John 18:28-32
Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” – John 18:31
After his arrest, Jesus is first tried by the former high priest, Annas, then by his son-in-law, Caiaphas, the current high priest. The details of the second trial aren’t recorded in John’s gospel, but the other gospels tell us that it is in the second trial before Caiaphas that Jesus is condemned for blasphemy. The punishment is death.
If the Jewish leaders were to follow the Law of Moses, any person found guilty of blasphemy would have been stoned. However, only the Romans had authority to put a person to death. This is why Jesus is brought for yet another trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over the region. Pilate doesn’t want to be pulled into an internal religious conflict within any community. He tries to push the responsibility to the leaders to judge Jesus themselves, but they have already done that. They clearly state, this man is doing evil and deserving of death.
How unlucky, some might say. If Jesus had been born at a different time, he might have been spared the excruciating pain of crucifixion. Any other way of execution would have been quicker and less painful. But v.32 doesn’t allow for alternative endings. The time in history when Jesus came, the manner in which he was to die were all part of God’s plan.
One irony that we note is in Leviticus 24, where the Lord commanded that any blasphemer of his name be stoned (vv.10-16). The very next verse, v.17, says “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.”
Another irony is in the Jewish leaders’ refraining from entering Pilate’s courts. Even while they are plotting to have an innocent man killed, they are still concerned about remaining clean to be able to celebrate Passover, the very feast that points to God’s ultimate deliverance of people from slavery to sin through Jesus Christ.
Even though in his all-knowing sovereignty God always fulfils his plans, it doesn’t mean God causes people to sin. Each person will be judged by our thoughts and actions. So, knowing that God always fulfils his plan is not an excuse for us to live however we want, claiming that God can wrought good out of everything. Even if he can, and he does, we will still stand before him to give an account for our lives. Instead, we should be seeking to be partakers of God’s work, joining and working with God to fulfil his perfect plans. This is the blessed invitation Jesus extended to his disciples to be his friends.
Reflection:
Today, are we living as true friends of God, seeking to understand and join in in what he is doing in this world?
Prayer:
Sovereign God, thank you that your plans are not so easily thwarted by man’s sins. Even when we fail, you do not. Help us to live up to the identity of being your Kingdom’s citizens and seek intentionally to be part of your will, working with you to fulfil your plans through our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
After his arrest, Jesus is first tried by the former high priest, Annas, then by his son-in-law, Caiaphas, the current high priest. The details of the second trial aren’t recorded in John’s gospel, but the other gospels tell us that it is in the second trial before Caiaphas that Jesus is condemned for blasphemy. The punishment is death.
If the Jewish leaders were to follow the Law of Moses, any person found guilty of blasphemy would have been stoned. However, only the Romans had authority to put a person to death. This is why Jesus is brought for yet another trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over the region. Pilate doesn’t want to be pulled into an internal religious conflict within any community. He tries to push the responsibility to the leaders to judge Jesus themselves, but they have already done that. They clearly state, this man is doing evil and deserving of death.
How unlucky, some might say. If Jesus had been born at a different time, he might have been spared the excruciating pain of crucifixion. Any other way of execution would have been quicker and less painful. But v.32 doesn’t allow for alternative endings. The time in history when Jesus came, the manner in which he was to die were all part of God’s plan.
One irony that we note is in Leviticus 24, where the Lord commanded that any blasphemer of his name be stoned (vv.10-16). The very next verse, v.17, says “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.”
Another irony is in the Jewish leaders’ refraining from entering Pilate’s courts. Even while they are plotting to have an innocent man killed, they are still concerned about remaining clean to be able to celebrate Passover, the very feast that points to God’s ultimate deliverance of people from slavery to sin through Jesus Christ.
Even though in his all-knowing sovereignty God always fulfils his plans, it doesn’t mean God causes people to sin. Each person will be judged by our thoughts and actions. So, knowing that God always fulfils his plan is not an excuse for us to live however we want, claiming that God can wrought good out of everything. Even if he can, and he does, we will still stand before him to give an account for our lives. Instead, we should be seeking to be partakers of God’s work, joining and working with God to fulfil his perfect plans. This is the blessed invitation Jesus extended to his disciples to be his friends.
Reflection:
Today, are we living as true friends of God, seeking to understand and join in in what he is doing in this world?
Prayer:
Sovereign God, thank you that your plans are not so easily thwarted by man’s sins. Even when we fail, you do not. Help us to live up to the identity of being your Kingdom’s citizens and seek intentionally to be part of your will, working with you to fulfil your plans through our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.