John 18:28-38

Encountering Jesus

Hebron Church of Hope

John 18:28-38

August 30th, 2026

Initial Outline - Structure

Setting - v.28

Rising Tension - v.29-32

Climax - vv.33-37a

Resolution v.37b-38.

Emphasis: Kings and Kingdoms

Pilate and the religious leaders vv.28-32.

Looking good on the outside while rotting away on the inside.

Pilate and Jesus vv.33-38.

Pushing away the truth because you don’t like it.

Context 

Literary Context

Passage Before - John 17 - the high priestly prayer. Jesus prays to the Father for his Glory and then for the good of his followers to walk in his ways. This chapter long pray is a deep dive in the discovery of praying like Christ. It teaches us what matters most and how we can be thankful for the prayer ministry of Jesus that continues today on our behalf.

Passage After - John 19 - The crowd decided to take Barabbas over Jesus. Jesus is flogged and mocked by the roman soldiers. Pilate tries to get rid of Jesus, but the crowds rise in a fury and shout for his crucifixion. Pilate gives them what they want and washes his hands clean of the case. Jesus is taken to the cross where he will die an excruciating death. He is pierced and by the end of the chapter he is dead and buried in a grave paid for by Joseph of Arimathea.

Historical and Cultural Context

What is significant culturally historically? 

Historic - circumstances of the author and audience.

Note from RC Sproul by Josephus were quite helpful. Check them out in his commentary.

Pilate tried multiple times to desecrate the temple area but the Jewish people successfully protested multiple times.

Cultural - details and circumstances within the text.

There is the Jewish - Roman relationship between the leaders of the day and Pilate.

The age old question - what is truth? As posed by Pilate is a way for him to evade the real questions from Jesus.

Biblical Context 

Are there any biblical quotations? 

Verses 31-32 are meant to be an allusion to the standards of purification laws that would not allow anyone to be defiled when participating in the passover. There may be things that could make them unclean for a day and others for a week. What is in view here is the latter.

Author’s Aim 

Jesus is the King who willingly lays down his life for his people.

Sermon Crafting Stage Conclusion - Draft Argument: 

Surrender yourself to God rather than the tyranny of legalism and the world.

Draft Outline - Version 1

Beware the rot of legalism vv.28-32.

Beware the flight of worldly affection vv.33-38.

Surrender to God.

Connecting to the Gospel 

Insert Here 

Applications

Insert Here

“Jesus and Pilate”

Argument: Surrender yourself to God rather than the tyranny of legalism and the world.

 Introduction

Hook: what would you do if you were sitting before a ruling official for charges that you weren’t guilty of? Say you were in front of Governor Lamont? A Federal judge? President Trump? What would you say? Have you ever wondered what Pontius Pilate must have thought about his encounter with Jesus?

We live in a world that is full of people who are longing for justice. More often than not it’s not true justice, it’s justice on their terms. People

Argument: Surrender yourself to God rather than the tyranny of legalism and the world.

Beware the rot of legalism vv.28-32.

Context

Jesus has been arrested and brought to trial before the high priest where he’s accused of false crimes. They find him guilty and decide that he is worthy of death. Peter has denied Jesus three times and all the disciples have abandoned him. It looks like Jesus is all out on his own and that no one is going to intervene for him.

Exegesis

Arrival at the Governor’s headquarters.

Pilate was appointed governor of Judea in AD 26 and served there until AD 37.

Judea was not a desirable place to serve as a Roman official because the Jews were not exactly the conforming and compliant types.

Pilate faced multiple issues with the Jews during his time there. Early on he went into Jerusalem with the Roman standards and images of the emperor into the city. The people thought that it was outrageous to see an image of the emperor set up in the city. So they decided to stage a literal sit down strike. They surrounded his house and sat day in the street refusing to move for five days. Pilate told them if they didn’t move they would have their heads cut off. So, the Jews laid back and stretched out their necks, awaiting execution. Pilate backed down and removed the standards from the city.

Another time he even tried to bring votive shields into the Holy Place. The four sons of Herod sent a protest to the emperor and the emperor commanded Pilate to respect the Jews’ religious freedom and to remove the shields form the holy place.

He even took treasure from the temple to build an aqueduct. The people protested and Pilate sent his soldiers into the crowds to club people to death.

It’d be fair to say that the working relationship between Pilate and the Jews was fairly miserable. And the text tells us that they showed up to his house with Jesus early in the morning.

John gives us a key take on the issue at hand with the Jews. Defilement - outward or inward?

We know from chapter 13 that the upper room discourse was right before the passover festival.

The passover wasn’t just one meal. It was a week long celebration in the life of Jewish people in which they celebrated the way that God rescued them from the hands of the Egyptians It was vitally important that they were kept clean and undefiled in order to participate in the communal aspects of the celebration. No one wanted to be away from this celebration.

There is some irony that John is trying to show here. The Jews are concerned about entering the house of the roman official but they’re not concerned with how they’re handling Jesus. They’ve arrested him, set him up, and now they want Pilate to do their bidding.

Pilate - what are the charges? Theological challenges or something else?

Based off the little historical portrait that I shared with you, doesn’t it make sense that Pilate isn’t very interested in inserting himself into matters with the Jews?

He asks them a fairly reasonable question - what charges do you bring against this man?

Their response is somewhat indignant - we wouldn’t bring you anyone who wasn’t a criminal. It was like they were gaslighting him!

We should be thankful that we live in the place and time that we do. There is a law in our land - you are innocent until proven guilty.

However, that doesn’t mean everything is always done right. We see this broken all the time in different contexts.

Christians should be those who want justice, on God’s terms and in God’s time and in God’s ways.

We should also seek to walk out justice in a biblically appropriate manner. We should extend grace to those we know have a relationship with Christ and seek to live in peace, while thinking highly of others like Philippians 2:1-4 says.

Their response and Goal: put him to death.

They said - it’s not legal for us to put anyone to death. They had decided that he was guilty and worthy of death.

While it is wrong, this is according to God’s plan and fulfills the scripture.

Application

Legalism is concerned with outward appearances and not the heart.

Erik Raymond - legalism believes that we can earn or keep God’s favor by what we do.

Legalism promotes unbiblical standards.

Legalism promotes performance.

Legalism promotes division.

Legalism demotes Jesus.

Beware the flight of worldly affection vv.33-38.

Exegesis

Are you the king of the jews?

What have you done?

Jesus’ mission.

What is truth?

Application

Surrender to God.

Conclusion