Hypocrisy and Dead Religion

John 18:28-32

Turn with me in your bibles over to the gospel of John chapter 18. Last week, we left off at verse 27 of John 18, so, we begin this week at verse 28.

I want to talk to you tonight about how the practice of hypocrisy and dead religion, can rob us of our relationship with God. It can rob us of our salvation.

We are nearing the end of the passion week of Christ in the gospel of John. We have reached Friday morning. Jesus will be condemned to die and hanging on the cross by the afternoon.

John’s focus on this final week before the crucifixion of Jesus, really began back in chapter 13. He dedicated half of His gospel to this part of the story. It was there, the disciples gathered in the upper room to celebrate the Passover meal.

Jesus began by teaching them the humility of servitude by washing their feet, as an example of how they were to serve one another and an example of humility for us today.

He then instituted the Lords supper, to commemorate His suffering in anticipation of His return. He would then predict Judas betrayal, and Peter’s denial.

Upon leaving the upper room, while traveling through the streets of Jerusalem, Jesus continued to teach the 11 remaining disciples, Judas having already departed, stopping only to pray the High Priestly prayer we have recorded for us in John chapter 17.

Last week, we talked about Jesus going forth on a mission, with a divine appointment in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas knows of the place and Jesus is going to meet His betrayer there.

In the garden, Judas shows up, according to God’s plan with a band of soldiers and temple officers, complete with torches, lanterns and weapons, and they arrest Jesus.

However, John makes it clear: Jesus was not a victim, and unless He was willing to surrender, they would not have been able to arrest Him. When He asked, whom they were seeking, He blew the soldiers to the ground when He answered, “ I am He.”

Jesus could have called 12 legions of angels to His defence in that moment, but that was not the plan of God. His purpose for coming into the world was to bare the wrath of God for the forgiveness of our sin.

Last week, we talked about Jesus being taken to Annas first, for questioning. Annas was the unofficial High Priest and the father in law of Caiaphas the actual High Priest that year.

This was an illegal action according to Jewish law, but they were not interested in following the rules when it came to Jesus. They had already determined, He was going to die.

While Jesus was standing on trial, in the court of the High Priest, Peter is standing in the court yard with the world, denying Christ. That brings us to our passage tonight.

Let me ask you this, how do we know the events we are reading actually happened?

The bible is a book of history. These are historical documents written from 30-60 years after the events occured. They are a record in time, and the same methods used to make sure any historical document is accurate can be used to evaluate scripture.

The author, dates, people, and places described are all historically accurate and verified by extra- biblical sources.

Furthermore, we know the Jewish scribes and Roman historians went to great lengths and painstaking measures to accurately record their history, and no where in history do you find disputes about what is written here.

Also, from the moment Jesus died, rose again, and ascended into heaven, the church began to recite an oral record of the events that occurred, until they were later recorded by eyewitnesses in scrolls.

Therefore as we read of the condemnation of Jesus, we need to remember this is not a myth or a fairytale. These are actual events that took place at a time in history, and when you consider it from that standpoint, what we are reading is the most significant event in the history of the world.

This is the Son of God, dying for the forgiveness of our sin, to reconcile our rebellious hearts back to God, so we can be saved!!

No where do we see more rebellious hearts than in the scripture we are about to read. As we read through these verse we are confronted by the hypocrisy of dead religion, and it is meant for us to use as a tool, to evaluate our own heart, and make sure we are in a right relationship with God.

The point of this study is: A follower of Christ, guards their heart from hypocrisy, so that it does not rob them of their salvation.

John 18:28–32 KJV

Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.

I want to look at this passage tonight under three headings. I. In Vs. 28 We see they had no conscious. II. In Vs. 29-30, They had no charge. III. In Vs. 31-32 They had no choice.

Lets begin by looking at the fact;

I. They Had No Conscious.

The Jewish leaders didn’t care about right or wrong they were complete hypocrites.

Notice the beginning of Vs 28 it says, “Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment:”

It is interesting that John doesn’t record Jesus, on trial before Caiphas. You find that information in Matthew 26, and Mark 14.

Perhaps John didn’t feel it was necessary. The results were a foregone conclusion. The outcome had already been determined and the whole trial was illegal by all standards of Jewish law.

We know from Matthew 26:57, while Jesus was on trial before Annas, the Jewish council, called the Sanhedrin, had convened in the early morning hours. So, they were prepared when Jesus arrived before Caiphas.

They brought in false witnesses, but could not produce any evidence. Finally, Caiaphas confronts Jesus directly and asks, “Are you the Christ? tell us plainly!!” And Jesus replied “I am” which meant more than just “yes it is true.” It meant, “yes, in fact I am the one spoken of by the prophet Daniel, who would be the Messiah!”

At this, the Jewish council recoil in horror and charged Him with blaspheme, A crime deserving of the death penalty. Since it is illegal to formally charge someone with a crime before morning, they convene and return in a couple hours. At that point they send Jesus to Pilate.

John records more details of the trial before Pilate than the other gospel writers. The hall of Judgment in Vs. 28 is called the Praetorium. It was the place Pilate would stay when he came to Jerusalem.

Pilate lived in Cesarea, near the Mediterranean Sea, and would only come to Jerusalem when there was a big event like the Passover. His only concern was the possibility of an uprising, and during the Passover tensions would be high because the Jews were celebrating their deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

Well, they were currently living under Roman occupation. So, you can see Pilate’s concern. He would set up a military outpost, probably in Herod’s palace, during the Passover and they called it the judgement hall or Praetorium.

It is important we understand Pilate had disdain for the Jews and the Jews had disdain for Pilate. Historically speaking, Pilate was a weak man with a lot of power. He would use his authority over the Jews, brutally and violently to cover up his weakness.

For example we read in Luke 13:1 “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.”

Apparently, there were people from Galilee, who came with an offering and Pilate had them killed with their offering.

Notice Vs. 28 tells us, “and it was early;” The Jews had been meeting throughout the night because they wanted to get this over with and celebrate the Passover.

Also, this would have been required by Pilate. The Roman authorities were notorious for wanting to finish their work before noon. Therefore, this speedy trial of Jesus was advantageous for everyone involved.

Then John begins to point out the irony of their hypocrisy. It is important we understand that hypocrisy from a biblical standpoint is: the contrast between your outward display of righteousness and the inward condition of your heart.

It comes from a Greek word that was used to describe actors in the theater wearing masks to represent the characters they portrayed. Well, the Jews who brought Jesus to Pilate were wearing the mask of dead religion.

Notice the end of Vs. 28, “and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.”

They were already defiled weren’t they? They would not enter into the Praetorium because it was a Gentile residence and that would make them ceremonially unclean, and unable to celebrate the Passover.

Apparently, being in the home of a Gentile, and in the presence of leavened bread made them unclean according to their religion, but killing an innocent man didn’t.

How ironic is it, they were strictly practicing their religious rituals to make sure they were right with God, while at the same time, bringing the Lamb of God and Savior of the world to be killed.

This speaks to us about the practice of dead religion, or all of the things we do that make us feel as though we are earning God’s favor. It is only by being in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ that we are saved.

God made it clear to Israel it was about their heart, Micah 6:6–8 “With what shall I come to the Lord And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

These Jewish leaders had no consciousness of their sin. Their relationship with God was nothing more than outward acts of dead religion. There was nothing taken place in their heart, no conviction of sin and no repentance.

This is an example for us to beware of. We can consider their actions, their life and compare the with our own practices and evaluate whether we are truly living for God.

The question we have to ask ourselves is: why do we do the things we do? Are we too focused on the outward appearance of righteousness, without any attention to our heart. We want to make sure our religious practice is not just taking place on the outside, but we are truly being converted on the inside.

There was no conversion inside of the Jews in our story. They were lost and had no conscious about it.

How can we remain guarded about the hypocrisy in our own life? (Constant evaluation)

The next thing I want to show you is:

II. They Had No Charge Vs. 29-30.

Jesus was truly an innocent man and all they had were accusations.

Notice the beginning of Vs. 29, “Pilate then went out unto them,”

Interestingly, Pilate is very willing to accommodate the Jews in their hypocrisy. “He went out to them.” He probably doesn’t want them in his residence anymore than they want to be there.

So, he meets them outside. But that sets up this very strange repetitious scene, of Pilate going back and forth, from the inside to the outside, questioning Jesus, and informing and responding to the Jews.

Picture the scene, the Jewish authority is standing out on the steps leading up to the hall of judgment. Pilate was standing on the top of the steps, flanked by Guards and soldiers.

Meanwhile Jesus would have been bound just inside the hall, an earshot away, yet able to hear the conversation taking place outside.

Then notice the question of Vs. 29, “and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?”

This would have signaled to the Jews that Pilate meant business. He intended to conduct a real trial. They didn’t have time for that, but Pilate was not just going to appease them as they had hoped for.

Pilate was well aware of everything going on. In fact, he sent soldiers with the Jews, the night before to arrest Jesus. So, they were not just randomly bringing Jesus before the Roman Governor. Now, Pilate wants to know their charges against him.

Perhaps he was having second thoughts. We know from Matthew 27:19 Pilate’s wife sent him a message begging him to “have nothing to with that righteous man” because she had “suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

Or perhaps it was just because Pilate understood their heart Matthew 27:18 “For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.” They were envious of Jesus because the people loved Him and believed.

The Jews in John’s gospel obviously don’t have any real charges because notice their response in Vs. 30, “They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.”

The word “malefactor” is only used in the KJV and it means a wicked person or an evil doer. But this is not a charge, it’s a character description they have come up with.

They have charged Him according to their law with blasphemy, but they know if Pilate conducts a real trial that will not stand.

We know from Luke 23:2-5 they will settle on the charge of rebellion against Rome, Which is just another false accusation but the one that will get Jesus crucified. So, they are purposely being vague with Pilate.

By the way, we do this same thing to get what we want, or achieve our purpose. We disguise the truth by omitting details we don’t want others to know, or we manipulate the truth with half truths, to get what we want.

That is what the Jews were doing here. They are the epitome of what James warns us against in James 3:14 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”

It is important we make telling the truth a priority in our life. It not only effects our relationship with one another, it effects are relationship with God.

How can we be diligent about making truth and honesty a priority?

So, we have seen the Jews in our story had no conscious, and the had no charges, The final thing I want you to see is:

III. They Had No Choice Vs. 31-32

All of the choices they had for what to do with Jesus was removed from their hands.

Notice Vs. 31, “Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:”

Pilate knew their plot against Jesus was unlawful. He knew it was noting for Rome to be involved in. It was all just trumped up charges of their religion, something Pilate had nothing but disdain for. So, he orders them to take Jesus away and deal with Him themselves.

However, that is where they run into a problem. They were not allowed to execute anyone. Rome had taken that authority away. But, even this was a lie, because we read in the scripture how the Jews would often stone people to death.

Remember the woman caught in adultery. They chase her to Jesus and they are ready to stone her and Jesus says, “let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” Also, remember Steven, in the book of Acts chapter 7. He became the first martyr of the church when they stoned him to death.

So, the question becomes: why will they not execute Jesus themselves?

Matthew 21:46 “When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.”

Mark 12:12 “And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people,”

Luke 22:2 “The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.”

So, what we see is the Jews wanted Pilate to do their dirty work for them, so they could remain in good standing with the people. They couldn’t be responsible for death of someone the people loved so much.

Again this is all a bunch of hypocrisy. Of course they were responsible for His death, but their only concern was the outward appearance.

This scripture is provided for us so we understand what is taking place in our heart is just as important to God, as what is taking place on the outside. It doesn’t matter how religious we look or act, if we are not growing and changing on the inside.

So, the Jews refused to execute Jesus because they feared the people or at least that is what they believed. However, there was deeper reason. A more important reason, that left them no choice but to bring Jesus to Pilate.

Notice Vs. 32, “That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.”

Jesus had already predicted God’s design for His death, and whether the Jews were afraid of the people was inconsequential. God was in control.

John 3:14 ““As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;”

John 12:32–33 ““And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.”

If the Jews would have stoned Jesus to death, He would not have been lifted up. He had to die on the cross, at the hands of the Romans.

Matthew 20:18–19 ““Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.””

The Jewish leaders in our passage are an example for us of hypocrisy that separates us from God and ends in eternal damnation. While practicing their religious rituals, they believed were so important in maintaining their righteous standing with God, they allowed their dead religion to send them straight to hell.

As believers we have to constantly evaluate our heart and remain in a ready state of repentance. 2 Corinthians 10:3–5.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

There is a conflict taking place in our mind that is a battle for our soul, and we fight that battle by being obedient to God. If we are not trying to fight that battle, and live in obedience to God, we are surrendering to the enemy and practicing the same religious hypocrisy as the Jews in our passage. We are deceiving ourselves into believing our religion can save us, and it wont.

We need to be in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and recognize we are sinners in need of a Savior. We need God’s forgiveness and grace to help us overcome and correct the mistakes we make.