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October 31, 2022
One man dies for the whole people
Key verse 37: "Then Pilate asked him, 'So you are still a king? Jesus answered: You say it, I am a king. I was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Whoever is of the truth hears my voice.”
Today we want to get to know the arrest of Jesus, his interrogation by the chief priests, his interrogation by Pilate and the condemnation to death on the cross.
This will help us learn more about who Jesus is and why he should die.
His interrogation shows us that Jesus was not guilty at all, but was sentenced to death on the cross because he wanted to die for our sins as God's son and the true king.
May God help us to accept Jesus as our true King and Savior. So we can have the true king as our king, become God's children and come into his kingdom.
1. Arrest (18:1-11)
Verse 1 tells us that after his high priestly prayer, Jesus left the city with his disciples and crossed the Kidron brook. There was a garden called Gethsemane. In this garden he prayed to God to prepare for his death on the cross.
Judas, the traitor, knew this place because Jesus had often stayed there with his disciples. Judas then appeared with Roman soldiers and some of the temple guards. It was a night raid.
Did Jesus panic and try to save himself?
Verses 4 and 5 tell us that Jesus did not flee, but went out of the garden to meet the raiding party and asked them, "Who are you looking for?"
When they answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth," he said, "It's me."
When the soldiers heard his word, they were terrified, fell back, and fell on the ground, overwhelmed by the divine majesty of Jesus.
They were also very surprised because they had actually expected fierce resistance.
Then Jesus asked the soldiers again: "Who are you looking for?"
When they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” he said to them, “I told you it was me. If you seek me, let these (i.e. my disciples) go!”
Why did Jesus volunteer to be arrested?
Because, obeying the divine will, he wanted to die as the Lamb of God for the sins of mankind,
as John the Baptist had predicted about Jesus: "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29).
Through his sacrificial death, Jesus wanted to redeem people from sin, the power of death and hell;
he came as Savior and Saviour.
Peter, Jesus' apex disciple, was a man of carnal zeal.
Verse 10 tells us that he drew his sword and cut off the right ear of a servant of the high priest named Malchus.
But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup my father gave me?” According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said to Peter: "Put your sword in its place! For whoever takes the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think I could not ask my father to send me more than twelve legions of angels at once? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?” (Mt 26:52-54).
Some people believe that Jesus fell victim to injustice and adverse circumstances.
This account shows us, however, that Jesus had all events firmly under His control and directed everything so that God's will in Scripture would be perfectly fulfilled. In the truest sense, Jesus was not a victim of the situation, but the actual commander. That is why we should perceive the meaning of his death.
For his death and resurrection are two central points of the Gospel, As Paul said,
“For first I passed on to you what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he has been buried; and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3,4).
Jesus' voluntary sacrificial death and his resurrection frees us from all guilt of sin and gives us eternal life. This is the best good news for us. This gospel is the central point of the Bible. That is why we should gratefully accept forgiveness and eternal life and give heartfelt thanks to God.
2. The trial before Annas and Caiaphas (18:12-27)
Only after Jesus expressly allowed himself to be captured did the soldiers arrest and bind him. The temple guards first led Jesus to Annas. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the official high priest (AD 18-36). Annas herself had been high priest AD 6-15. After this, Annas was dismissed from office by the Romans. But he was politically very clever. He exercised his talent for diplomacy and let his sons and son-in-law become his successors one after the other.
Although he was an ex-high priest, he was so influential that the temple guards first led Jesus to Annas. There Jesus was interrogated by him. After this, Jesus was led to Caiaphas and "officially" interrogated.
Apostle John reminds us in verse 14 that Caiaphas once prophesied: "It would be good if one man died for all the people."
Caiaphas meant that it was better for Jesus to die for the people to pacify the Romans than for the whole people to perish at the hands of the Romans.
But God used His statement as a divine prophecy that Jesus would die for the sins of all God's children.
Simon Peter and another disciple (this was John) followed Jesus when Jesus was taken into Anna's palace (15-18). As Peter was about to enter the palace, a maid of the ex-high priest asked him, "Aren't you also one of this man's disciples?"
Peter quickly answered, "It's not me."
Now let us listen to the trial of Jesus at Annas.
The high priest then asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching (verse 19).
According to the Jewish laws of the time, an interrogation should only be conducted during the day and only in the presence of the witnesses to the charge, and the judge could not attempt to extract incriminating testimony from the accused.
But Annas questioned Jesus in the middle of the night. He also asked Jesus to tell about his disciples and his teaching to get Jesus to incriminate himself.
Jesus answered: “I have spoken freely and openly before all the world. I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all Jews meet, and have not spoken in secret. what are you asking me Ask those who heard what I spoke to them. Behold, they know what I have spoken” (verses 20 and 21).
As he was thus speaking, one of the high priest's servants slapped Jesus in the face and said, "Shall you answer the high priest like this?"
Jesus answered, "If I have spoken evil, prove it is evil; but if I have spoken rightly, why are you hitting me?"
Meanwhile, Peter continued to deny being a disciple of Jesus to save himself.
When he denied the third time, the rooster crowed (verses 25-27).
Why could he not keep his promise to follow Jesus faithfully and die with him?
From the Bible record we find some reasons for his failure:
The first thing he didn't do was pray to God.
Second, he failed because he trusted himself instead of God.
Third, he failed because he followed Jesus at a distance.
When the Lord was led away into the palace, Peter followed the Lord, not quite close but at a distance. Whoever wants to follow Jesus successfully should follow him without any distance.
3. The trial before Pilate (18:28-37)
Jesus was interrogated and abused throughout the night.
The chief priests, Annas and then Caiaphas, then led him to Pilate early in the morning.
Pilate came out and asked the Jews, "What complaint do you bring against this man?"
They answered him, "If this were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you."
According to the Gospel of Luke, they accused Jesus of inciting the people not to pay taxes to Caesar, posing as the king of the Jews, and inciting the people to revolt against Rome.
But Pilate saw through their false accusations and said to them, "So accept him and judge according to your law."
The Jews replied, "We must not kill anyone."
Their answer was correct. The Jewish high council, chaired by the high priest, enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy but could not carry out the death sentence. This right belonged exclusively to the Romans.
Then Pilate called Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus asked him, "Are you saying this of your own accord, or did others tell you this about me?" (verses 33 and 34).
Jesus loved Pilate. Therefore he wanted to awaken in his heart a personal desire to know Jesus properly and to accept him as king.
But Pilate gave Jesus an evasive answer: "Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” (verse 35).
Then Jesus answered him: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight that I should not be handed over to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not of this world” (verse 36).
Jesus explained to Pilate that he was not the king of a worldly kingdom, but the king of the kingdom of God.
Pilate asked Jesus: "Are you still a king?"
Jesus replied, “You say it, I am a king. I was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Whoever is of the truth hears my voice" (verse 37).
Jesus really loved Pilate. He wanted to help him to recognize Jesus as the true king and to receive the kingdom of God. So he said to him in all clarity: “You say it, I am a king. I was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth.”
The Bible says that God alone is the true king because he is the creator of all things and the true ruler of the world.
Jesus is God's Son, i. H. the incarnate God. He alone is the true king. A worldly king rules over people only superficially, for he does not understand people well and his kingship is imperfect. No earthly king can redeem us from the power of sin and death and give us eternal life and the kingdom of God.
But Jesus is the real king. He redeems us from the power of sin and death and gives us eternal life and the kingdom of God.
Anyone who personally accepts Jesus as King and God's Son is freed from the power of sin, death and the devil and receives God's kingdom. He then lives under the gracious rule of God forever. Jesus is the best king; he is the king of our hearts, so to speak.
When we hear his voice and receive him as king, Jesus dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit and reigns in us with truth, righteousness and love. He protects us from all evil, takes good care of us, and blesses us abundantly. We will live a victorious life, be resurrected by his power, enter the kingdom of heaven and be with him (17:24). The kingdom of heaven that Jesus will give us is very beautiful.
The prophet Isaiah once described the kingdom of heaven thus: “There shall be no sin nor transgression in all my holy mountain; for the land shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).
Many people think that it is better for them that they don't have a king. They want to be independent and live the way they want.
But the Bible teaches us that all people need the true king in order to be really free and happy. When a person accepts Jesus as their King personally, trusts Him, and obeys Him, Jesus sets them free and happy.
But whoever does not accept Jesus as king and also does not obey him will fall into the power of sin and become dependent and miserable. So all people need to have Jesus as King, trust Him and obey Him in order to live happily ever after.
Jesus had clearly told Pilate that he was the true king. Pilate should now decide to accept Jesus as king. Unfortunately, he did not accept him as king. He wasn't very interested in the truth. But he was very interested in worldly power. So he decided to pursue a secular career and had Jesus crucified. Because he did not love the truth, he became a prisoner of falsehood and a murderer of Christ.
May God help us to believe in Jesus as Savior and King so that we may live happy, blessed lives, have eternal life and enter the kingdom of heaven and live in the glory of God forever. Amen!
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