Did you know that Pilate preached the gospel? Now, he wasn’t a preacher or even a believer, but in a sense, he did preach the gospel, even though he was unaware of it. In John 19, Pilate presented a bruised and bloody Jesus to the crowds and said, “Behold your king!” When they said, “away with him,” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?”
The kingship of Jesus is at the very heart of the gospel. Pilate may not have believed in Jesus’ kingship, but when we preach the gospel of Jesus, we are saying to others, “Behold the King!” But when we are confronted with the kingship of Jesus, we have a choice. Will we reject the king or crucify our old man of sin? Have we opted to be crucified with Christ and thus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires,[1] or through disobedience, are you guilty of “crucifying once again the Son of God?”[2] Jesus is King. How will you respond to His kingship?
[1] Galatians 2:20; 5:24
[2] Hebrews 6:6