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That you may believe
The gospel of John
The road to calvary
John 18:28-19:16
Introduction: Anne with crime shows that feature people being wrongly accused and sentenced
Background: After the arrest of Jesus, Jesus demonstrates his sovereignty over the situation as well as his determination and courage
On the other hand, Peter who had boasted of his faith he would die for, cowers in fear over simple questions of association with Jesus and denies him three times.
Background: not every part of Jesus’s sham trial is recorded in the gospel of John. For instance his hearing with Herod is not recorded.
Yet, what we have solidifies the purpose and plan of God
Please do not see Jesus as a helpless and weak victim.
Jesus uses every opportunity to reveal the hard hearted sinfulness of men and the leaders.
Ill. Story of captured Israeli soldier- never broken
“the trials of the Lord Jesus Christ are history’s most egregious miscarriage of justice. In them the friend of sinners faced the hatred of sinners, the judge of all the earth was arraigned before petty human judges, the exalted Lord of glory was humiliated by being mocked, spit upon and beaten; the Holy and righteous one was treated as a vile sinner, the one who is truth was impugned by evil liars.”Macarthur, p. 324
Let us examine this fake trail that ironically the Jewish leaders thought they had pre planned yet see that is was God who had planned and prepared this way all along.
Yet, all along there was a man stuck in the middle who knew the right thing to do but lacked the courage to do it- Pilate
I. Phase I of the trial
a. Insistent accusations by the religious leaders. Vs 28-32
i. Jesus was led by Annas and Caiphas( this interrogation is not recorded in John). Again, this is not a full play by play but conveyed what the author, John, needed early believers to understand
1. Reminder- Jesus had 3 civil trials and 3 religious trials yet none of them concluded his guilt
ii. Preatorium
1. Jesus was led here by his captors, yet they would not enter
2. It was considered a place of defilement as it was a Roman owned residence of Pilate
3. Since it was Passover, they would not enter thus keeping themselves religiously and ceremonially clean
4. “illustrative of the twisted devotion of religious legalist, the Jewish leaders expected to please God through their legalism expressed in physical separation from a Gentile house, while at the same time illegally murdering God’s son.
iii. Pilate asked for their formal charges
1. Yet they had none
2. Their motive for bringing Jesus here was even obvious to Pilate, which is one reason who tried to avert the outcome
a. They brought him out of envy, hatred and jealousy with one thing in mind- his death
3. They came “early” in the morning with the hopes of Pilate simply rubber stamping their requests for his execution
4. His death was something they could not determine on their own but had to be ordered by the Roman leader, certainly infuriated them
5. Yet all is in line with the prophecy of Jesus himself.
a. Mark 10:33-34 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priest and the scribes and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
b. Pilate questions Jesus. Vs 33-38a
i. Pilate- a quick background
1. Fifth governor of Judea by emperor Tiberius in AD 26
2. He was proud, arrogant and cynical
3. He was also weak and vacillating
ii. Pilates question: are you the king of the Jews?
1. The goal of the jews was to paint Jesus as an insurrectionist capable of overthrowing the Roman government
2. Pilates is really asking him are you guilty or not guilty?
iii. Jesus does not evade the question but counters to define exactly what this entails.
iv. Pilates response indicates he knows this from here say not from experience
v. Pilate asks another question? What have you done?
1. Really asking what did you do to make these Jewish leaders so mad and envious?
2. Jesus response- my kingdom is not of this world
a. Christs kingdom is spiritually active in the world today
b. One day He will return to physically regin on the arth in millennial glory
vi. Pilate asks again- so you are a king?
1. Vs 37 Jesus responds
a. You say correctly I am
b. For this I was born
c. For this I came into the world
d. Taken together these phrases are an unmistakable reference to the preexistence and incarnation of the son of God
2. It is Christ who proclaims the truth- of himself and of mankind
vii. Pilate respond cynically- what is truth?
1. Truth is the problem for fallen man
2. Without God there can be no absolutes
3. Without absolutes there can be no objective, universal, normative truths
c. Pilates verdict- not guilty. Vs 38b-40
i. Lets release Barabbas
1. Barabbas was not just a thief but a murder and insurrectionist himself
ii. Their wholesale response was release insurrectionist Barabbas but kill insurrectionist Jesus.
1. Reveals their true desire not for justice by jealousy
II. Phase II of the trial- this is the third and final phase of his civil trial
a. Torture and mocking of Jesus. Vs 1-3
i. Again all prophesied by Jesus himself, as if they are following His playbook
ii. The emphasis on Johns writings is never on the horrors of Jesus abuse or even his mistreatment, yet these are clearly seen
iii. This type of torture was so horrible that Roman citizens were exempt from it
1. A whip embedded with bone and metal that would shred the skin of anyone touched by it
iv. A crown of thorns- mocking both Jesus as a king and the accusation of the Jewish leaders
v. A purple robe- purple was the color of royalty- still a mocking gesture
vi. Slapped him- unjustified treatment for a person whom no guilt has been found in.
b. Pilates verdict, again. Vs 4-6
i. Still not guilty
ii. So why would an innocent man be treated this way?
1. To appease the Jewish leaders whom he feared would have him removed
2. The lack of character in the life of Pilate is on full display
iii. “Behold the man” certainly not the king you propose him to be
c. Religious leaders response. Vs 6-7
i. Demand crucifixion- not contained within the Jewish law
ii. Pilate responds with you do it
1. Could have been mocking them
2. Could have been opening the door for the possibility as he saw he was losing control of the situation
iii. Their basis- based on Jewish law he claimed to be the son of God so he deserved death
d. Pilate questions Jesus again. Vs 8-12
i. With great fear, what if he really were the son of God
1. His wife had already warned him she had a dream about Jesus and to have nothing to do with this man!
ii. Jesus gives no response to his question of where he was from?
1. The question concerned his nature: are you from heaven or earth?
2. Jesus silence depicts once again the prophecy found in Isaiah 53:7 “like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He didi not open his mouth”
iii. Pilate falsely asserts his power and authority
iv. Jesus puts him in his place
1. “Although Pilate was a responsible moral agent and accountable for his actions, he did not have ultimate control over events related to the Son of God.”
2. Even the death of Jesus is not outside the sovereignty of God
3. The greater sin is that of the Jews who denied and abandoned their Messiah.
v. Pilate continues to try to release Jesus but to no avail
vi. The Jews play their final card: you are no friend of ceasar if you let him go
1. Pilate could not reisk having them report to the emperor that he had released an insurrectionist who claimed to be king
2. Ironically, the Jews themselves hated Ceasar but used this to their advantage.
a. They would prefer a roman ruler over them compared to the rule of God himself
b. This is common for the Jewish people
i. Saul as first king
e. Pilate caves to the religious leaders demands. Vs 13-14
i. His final pronouncement
1. “Behold your King”
ii. Continued response: crucify him
1. Shall I crucify your king
2. Their appalling response: We have no king but Ceasar
f. Delivered to be crucified. Vs 15-16
i. Declared innocent three times, he was sentenced unjustly to die the cruel execution of the cross
III. In Matthew 27:22 Pilate put it another way:
a. “What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?
b. ‘we all face the same question and dilemma
i. Will you stand with his accusers and reject Him condemning yourself to face his eternal wrath and judgment
ii. Or will you acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior
c. Face to face with Jesus, Pilate chose to turn and deny him much like Judas
There is no middle ground on where you stand with
