I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before[d] Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time— (1 Timothy 6:13-15a)
What “confession” did Jesus make before Pontius Pilate? Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record only one thing that Jesus said to Pilate. Matthew says, Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” Matthew 27:11. All four Gospels record this answer. Only John expands upon the interview between Jesus and Pilate. But, I think we can be assured that all four Gospels record the “good confession” which Jesus made to Pilate. It is simply this, “Yes, I am the King of the Jews.”
What is so good about this simple statement? It is good because it is “the good news of Jesus Christ,” the Gospel in a nutshell. Jesus’ comment to Pilate is the very simplest representation of the Gospel that anyone could ever make. He affirmed that he was the King of the Jews and this is the essence of the Good News.
Historically, God chose a nation, one nation, in all the earth by whom to reveal himself. That nation was Israel, the twelve tribes of the twelve sons who descended from Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Recall that when Jacob prevailed with the Angel of God that the angel renamed him “Israel” which means “God rules.” Jacob, after wrestling with God all night, acknowledged that God rules in the affairs of men, not himself.
By the time Jesus lived Israel had long split into two kingdoms and only the southern kingdom of Judah remained an intact nation. The word “Jew” is short for Judah. Jesus acknowledged to Pontius Pilate that he was indeed the King of Judah. This fulfilled a prophetic word recorded in First Book of Chronicles for long ago God revealed through his prophets that his king would come through Judah. “For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and from him came the prince….” (1 Chron. 5:2a) It also fulfilled Moses word to Israel that came before this. “The LORD your God will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me; unto him you shall hearken.”(Deuteronomy 18:15 KJ2000)
Long, long ago God promised to rule as King over the people that he created. This includes all men, but he first began to reveal himself as king through one nation, Israel. The entire nation of Israel rejected him as their king long before the birth of Jesus in the days of the prophet Samuel. Samuel told them, “[Y]ou have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us.” (1 Samuel 10:19a KJ2000) Israel’s God later personally came to his people in the land of Judah. These people were comprised mainly of the descendants of Israel’s fourth son, Judah, and were called Jews.
Pontius Pilate asked Jesus if he truly was the King of the Jews and Jesus affirmed that he was. This statement thus proclaimed that he was the lawful King of the Jews, that is, God. This is why Paul tells Timothy to remember Jesus’ own “good confession” before he delivers God’s specific charge to him. Everything we do must originate in and derive from this one confession. This is the crux of our faith and this is the Gospel! Paul told the Romans, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9 KJ2000)
But, you may ask, what is so good about this confession, this simple faith? When I acknowledge Jesus Christ as LORD and King of my life I have removed myself from the curse of the Law because Jesus became a curse under that Law for me. He took my sins upon himself. Jesus nailed every curse written in the Law that would fall upon me because I failed to uphold every jot and tittle of that Law onto the very tree upon which men crucified him. See Colossians 2:14. He became the propitiation* for my sins.
This means that I do not have to perfectly obey the Law in order to be accepted by God. Does it mean, then, that I can willfully break all God’s laws and live a life of lustful fulfillment? No, of course not, and the apostles write much concerning our moral duties to God and other men. But, it does mean that God does not require or expect me to obey those sacrificial laws dealing with separation and acceptance to God. I do not have to become circumcised, dress a certain way, eat a certain way, observe Sabbaths and festivals a certain way, or make bloody sacrifices to God. The apostles deal with these specific issues and tell us that we are no longer “under” these laws, that we no longer must obey them. If we want to obey some of them we can, but observing them does not make us somehow more acceptable to God. On the other hand, if I begin to obey these laws because I have become convinced that they make me more honorable in God’s sight, then I must obey all the laws.
I am acceptable to God because, and only because, I stand upon the good confession of faith in Jesus Christ as my King.
*”Propitiation means the turning away of wrath by an offering. In relation to soteriology, propitiation means placating or satisfying the wrath of God by the atoning sacrifice of Christ.”
Charles C. Ryrie (1999-01-11). Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Kindle Locations 5503-5504). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
