भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
John 18 — My Kingdom Is Not of This World
Jesus crosses the brook Cedron into the garden. Judas with a band of soldiers. Whom seek ye? Jesus of Nazareth. I am he. They went backward, and fell to the ground. Peter drew his sword; Malchus's ear. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? They led Him to Annas first. Peter denies in the porch. Before Caiaphas. Before Pilate — art thou the King of the Jews? My kingdom is not of this world... To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Pilate — what is truth? I find in him no fault at all. Will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Not this man, but Barabbas.
“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
— John 18:37
- v.1-11 The arrest in the garden
- v.12-27 Before Annas; Peter's denial
- v.28-40 Before Pilate
Shall I not drink it? The settled resolve. The cup He prayed about in Gethsemane He now accepts as the Father's.
A check on Peter's sword. Christianity does not advance by violence. The Master's arrest is not undone by Peter's blade.
My kingdom is not of this world. The political category was wrong. He is a King; His kingdom does not advance by Roman or Jewish means.
A rule for Christians under political pressure. We do not fight His kingdom into existence. It exists because He reigns; it advances by means He has appointed.
What is truth? The most poignant question in the Gospels — asked of Truth Incarnate, and walked away from without waiting for the answer.
A picture of every skeptical age. Truth is in the room; the cynic does not stay long enough to hear. The tragedy of Pilate is that he had the answer before him and turned away.
Verse 36 corrects every political reading of Christ's mission. The Christian does not advance the kingdom by power-grabs; it is not of this world. Apply this in your civic life — engagement, yes; coercion, no. The King reigns by other means than His servants' swords.
John 18 shows the King going voluntarily into His arrest. The I am that knocks soldiers down is the I am that submits to their cords. He could escape; He chooses the cup. Before Pilate He calmly identifies His kingdom. The Lord of the universe is being delivered for execution — by His own decision.
A glimpse of His glory in His arrest. The mere utterance of I am knocked the arresting party to the ground.
Christ could have prevented His arrest with a word. He chose to be taken. The cross was His doing, not His misfortune.