What King Do You Claim?

          As I read today’s devotional in John 19 – Jesus’ Crucifixion I see the conflict that Pilate had and the hatred that the Jewish leaders had.  Pilate had questioned Jesus and could find no basis on which to convict Him.  So he told the Jewish leaders to do it themselves in which they responded.

John 19:7 The Jewish leaders insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

          This response from the Jewish leaders frightened Pilate even more.  I can imagine what might have been going through his mind.  “What if what they are saying is true?”  Certainly I would be afraid of the condemning someone claiming to be the Son of God whether I believed or not I would still be somewhat concerned.  This uneasiness that Pilate was feeling did not get any better when he went back to question Jesus more.  He pleaded with Jesus so he could find some grounds to set Him free telling Him that he had the power to free Him or crucifix Him.

John 19:11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

          Now at this point I would imagine that Pilate is trying desperately to find a way out of this situation, but was stuck in a bad situation.  He brought Jesus before the Jewish leaders again and they responded,

John 19:15 But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

          So it ends with Pilate giving into the wishes of the Jewish leaders who’s only king was Caesar that they said they serve and Pilate washing his hands of it even though it is the Roman troops that carry out the process.  As a final act on Pilate’s part he does have a plaque place upon Jesus cross stating that this is the King of the Jews and not just that He claimed to be.

          That leads me to question, what king do I serve, an earthly king or the one that came to this world proclaiming to be the Son of God?  The answer is obvious for the most part, but I also look back at a life I once lived and it was not always that way.  There was a time that I was my own king and served only myself.  This passage in Proverbs also stuck out to me in my devos today.

Proverbs 27:19 As water reflects the face,
so one's life reflects the heart.

So the question is what king do you serve and what does your life reflect?