They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
John 19:15 (ESV)
When the Jewish leaders brought Jesus to Pilate, John does not tell us what their initial charge was. But based on the discussion that followed, it is apparent that they were charging Him with claiming to be a king. This was the most serious charge they could make against Jesus to the Romans. A charge that, if determined to be true, would result in death.
Pilate interrogated Jesus and determined that He was no threat to Roman rule. So the Jews made a second charge that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Pilate did not find that persuasive either. But the Jews were incessant. They wanted Jesus put to death.
So, hoping to appease the crowd, Pilate had Jesus punished and then presented Him to the Jews and mockingly announced, “Behold, your king.” In response, the Jews demanded that Jesus be crucified. So Pilate baited them, “Shall I crucify your king?” And the chief priests responded with “We have no king but Caesar.”
Who Is Lord?
Looking back, this is similar to what happened in 1 Samuel 8:4-7. Israel asked Samuel to give them a king. Samuel took the request to God. And God told Samuel that Israel was not rejecting Samuel as their judge. But they were rejecting God as their king. By rejecting Jesus, the Son of God, as their king, the chief priests were following in the footsteps of ancient Israel, rejecting God as their king and claiming Caesar instead.
Looking forward, the early believers went in the opposite direction. They claimed that Jesus was Lord (Acts 17:6-7). This put them at odds with a growing cult of Caesar, which claimed that Caesar was lord. There was an element of divinity in both claims. However, it ultimately came down to who held supreme authority. For the Christians, unlike the chief priests who condemned Jesus, it was Jesus and not Caesar.
