Advent is more than the Christmas story. Advent is about God’s Messiah, Jesus, coming into the world. On the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, He tells Pilate why He came—“so that I could witness to the truth.”
Pontius Pilate was the sixth Roman Procurator (Governor) of Judea, from 26-36 AD. His administrative center was at Caesarea. Pilate was no friend of the Jews. Even among the long line of cruel procurators who ruled Judea, Pilate stood out as a notoriously vicious man, but he was also highly political. He avoided visits to Jerusalem because the Jews there knew how their threatened complaints to Pilate’s superiors in Rome could manipulate the Governor to act in their favor. But John records that, in his brief encounter with Jesus, Pilate was exposed to divine revelation.
“So, are You a king or not?” Jesus did not deny that He was King, for this was the truth. Instead, Jesus assures Pilate that His “kingdom” was of no political threat to him. Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not physical or political. His kingdom was spiritual.
Jesus’ response informs Pilate–and us—that His purpose in coming is revelation, not revolution. He has come to testify to the truth. Those who belong to the truth pay attention to His words.
Pilate’s power in Judea was absolute. Had he wanted to absolve Jesus, he could have. But to do so would have meant employing Roman forces to forcibly disperse, or perhaps even kill, dozens of Jewish people. This would have reverberated back to Rome and would have been detrimental to Pilate’s political ambitions. Thus, Pilate’s decision to execute Jesus was a political one, not a moral one. Pilate was confronted with the truth and rejected it. Ultimately, Pilate died by suicide, in Gaul.
What is our response to the truth? Jesus is King! King Jesus came to reveal God and godliness to us in a way that confronts us to either embrace or reject. How we choose to live is the evidence of our decision.
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