punches Pilate is famous because of what you and I are reading.
In history, he is one of the most infamous characters. There was a group of Sunday school kids, and the teacher asked the kids to draw a rendition of the Christmas story. Most kids drew shepherds and angels in the major scene, the wise men, the camels, etc.
One boy decided to draw something different for his picture of the Christmas scene. It was an airplane with four people in it. The teacher stopped and said, I don't get this. And the boy looked up like, duh, and said, this is the flight into Egypt. Okay, if you're laughing, it's because you know in your Bible, the little subheading says that when Jesus and Mary and Joseph had to flee from Herod's wrath, they went to Egypt. The flight into Egypt. So he drew an airplane, the flight into Egypt. The teacher said, oh, okay, I get it, but why are there four people? I get Joseph and Jesus and Mary, who's the fourth? And the guy looked up again, the kid said, like, that's Punches, the pilot. Okay, it's a kid. Truth be told, we don't know a whole lot more about Punches Pilate than that kid thought he knew.
We just know a few things. There's just a sketchy bit of information about him, and I've tried to amass as much as I can to give you a little snapshot of this guy, Punches Pilate. Punches Pilate was the fifth Roman governor of the province of Judea, appointed by Caesar Tiberius in 26 AD.
He reigned for 10 years as the governor of Judea. But get this, Punches Pilate was not Roman. That is, he wasn't born in Rome.
He was born in Seville, Spain. Later on, he joined the Roman army, the legions of Rome. And he got this job because he married strategically into the family. His wife was Claudia Procula, the granddaughter of Caesar Augustus in Rome. So he got the job because he married the boss's granddaughter.
He is placed in this position. Biblical passages as well as extra biblical history paint him as a very prideful, arrogant, conceited, cynical kind of a man. And some of that is seen here. It's played out in the text.
You can see yourself. Okay, now, all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all record that the very first question that Pilate asked Jesus was this. Are you the king of the Jews? But all four gospels also have, the way it's worded in the original Greek of all four, the word you as being emphatic in the sentence. So here's the correct translation.
This is how it should be stated. Jesus is wrought before Pilate, Pilate comes in, looks at him and says, You? Are you the king of the Jews? That's how it's written in the original.
As if I'm in shock. You're the threat to imperial Rome? Here is Pilate with all of the authority of Rome behind him. Here is Jesus in peasant clothes, stained from the blood, sweat that he sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane, the great drops of blood, had no sleep that night, been pummeled probably in Caiaphas' praetorium before he got here.
You? Are you the king of the Jews? Now, the Jewish people had their idea of a kingdom, right? An immediate outward political messianic kingdom. Pilate, Pontius Pilate, also had his own ideas of a kingdom. And that is Rome is the kingdom. And Caesar is the king.
And this is a Roman rule enacted by force. So I'm looking at you, you're no threat to me. You? Are you the king of the Jews? Notice verse 34, Jesus answered him, Are you speaking for yourself about this or did others tell you this concerning me?
I love this. Jesus doesn't answer his question. Jesus doesn't say, Well, yes, I am the king.
Because immediately Pilate would have thought, Well, he's an insurrectionist, maybe we do have a case here. If Jesus would have said, Well, no, I'm not a king, then he would be denying the truth about himself. So he didn't even answer the question.
Now, my mom always told me never answer a question with a question. But this is Jesus, he can do whatever he wants. You know why he does this? Because this is an illegal question that Pilate asked him. I mentioned a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago now, that in court cases back then as in now, you could never privately ask the defendant about his case. You had to have witnesses in the room. This is the precursor to the Fifth Amendment.
You can't self incriminate. So he asked him a question, Jesus didn't answer the question. It's an illegal question. What he does is turn the tables on Pontius Pilate, as if going after Pilate's heart. Let me ask you a question, Pilate. Are you asking me this because you're the Roman procurator? Are you asking me this because you've heard rumors about who I am?
Or could it be that you yourself are interested in this possible relationship? And notice Pilate immediately says, Am I a Jew? Like you're accused of being the king of the Jews. I'm a Roman.
I'm above this. Your own people brought you here. But here is Jesus going after his heart. Verse 35, he says, Your own chief priests have delivered you to me.
What have you done? Jesus, notice how he answers that question. My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be delivered to the Jews.
But now my kingdom is not from here. Did you know that one of Jesus' favorite subjects to talk about was the kingdom? Did you know, for example, the Gospel of Matthew records the phrase, the kingdom of God, four times? Mark records it 14 times. Luke records Jesus saying it 32 times.
John records it twice. That's just the phrase, the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven in Matthew is used another 33 times. Jesus taught us to pray when you pray, say, thy kingdom come. And then after Jesus rose from the dead, it said he spent 40 days with his disciples speaking about things pertaining to the kingdom. The kingdom.
It's like he said. Now, let's get back to that kingdom thing I was talking about. He'd always bring in the kingdom.
He's talking here about the kingdom even to Pontius Pilate. Now, what kind of a king is he? Is he a political king? Is he a military king? Is he a king who enforces his rule? No, he's not.
Not yet, at least. He's not that kind of a king. He's a spiritual king right now, but he will be an eventual world-dominating king.
Did you know that? He will come the second time and become the king of kings and lord of lords. In Revelation 11, peering into the future, when the angel sounds the seventh trumpet, all of heaven breaks out in an anthem. This is what they sing. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.
That is coming. Until then, he says, my kingdom doesn't come from this world. That's what the Greek is, ek, out of this world. It doesn't have its authority base here, like every other kingdom has. My kingdom is from another realm. My kingdom is not of this world. Now, Pilate is in a quandary here, because if Jesus would have just said, yep, I'm a king, I'm an earthly king, it would have been easy for Pilate.
Kill him, execute him. But Jesus says, well, I'm a king, but I'm not a king like that, I'm a spiritual king. Pilate's thinking, what do I do with a spiritual king? It puts him in a quandary.
How is he going to adjudicate this case? To make matters worse, you may recall, Matthew 27 tells us that Pilate's wife, Claudia Procula, warned Pilate as he was going into the courtroom, he said, have nothing to do with this righteous man. I've suffered many things about him in a dream last night. So he's got his wife saying, hey, Pilate, Mr. Wonderful, don't do anything with this man.
Don't even touch this case. And now he's dealing with the case, and Jesus says, well, I'm a king, but I'm a spiritual king. My kingdom is not of this world. Verse 37, Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king.
Now he's candidly admitting, yep, I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, what is truth?
Can you hear the cynicism dripping from his words? You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, Weekend Edition. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, in his book Is God Real?, Lee Strobel, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Case for Christ, provides a rational exploration of the proof of God's existence and the basis of our eternal hope. Writing to skeptics and believers alike, Strobel turns his critical mind and expert interviewing skills to perennial questions like, how do we know which God is real? And if God is real, why does he seem so hidden? Is God Real?, along with two messages preached by Lee Strobel at Calvary Church, are our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer, or call 800-922-1888 and request your resources when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip.
When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him at all. Pause for a moment. Tevo this scene, if you will. Over here you've got Pontius Pilate, the emissary of Rome. Over here you've got Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You've got two people facing off. What a contrast between both of them. One an earthly ruler, one a heavenly ruler. One would do anything for power, glory, and honor. The other would give up glory, power, and honor and come to this earth as a servant.
One would live only for the material, what he can see, feel, touch, have. The other one says, I don't care about this. I'm from another realm, and I'm dealing with different things. One is wearing the robes of Rome.
One is wearing the peasant dress of a Galilean. But who's in control of this judgment scene? Pilate?
Pilate's on trial. Jesus is turning the tables. It is Jesus who is clearly in control.
In fact, he's managing his own death, John said. All of this was done that it might be fulfilled. What kind of death he would die, Jesus had predicted.
If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. Jewish execution, as I said, was stoning. That's where a person was bowed down to the earth. Jesus said, oh no, the prophets predicted I'll be lifted up and crucified. And so God in heaven arranges Rome and Pilate and the Sanhedrin so that that all can be fulfilled. Jesus is clearly in charge, and Pilate is clearly on trial. And I think he's feeling very uneasy as he's face to face with Jesus Christ.
Now look in verse 37, that last little phrase, that last little sentence. Jesus said, everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. I believe that's an invitation now to Pilate. There is such a thing as truth, Pilate, and I've come to bear witness to that truth, and everyone who listens to me, and if they're interested in the truth, they're going to listen to my voice. As if to say, Mr.
Governor, you can know truth, man. My sheep hear my voice, they listen to me, they follow me, Jesus said. Now in a few words, he says that to Pilate. Pilate disgusted, says, what is truth?
And he storms out. Now, you and I, Christians, we were taught to pray something by Jesus. When you pray, say, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He taught us to pray that, your kingdom come. I don't think that necessarily means that we're to pray that his kingdom will eventually come, that eventually Jesus will return and set up his kingdom, and we're praying for that, because whether you pray for that or not, it's coming.
I think on a more personal level, it's saying, Lord, God, reign over me, rule over me. May your kingship, your authority, your kingdom come over this life. I surrender voluntarily. You don't have to push a button. I'm not a Mr. Wonderful doll. I voluntarily allow you to rule and reign over my life, and may your will be done in me, in this part of earth as it is in heaven.
That's what I think it's saying. You see, every one of us has a throne in our heart. Who's sitting on your throne? Is God, is Jesus controlling your life? Is his kingdom come over you, or are you still sitting in that? Throne of authority to your agenda.
My parents used to watch a TV show, so I grew up watching The Honeymooners. Remember that old black, how many of you, show of hands, honestly, okay, you know what that is. Ralph Cramden, played by Jackie Gleason, would say, I think probably every episode, he'd say to his wife, Alice, I'm king of the castle. He loved that phrase. I'm in charge. A lot of us would say to God, I'm king of the castle. I'm in charge. Well, if you're a true believer, there's been a kingdom shift, where it's not about you and your authority and your agenda and your whatever, it's I'm off the throne, you're sitting on the throne, your kingdom has come. You rule and reign over me.
Let's finish this out. Look at the last two verses. This is now the kingdom disbelieved.
Pilate said, verse 38, what is truth? When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, that is the problem, I'll show you why, and he said to them, I find no fault in him. But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the king of the Jews? And he thought they would say, yes, release him. He was surprised. They all cried out again saying, not this man, but Barabbas.
Now Barabbas was a robber. As soon as Jesus spoke about truth, Pilate, like a true politician, said, what is truth? Because politicians live in the sliding scale of spin. When Pilate said, what is truth? He echoed what so many people say even today. What is truth? As if to say, no one can ever know absolute truth. It's impossible. There's no such thing as objective absolute truth. It all depends on your own personal experience.
It's all relative. He asked the question, what is truth? But then he left the room. He went out again to the Jews, said, I find no fault in this man. If he only would have asked it with sincerity and waited for an answer, hey, Jesus, tell me, what is truth?
I believe Jesus would have told them what he had said on other occasions. I am the way, the truth, and the life. You will know the truth, and the truth can set you free.
He asked the question. He stormed out of the room as if to say, there's no way I will ever know the answer to that question, what is truth, because there is no answer. I meet people who often talk about truth, and they try to feign some kind of an interest in truth. Oh, yes, I'm really interested in finding the truth. And they talk about an interest in knowing the truth philosophically, epistemologically.
That's sort of their general facade. But I probe a little bit deeper, and I find that I'm dealing with a person who is predetermined that there is no such thing as absolute truth. I had a person get right in my grill and say, there's no such thing as absolute truth. And I smiled and said, you were telling me that so absolutely.
See, it's a self-canceling statement, the way you just worded it. You just gave me an absolute. Jesus is absolute truth. Pilate thought it couldn't be found, so he dismisses the case, and in effect, he dismisses Jesus from out of his life.
The kingdom is disbelieved. Now, a word about Barabbas. According to one of the early church fathers, Origen, and if you've done any reading in church history, you've heard that name.
Origen said the full name of Barabbas, get this, was Jesus Barabbas, which means Jesus, son of a father, Bar Abba, son of a father. And so the choice was, which one do you want? Do you want Jesus, son of a father, or do you want Jesus, son of the father? And Origen said, that is always the human choice between the two kingdoms, the human kingdom or God's kingdom. And he said, most people always want the human kingdom. Give me Barabbas, son of a father.
Just give me the human solution, the human thing. I don't want God ruling over my life. God doesn't want dolls that he can just push a button and go, I love you, God.
I praise you, Lord. He wants real people exercising their freedom of will, saying, Lord, I want your kingdom to come and your will to be done, and I surrender. Speaking of reality, here's a real little boy who wrote his understanding of the Bible. He had some facts right and some facts wrong, but he really wrote this. After the Old Testament came the New Testament.
That's accurate. Jesus is the star of the new. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. And then he said, I wish I'd been born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, close the door, were you born in a barn?
And it would be nice to say, as a matter of fact, I was. During his life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners, like the Pharisees and the Democrats. This is a little boy. Give him a break. Jesus also had 12 opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil they named a terrible vegetable after him. But Jesus, he was a great man.
He healed many leopards. And he even preached to some Germans on the mount. But all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus.
He just washed his hands instead. Anyways, Jesus died for our sins. And then he came back to life again. And he went up to heaven. But he will be back for the aluminum.
He meant the millennium. His return is foretold in the book of revolution. Okay, he got a few things wrong.
But he got a few things right. Jesus is coming back. He is bringing a kingdom. But we can submit now. Not later, now, voluntarily to that kingship.
Because here's the deal. Jesus came first to conquer sin and deal with that. And then later to conquer the world and rule and reign in a kingdom with us.
The question is, will you let him rule? Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been encouraged in your walk with Christ by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will help you confidently respond to questions and challenges to God's existence.
It's Lee Strobel's book, Is God Real?, and two messages he preached on the topic at Calvary Church. Request your resources when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. And did you know that you can get a weekly devotional and other resources from Pastor Skip sent right to your email inbox?
Simply visit connectwithskip.com and sign up for emails from Skip. We'll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig weekend edition. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast your burdens on his word, make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.
