INRI

Lutheran, The, Apr 2001 by Skillrud, Harold C

Pilate's words became our profession of faith

Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."... It was written in Hebrew, in latin and in Greek.

Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do riot write, 'The King of the Jews,' but 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"

Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written" (John 19:19-22).

Pilate was deliberate. The sign was visible at the top of the cross. It was legible to Jew, Roman and Greek. It was explicit: Jesus is King.

Strange, this sign. Under it hung a pitiful creature--

wounded, bleeding, writhing in pain. This man, a king?

Kings wear crowns of gold, not a crown of thorns.

Kings wear robes of rich purple and ermine, not a loincloth.

Kings drink wine from silver cups lined with gold, not vinegar on a sponge.

Kings seek revenge, not forgiveness for their executioners.

Jesus had said, "My kingdom is not of this world."

Yet Pontius Pilate insisted that this sign should be posted, "What I have written, I have written."

Could this man, immortalized in the Apostles' Creed, have seen something--ever so dimly--of the truth in Jesus' claim: "You said that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth."

By faith we know Jesus is King. We see through the eyes of Easter a risen and victorious Christ. The one who suffered in agony and disgrace for our sins is the one who has been highly exalted by God. He is the one before whom "every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11).

INRI--Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. The One who least resembles a king is now "King of kings and Lord of lords, and he shall reign forever and ever." This banner is our confession of faith.