John 92 – Rejecting the Kingship of Christ
06/14/2026
Scripture 1: (Jn. 18:28-19:22 ESV)
Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.”
Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world– to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.
And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.
Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 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?”
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.”
From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
Sermon:
We have now examined the response of Pontius Pilate to Jesus; finding Him to be guiltless and innocent of any transgression against the laws of men (of Rome). Pilate also demonstrated that he feared men and the loss of his power, influence, and authority more than he was concerned with the principals of justice or fairness. But, then again, this was not unexpected since Pilate was a Roman citizen and a member of the equestrian class, while Jesus was merely a provincial peasant with no social standing nor possessed of any civil influence; Pilate had the “might”, while Jesus had no “right”.
Then we also considered the response of Rome, as mediated through the exercise (or abrogation of) Pilate’s authority (depending on your point of view); appointing, crowning, proclaiming, and feting Jesus as “King of the Jews”; as a sovereign ruler technically on par with the reigning Roman Emperor, Tiberius Caesar.
We also examined (in part) the response of the Jewish authorities, the ruling Temple administration, as they instigated the plot against Jesus, arrested Him during the night, falsely accused and tried Him illegally, unjustly condemned Him, before turning Christ over to the Romans as an alleged malefactor (John 18:30), expecting them to execute Him. But, their involvement and engagement did not end after Jesus left their custody and direct control. They remained influential and intimately involved with the whole process right through when the nails pierced Christ’s flesh.
Ordinarily, we would think that, after they had surrendered Jesus to the Roman authorities, the religious leaders would have left everything in their capably oppressive hands, but they did not. We would expect that the high priest and his fellow religious elites, would have left and been otherwise occupied with their obligation; with performing their priestly duties, as part of the whole Passover festival and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but they did not. Instead, they hung around outside of the Praetoreum waiting for Pilate’s verdict; waiting to discover what Jesus of Nazareth’s final disposition would be. They remained available to actively participate in this legal-political process.
So, after Pilate interogated and examined Jesus for himself, we see the first instance of their continuing enagagement, as Pilate “…went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” ”. The Jewish leaders now had an opportunity to repent of their actions. They had the chance to set things (almost) right concerning Jesus. Jesus still could have been released and the situation could have become a moment of, “No harm, no foul”. But, they responded to Pilate’s offer of freeing Jesus by asking him to release the worst possible alternative instead. Now, every Gospel writer describes Barabbas as a “bad guy”. He was a villain; a man whose moral character is the polar opposite of Jesus Christ’s. But, not only did the religious leadership choose for him to be released back into “polite society” instead of Jesus, the evangelist tells us that they asked for him, by name. Their hatred for Jesus and fear of Him was so great that not only were they willing to have a “murderer” and “insurrectionist” released in His stead; not only did they choose to prefer to have a man like Barabbas out and free on the streets, they demanded he be released.
The second instance happened after Jesus’s scourging, when Pilate brought Him out mockingly dressed as a king.; when “Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.””. Yet this time, in their response they not only demanded Jesus’s death: demanding that He be crucified; they also announced their justification saying, “…because he has made himself the Son of God.“. Again, this “allegation” (admittedly true) against Jesus is as interesting as it was effective because this offense was an intersection point between the Jewish religious law and the Roman civil law.
After the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Roman Senate immediately deified the murdered Julius and he began to be worshiped as a god[1]. His successor, Octavian, now called Augustus Caesar, assumed the title of “son of god” since he was Julius’ legally adopted son and heir. Then, after Augustus died Tiberius had him deified as well, likewise gaining the divine title “son of god”. This “Imperial Cult” shared common roots with the veneration of ancestors which was prevalent within Roman religion. However, despite the Emperor having the title of “son of god”, there was no actual ascribing of divinity to him, during this period.
Meanwhile, from the Jewish perspective, Jesus’ claim of divinity was blasphemy, plain and simple. Remember, the core Jewish creed was/is, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deut. 6:4 ESV); an absolute expression of monotheism. It was offensive and hostile to their system of religion to suggest that:
That God could/would become a man;
Or, that a man might/could become God;
Or, that God could/would have a Son;
Or, that there were two Gods (that one God was now, somehow, two).
Meanwhile, throughout His public ministry, Jesus made many statements that asserted His divinity. John, the evangelist, emphasized them through his record of Jesus’ “I AM” statements claiming certain divine attributes and characteristics. However, Jesus always stopped short of plainly and out right claiming the fact. He always stopped short enough that no one could justly accuse Him of blasphemy; short enough that His language could still be reasonably interpreted or explained as hyperbole, analogy, symbolic, or other “figures of speech” (John 16:25). Even still, Jesus walked the line close enough that the Jews tried to kill Him for it on different occasions (Luke 4:29; John 10:31). So,
Both the Romans and Jews would agree that a person claiming to be the “Son of God”/”son of god” was offensive and impossible to prove (or disprove).
Both the Romans and Jews would agree that a person claiming to be the “Son of God”/”son of god” was a treasonous transgression; either treason against Caesar or treason against the LORD God.
Both the Romans and Jews would agree that a person claiming to be the “Son of God”/”son of god” was a transgression that should be punishable by death.
Ironically, both the Romans and Jews were in an improbable state of agreement; agreeing about the offense, its severity, and its punishment. This intersection assured Jesus’ execution.
The third instance was in them prodding Pilate to execute Jesus and not release Him. They continually badgered him, telling Pilate, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”. Although Pilate believed that Jesus was innocent of any crime: that Jesus had no guilt of transgressing the law of Rome. Although he thought that Jesus was undeserving of punishment, especially death by crucifixion the accusation of claiming to be the “Son of God”, was enough to condemn Him because it was impossible to defend against. The loudest and most numerous voices would always win in this kind of “He Said” battle, and Jesus was a very lonely voice. It also did not help that Jesus did not even deny the charge (which, if He did, would technically be a violation of both the 3rd and 9th commandments because Jesus honestly, and actually, is the Son of God).
However, their verbal pressure was not the greatest reason for why Pilate gave in to their insistence. Nor was the implied threat of their riotous potential, even during the Passover festival. But John tells us why. It was because the Jews made it personal. They reminded Pilate:
“If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend.” because “Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.
They reminded Pilate of his personal involvement and this “unfortunate” choice of mockery. They reminded Pilate that he was personally responsible for “King Jesus”; that he would be held responsible for whatever Jesus might do afterwards. They reminded Pilate that he had just “made” a king. Even though he had not declared himself king, Pilate had just publicly declared Jesus to be a Baslieus equal to and opposite of the Roman Emperor. Therefore, Pilate had no choice but to ensure that Jesus died, otherwise his whole career (and possibly his life) would be at risk because of his accidental act of treason.
The fourth and final instance came during Pilate’s pronouncement of condemnation.
Pilate “… said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.”. Pilate had presented and offered to them “King Jesus”, but the Jews rejected Him. They rejected a man of their own people; a fellow Jew by birth, practice, and faith {unlike the Herodian’s who were Idumeans, Edomites by ancestry}. They demanded His death, instead.
Once again, Pilate defended “King Jesus”, and asked them to clarify; asking them, “Shall I crucify your King?”. But they: the “chief priests”, the religious elites, the men who were appointed and ordained to represent the people of God: men who possessed a covenantal responsibility to speak for Israel; answered Pilate, proclaiming “We have no king but Caesar.”. Despite being illegitimate high priests according to their religious polity, they were anointed for the LORD’s service (unlawfully) and they were accepted in their position by (most of) the Jewish people; therefore, they could speak for the Jewish people and they swore their allegiance. They swore Israel’s allegiance to Rome and to the Emperor.
Now, John specifically tells us that it was the “chief priests” who answered Pilate; that it was the “chief priests” who swore Jewish fealty to Caesar. This detail is very important because of what their responsibility and role actually was (what their job in Israel was), being God’s anointed priests.
When we discuss Jesus, we sometimes talk about His “three-fold office” or, about His three offices, as our Prophet, Priest, and King; His union of three distict roles. Every person in biblical history who exercised any one of these offices was a type of “christ” (Greek) or a “meshiach” (Hebrew). They were each anointed for the LORD’s service.
Prophets held the authority and responsibility to speak for the LORD to the people, to speak on God’s behalf; usually in the form of a “covenant lawsuit” charging Israel with violating the LORD’s commandments and covenant.
Kings held the authority and responsibility to act for the LORD and for (on behalf of) the people. He legislated. He judged. He engaged in wars of offense and defense. He also brought sacrifices.
Priests held the authority and responsibility to speak to the LORD for the people; to act for (on behalf of) the people before the LORD. Priests interceded for the people before the LORD. Priests offered sacrifices for the people to God. Priests performed the necessary work of atoning for the people’s sin, before the LORD. Priests spoke to God for the people. Meanwhile, the high priest (Hebrew: hakohen gadol) did all of these things for the whole people of God.
The high priest federally represented the whole body of Israel, including even the king, before the LORD, especially in regards to making of oaths and vows. John records that it was the “high priests” (likely meaning both Annas and Caiaphas, at minimum), who swore “We have no king but Caesar.”. Thus these priests swore, before the LORD (according to the role and responsibility of their office), Jewish allegiance to Caesar (and the Roman Empire, which he represented) to be their sovereign lord. This is important to note because, by doing so, they were committing treason since they were already sworn to THE Sovereign LORD. Swearing such allegiance to Rome was an act of willful rebellion.
This truly was an act of “cosmic treason” against the LORD God because they did it in the superlative. They rejected Jesus (the LORD) as their Sovereign King to the third degree. This rejection of Jesus as King, echoed their constitution as a people; their establishment as the unique, particularly chosen people of God. Their rejection of the LORD, Jesus Christ, essentially countermanded their constitution. They rescinded their agreement to the LORD’s covenant.
Consider Exodus, chapter 19. The descendants of Jacob had experienced and witnessed the LORD’s triumph over Egypt and her idols. The descendants of Jacob had passed through the waters of the Red Sea and watched Pharaoh’s horsemen and chariots disappear beneath the waves. The descendants of Jacob had eaten bread (manna) from heaven. The descendants of Jacob had tasted “bitter water” that became “sweet” and they drank water from the rock. Now, the descendants of Jacob had finally reached their initial destination, Mount Sinai.
We find written, “There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.‘ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.” (Exod. 19:2-8 ESV)
Thus the “elders of the people”, the federal (covenantal) representatives of Israel spoke on behalf of the whole body, and agreed to obediently keep the LORD’s covenant once. They gave their assent to His reign as their Sovereign Lord and King.
Then, chapters 20 through 23, contain Moses’ record of the LORD’s covenant; the written record of the law that would bind God’s chosen people to Him.
Next, we see in chapter 24, that after receiving the LORD’s covenant, God’s commandments, rules, and regulations, “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD.” (Exod. 24:3-4 ESV). However, this group of “people” which Moses spoke to, were again representatives, consisting of “Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel” (Exod. 24:1 ESV); consisting of those who would soon become God’s priests and those who would govern the tribes of Israel {the original Sanhedrin seventy}.
Thus the elders and the priests, together the federal (covenantal) representatives of Israel spoke on behalf of the whole body and twice agreed to obediently keep the LORD’s covenant; twice agreed to His reign as their Sovereign Lord and King.
Then, the next day, Moses “…rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”” (Exod. 24:4-8 ESV). Moses read the covenant to the whole people, not just their representatives, and everyone personally agreed to it this time.
Israel offered sacrifices and, following the common covenant make practices of the Ancient Near East (following the example of Abraham, from Genesis 15), they ratified the LORD’s covenant. They poured half the blood from the sacrifices onto the altar and they sprinkled the other half onto the people, identifying both covenant parties with sacrificial death. Moses read the covenant to the people, spoke God’s law to them on the LORD’s behalf, and they responded by giving their verbal assent.
Therefore, the whole people of Israel verbally and bloodily agreed to the terms of the LORD’s covenant. They agreed to all of His stipulations and conditions. They agreed to accept all of His described blessing for their obedience and His described sanction for their transgression.
Three times (thrice), all Israel agreed to keep the LORD’s covenant. They agreed to His reign as their Sovereign Lord and King.
But, some fifteen hundred years later, during the 1st Century, when Jesus Christ: the Son of God and God the Son; the Logos who is Theos and Andros; was presented to them as their king, they first responded by shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”. Then again, on a second time, “They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!“. Then finally, a third time, “The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.“.
Therefore, Israel rejected, refused, and repudiated the rightful kingship of Jesus Christ, three times.
The 1st Century Jews rejected the rightful Kingship of God, the Son, three times just as the Exodus generation of Israel had previously affirmed and ratified the Kingship of God, three times.
So, what does this tri-fold rejection mean? What does it mean for the Jewish people, then and now?
Plainly, by rejecting the proffered Jesus as their king, they also rejected the lordship of Christ and of God Almighty.
By rejecting the proffered Jesus as their king, they rejected Him as the earthly and temporal, federal representative of national/ethnic Israel and, in so doing, they also rejected Him as the spiritual, federal representative of Israel, God’s chosen people.
By rejecting Jesus Christ: the Son of God and God the Son; three times as their king, they rejected the LORD as their Sovereign King, three times.
A detail that is often overlooked or ignored whenever we read through the Exodus narrative, particularly the giving, receiving, and ratification of the Sinai/Mosaic covenant is the fact that when Israel was taken to be the LORD’s “treasured possession among all peoples” and became transformed into “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” through His divine covenant, their affirmation was not merely acceptance of having been chosen by God. They were also accepting the LORD, God Almighty as their King and Sovereign.
Remember, Moses was never Israel’s king. The judges never became Israel’s king. This fact was particularly proven in the LORD’s response to Samuel, when Israel demanded that he give them a king, “And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” (1 Sam. 8:7 ESV). King Saul was chosen by God to satisfy the people’s desire and he failed in his capacity as king, but King David was chosen by God, as Samuel explained, “The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people…” (1 Sam. 13:14 ESV). David was God’s chosen christ, the LORD’s regent on earth, for Israel.
But, when the Jewish leaders thrice rejected Jesus: God the Son and God’s chosen King; as their king, they thereby rejected the LORD’s covenant that had made the ethnos of Israel, or the nation of Israel, into His chosen people and He their Sovereign King. By their three-fold rejection of Christ:
they repudiated and rejected the Sinai covenant;
they rejected hope for any benefit through the works of the law, even the false hope of eternal life;
they rejected God’s promises for national Israel;
they rejected their hope of blessing for obedience to God’s Law; and,
they rejected ethnic Israel’s favored position in the LORD’s eyes.
But, the Good News is that their rejection of Jesus Christ as King, was not the end of the story of God’s people. Nor was their rejection of Jesus the end of the Elect’s hope. Their rejection did not change the fact that Jesus is God’s Son, God the Son, and that He is God’s Chosen Israel: the offspring of Abraham (Gen 17:7) and the woman’s seed (Gen 3:15); because God’s promises to Abraham still stood: God’s promise of His grace, given through faith; God’s promise of showing mercy upon whom He would show mercy (Exodus 33:19; Malachi 1:2; Romans 9:13).
This is yet another reason explaining why Paul always appealed to God’s covenant with Abraham as the foundation for our hope of salvation, rather than Moses.
This is another reason why we interpret the ceremonial law and the civil law of Israel as no longer being in effect for Christians.
Jesus satisfied the law’s requirement, fulfilling it on our behalf, because we never could;
While ultimately, the Jews have set the law aside, rejected, and abandoned it; although an argument could also be made that they had to do so out of necessity after the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans and after the historical, biblically Jewish state of Israel stopped existing after 140 AD (although modern Israel did declare itself to be a Jewish nation-state in 2018[2]).
Now, I need to clarify what this does and does not mean.
Even though the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, God the Son, as their King; He remains their King. They are just in rebellion against Him.
Even though the Jews repudiated and rejected the covenant that the LORD had made with them; they are still in covenant with God. They are in violation of that covenant. They have broken covenant but, nevertheless, it remains in effect (Galatians 3:15-18).
Even though the Jewish people rejected and denied their right to possess a favored status as the LORD’s “treasured possession among all peoples”; God still loves them. They still belong to God. They have stolen themselves away, falsely believing that they belong to themselves.
Through their rejection, the Jews disavowed their rightful inheritance from the LORD.
By rejecting Christ as their King, by rejecting the LORD as their rightful King (Isaiah 43:15) and by swearing allegiance to Caesar and Rome (John 19:15), the Jews aligned themselves with the kingdoms of the world against the Kingdom of God; they aligned themselves with the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) against the Sovereign ruler of all creation.
By rejecting the LORD as their true King, the Jews undid their distinctiveness from the world. They lost their “set apart-ness”. They reduced themselves to the status of being an ethnos just like every other ethnos of the Gentiles; still a particular, unique nation and people-group, but without anything else “special”.
They became a people like every other people; rebellious and disobedient to the LORD and His will for humanity.
They again became as they once were, as in the times before Moses; as in the time when the LORD called Abram/Abraham out from Ur of the Chaldeans.
But, despite all of their rejections, denials, and covenant transgressions throughout history the Jews could not change the fact that the LORD, the Holy Creator, is truly Sovereign and that they/we, as lowly creatures, are not. They could not change the fact that when the LORD decrees and declares something, it is and it shall not be changed (Romans 3:3). The LORD does not “change His mind” (Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6) and the LORD is faithful (Psalm 145:13; Isaiah 49:7).
Therefore, the LORD continues to be their King, just as He remains the true King of the world (which is in a state of rebellion), and Jesus Christ continues to keep and fulfill all of His promises because He is the LORD. Since the LORD is Sovereign and because they are His promises and, because it is His covenant, then He shall fulfill His promises in the way that He chooses to do so.
First, Jesus Christ: as the true, natural son of David (though both His mother, Mary, and through His adoption by His earthly father, Joseph; Matthew 1, Luke 3) and Israel’s federal representative as the true King; as the true, natural offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:16), through the child of “promise”; as the prophesied woman’s offspring (Genesis 3:15) who would crush the serpent’s head; is the absolute inheritor of all God’s promises.
Then Jesus gave His inheritance to all of His chosen people; to all those whom the LORD has united into Him; sharing everything with us.
What the Jews’ rejection of Jesus as King actually means is that salvation (redemption from our sin) is truly by God’s grace alone, through faith in God the Son (Jesus Christ) alone (Ephesians 2:8-10). It is God’s gift to us and not the consequence of any of our works or, any deserved-ness on our part. Salvation is only according to God’s Sovereign will and mercy alone (Exodus 33:19). Thus, Paul rightly tells us, “For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Rom. 10:11-13 ESV) and that “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal. 3:27-4:1 ESV); because, being united into Jesus Christ, ethnic division has no bearing upon a person’s salvation or how they stand in relation to God the Father because it is the LORD who has chosen His people, united us into Christ, and then gave us a heart to believe Him and to respond in faith and with love (Ephesians 1:3-14; John 6:39, 10:29, 13:18, 17:9).
What that really means for us, as Christians today, is that an ethnically Jewish person has, as regards salvation or receiving the LORD’s grace, no particular advantage or disadvantage over any other human person. God gives His grace to whomever He wills. However, the Church has always believed that God still has something in store for the particular Jewish ethnos (Romans 11:25-36, 15:7-12; Revelation 7:4-8); but, I will not make any specific claims about what that might be.
But also, and more importantly, the rejection of Jesus as King by the Jewish leaders should be a sobering reminder to us.
It should remind us of our own guiltiness for rejecting Christ as our King; a guilt that increases with every sin we commit, every transgression, every instance when we do not obey Him, and every moment when we do not love Him with our whole heart, mind, or strength.
It should remind us that each of us have been rebels, that we each are a rebel in regular need of repentance.
It should remind us that, no matter how good or how bad the circumstances of our lives seem to be, that in the eyes of God we are neither better or worse than anyone else.
It should remind us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and that our only hope for salvation, for justification, for redemption, and for forgiveness is in the gift of God’s grace and mercy given through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24).
This reminder should help us to refrain from comparing ourselves against other people; to preserve us from the depressions that come through our false sense of inadequacy and insufficiency and to preserve us from the narcissistic pride that comes from the sin of self righteousness and a false sense of personal superiority.
This should also be a constant reminder that Jesus Christ actually is our King: that He is God’s chosen and appointed King; whether or not we want Him to be. The LORD’s spiritual reign is neither a democracy nor a republic. It is an absolute monarchy: a theocracy, in fact; because our King is God and, God is our King. Jesus Christ is the true and only “benevolent dictator”. “Jesus reigns” and “Christ is Lord” are more than slogans. They are promises of hope for the faithful and they are promises of judgment and wrath against the wicked, the unrighteous, and the unbeliever. Truly, {the beginning of wisdom is to fear the LORD} [ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος κυρίου (Prov. 9:10 BGT)]; both to love, honor, and revere the LORD, as our heavenly Father and, to fear Him for His just judgment and the eternal condemnation of sin and wickedness that is certain to follow.
Finally, trust in the hopeful knowledge that even all of your many rejections of Jesus Christ as the Sovereign Lord of your life: all of your unfortunate public rejections, repudiations, or failures to rightly acknowledge Him when you know that you should as well as all the private rejections and denials, which you believe that you alone know about; may be and shall be forgiven, if you confess and earnestly repent of them, as John encourages us by reminding us that Christ “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9 ESV).
Now that is good news that you can trust because that is news we all need to hear and, that is good news which we all need to take advantage of.
So, confess, repent, and know that by the grace of Jesus Christ, your sins: even your rejections of Him; are forgiven.
AMEN
[1] Suetonius The Twelve Caesars, p. 53
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law:_Israel_as_the_Nation-State_of_the_Jewish_People
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