How reluctant we humans are to submit to God’s authority. If we realize what the consequences are when we do not want to acknowledge God as the Lord of our lives, we will also understand how the pious Jews came to shout ‘We have no king but Caesar!’
Many people who consider themselves Christians, cry out through their daily life, ‘We do not want Him to be king of our life!’
Everyone who knows Who Jesus is and yet does not accept Him as king in the everyday practice of his life, is partly to blame for the crucifixion of Jesus. For if Jesus lived on earth nowadays as He lived then, He would be condemned by perhaps 99% of the religious people: namely, by everyone who wants to be religious, but does not want to acknowledge God as supreme ruler in his life.
‘The Jews’ of whom John speaks here, were people who were not willing to do the will of God. Throughout all ages there have been wicked people who - in a false piousness - recite God’s laws and take His covenant on their lips, but who hate His instruction to their very marrow (Psalm 50:16,17). As in those days these Jews did, nowadays many Christians refuse to submit to Him, and - in fact - cry out every day from the bottom of their hearts ‘Crucify! Crucify!’
But if our eyes are really opened to the Man of suffering, we will kneel down before Him with a humble heart and just long to be crucified with Him, and thereby live the life with Him that He gives in His mercy (Galatians 2:20). That means being a new creation, redeemed of all depraved thinking of this world.