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John 18:36-40
John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my officers would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
John 18:37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to give evidence of the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
John 18:38 “What is truth?” said Pilate. After he had said this, he exited to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging him.
John 18:39 You have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
John 18:40 They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.
not from here
Jesus did not deny being a king. He denied the physical Judea as his kingdom. He said his kingdom was from a different cosmos – a different universe. But the Judeans had him tried and convicted as a rebel king, and chose the insurrectionist Barabbas to be freed instead.
Some think that Jesus made a mistake by letting himself be tried, and that mistake cost him his life. But Jesus knew what he was doing. He had come to testify the truth, and he did that. The choice to trust him or betray him was that of this universe. Mosrt will not, but some will.
Lord, thank you for testifying truth, and opening the door to deliverance.
