Lessons from John 18: Who is Jesus?

Let me ask you if you had to choose between coffee or tea, what would you choose? Now turn to the person on your left and tell them, If you were to choose your favorite season, summer, winter, spring or fall, what would you choose? Now, turn to the person on your right and share, “If you could choose any place in the world to vacation, where would you choose to go?”

Well, the most important question you will ever be asked is: “Who is Jesus?” And how a person answers that question will have eternal consequences.

In tonight’s lesson, the Roman Governor Pilate had the opportunity to meet Jesus face to face, and in doing so, Pilate had to decide what he believed about Jesus. And as a result of this lesson, so will we!

I. Pilate’s Questioning of Jesus~~~John 18:28-40

II. Pilate Orders the Crucifixion of Jesus~~~John 19:1-17

It’s important to know that though John does not speak about Jesus trial before Caiaphas or the meeting with Herod of Antipas, which is found in Luke 23:6-12, John does provide us with more details about Jesus’ trials than any of the other gospel writers.

Matthew 26:58 tells us that, after an illegal trial in the middle of the night, and after arranging for many false witnesses to testify against Jesus, the Jewish religious leaders could not find any evidence against Jesus that would allow them to put Him to death. But, finally, two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in one day.” This suggested that Jesus was going to violently tear down the temple and go to war against its people the Jews!

So when the High Priest, Caiaphas heard this, he stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent. Therefore the high priest we are told, said to Jesus, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” And Jesus replied, “Yes, it is as you say…but I say to all of you: In the future, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

At once, the high priest as if stricken with shuttering news, tore his clothes as if in utter shock and remorse over Jesus words and cried out, “He has spoken blasphemy!” (calling Himself God, which to the Jews was a great crime and punishable by death under God’s law found in Leviticus 24:16)

But what they failed to understand was that Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. Yet, the religious leaders refused to even consider that Jesus words were true. They had already decided against Jesus (they had made their choice) and in doing so, they sealed not only their own fate but Jesus’ as well.

Well, after falsely declaring Jesus worthy of death, they spit in his face and struck Him with their fists and plotted on how to turn Jesus over to the Roman governor Pilate and have Him crucified.

You see though the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Religious Council, was the most powerful religious and political body of Jewish people, they themselves could not execute anyone. Only the Romans who controlled Israel’s government at that time could execute the death penalty by way of crucifixion.

The Jewish government was given permission to handle their own disputes and some civil disputes, which the Sanhedrin did, but a death sentence had to be approved by the Roman government. And though the Jewish Religious Leaders had arrested Jesus with the help of Roman Soldiers, it was the Jews that had convicted Jesus of being guilty of blasphemy for His claim to be equal with God as His unique and divine Son.

Yet, they also knew that without the conviction of the Roman court, the case against Jesus would be thrown out. And so, they falsely accused Jesus of being a rebel who claimed to be a king and suggested that Jesus was a threat to Caesar.

And so with their plan of deceit and false accusations in hand they take Jesus from the courts of Caiaphas into the court of Pilate, the Roman governor at that time.

Here is where we pick up John 18:28 and in order to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; for it was forbidden for any Jew to enter the house of a Gentile. To do so would be considered ceremonially unclean or defiled and unable to participate or partake in any worship at the temple or any celebration or feast until the defiled person had been restored. And because the Passover was now only hours away these men refused to enter into Pilates courts. And as one of our leaders said, “It became all about the food.” The once a year celebration!

But really if we were to go deeper, it was really, all about the heart! These men wanted to appear good or godly on the outside, while the inside was as black as the night they had just walked out of. These men, though religious leaders cared nothing for God and His precious words and promises. Nor did they care for His people or they would have understood the truth of who Jesus was. They would have chosen to believe in His Word and the Prophecies about Him.

In doing so, they would have found it in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, and then they would have held it out before the people. But instead, they were blinded by their own agenda, and because they wanted more than a death by way of stoning, they chose to deliver Jesus over to Pilate who alone had the power and authority to order Jesus’ crucifixion.

And I think it’s fair to say that since the Roman soldiers had cooperated with the Jewish leadership in having Jesus arrested, the Jewish Religious Leaders assumed getting a death charge against Jesus would come easily. Yet, so that God might fulfill His will in the process of this event, it would not come about as easily as they would have liked it too.

Terri Hamman

Faith & Fitness Coach