The Apostle Paul exhorted his fellow pastor Timothy to keep the good confession that Jesus made when he testified before Pontius Pilate. Are you prepared, like Timothy, to take such an unequivocal stand for Christ? Today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg walks us through the events of that decisive day in history. I'd like to have you look in John 18, but I would like you, if you would, first of all, to turn with me to First Timothy chapter six. We are at the moment camped in this section that begins with the eleventh verse of First Timothy six, where Paul gives a charge to this young man, designating him man of God.
And in doing so, reminding him of his identity in Christ and of the responsibility that falls to him, he has already encouraged him to make sure that he is fleeing from all of the nonsense that characterizes the false teachers, whom he has addressed on a number of occasions throughout his letter. He wants him to pursue righteousness and godliness. He wants him to be fighting the good fight of faith. He wants him to remember that he has been taken hold of, and that he himself is to seize that which in eternal life is his immediate possession, and also is his ultimate prize. And he reminds him of the fact that he had made Timothy—that is, a good confession—in the presence of many witnesses, and this is where we left off last time.
With the question in our minds, is Paul referring here to the matter of Timothy's ordination, or is he referring to the matter of his baptism, or perhaps to neither? And we said that the historical incident. Was obviously not delineated for us, and therefore we shouldn't be dogmatic. But what we can be absolutely clear about is that Timothy had taken a stand, an unequivocal stand, for the Lord Jesus Christ. He was by nature a timid individual.
Paul has to exhort him when he starts to write his second letter. God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and of love and of self-control. He was a diffident kind of character. When he went amongst the Corinthians, Paul writes to the Corinthians and says, "When Timothy comes, make sure you put him at his ease." And this diffident, young, fledgling pastor, as it was, had taken a solid stand and had made a good confession of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in the thirteenth verse, Paul goes on to dramatize, as it were, this charge that he gives to him even further, and he says, "In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who, while testifying before Pontius Pilate, made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command." Now I've found it difficult to hurry through these verses because they are so packed with material, and I'm not sure, but that we need to back up even a phrase or two beyond where we have gone this evening and deal with the matter of God giving life to everything.
But there is there is a whole series of study within this little charge that is given to Timothy. And I determined that we would go from the point of reference here concerning Pontius Pilate to one of the gospel records that provide for us the very thing to which Paul is referring, as he calls Timothy to make sure that he keeps this good confession without spot and without blame. And so it is from First Timothy six that we find ourselves in John chapter eighteen. And what I want to do in the time that is available to us is to look with you for a moment or two about how the Lord Jesus made this good confession before Pontius Pilate. And the section begins with with verse twenty eight of this eighteenth chapter.
There is much that we might tackle here. I want you to notice. The dramatic contrast between the Jews not wanting to enter the palace to avoid ceremonial uncleanness, and what they had already been involved in, which was a travesty of justice. You see, their great concern always was for the externos. the The reason that Pilate has to come out to them is because they couldn't go in to him.
If they went into him, they would make themselves ceremonially unclean, and it was already the morning hour, and they wanted to be able to take the Passover. They were legitimately keeping the letter of the law. We certainly can't fault them for that. But what we can fault them for is the worst form of hypocrisy, because Matthew records for us in Matthew chapter twenty-six and verse. 65 and following, that the high priest tore his clothes and said of Jesus, He has spoken blasphemy.
Why do we need any more witnesses? Look now, you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? He is worthy of death. They answered.
Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. Other slapped him and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit you?" These same characters cannot go into Pilate because they'll make themselves ceremonially unclean. Big deal. Do you see what a snare religious formalism is?
Whereby we meticulously observe all kinds of rules and regulations, many of which we have mustered up by our own creation, and yet our hearts may be full of the worst form of wickedness. And Pilate legitimately says to them in verse twenty-nine, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" They have no answer except vagueness. They try and bluster, Pilate. If he were not a criminal, we wouldn't have handed him over to you. Pilate plays tit for tat.
He says, "Well, take him yourselves and judge him by your own law," because he knows they're stuck. He knows that they have the right to designate death, but they do not have the power to institute it without the sanction of the Roman authorities.
So he says, "What's the charge?" They said, "If he wasn't a criminal, we wouldn't have brought him." He said, "Well, fine, go try him by yourselves, but they can't do that. We've no right to execute anyone." The Jews objected. Was it a trial they wanted, or an execution? It was an execution. The trial was a mockery from the beginning.
It was fraudulent. No one was interested in ascertaining the truth about Jesus of Nazareth. They had already seen enough. They had heard enough. He was going to be put to death one way or another.
And then you have in verse thirty-two this wonderful, amazing truth that the cruelty of man, in the exercise of their own volition, doing what they decided to do by their own willful, sinful, unbelieving hearts, were actually fulfilling the very prophecies that God had given concerning the death of His Son. And so then, after this little encounter, Pilate goes back inside the palace, and he summons Jesus, and he begins his investigation.
Now, let me just say a word about the position of Pilate. It is important that in the creeds we say the phrase, and I know we do so very rarely here. That is not an omission of which we ought to be proud. But when we say the words of the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed, we declare our belief in God the Father, the Creator of the ends of the earth, and in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And part of what we say of Jesus is that He suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Why do we say that? It is an expression of the historicity. Of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, it is a reminder to us at every point along the journey of life that the Jesus whom we have come to know as Savior, Lord, and Master is not a Jesus who is a fictitious figure. Who is a figment of the imagination? But he was a real man at a real point in time, and the time of his walking upon the earth has been chronicled by secular historians who have identified at the same time the existence of this man, Pontius Pilate.
Secular history records that Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea and Samaria from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36. In 1961, archaeologists and an expedition in Caesarea uncovered a stone slab which bore Pontius Pilate's name, and as governor. His official headquarters were in Caesarea, as we might expect.
Caesarea is a beautiful place if you've ever been there on the Mediterranean Sea, and that was where his main operation was. But he had a detachment of troops. His army was on garrison duty in Jerusalem, and he himself was overseeing the operation in Jerusalem. And so it is on account of his position that the Sanhedrin comes to him with the power to condemn a man to death, but requiring the sanction of the Roman authorities. And that explains why it is that they are before Pilate in this way.
So that's his position. He was a Roman governor between A.D. 26 and 36, and historically verifiable truth. What of his personality?
Well, let me just say a number of things, and I'm not going to turn to all the scripture references. If you take notes, you might want to note them so that you can check and see whether what I'm saying about his personality is actually underpinned by the verse to which I'm tying it. But when we put together an identikit picture of Pontius Pilate, first of all, we notice that he was a proud man. He was proud. He was proud of his position, and he didn't mind anyone knowing.
That's there in the tenth verse of chapter nineteen. Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you? Saying to Jesus, "Don't you know who I am? I'm a very powerful person." He says to Jesus. John is masterful in in the way he he introduces irony all the way through his gospel.
I mean, can you imagine the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, standing before this pompous clown and the clown system? Don't you know who I am? Don't you realize that I have the power to crucify you or to set you free? Can you imagine the restraint of Jesus? Amazing restraint!
If he could have called legions of angels in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could have snuffed this joker out in an instant with with his breath. When he stepped forward at the arrest, the soldiers fell to the ground. He was proud. He was cruel. Luke chapter thirteen and verse one.
He mixed the blood of some people in with sacrificial elements. He was shrewd. Matthew twenty-seven verse eighteen. He was self-seeking. Mark fifteen fifteen.
He was superstitious, Matthew twenty seven nineteen, and he was attempting the impossible, Matthew twenty seven twenty four, in so far as he thought that neutrality was an option.
Now, if my purpose was to deal with Pilate as an individual, I would stay on those issues. But since it isn't, I simply give them to you in passing. He is a fascinating study in character and human personality.
Some of you who are doing humanities at university or doing psychology or Anything along those lines, and are given somebody to research, you would do no better than to turn to the information that we have on Pontius Pilate. There's a good few pages on him.
Now the issue is the confession that Jesus is making before this individual, and so notice that in verse 33 he begins to examine the Lord Jesus Christ. He summons Jesus and he says to him, "You." You are the king of the Jews. You're the king of the Jews.
Now, the reason I put it that way, and I'm surprised that English versions don't, is because in the Greek, he leads with the personal pronoun. He doesn't ask, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He says, "You." And there's almost the sense in which it's incredulity or cynicism or whatever it is, where he finally gets this character before him, and he says, "You. You're the king of the Jews." You see, Pilate was so consumed with his position, he found himself, at least in his own mind, to be in a position of power, of majesty. And he brings before him this character, who, with some thought of kingship, is the absolute opposite. From what he'd heard, he might have expected that Jesus would be a dramatic character.
That he would have a belligerent tone about him; that he would have a look on his face, you know, with a turned-up lip and a sort of Shagavara boldness about him, or that he would be marked by pomp and circumstance; that he would have an entourage, and that there would be every indication of his greatness and his majesty. But he comes in, and he looks at this figure. And he says, "You are the king of the Jews." See, powerful people are usually impressed only by being introduced to other powerful people. That's why not many powerful people come to love and follow Jesus Christ. Rich people like Being in the company of other rich people—that's one of the reasons that not many rich people find themselves in the company of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The world looks for someone who will come from a palace, perhaps from a university, if you like. From a position maybe of military might or revolutionary influence, but this character from a workbench in a carpenter's shop in Nazareth, this nondescript-looking individual—excuse me—you, you're the king of the Jews. Jesus says, "Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?" It's a lovely response. It's intriguing. It takes the wind out of his sails a little bit.
It would appear simply that Jesus is seeking to determine exactly what it is he's dealing with. If Pilate had come up with a question on his own, then he would essentially be asking this question: Are you a political king conspiring against Caesar? The answer to that it would have been absolutely not. No, I am not. But if he had come up with the question as a result of the influence of the Sanhedrin, the things that they had been saying, then his question would have been, "Are you the Messianic King of Israel?" And the answer to that was clearly yes.
So it was important then for Jesus to turn the tables on him and say, "Well, you want to know if I'm the king? Exactly, what do you have in mind? Is this your own idea, or is it a question someone else put you up to? Are you asking me, 'Am I here to overthrow the Romans and be some earthly political king?' The answer that's flat out no. If you're asking me, 'Am I the Messianic King of Israel?' The answer to that is going to be yes.
Now, in verse thirty-five. It is with a measure of disdain, it would seem, and almost contempt, that Pilate, with his feathers ruffled, says, "Am I a Jew?" You see, they're now interacting with one another. It doesn't seem to be going very well. Do you think? Are you the king of the Jews?
We answer a question with a question. Is that your idea, or did others talk to you about me? We now we answer two more questions with another question. Am I a Jew?
So far, we're not really gaining on the issue. Am I a Jew?
Pilate replied. He's so sick and tired of this already. He already tried to get out of it in the first place when he went out to the Jews who were there, and he said, "Why don't you just take this character away? It seems to be your problem. I, for the life of me, can't work out just what it is you are on about." Now he has Christ before him, and he's trying to make headway, and he's finding that he's up against the same issue.
It was your people, your chief priests, who handed you over to me, and then he asks the question, "What is?" Is it you have done? What did you do, Jesus? How did you get yourself in this position? Because remember, his wife had been telling him things about Jesus. He was alert to what was going on in the city.
He had moved around. He'd had the comments of the soldiers. He had friends in the community. They would have told him different things. And as he's putting all this information together in his mind, and now as he has this character in front of him, he says, "Then what is it that you've done?" The reason that he's asking is Pilate has been granted the responsibility—a responsibility that he doesn't want—to decide whether what it is that has been done breaks the Roman law and therefore demands that he pass judgment.
And then in verse thirty-six, Jesus volunteers this information. First of all, he makes it clear that any attempt to understand who he is and what his kingdom is all about, in political or territorial terms, is bound to end in failure, and that is the significance of the sentence: "My kingdom is not of this world." And my purpose is not to deal with that phrase this evening. I mentioned it on Friday evening in passing as well. It demands serious attention in our day, because a misunderstanding of that essential sentence has led the church for the last twenty years in this country up an amazing number of side streets. If we would just understand what Jesus is saying here, we would get about the business of the kingdom, which is not political, which is not national, which is not territorial.
When you think of the kingdom, think first of the rule of Christ. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, His rule and His reign, as it comes on a life and as it comes to emerge from that life. It's better to think in terms of his rule rather than a realm. He says, "My kingdom doesn't take its origin from the world, and its primary concern is the spiritual transformation that is brought about in the hearts of individuals." If it were other than this, says Jesus, then my servants would have been marshaled as troops, and we would have fought to prevent arrest from the Jews. But now he says, "My kingdom is from another place." His kingship is operative.
He's going to go on and say, "In the hearts and lives of all who listen to the truth, we'll come to that in verse thirty-seven." The emphasis by Jesus, the apostolic emphasis throughout all of the New Testament, is spiritual and not political dominion.
So then, Pilate says in verse thirty-seven, "Well, I take it that what you're saying is that you are a king, then." And Jesus answers, "You are right in saying, 'I am a king.' My kingship is not the result of revolt. I'm not a king by succession. I was born to be a king. In fact, for this reason, I was born." He was born. He was human.
Human. He was a real person. He was not a specter or a ghost. He was not an ethereal figure. He had flesh and blood and hands and feet and toes and knew what it was to be thirsty, tired, lonely, disappointed.
And in this little phrase, and don't miss little phrases like this. We have the reinforcement of essential truth concerning who Jesus is. For this reason, he said, "I was born." And then, interestingly, he says, "And for this reason, I came into the world." Isn't that an interesting juxtaposition of phraseology? Why would you say, "For this reason, I was born," and then, "For this reason, I came into the world"? Is that tautology?
Is he just saying one thing twice? No. In saying I was born, he is declaring his humanity. In saying I have come into the world, he is declaring his divinity. We're listening to Aleister beg on Truth for Life with a message titled "The Good Confession," and we'll hear the conclusion on Monday.
I hope you are benefiting from the Apostle Paul's helpful warnings and exhortations in this study in First Timothy. In fact, if you have missed any of the messages from this series, you can catch up online at TruthForLife.org. We're currently in First Timothy, Volume Two, but you can watch or listen to Alister teach through the entire epistle from the very beginning. Or if you'd prefer, you can purchase a USB with Alister's teaching through both letters to Timothy. The USB pops into your car's USB port, so you can enjoy listening on your daily commute to work or school, or on your next road trip.
And the USB is available for purchase at our cost of just five dollars. Look for it in our online store at truthforlife.org/store. And if you'd really like to see the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys come to life. Join Alister next August for the Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. Visit Deeper Faith Cruise dot com to find out more.
I'm Bob Lapine. Hope you enjoy your weekend and have the opportunity to worship with your local church and think about this through the weekend. Do you know someone who is waiting until he's ready to come to Christ? On Monday, we'll learn why that's a dangerous tactic. The Bible teaching of Aleister Beg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.
