This morning, our Scripture reading gives us three rulers. Two of these rulers are colossal failures. One ruler is the greatest king ever. Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas failed miserably when they were called upon to execute justice. Jesus Christ succeeded tremendously by fulfilling the justice that God demanded on behalf of all people.

We begin this morning with verse 3. "So Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied." Pilate brought the prisoner, Jesus, into his palace to question him. The Jewish leaders remained outside. Pilate's question was direct. "Are you the king of the Jews?"

Pilate was not afraid of this man standing before him. Jesus was bound, beaten, and bloody. Jesus did not look like a ruler that was going to overthrow the Roman governor. Pilate's question was whether or not Jesus was the one the Jewish people were waiting for. Was this Jesus of Nazareth the long-awaited man to lead the people to freedom?

Jesus answer was just as direct. "Yes, it is as you say." Jesus was telling the truth. He was the promised Messiah. But I doubt the heathen Pilate grasped the full significance of Jesus' reply. He felt that Jesus was harmless. He knew that Jesus was innocent of all crimes. Pontius Pilate said so when announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against him."

That's it, right. This whole ordeal was over. Everybody could go home now - not exactly. Pilate failed. He should have let Jesus go, but he was worried about saving his job and probably his life. The Jews were relentless. They kept on insisting that Jesus was a rebel bent on overthrowing the government. If Pilate released Jesus now, the Jews could revolt. His superiors would be disappointed and Pilate did not want to let Caesar down. So Pilate was caught between a rock and hard place.

This would be the time for a ruler to make a stand, to show his true courage and honor. Not Pilate, though. His fear made him a coward. Pilate felt Jesus was someone to listen to. He even asked him spiritually minded questions like, "What is truth?" But Pilate lacked integrity and most importantly he lacked faith. Pilate was huge failure.

So Pontius Pilate came up with a plan. He would pass the buck. Not only would he pass the buck, but he would put his rival, Herod, between that rock and a hard place. When Pilate found out that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent Christ to the governor of Galilee. But being a failure himself, Pilate underestimated how pitiful Herod was.

Jesus arrived at Herod's palace. This was the son of Herod the Great. This was Herod Antipas who lived a life of total depravity. He killed his relatives. He cut off the head of John the Baptist. He loved wild parties and everything that came with them.

Pilate's brilliant plan to unload Jesus on this despicable man backfired. When Jesus arrived before Herod, the governor of Galilee was only interested in seeing a magic show. Herod was excited to see Jesus for one reason - miracles. No doubt he had heard of the wonders that Christ had done during his ministry. Now he just wanted to be entertained.

Jesus did his miracles to prove what he was teaching was true. Jesus turned water into wine, healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed thousands to prove to people that he was truly the Son of God, the Messiah. But Herod no longer gave religion any serious thought.

The chief priests and teachers of the law realized that things were going badly. They probably were getting the picture that Herod just might release Jesus and set him free because he had no use for Jesus. And so those hate-filled Jewish leaders launched their accusations against Jesus again.

Herod decided that he would just make fun of Jesus. His soldiers dressed him in the robes of a king. After he had his fun with Jesus, Herod sent him back to Pilate. Frivolous Herod was figuratively doing what Pilate would literally do later. He washed his hands of the situation and went back to what he was doing. Herod had the chance to set Jesus free. He found Jesus guilty of absolutely nothing. In fact, he never even was interested in having a real trial. Herod failed as a king.

And verse 12 of the Scripture reading tells us that Herod and Pilate became friends that day. Before this they were enemies. Good Friday brought them together. However it was not hatred of Jesus that brought these two failures together. Pilate thought Jesus was innocent. Herod thought Jesus was harmless. It was not like Pharisees and Sadducees. They were bitter enemies of each other and their hatred of Jesus brought them together. They joined forces to send Jesus to the cross.

Herod and Pilate came together as friends because neither was overly interested in the supremely important things. Pilate was worried about his job and his well-being. He didn't have time for Jesus' spiritual message. He had a province to rule. And Herod was more interested in feeding his fleshly desires. He wanted to eat, drink, be merry, and see miracles. It is so sad to see these two failures miss the opportunity that was standing right before him in the King of the Jews, Jesus Christ.

Yet before we point our pompous fingers at Herod and Pilate, we must take a long hard look at our own lives. We all are failures also. We are just like Pilate in the respect that we let the worries and work of this world cloud our vision so that we can't see the supremely important things. We are just like Pilate when we let worldly responsibilities cover our ears from hearing the truly spiritual things that God offers us.

And we are just like Herod when we let the pleasures of this world tear us away from God. How often don't we make the time for our earthly wants instead of focusing on our spiritual needs. Eat, drink, and be merry - at what expense? Is it your soul?

God doesn't say that we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things and put him first in our lives except when we are busy at work or except when we have plans with friends. When God looks at you, do you think he says, "Yes, you are my faithful, loyal servant, who has never passed me over earthly obsessions." No, we are despicable sinners. We deserve God's punishment because we have failed and failing means death - eternal death in hell.

Jesus, however, was not a failure. The King of Jews is the biggest success this world has ever seen. God promised his people and Savior and Jesus took on that role. Christ knew it would not be pretty. He knew it wouldn't be filled praise and worship. But Jesus knew as King of the Jews he would take away the sin of the world. His kingdom would not be of this world. He was not going to lead the Jewish people to independence and set them free from the Roman tyrants. His mission was different. Jesus came to save sinners like you and me. His kingdom is different. It is heaven.

Jesus, the King of the Jews, fulfilled all the promises of God. He wasn't born in a palace but was born in human flesh in a stable. The king of the Jews didn't grow up in the lavishness of the king's court, but he lived his sinless life at the foot of a carpenter's bench in Nazareth, in fishing boats on the Sea of Galilee, in the presence of Satan in the desert. The King never failed in his duties, not even once. He was perfect.

And Jesus remained perfect even as the crowd and criminals hurled their insults at him on the cross of Calvary. Jesus never fell short of his mission, even when the Father had forsaken and he suffered all of our guilt. There on that cross, this King of the Jews exchanged his holiness with our sinfulness. Jesus Christ, the king of the Jews, took all our sins upon himself. And in return we received his perfection. Our sins of disrespect, disloyalty, selfishness, greed, and so on were all forgiven. Now God sees us as perfect. We are forgiven by God.

Praise the King of the Jews, for he did not fail. He was victorious over sin, death, and hell. He rose from the dead as our conquering king. And now Jesus rules over heaven and earth at the right hand of God. The King is always with you. He strengthens you. He provides all good things for you. And the King of the Jews will never turn his back on you. He will never forget about you. He will come for you and take you to be with him in heaven.

Pilate and Herod failed miserably. We have failed also. But Jesus did not fail. God promised a Messiah who would take away the sins of the world. This would be a King, a king who lay down his life for his people. Jesus fulfilled all of the promises. He completed the mission. Believe in him and you will be saved. AMEN.