What’ll Ya Have?
What’ll Ya Have? (Gospel of John) – March 22nd, 2026
Paul and I have always enjoyed playing trivia-type games together – Trivial Pursuit during our student days, many trivia board games with our kids, and more recently weekly trivia nights at Agavero Cantina (thank you, Beth and Bart for getting us started there and thank you to the many of you who have joined us there!) We’ve been stumped by many questions, but one memorable question about 7 or 8 years ago stuck with us – see if you can answer this: What is the largest drive-in restaurant in the world, accommodating 600 cars with seating for 800 diners? Sadly, the main location ended car-side service in 2020, but you can still get their handmade Southern goodness at any of their eight locations by ordering a Red Dog, Yellow Dog, Bag of Rags, or N.I. Orange. That’s right, it’s our very own Varsity! And what do they say when you step up to the counter? That’s right – “What’ll ya have?” Varsity culture cherishes that phrase as a friendly greeting. It turns out that “What’ll ya have” is a question that challenges us each and every day. What will we choose? The world? Or the kingdom of God? As we continue our journey through the Gospel of John, we will be in John 18 and 19 today.
I asked a friend recently how she was planning to spend her day, and she lit up with the anticipation of the beauty, inspiration, discoveries, and peace she expected to experience, “Gibbs Gardens!” Jesus has just finished his prayer after what we now call “The Last Supper.” Now John tells us that Jesus and his disciples have gone out to a garden. The garden on this night is far from peaceful, because Judas has just betrayed Jesus to a cohort of soldiers and some Temple police who were all equipped with lanterns and torches and weapons. A cohort is one-tenth of a legion, which means that the Jewish religious leaders thought that it would take more than 500 armed soldiers and police to carry out Jesus’ arrest. How strange that Jesus would be confronted with such a large military force, as though they expected Jesus to be stirring up some kind of violent political revolution. How strange that they seemed to have completely missed what Jesus had been doing openly for the previous three years, as he had gone about doing good and healing and liberating and transforming and restoring all kinds of people from all kinds of suffering and sin and even death. How strange that they had already forgotten that just a few days earlier Jesus had entered Jerusalem in what we now call “the triumphal procession,” with peace and nonviolence, humbly riding on a donkey’s colt. I guess it’s not surprising that they did not understand because, as John has repeatedly pointed out in his Gospel, even “[Jesus’] disciples did not understand these things.”
Judas has betrayed him. And yet Jesus, “knowing all that was to happen to him,” actually makes the first move: “Whom are you looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replies, Egō eimi, “I am,” upon which John tells us they stepped back and fell to the ground. A second time, Jesus asks, “Whom are you looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth.” Egō eimi, “I am.”
John 18:12-13 goes on: “So the soldiers, their officer, and the [Temple] police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.”
We are going to take three side excursions today.
Our first excursion is the who’s who of the Jewish high priesthood.
About 1500 years earlier, right after God gave Moses the instructions for making the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, God appointed Moses’ brother Aaron as the first high priest, establishing a hereditary, lifelong Levitical priesthood. About 500 years after that, starting during David and Solomon’s reign, high priests belonged to priestly families from the sons of Zadok. However, around 160 BCE, the time of the Maccabean Revolt, those traditions came to an end. After this time, high priests were appointed by the powerful and wealthy Jewish and even Roman elite who ruled Judea. The high priesthood in this period was no longer Levitical, hereditary, or lifelong. There were frequent power grabs for this powerful position that included political, legal, and supreme priestly authority. In 6 CE, just after the Romans took over Judaea, the Roman legate Quirinius appointed Annas as the first High Priest of that newly formed Roman province. After he had served in that capacity for nine years, the fourth Roman governor of Judaea, Valerius Gratus, deposed Annas, and appointed four other High Priests in succession over the next three years, the last of whom was Annas’s son-in-law, Caiaphas. How tragic that the office of high priest which had been established to serve God in worship had become warped and motivated by self-serving power and wealth.
No wonder Jesus’ was heartbroken, as recorded in Luke 19:41-42, 44 – “As [Jesus] came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes … you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’”
Back to John 18. A large military force has taken Jesus to Annas, the former high priest, and the current high priest’s powerful father-in-law. Both church tradition and archaeological evidence locate his residence on the eastern slope of Mount Zion, in the luxurious palace for the priestly elite. Annas questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Soon after that, Annas sends Jesus, still bound, to his son-in-law Caiaphas, the current high priest, who lives in his own residence within the same palace complex. John notes that Caiaphas is the one who has advised the Jewish religious leaders that it is better to have one person die for the people.
Meanwhile, John has woven into the main storyline about Jesus a subplot that focuses on the disciple Peter. Can we all appreciate the great care with which John has crafted his book! Peter has just come through the gate into the high priest’s courtyard. As he stands there warming himself by the charcoal fire, he was asked the same question twice, in verses 17 and 25: “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “Ouk eimi,” “I am not.” “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “Ouk eimi,” “I am not.”
Here’s what John wants us to notice: his juxtaposition of these opposites (“I am,” “I am not”) – not once but twice – points directly at the clash of two incompatible kingdoms: the world, and the kingdom of God.
Our second excursion today is this clash of kingdoms.
The world is characterized by domination, control, violence, and inequality. Worldly kingdoms gain power over territory, resources, and populations through a combination of military subjugation, economic domination, bureaucratic administration, and political and social control. History is littered with account after account of worldly kingdoms that have risen and fallen, leaving all kinds of devastation in their wake: widespread displacement, suppressed freedom, environmental degradation.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus directly calls into question loyalties that we often assume are good – our family, our loved ones, our nation, our way of life. Theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas names the fundamental challenge to the truthfulness of Christian convictions as residing “in Christian accommodation to loyalties not determined by Jesus … Paul reminds the Corinthians [and other early churches] they are brothers and sisters. They are now members of a new family … Christians are revolutionaries, but we believe the revolution has happened and we are it … Following Jesus’ example means being ready to die, not ready to take another’s life.”
Jesus proclaimed the arrival of God’s kingdom reign on earth, demonstrated it through his miracles, and established its foundation through his life, death, and resurrection. The kingdom of God is the future reign of God breaking into the present, and is characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy. We cannot make or bring the kingdom of God, and it doesn’t grow, because it is not a physical kingdom. The kingdom of God is a dynamic realm which exists within the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Jesus commissioned his earliest followers to continue his ministry, he was commissioning his church, the body of Christ, to be God’s instrument of the kingdom who make the kingdom of God visible, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught us to pray to our Father in heaven, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). We look forward to Christ’s return and the restoration of all things, when the God’s kingdom, rule, and reign will be fulfilled and God will be all in all. Meanwhile, we live in the tension between the present, inaugurated kingdom and the future, consummate kingdom. As Christians we do not believe that any worldly kingdom can keep us from living faithfully to God’s peaceable kingdom.
This clash of kingdoms comes down to allegiance. Those whose allegiance is given to the world are motivated by self-serving power and wealth. Those whose allegiance belongs to God are motivated by self-giving love. This is what Jesus has been showing and telling over and over. Jesus has prepared his disciples; he’s prayed for them. But now things have reached the point of no return. Jesus has been arrested, and now he is on trial. This clash of kingdom pushes even Jesus’ closest followers past their breaking points.
Our third excursion today is Peter’s struggle.
Peter’s struggle is real. John doesn’t showcase Peter’s three-time denial in his Gospel just to make his friend look bad. He has a deeper purpose, one that neither he nor Peter could imagine on that cold, dark, and terrifying night. Many years later, the apostle Paul would pen this beautiful prayer for one church, and in fact for all followers of Jesus in every time and place: “ I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever” (Ephesians 3:18-21).
But Peter is not there yet. We feel sorry for Peter. His responses make us cringe inwardly because his life is a mirror to our own. We’ve all been there. The difference is that his story has been not only written in all four Gospels; it has been memorialized in mosaics, music, marble, and musings for billions of people to see over the last 2000 years! We are all Peter. No matter how much we’ve proclaimed our allegiance to Jesus in the past, we’ve all had situations where we’ve slipped up or fallen hard in saying or doing something that shows that there are still places in our hearts and minds that are not yet fully surrendered to the kingdom of God, the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Paul would later encourage us in our common struggle in this clash of kingdoms, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Romans 12:2). Beloved brothers and sisters, transformation is a long, hard, slow process. Do not lose heart! There’s more to Peter’s story, but that’s for another day.
Back to John 18. As I read the rest of the chapter, I invite you to listen closely for more clash of kingdoms details John that includes.
John 18:28-33 – “Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?’ They answered, ‘If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.’ The [Jewish religious leaders] replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death.’ (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’”
Herod the Great, a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, had been appointed “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate. This is the same Herod whom the wise men from the East visited after Jesus was born, to ask, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” Pilate knew about Herod’s title. Pilate had been appointed governor of the Roman province of Judaea, a very low prestige job for someone as well-connected as he was, in the middle rank of Roman nobility. As governor, he was head of the judicial system and shared a sparing amount of control with the Jewish religious leaders. But Pilate likely repeatedly called Jesus “The King of the Jews” precisely to insult the Jewish religious leaders, because from his standpoint, their only king was a criminal condemned to the most painful and humiliating death imaginable, crucifixion.
John 18:34-38a – “Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the [Jewish religious leaders]. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’”
In this clash of kingdoms, Jesus emphasizes that his kingdom is not from this world. He is not saying it is not of this world, either in quality (it is not just spiritual) or in origin (it is not just other-worldly). If it were a worldly kingdom motivated by self-serving power and wealth, then his followers would have used violence to stop him from being handed over. Jesus explains to Pilate that the kingdom of God comes from somewhere else, and it is for this world. Jesus came into the world to give evidence that the kingdom of God has moved into the neighborhood for good!
John 18:38b-40 – “After [Pilate] had said this, he went out to the [Jewish religious leaders] again and told them, ‘I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ They shouted in reply, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.’”
John 19:1-16a – “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’ The [Jewish religious leaders] answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’ Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the [Jewish religious leaders] cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.’ When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the [Jewish religious leaders], ‘Here is your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’ Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.”
Notice how the Jewish religious leaders proclaimed their allegiance to Caesar in order to get the outcome they wanted, since they were not permitted to put anyone to death. Roman emperors required their subjects to perform a compulsory annual loyalty test by declaring their allegiance by proclaiming “Caesar is Lord” and calling him a god. Early Christians overtly rejected emperor worship with the politically subversive proclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” “Lord” is a truthful designation for the one we worship and obey.
John reports that Pilate stated three times that he found no case against Jesus. In Jesus’ last words to Pilate (“You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above”), we hear echoes what he had said back in John 10:17-18, “I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” In a mixture of fear and frustration, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
We can tell where someone’s allegiance lies by the fruit of their lives. It’s easy for us to sit in judgment against Judas, the Jewish religious leaders, the Roman soldiers, the Temple police, Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, the crowd, even the disciples. What about us?
John wrote his Gospel “so that [we] may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing [we] may have life in his name” (John 20:31). By pointing to the clash of kingdoms, John highlights the choice that we each face, in every time and place. To whom will we give our allegiance? The world, or the kingdom of God? Empire, or the King of Kings? Will we align ourselves with the world, the empire characterized by domination, violence, and terror? Or will we align ourselves with the kingdom of God, motivated by self-giving love, as we proclaim, “Jesus is Lord”? This is not a one-time thing. Every day, in every situation, we are faced with the question, “What’ll ya have?” In each situation, what will we choose? The world? Or the kingdom of God?
As followers of Jesus, in very practical terms, let us consider this:
How can we detach ourselves from the world and its motivation of self-serving power and wealth, so that we can more freely live under the lordship of Jesus Christ, motivated by self-giving love?
(sing?)
To him who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb
Be blessing and glory and honor and power forever
