Study the Bible
      with Pastor Gregory
      ByronBible Home

      Would you like to ask Pastor Gregory a question?



      "Divine Control of Jesus' Trial"
      John 18:28-36
      Theme: The more independence from God a sinner seeks to exert over his life, the more tragic that life becomes.

        1. The Inability of the sinner is demonstrated – 18:28-32

          1. They Cannot Avoid Defilement – v. 28

            1. Having bested the most competent that the man’s religiosity could produce, Jesus is handed over to the Roman’s for permission to execute Him.
            2. We are told that "they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early;"
              1. The "Praetorium" was the fortress that overlooked the Temple mount from where Rome was able to observe the "goings-on" of the Jews.
              2. That "… it was early …" further indicts the proceedings as illegal – Jesus having been found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death by the Jewish Sanhedrin hours before – cp. Luke 22:66-71
            3. There is an insight into the pitiful state of men when the acquit themselves of sin based on their own standard – "… and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover."
            4. Despite their devotion to the religious system, they had no ability to preserve themselves from defilement – they were corrupting themselves more systemically through the murderous hatred and rejection of Jesus than they ever could by the ceremonial infraction they feared.
            5. Try as men might, they cannot avoid continually defiling themselves because of the presence of sin and their flesh – cp. Romans 7:18-20, 24-25.

          2. They Cannot Defend Their Actions – vv. 29-30

            1. Since they would go into the Praetorium, "therefore Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this Man’?"
            2. Essentially, Pilate is asking the Jews to justify their request for Jesus death.
            3. Their response demonstrates two things:
              1. Their arrogance – they defiantly respond by daring Pilate to quibble with their demand – "They answered and said to him, ‘If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you’."
              2. Their duplicity – they had no real charges – they had trumped them up in order to justify their sinful and envious agenda – cp. Matthew 27:18
            4. Their accusation against Christ and their action in bringing Him before Pilate was indefensible and therefore they bullied Pilate into complying with them.
              1. The dynamic that existed between Pilate and the Jewish people was explosive
              2. Pilate’s career was full of fouled up exchanges with the Jews that had already caused him tremendous embarrassment in Rome.
                1. Upon assuming command, he entered Jerusalem with the Roman emblem (the image of Caesar) on the standards (flagpoles) of his army- causing a tremendous uproar and protest. Pilate threatened to kill those who persisted only to back down realizing the fallout of such a massacre.
                2. Some time later, Pilate determined the need for an aquaduct to bring water to Jerusalem and robbed the Temple treasury in order to pay for it – causing a tremendous riot that Pilate squelched by infiltrating the crowd with off duty soldiers to killed many in the mob.
                3. The possibly the worst was the occasion when he hung the shields of his army in the palace of Herod in Jerusalem and refused to remove them. The Jews protested because of Caesar’s emblem and appealed to Rome. Pilate was instructed to show deference to the Jewish sensitivities and therefore was forced to remove them.
              3. These events had created an environment where Pilate couldn’t afford another scene and therefore the Jews had him under their threat – revealing their arrogance.

          3. They Cannot Defy God’s Purpose – vv. 31-32

            1. However, Pilate wasn’t interested in their game and therefore "said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.’'’
            2. Pilate essentially states that these manipulating Jewish leaders didn’t need to involve him because they were going to do what they wanted regardless.
            3. They were guilty of killing by stoning people prior to this event and would do so again shortly after this event – cp. Acts 7:54-58; 12:2.
            4. Most likely because of the inability to predict the reaction of the populace of Jerusalem if they were to stone Jesus, they wanted Rome to do it – "The Jews said to him, ‘we are not permitted to put anyone to death.’"
            5. However, the Jews were fulfilling a role that had to be fulfilled if Jesus would die in a manner consistent with the prophecies of His death – "… to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die." – cp. Mark 10:32-34
            6. Thus, even in their hostility and defiance against God, they were fulfilling the plan of God for the provision of the atonement by Christ for the sins of the world.

        2. The Incredulity Toward the Savior is Disastrous – 18:33-35

          1. The Contempt for the Messiah – v. 33

            1. Pilate was not wanting to see this situation escalate – "Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’"
            2. The way that the question is framed, it is obvious that Pilate’s question was one of incredulity – He didn’t see anything that resembled a King.
            3. He was thus mocking Christ when he asked Him if He was the "King of the Jews."
            4. He shows contempt for the Lord – declaring that He was nothing special and He saw nothing royal about Him.
            5. In addition, Pilate was attempting to get Jesus to give him an easy case – a clear basis for executing Him: treason against Caesar.

          2. The Clarification of the Malignity – vv. 34-35

            1. Jesus understands that to answer "No" would to repudiate His purpose and calling; to answer "Yes" would be to confess a rivalry with Caesar – a justifiable cause for execution.
            2. Thus, Jesus responds by asking Pilate to clarify the attempted snarl – are you talking about the concerns you have as a Roman or the concerns you have been given religiously? -– "Jesus answered, ‘Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?’"
            3. Pilate then focuses the issue to be one of religious origin – "Pilate answered, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?’"
            4. Essentially, he indicates that Rome has no evidence against Him and that His trouble exists because of the religious issue – something Pilate acknowledges he has no resource by which to make assessment.
            5. Thus, it is the religiously infected people of God that want Jesus killed – not Rome.

        3. The Influence of God’s Sovereignty is Definite – 18:36

          1. The Superiority of God’s Kingdom Is Declared

            1. With this clarification, Jesus is not free to address the question by providing a clear statement on the nature and superiority of the Kingdom of God – "Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not [from] of this world.’"
            2. This is an important statement because in it, Jesus indicates that it is not "out of this world" that His kingdom would arise, but that it would come from Heaven and intrude into the affairs of men – cp. Matthew 6:10; Revelation 19:11-16; 21:3-4
            3. This does not eliminate the Millennial Kingdom (literal kingdom on the earth), but merely indicates that the Kingdom of God is not something that is sourced in man at all – but in God.
            4. Thus, the Kingdom of Christ is far superior to the kingdoms of this world – Christ isn’t interested at this point in overtaking Rome – it is far inferior to the Kingdom over which He rules.

          2. The Sovereignty of God’s Kingdom Is Demonstrated

            1. Jesus then illustrates that His kingdom is not of this world – "If My kingdom were [from] of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews;"
            2. If this current human authority focused in Rome was all that there was to live for, then Jesus’ followers would be fighting to obtain it.
            3. However, there is another Kingdom that is far better than even the apex of human power and government achieved by Rome – the Kingdom of God.
            4. Therefore, the followers of Jesus who looked for the Kingdom of God wouldn’t be able to settle for the glories of Rome – cp. Hebrews 11:10; 24-26
            5. Thus, Jesus reiterates: "but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm" (literally "from out of" this realm).

        BCBC Home Page