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John 18 - Devotion · The Five Minute Bible Podcast

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  Welcome to Five Minute Bible in our journey through the New
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  Testament. In each episode, we take just a
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  few minutes to focus on one chapter of the New Testament,
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  exploring the truths God is teaching us through His Word and
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  expanding our view of who He is. Before you listen, make sure
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  you've gone straight to the source, either by reading
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  today's chapter of the Bible yourself or listening to today's
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  read along episode in this podcast feed.
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  If you haven't done that yet, feel free to pause and do that
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  now. When you're ready, let's dive
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  into God's Word together. In John chapter 18, we read
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  about Jesus being betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
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  He's sold out by one of his own disciples, and then he's put on
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  trial, first before Anas, then Caiaphas the high priest, and
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  finally Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.
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  Jesus responses as he stands trial are remarkable at every
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  level, when he chose to remain silent, when he chose to speak,
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  and what he chose to say. Today, though, I want us to take
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  a look at how Jesus responds to Pilate when he asks him whether
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  or not he is the king of the Jews.
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  The charge brought against him that amounted essentially to
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  treason against the Romans. Listen to verses 33 through 36
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  of this chapter. Therefore, Pilate entered again
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  into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, Are you
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  the king of the Jews? Jesus answered.
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  Are you saying this on your own initiative or did others tell
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  you about me? Pilate answered, I'm not a Jew.
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  Am I your own nation and the chief priest delivered you to
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  me. What have you done?
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  Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world.
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  If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be
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  fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews.
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  But as it is, my Kingdom is not of this realm.
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  Jesus Kingdom is not of this world.
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  His Kingdom is not one that is a rival to Rome.
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  He is not attempting to overthrow a civil government.
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  No, Jesus Kingdom is a spiritual 11 whose rule is in the hearts
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  of those who would put their faith and hope and trust in him.
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  And Jesus offers proof that his Kingdom is different, that his
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  Kingdom is not of this physical world.
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  He says that if his Kingdom were of this world, then his
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  disciples, his servants, his students would have taken up
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  arms so that he would not be handed over to the authorities.
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  If the future of Jesus reign held at stake in whether or not
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  he took a physical throne in Jerusalem, then allowing him to
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  be arrested without a fight would be absolutely
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  unreasonable. And the fact is, one of his
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  disciples, Peter, tried to fight.
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  We were told earlier in this chapter that as Jesus is being
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  arrested, Peter pulls out his sword and starts swinging.
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  He actually cuts off the ear of one of the high priest slaves, a
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  man called Malchus. Not only does Jesus heal
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  Malchus, as we are told in Luke's account, but he instructs
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  Peter to put his sword away, saying in verse 11, Put the
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  sword into the sheath, the cup which the Father has given me,
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  shall I not drink it? You see, not only was Jesus not
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  threatened by his betrayal, arrest, and ultimately His
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  crucifixion because His Kingdom is not of this world.
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  In fact, His death and eventual resurrection were the very
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  events that would usher in His Kingdom.
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  They were not hindrances. They were necessary steps for
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  His Kingdom to come on earth. It is only through the blood of
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  Jesus, through his sacrificial death on the cross, that man can
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  be reconciled to God. It is only through Jesus
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  resurrection that we can have confidence that death has been
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  defeated and will be destroyed, that we will live forever in the
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  Kingdom of Jesus. And so Judas, Annis, Caiaphas,
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  Pilate, and all the rest may have thought they were putting a
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  stop to a rising Kingdom, but in reality, their wickedness took
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  place under the sovereign hand of God, who was doing something
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  far greater than building a physical Kingdom.
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  He was creating a people, a people who would live forever
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  with Him.