NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 67
page 1841
18:32
Matt 20:19
John 12:32
18:33
Luke 23:3
John 19:9
18:36
Matt 26:53
Luke 17:21
John 6:15
•
J ohn 1 8
would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29So Pilate,
the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30“We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31“Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.
“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.
32(This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.*)
33Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to
him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought
you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers
18:32 See John 12:3233.
18:19-24 During the night, Jesus had a pretrial hearing before Annas
prior to being taken to Caiaphas and the entire high council (Mark 14:5365). The religious leaders knew they had no grounds for charging Jesus,
so they tried to build evidence against him by using false witnesses (Mark
14:55-59).
18:22-27 We can easily blame the high council for their injustice in
condemning Jesus, but we must remember that Peter and the rest of the
disciples also contributed to Jesus’ pain by deserting and denying him
(Matthew 26:56, 75). While most of us are not like the religious leaders,
we are all like the disciples, for all of us have been guilty of denying that
Jesus is Lord in vital areas of our lives or of keeping secret our identity
as believers in times of pressure. Don’t excuse yourself by pointing at
others whose sins seem worse than yours. Instead, come to Jesus for
forgiveness and healing.
18:25-27 Imagine standing outside while Jesus, your Lord and Master, is
questioned. Imagine watching this man whom you have come to believe
is the long-awaited Messiah being abused and beaten. Naturally, Peter
was confused and afraid. To deny Christ is a serious sin. But later Jesus
forgave Peter (21:15-17). No sin is too great for Jesus to forgive if you
are truly repentant. He will forgive even your worst sin if you turn from
it and ask his pardon.
18:25 The other three Gospels say that Peter’s three denials happened
near a fire in the courtyard outside Caiaphas’s palace. John places the first
denial outside Annas’s home and the other two denials outside Caiaphas’s.
This was very likely the same courtyard. The high priest’s compound
was large, and Annas and Caiaphas undoubtedly lived near each other.
18:27 This fulfilled Jesus’ words to Peter after he promised he would
never deny him (13:38; Mark 14:31).
18:28 By Jewish law, entering the house of a Gentile would cause
a Jewish person to be ceremonially defiled. As a result, he could not
take part in worship at the Temple or celebrate the festivals until he
was restored to a state of cleanness. Afraid of being defiled, these men
stayed outside the house where they had taken Jesus for trial. They kept
the ceremonial requirements of their religion while harboring murder
and treachery in their hearts.
18:29 This Roman governor, Pilate, was in charge of Judea (the region
where Jerusalem was located) from AD 26 to 36. Pilate was unpopular
with the Jews because he had raided the Temple treasuries for money
to build an aqueduct. He did not like the Jews, but when Jesus, the King
of the Jews, stood before him, Pilate found him innocent.
18:30 Pilate knew what was going on; he knew that the religious leaders
hated Jesus, and he did not want to act as their executioner. They could
not sentence Jesus to death themselves—permission had to come from
a Roman leader. But Pilate initially refused to sentence him without sufficient evidence. Jesus’ life became a pawn in a political power struggle.
18:31–19:14 Pilate made four attempts to deal with Jesus: (1) He tried
to put the responsibility on someone else (18:31); (2) he tried to find a way
of escape so he could release Jesus (18:39); (3) he tried to compromise
by having Jesus flogged rather than handing him over to die (19:1-3);
and (4) he tried a direct appeal to the sympathy of the accusers (19:15).
Everyone has to decide what to do with Jesus. Pilate tried to let everyone
else decide for him—and in the end, he lost.
18:32 This prediction is recorded in Matthew 20:19 and John 12:32,
35. Crucifixion was a common method of execution for criminals who
were not Roman citizens.
18:34 If Pilate was asking this question in his role as the Roman governor,
he would have been inquiring whether Jesus was setting up a rebel
government. But the Jews were using the word king to mean their religious ruler, the Messiah. Israel was a captive nation, under the authority
of the Roman Empire. A rival king might have threatened Rome; a Messiah
could have been a purely religious leader.
18:36-37 Pilate asked Jesus a straightforward question, and Jesus answered clearly. Jesus is a king, but one whose kingdom is not of this world.
Pilate seemed to have no question in his mind that Jesus was speaking
the truth and was innocent of any crime. It is also apparent that while
recognizing the truth of Jesus’ innocence, Pilate chose to ignore it and
Golgotha
(other possible site)
Antonia Fortress
(later Praetorium?)
Herod’s
Royal
Palace
Mount of
Olives
Temple
Traditional
Golgotha
Garden of
Gethsemane
Hasmonean
Palace
Herod’s
Lower Palace
Caiaphas’s UPPER CITY
House?
JERUSALEM
Traditional
Upper Room?
LOWER CITY
N
0
0
0.1 mi
0.1 km
JESUS’ TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION Jesus was taken from a trial
before the Jewish high council (the Sanhedrin) to a trial before the
Roman governor, Pilate, in Pilate’s palace. Pilate sent him to Herod
(Luke 23:5-12), but Herod just returned Jesus to Pilate. Responding to threats from the mob, Pilate finally turned Jesus over to be
crucified.
