38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. (John 18:28-40 –NIV)
Before we go on to today’s passage, I want to review what happened just before this –before Jesus was taken before Pilate.
Jesus had been arrested on the Mount of Olives –in the olive garden –after he had prayed, “Abba, Father, not my will, but yours be done.” The disciples were scattered and he was taken before the chief priests and before the Sanhedrin where they found him guilty of blaspheming against God by claiming to be the Son of God. The Jewish leaders thought that he ought to be put to death, but had no authority to execute anyone. So they brought Jesus before Pilate, the Roman governor, who did have the authority to put him to death.
Now let’s look at the first two verses in today’s passage, verses 28 and 29. Here’s what John says:
28Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
John says, “By now it was early morning…” The Jewish leaders had stayed up all night in order to try Jesus. It was a hidden, secret trial –all done in darkness.
John also says in these verses that, when they brought Jesus, they didn’t enter Pilate’s palace in order to avoid ceremonial uncleanness, so they could eat the Passover. (According to the Law of Moses –the law given to Moses by God –they were required to observe the Passover celebration, but were not allowed to do so if they were ‘unclean’. They believed that they would become unclean if they went into the house of a Gentile –Pilate.)
Now, what John wrote, he wrote as he was guided by the Holy Spirit. What do you think his point might have been in mentioning that the Jewish leaders didn’t go into Pilate’s palace so they would not be kept from observing the Passover? Why was he telling us this? What can we learn from it?
Well, let me ask you this. Do you suppose that murdering an innocent man would defile you? Do you suppose it would make you unclean? They were murdering Jesus, the author of life! Can you believe that they were worried about defiling themselves by going into the home of a Gentile when their very purpose was to kill an innocent man? Well, believe it! This is what Jesus called ‘straining out a gnat, but swallowing a camel’. Both the gnat and the camel were unclean and weren’t supposed to be eaten. Jesus told the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices– mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law– justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” And isn’t it ironic that the very feast that they worried about celebrating was designed by God to point them to Jesus, the final Passover Lamb to be sacrificed – the sacrifice to end all sacrifices! In what way do we do similar things?
The Jewish leaders didn’t want to go in to Pilate, so Pilate, in deference to their religion, came out to them. He asked them what charges they were bringing against Jesus. They said, according to verse 30, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” Isn’t that typical of evading the question? They could have said, “We have found this man guilty of blaspheming against our God by claiming to be his Son, and we think he needs to be put to death. But we don’t have any authority to put him to death; so even though he hasn’t broken any Roman law, we want you to put him to death anyway.” That would have been more honest –and that particular reason eventually came out anyway.
Or they could have been even more honest and said, “We are envious of this man and want to get him rid of him because he is infringing on our positions of power and prestige.” (Matthew and Mark both say that Pilate actually knew that this was their real reason anyway.)
Now what about us? When you’re explaining to people your reasons for making a particular decision, do you ever carefully adjust the wording to make it sound less self-serving or hypocritical, or whatever? Do you ever do that? I can tell you, man, we are experts at it! What about us?
Now look at verses 31 and 32. Verses 31 and 32 say:
31Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. 32This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
John says that this happened to fulfill what Jesus himself had said about the way he would die. All these things were not just chance happenings, but were planned from the beginning. Jesus had spoken about the way he would die: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14, 15) And this: “‘But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” (John 12:32, 33) The people Jesus was speaking to knew that when he said he would be ‘lifted up,’ he meant he was going to be crucified!
But there’s more than that. Look at Psalm 22. King David wrote this Psalm hundreds of years before Jesus’s time on earth. Psalm 22 talks about a man who is being attacked by his enemies. Verse 16 says, “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. They pierced Jesus’s hands and his feet! Crucifixion was something that was unknown at the time David had written Psalm 22. It hadn’t been invented yet. And yet David wrote about it. He was guided by the Holy Spirit. And they nailed Jesus to the cross. (There are other prophecies in Psalm 22 about Jesus that were fulfilled by his death and resurrection too.) But Jesus’s crucifixion was not just planned from the time of David. He was “the Lamb that was slain before the creation of the world.” (Rev. 13:8)
Now look at verse 33. Verse 33 says that Pilate summoned Jesus back inside the palace and asked him if he was king of the Jews. (According to Luke, the Jewish leaders had accused Jesus of subverting the nation, opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar and claiming to be a king.) Jesus responded to Pilates question by asking, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” (verse 34)
Pilate replied, “Am I a Jew?” It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” (verse 35)
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (You know, when Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan offered to make him king of all the world –he offers that to a lot of people – but Jesus was already king of the universe! He is King of kings and Lord of lords! Amen!)
Pilate said to Jesus, “You are a king, then!” and Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (verse 35)
Jesus was born to be king and he came into the world to testify to the truth. Listen to some of the things Jesus said –his testimony to the truth. This first passage is from the Sermon on the Mount:
3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:3-10)
And here’s a quote from John. This is Jesus talking to the Jewish leaders who were persecuting him:
24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29and come out– those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:24-30)
And another one from John: This should be very familiar.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18)
And from Matthew:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
Finally from Mark: This is when James and John wanted to be appointed to sit at Jesus’s right and left hand when he came into his glory. That means they wanted to reign over everyone else. No harm in asking – right? This is what Jesus said to all his disciples:
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” That was Jesus’s greatest testimony to the truth. It was and is the testimony to the truth of God’s love for sinners – sinners who are lost and helpless without him. It is the testimony to the truth of God’s love for us!
Jesus said, “For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. There are only two sides, the side of truth and the side of lies. The side of truth is the side of life. The side of lies is the side of death. You can choose the side of truth or the side of lies. You can choose death or you can choose life. Choose life!
Now look at verse 38 in today’s passage. Jesus said he had come to testify to the truth. But Pilate answered, “What is truth?” He knew Jesus was innocent and tried to set him free. He said that he found no basis for a charge against him. There was a custom where Pilate would release a prisoner chosen by the Jewish leaders at the Passover celebration. He tried to persuade them to ask for Jesus to be released (verse 39). But they asked for Barabbas, who had taken part in a rebellion and who was a murderer, to be released (verse 40). What is truth?
Well, the real truth is that God loves us. Let me tell you a story –a parable. There was a judge that was trying a murderer. He found the murderer guilty. The penalty for murder was death; but, when the time came for sentencing, the murderer asked for mercy. The judge said, “I can’t go against the law. The penalty for murder is death. But I’ll tell you what I will do. I will pay the penalty for you. I will die in your place. I can make that decision because I am the judge.” Does that sound ridiculous? Do you think that if it were possible, that anyone would really do such a thing? People have given their lives to save the lives of others – but a judge giving his life for a murderer? It would never happen! But it’s exactly what God did for us. And we are murderers: “This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:23, 24) Our sin put Jesus to death, but God raised him from the dead! And he will raise us from the dead to eternal life too, if we trust him.
Praise the Lord!
Praise Jesus!
Amen!
[Prayer]