John 18:37

Thou sayest that I am a king.— Some would read this, Thou sayest [the truth]: For I am a king. "I came into the world for this end; that by explaining and proving the truth in general, and this great and fundamental branch of it in particular, Imight impress it upon men's consciences, and make them obedient to its laws. In this consisteth my kingdom; and all the lovers of truth obey me, and are my subjects." What our Lord here says incidentally, is to be regarded as an universal maxim. All sincere lovers of truth will hear him: and accordingly, St. John, with all simplicity, dependingon the evidences which he and his brethren had given of their mission from Christ, lays down the same testimony, We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; 1 John 4:6. In this conference between our Saviour and Pilate we may observe, first, that our Lord being asked whether he were King of the Jews, answers so, that he denies it not, yet avoids giving the least umbrage, as if he had any design upon the government. For though he allows himself to be a King, yet, to obviate any suspense, he tells Pilate his kingdom is not of this world; and evidences it by this, that if he had pretended to any title to that country, his followers would have fought for him, had he been inclined to have set up his kingdom by force, or were his kingdom to be erected in that manner; But my kingdom, says he, is not from hence,—is not of that kind or nature: Secondly, that Pilate, by the words and circumstances of Christ, being satisfied that He laid no claim to his province, nor meant any disturbance of the government, was yet a little surprised to hear a man in that poor garb, without retinue, or so much as a servant or a friend, own himself to be a King; and therefore asked him, with some kind of wonder, and possibly with no small degree of contempt, Art thou a king then? Βασιλευς ει συ :—Thirdly, we may observe, our Saviour declares that his great business of coming into the world, was to testify and make good this important and fundamental truth,—that he was a king; or in other words, that he was the Messiah: Fourthly, that whoever were followers of truth, and got into the way of truth and happiness, would receive this doctrine concerning him, that he was the Messiah. This is what St. Paul calls thegood confession, which he tells Timothy, Jesus witnessed before Pontius Pilate. 1 Timothy 6:13. And justly does he so call it; for our Lord did not deny the truth to save his own life, but gave all hisfollowers an example most worthy of their imitation. A careful attention to, and imitation of, his good confession, will be the best proof we can give, that we love the truth, and the best method we can take to make ourselves acquainted with it: And of such infinite importance is the truth to all our best and dearest interests, that it surely deserves the attentive inquiry and zealous patronage of the greatest and the busiest of mankind.