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John 18
Verses 28-40
John 18:28 “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. 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What
accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and
said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not
have delivered him up unto thee. 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: 32 That the saying of Jesus might be
fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should
die.
33 Then Pilate entered into
the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto
him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him,
Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it
thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation
and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast
thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this
world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my
servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews:
but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore
said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou
sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for
this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness
unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my
voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?
And when he had said this, he
went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in
him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should
release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that
I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 Then cried they
all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas
was a robber.”
In John's
account, he did not address the mock trial before the
Sanhedrin court
and the trial before Pilate. Those are covered in the other
gospels.
“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.”
The hypocrisy of these men is greatly
evident as they would not go into the judgment hall, lest
they be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover. All
the time they had the true Passover in their custody.
“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.”
Pilate was gracious as a Roman
governor as he went out unto them and thus respected their
religious beliefs even though he, himself, was not a Jew.
However, when Pilate asked them what the accusation was
against Jesus, their reply was “If he were not a
malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.”
They showed great disrespect to the
Roman governor Pilate with this statement. The truth was
they had no charge, even false charge, that would justify
putting Jesus to death by the Roman judicial system.
“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: 32 That the saying of Jesus might be
fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should
die.”
Under the Roman judicial system to
which the Jews were in bondage, it was unlawful for them to
put a man to death. Only under the decree of the Roman
judicial system could a man be put to death. Pilate as
governor was a part of the Roman judicial system. That is
why they brought Jesus to Pilate.
“Then Pilate entered into the
judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him,
Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest
thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of
me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the
chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou
done?”
That Pilate would ask the prisoner
“what hast thou done,” shows the great and unusual nature of
the trials of Jesus. Who ever heard of bringing a man to
trial and asking the man what hast thou done? The Jewish
accusers only said that he was a malefactor without bringing
any specific charge against him.
“Jesus answered, My kingdom
is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to
the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”
As Jesus stated, his kingdom is not of
this world. It is not a natural kingdom such as Rome or
Israel was or any other nation. Rather it is a spiritual
kingdom. Jesus said that if his kingdom was of this world
then would his servants fight,
that he should not be delivered
unto the Jews. Christ kingdom is from above, not from this
world.
“Pilate therefore said unto
him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came
I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate
saith unto him, What is truth?”
Truly Jesus was born a king and came into the world to
establish his kingdom and to bear witness unto the truth.
Moreover, every one that is of the truth heareth his voice.
It is His elect family that are born of the Spirit of God
that are of the truth and heareth his voice.
“And when he had said this,
he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find
in him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I
should release unto you one at the passover: will ye
therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40
Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but
Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.”
From this we make the following observations:
1.
Pilate found no fault in Jesus at all.
2.
The Romans had a custom to release one of the Jewish
prisoners at the Passover.
3.
Pilate desired to release Jesus at the Passover.
4.
The Jews, however, preferred that a robber named
Barabbas be released at the Passover instead of Jesus.
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