John 18:19-40
As we continue in John 18 we come to the trial of Jesus as John and Peter follow watching. They are coming to the house of Annas- one of the high priests. From other gospels we can gather that John and Peter can see Jesus and Jesus can see them as well. Now in verse 19 Annas is trying to get Jesus to both- tell on His friends(disciples) and confess Himself that He is proclaiming to be the Messiah. Now everything about this trial is against the law in itself- first the fact that it’s taking place in the middle of the night to the early hours of the next day, but right here- a true trial- the counsel should have witnesses in place. Instead they’re trying to get Jesus to bring forward witnesses and Jesus calls them out on this.
Now in verse 22 something so disturbing happens when the guard strikes Jesus across the face for His response toward Annas. As Peter and John watch- this is the beginning of the physical sufferings of their Rabbi. How real must this have felt for them. This is really happening and it’s happening right in front of them. And then in verse 24 Annas sends Jesus bound to the other high priest Caiaphas. Friends- this is God bound in handcuffs- suffering for our sake. Let this picture play in your mind as we read through this crooked trial.
Verse 25-27 we come back to Peter’s denial of Jesus. This is the second denial by the fire and then they follow up again insisting that Peter is one of Jesus’ followers and Peter denies a third time and the rooster crows fulfilling what Jesus had told him in the upper room. Think of how much this must have pierced Peters’ soul. David Guzik brings up a interesting point about these denials- “Now these denials are not denying theological truth like - denying Jesus is the son of God, denying Jesus is sinless and holy, denying that Jesus rose from the dead. This is not the denying Peter did- Peter completely denied being even associated with Jesus. He said I am not connect with that guy at all- but this is the same when we deny Jesus today. You can believe all the Truth about Jesus- but then deny your association with Him”. -Guzik. When push comes to shove and someone really puts you in the spotlight to be bold in your faith- how do you respond? How about if it’s a fellow believer that is being made fun of- do you defend them because they are a brother or sister in Christ with you? We need to try and remember as best we can- that we are all differently made by God- and that is beautiful, but the one thing we do have in common as Christians- is we are ALL in the Family of Jesus Christ. Always stand by your fellow believer as if they were your own family member because for all of eternity- they are! By doing this- you are not denying Jesus.
Verse 28 -Remember John’s gospel was written later than the previous 3 so he doesn’t go into as much detail about the trials with Annas and Caiaphas. But he does add in that these priests still conform to their rituals and don’t go into the house to defile themselves for Passover, but they will illegally try and murder the Messiah. So we come to the scene with Pilot in 29 and Pilot is wanting them to admit why they have brought Jesus to him. It gets even more political here because the priests wanted Jesus executed- they needed Pilot’s approval for this. And then John adds in verse 32 how Jesus had predicted earlier how He would die (John 12:32-33).
So now Pilate is going to come flat out and ask in verse 33-“Are YOU the king of the Jews?” In the ancient language its translated that the emphasis was on “You” from Pilate. And Jesus responds with, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” Now this is very important because if Pilate is asking for his own accord -if Pilate is asking for Rome- then this means that Jesus is a threat to the empire- the answer is No, but if Pilate is asking for the Jewish leaders- then the question would be “are You the Messiah?”-then the answer is Yes. Pilate follows up in verse 35, “what have you done?” And Jesus’ response is straight up telling Pilate that He is a King- but His kingdom is way beyond this world. And Jesus goes on to say how all He has done in this world is proclaim truth- He has healed the sick, calmed the storms, fed thousands and many have witnessed this and they have recognized that Jesus is Truth. But Pilate responds in verse 38, “what is truth?” Pilate’s definition of truth is military and political power. Jesus’ Truth is beyond that- Jesus’ Truth is the “Lagas “ the perfect Word and Order of the universe that is Jesus Christ!
We see in verses 38-40 Pilate fails to stand firmly in right and wrong as a judge - he folds and doesn’t defend the innocent but puts Jesus’ fate in the hands of the people -and he falls back on a custom that he allows the people to decide who gets released. He wants to please the crowd instead of doing the right thing and the people chose Barabbas- a thief, a traitor and a murderer. There was 3 crosses set up for that day- and one of those was supposed to be for Barabbas. So Jesus died for Barabbas- the innocent for the guilty. Let’s remember- you and me are Barabbas. And Jesus- the sinless man died on our cross - that cross was set up that day for us and our sins. And Jesus paid the penalty in our place. What an image to think about. Thank you Jesus!
Discussion:
How can we be bold in our Faith when we are put in those situations of proclaiming Jesus and not denying Him? What are situations in the Fire Service where you run into these?
Jesus is Truth- what does this mean to you? How do you know you are walking in Jesus’ Truth?
Picture that scene of Barabbas’ cross all set for him that day -and Jesus- the sinless man took that cross in Barabbas’ place and saved him. How does that make you feel to think that was your cross- and Jesus eternally saved you from death?