No King but Caesar

No King but Caesar
John 19.8-16a

From our seats, high in the stands, we watched as the football match swung this way and that. Our team was doing well and scored a couple of early goals. We were delighted; surely they could hang on to a lead like that? When the opposition scored one back, with only ten minutes to go, we didn’t mind too much. We were still in front, with not long to go.

But then the opposition brought on a substitute, fresh and lively. He was exactly what the other side needed. He put fresh heart into their whole team. We watched, helpless, as our side struggled to cope with the new challenge. The inevitable happened. First an equalizing goal. Then, three minutes before the end, the match-winner. We trudged off home, thinking of that moment when the whole game had swung away from us. That is the feeling we get at verse 12 in this passage. Pilate is in charge. He’s the governor. His word is law. He can kill people if he wants to; he can let them go if he wants to. He could order the troops to kill the chief priests themselves, if he thought he could get away with it. And when he decides that he really does want to let Jesus go, we assume he is going to be able to do it...

Taken from John for Everyone Part 2 – by Tom Wright