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在早期的教导和医病事工中，耶稣曾经以一个男孩子些少的食物喂饱五千人，当时人们的反应是要强逼耶稣作王，然而耶稣却拒绝接受这个作王的机会，跟着祂便退到山上去了。（参约 6:1-15）

在今天约翰福音十八章这段经文中，耶稣站在彼拉多面前，彼拉多是世上拥有最高权力的凯撒的地方代表。彼拉多问耶稣一个看起来相当简单的问题：“祢是王吗？”马太、马可、路加和约翰四卷福音书，都有记载彼拉多问这个重要的问题。

然而，这个问题的答案却毫不简单。耶稣自己也有问题要问彼拉多，在这里，耶稣似乎要揭露彼拉多问这个问题背后的动机。耶稣多次宣称祂有祂的国，所以答案的其中一部分是“是的”。但，祂也表明祂的国“不属这个世界”。尽管彼拉多大权在握，不过，耶稣却显明祂才是真正的君王。 在这个月，我们一直都在思想圣经传讲耶稣是君王这个信息。然而，如果我们仍然坚持我们自己对“君王”和“国度”的定义，我们便会错失了耶稣的王权和国度了。

耶稣不但满足了世人对真正的君王的渴望，祂更为作王的意思下了一个新的定义，因为耶稣带来的国度是绝对与其他的国度不同的——它乃是来自神自己的心。

In today's reading from John 18, Jesus stands in front of Pilate, the local representative of Caesar, the most powerful man on earth. Pilate asks what should be a simple question: "Are you a king?" The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all speak of Pilate asking this central question.

But the answer is not so simple. Jesus has questions of his own for Pilate. Here Jesus seems to be getting at the motive for Pilate's question. Jesus repeatedly claims to have a kingdom, so that's a partial "yes." But he states that his kingdom "is not of this world." Pilate has his hands on the levers of power here, but Jesus shows that he's the true King.

This month, we have been pondering the Bible's message that Jesus is King. But if we insist on giving our own definitions to the ideas of "king" and "kingdom," Jesus' kingship and kingdom will slip through our fingers.

Jesus fulfills the world's longing for a true king, but he also redefines what it means to be King. That is because the kingdom Jesus brings is wholly other—it comes from the very heart of God.