Saturday, April 10
Read John 18
Think About It:
Long before the Jewish leaders had Jesus arrested in the garden, they had determined to kill Him. However, the Jewish Council did not have the right to execute prisoners, so it was necessary to get the cooperation and approval of Rome. This meant a visit to Rome and procurator, Pontius Pilate.
There were three stages in both the Jewish trial and Roman trial. First, after His arrest, Jesus was taken to the home of Annas and their interrogated informally. Annas hoped to get information that would implicate Jesus as an enemy of the state. He wanted to prove that both His doctrine and His disciples were anti-Roman, for then He would be worthy of death.
Stage two of the Jewish trial took place before Caiaphas and whatever members of the Sanhedrin the high priest could assemble at that hour of the night. When Jesus confessed clearly that He was the Christ, the council found Him guilty of blasphemy and therefore, according to their law, worthy of death. However, it was necessary for the council to meet early the next morning and give their verdict, since it was not considered legal to try capital cases at night. So, stage three of the Jewish trial took place as early as possible, the leaders condemned Jesus to death. The three stages of the Roman trial were the first appearance before Pilot, the appearance before Herod, and the second appearance before Pilot. John focuses primarily on the Roman trial. By the time he wrote this gospel, the Jewish nation had been scattered by Rome, Jerusalem had been destroyed, and the Roman power was all that really mattered.
When you seriously consider the three accusations against Jesus, you could see that they were completely unsupportable. For one thing, He had not subverted the nation, either politically or religiously. Of course, He publicly denounced the Pharisees and their hypercritical religious system, but He was not the first one – or the only one – to do that. Jesus had blessed the nation and brought them new hope. The fact that some of the militant Jews saw in Him a potential king was not our Lord’s fault, He had fled from all such political demonstrations.
Pilots reply to Jesus showed what the Romans thought of the Jews: “Am I a Jew?” No doubt there was an obvious tone of disdain and sarcasm in his voice. Jesus was not a prisoner because Pilot had arrested Him, but because His own nation’s leaders had arrested Him! Where there’s smoke there’s fire, so Pilot asked, “What have you done?”
Graciously, Jesus consented to explain Himself and His kingdom. Yes, He admitted that He is a King, but His Kingdom does not come from the authority of the world. The Jews were under Roman authority, and Pilot was under the authority of the emperor, but Jesus received His authority from God Almighty. His Kingdom is spiritual, in the hearts of His followers, and He does not depend on worldly or fleshly means to advance His cause. If His kingdom were from the world, by now His followers would have assembled an army and fought to release Him.
At least Pilot had the courage to face the crowd and declare his verdict, “I find Him not guilty.” But he did not get the response he desired, for the chief priests and elders only began to accuse Jesus all the more. Jesus was silent before His accusers, and this silence amazed Pilot. Could this king not even defend himself? If He did not speak, how could anyone secure any evidence?
Family Time:
- How many times did Peter deny knowing Jesus? (verses 17, 25-26).
- Who did the Jews decide to release instead of Jesus? (verses 38-40)
