March 31, 2004 John 19:12-17
“Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
Our country was based on the principles of freedom for the people. The symbol of our freedom - the Statue of Liberty - just reopened yesterday for the first time since the 9-11 attacks three years ago. People die trying to enter our country to experience what they call freedom. Yet how “free” are we? You are only allowed to cross the street between two lines of paint on the street. You have to wear seat belts. You can’t build on your own property or put a garage sale sign out with a special permit. Our supposedly “free” country has thousands of laws that make freedom more or less a joke. People have been talking more and more about the freedoms we no longer have in America. It’s this concern over freedom that has many also concerned about the “Patriot Act” and other government measures that have been made to try and curb terrorism in the United States. It makes us wonder, “are we really free”?
When you compare how we live to other countries and to history, you’d have to say that we are definitely more free than other societies. Just look at the Bible. Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar by his own brothers and put into forced labor. The book of Philemon talks about a runaway slave named Onesimus who had come to visit Paul and was converted. Two main periods of the Jews has them in slavery - to Egypt for over 400 years and to the Babylonians for 70 years. During that time the Jews were forced to make bricks for the Egyptians and often beaten and whipped. Even our “free” country has it’s ugly history of slavery. Slave traders forcefully loaded thousands of Africans on ships and forced them into labor in America. Years later America locked up Japanese Americans during World War II. In comparison with what these people had to go through, we’ve got plenty of freedoms.
But in reality, are we really free? Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (Jn 8:34) We aren’t really free even in America. There is no such thing as true freedom, and there won’t be, as long as we live in a sinful world. The whole concept of sin is one of slavery - that’s what sin does. It enslaves. It makes you act selfishly, impulsively, giving you a sense of duty instead of freedom. The whole concept of living in a truly free society is a joke, because we live in a sinful society. There will never be freedom in our country in the truest sense of the word. Yet it’s what we seek - because in our hearts we know that God didn’t create us to live this way - to be constrained by rules and regulations - to have life be such a burden and a “have to” all the time. We yearn to live free from the concerns of money, laws, fear, and duties. We want to enjoy life - to live with “want to’s” instead of “have to’s.”
The whole purpose behind Christianity is to set the sinner free. God promised the Israelites through Isaiah - Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. 3 For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” (Is 52:2-3). Paul also told the Galatians - It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1) Christ came to release that burden and curse of the law from around your neck and put it around his. That’s what the cross is meant to do - it is meant to get that chain of “have-to” off of your neck. When I look at Christ obey God’s laws - and when I see Christ die - FOR ME - I realize that I don’t have to do those things to get to heaven. Salvation is a gift that God gives me through FAITH - not by works. It frees me. My whole life becomes a want to - I want to serve the Lord for freeing me. I want to die for him since he died for me. I want to tell people about him so they can be free. It’s what Luther wrote about when he wrote to the Pope about the Freedom of the Christian. Instead of enslaving us, John tells us that God - loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. (Re 1:5-6)
Therefore, the last thing that our Liberator wants is for us to be enslaved once again. In the Old Testament, God didn’t want his people in slavery. Moses was called by God and given miracles to set the Israelites free. The angel of death went through Egypt killing the first-born sons of Egypt to set the Israelites free. When the Israelites asked to have a king over them - God was upset with them, but nonetheless he gave them what they wanted. God used Nehemiah and Ezra to lead three groups of Jews back into the Promised Land and re-establish worship in Israel. Paul encouraged Philemon to set Onesimus his slave free. Paul told the Galatians - Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) The last thing we should want as Christians - is to be unwillingly enslaved to anyone or anything. As a king and priest of God, the LORD doesn’t want me enslaved to cigarettes, alcohol, kings, pastors, banks, or anything that I don’t want to be under. God has called us to be free. It’s something we should want - because that’s what Christ died for.
Therefore, it might sound somewhat surprising to hear the chief priests of the Jews want to have a king over them - a foreign king at that! They didn’t say Herod was their king - or God was their king! They said, “we have no king but Caesar.” Tonight we’ll see how they were inevitably -
Speaking the Regal Truth
What on earth would inspire the chief priests - the supposed spiritual leaders of Israel - to claim Caesar as their king? Throughout their history the Jews have hated having oppressors over them - especially in Jesus’ time. They weren’t exactly known for being patriotic people. The Maccabeans - Jewish leaders just prior to the New Testament times - had fought hard to free the Jews from their oppressors and win some freedoms. None of them exactly liked being under Rome - any more than Muslim extremists like American soldiers in Iraq - and yet the chief priests were ever eager to claim Caesar as their king? It didn’t make sense.
However, history has also shown that the Israelites were willing to put themselves under different kings if it was in their immediate interest. Throughout the desert they continually begged to be put back under Pharaoh’s rule once again - just for a wider variety of food and easier life. In the same way, the chief priests had a specific purpose in claiming Caesar as their king - and it wasn’t mainly out of their concern for the people. Instead, they said in John 11:48, If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. They were afraid that if Jesus were not stopped, he would gain such a following that he would be able to start an insurrection. If that happened, the Romans would then come in wipe out any authority they had gained. As it was, they were greeted in the market places and treated with respect under the system in place. They were even able to use Roman soldiers to enforce their laws. So, in reality, they were putting on a guise of patriotism in order to keep what rights they had under the Roman government. They figured since he gave them some rights and they had some luxuries under his system, including the fact that Caesar’s death chamber could also put their enemy to death - they could plug their noses, close their eyes, and sleep with him for a night and say, “Caesar’s our king” - as long as Caesar served their temporary good.
This reminds me of how many people use the United States government today. As long as it does what they want it to, they’re the most patriotic people in the world. Right now many Christians embrace President Bush with open arms and love it when he talks about faith based initiatives to help churches dole out money to the poor. On the other hand, many abortion rights activists embraced President Clinton and trusted in him to help keep abortion legal. Both sides rely on the government to promote their agenda and treat it like the next best thing to sliced bread when it does as they ask. What it comes down to for most people is - what can my government do for me? How can it make my life easier and better with the least amount of work possible?
Revelation 13 talks about a beast that would come out of the sea - influenced by Satan - with ten horns and seven heads - and ten crowns on his horns - and on each head a blasphemous name. It goes on to say what this beast did and would do, “ He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. (Re 13:6-8) Similar language is used of four different beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel - referring to different governments. In the same way, John predicted one beast - representative of any government that Satan would use to persecute and control the New Testament Church. Even though governments are established by God (Romans 13), Satan would still use them to hurt and attack God’s people.
If you look at history again, you can see how government has turned out to be a two headed monster for God’s people. Under Joseph, it served to guard and protect the Israelites while Joseph was in power. But once he died, the same government then turned on the Israelites and oppressed them. Under Daniel, the same government that he so faithfully served for so many years almost ended up killing him. Annas should have well known that the Roman government was not one to be trusted. It was the Roman government that both anointed and defrocked the high priests - depending on how submissive they were to Rome. The Emperor Constantine used the government to legalize Christianity and attributed to it’s growth after a long period of growth. But it was with these favors that many people were thought to have join Christianity in order to receive some extra “perks” which the government granted them as well. If you look at Europe, when there are state run churches, the churches end up being nothing more than slaves of the state - yes men - telling the state what it wants to hear.
It scares me when I see government want to become more involved in churches. When I see them want to help churches hand out charities to people or give extra frills to those which will attribute to our welfare system. Because whenever money is involved, there are usually strings attached. If we were to start accepting money from the government to help hand out money to the poor, they could become so ingrained in our budget that we would feel pressured to do as they say. I could envision a day when the government takes away our tax exempt status for speaking against homosexuality or not allowing to have female ministers. It doesn’t mean that we can’t use the government. We have fire and police protection like everyone else. I still pay taxes on what I make. Luther used the government when Frederick wanted to protect him. Daniel and Esther as well were intrenched in the government. But we’d best be careful - it’s nice to have it on our side - but it could also easily turn into a beast and rage against us as well.
It was this fear of the government - that led the chief priests to cry out, “we have no king but Caesar.” They knew Rome was very capable of atrocities. It was easier to have the government with them than against them. They decided to sacrifice Christ instead of having the government sacrifice them. Inevitably, even though they didn’t mean it - they were Speaking the Regal Truth. When they bowed to their fear of the government - and were willing to sacrifice an innocent man - they were showing who their king really was - who was ruling in their heart. It wasn’t justice. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t truth. It was fear. It was selfishness. It was Caesar. Fear of him led them to say what they said.
Caesar is still king today. When you worry about whether you will have Social Security when you retire - you are in fact saying, “I have no king but Caesar.” When you think that the only way you’ll be safe from fire is with a fire dept. within two miles or a security system - who is your king? When you think that the safety of your bank account depends on the success of our army or the freedoms that you enjoy are dependant on your government - you’re bowing to Caesar. When you think that the future of our country is dependant on the man that leads it, you are giving him way too much power.
Our Lord clearly says, “call upon ME in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” He wants to be the person that we turn to in times of trouble. He wants to be the shelter that we hide in when we are attacked. God establishes governments for our good - not for our god. Whenever you think that your health, wealth, or future is dependant on the government - it is becoming your god - your Caesar. When you think that the only way you can survive is if the government gives you tax breaks or handouts - I fear that all of us have bowed to this animal - that it has become a beast to us. I fear that all of us, like the chief priests, have bowed down and said for our temporal good, “I have no king but Caesar.”
There was one man who stood undaunted by the pomp and circumstance of his day. He wasn’t impressed with the robes of the Pharisees. He didn’t bow down to the high priests. He didn’t fear the decision of Pilate or the power of the Roman government. He didn’t whimper and cry or act like God was dead. As Pilate stood there with this man’s “destiny” in his hands, this man boldly said to Pilate, You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. He didn’t trust in politics, dirty defense lawyers, or politicians to set Him free. He trusted in God to rescue Him and come to His defense - and so He said nothing. To the amazement of the governor - He seemed as if everything were under control.
This man was also our God - Jesus Christ. As God and man - Jesus had come from the heavens. He knew that in reality these men were not in charge. He knew that they weren’t as powerful as they looked. In reality, He was in charge. The government wasn’t controlling Him - but He was controlling the government. The Jews weren’t using Him for a scapegoat. The King was using them and their hatred as a tool to get to the cross. The only thing He was trusting them for was to act out their evil intentions. They didn’t disappoint. And so our King showed who His King was even in death. Jesus said, “I have no King but Me.” For that confession and by that profession He went on to live and to die as the true King - riding on to die - for God - His King said - “that’s what you called to do.”
About a year ago a famous duo by the names of Siegfried and Roy were performing their famous act of parading huge tigers around a stage and playing with them as if wrestling with kittens. Suddenly, one of the performers was ferociously attacked behind the stage and left for dead. The world suddenly realized that these animals could be very dangerous. They went from making the men millions of dollars to nearly taking their lives.
In a similar way - the government and the Caesars of the world are powerful beasts that are nice to have on your side. They can perform great things - do marvelous tricks - and you can think that you’ve got it serving your every need. Many Christians today think that the government is the key to reforming America. They like to talk politics and push politics within their own churches. They think the government can make a good ally to the “Christian cause.” So did the Jews. That’s their Regal Truth - but it doesn’t have to be yours. Even if it helps you, don’t get to comfortable with it. When you’re not looking, or even while you are, it can turn on you and end up as a ferocious and deadly beast.
God has called us to have one King. He doesn’t rule with legislation, police forces, or military force. As God told Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. (Zec 4:6) Our King climbs into our hearts by telling us, “I loved you so much that I died for you.” He doesn’t rule on a throne, He rules in the clouds. He has angels for armies. Trust in Him for your salvation. He’ll deliver. Instead of saying “we have no king but Caesar,” we say, “we have no king but Christ.” In Jesus you’ll find forgiveness - freedom from guilt - from the law - from fear - and from hell itself. That’s our Regal Truth. Amen.
