John 19

“The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar’” (v15).  The religious leaders did not reject Jesus as Messiah because they doubted whether his life matched Old Testament prophecies.  John points out that they rejected Jesus’ teachings and spiritual authority because they preferred earthly powers – Caesar, wealth, personal status. They urged Pilate to condemn Jesus because “everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar” (v12). They knew that to accept Jesus as King meant overturning their whole world.

“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (v19). Our human nature, in love with earthly power, resists accepting the rule of the crucified King.  Yet Jesus invites us to die to ourselves and find life in Him.