We Have no King but Caesar

The chief priests have bound and arrested Jesus, questioned Him and finally turned Him over to Pilate. Peter has denied Him. Pilate's soldiers have mocked Him as King of the Jews with a crown of thorns and a purple robe and they have inflicted pain through flogging. But Pilate finds no reason to put Him to death.

And death is all the chief priest want because Jesus has broken their law with His claim to be the Son of God. John 19:6-7. These men did not recognize God in their midst and did not know they were taking part in fulfilling the ancient prophecies they relied on for their hope.

And so finally Pilate brings Jesus out to the people and says, "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?" John 19:14-16 (ESV) These are some of the saddest words in Scripture.

Today Caesar is not our king, but how often do make someone or something our king. Perhaps we refuse to tithe or even give at all to God's work because money is our king. Perhaps our children are our king as we bow to their rule over our homes and our lives. Maybe a spouse - or even the desire for a spouse - is our king. Our job and the desire for promotions and advancement can become our king. With the presidential elections looming over us, maybe the candidate we want elected becomes not only our king but also our savior. Any thing or any person that makes our desire for Jesus take a place other than first in our lives becomes our king.

For those of us who claim Jesus as King, His desires, His words, His purposes should take precedence over everything else.

One of the hardest things to do is surrender everything to Jesus. But one of the real paradoxes of the Christian life is the more we surrender, the more we get. Jesus said, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39 (ESV)

Jesus offers us "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23. Why would anyone want to give all that up? But we do every time we refuse to surrender to Jesus, when we bow to another king.