Or, Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth
Scripture: John 18:28-40
Date: May 18, 2014
Speaker: Sean Higgins
The apostle Paul wrote about “Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontus Pilate made the good confession” (1 Timothy 6:13). Paul based his charge to Timothy, a charge to obey “the only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” who has “eternal dominion,” on the good confession of the King. As we come to this part of the gospel story, we too should be humbled and motivated by Christ’s testimony before Pilate.
Judas sold and betrayed Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders. About 600 soldiers arrested Him and led Him to Annas and Ciaphas’ compound where Annas tried to work Jesus over. Annas got nowhere. So he sent Jesus to Ciaphas and the Sanhedrin for a religious trial, proceedings that John does not record. The other gospel writers describe how the court couldn’t find agreeing witnesses and eventually condemned Jesus for blasphemy. They wanted Jesus dead and, in order to make that happen, they needed Roman muscle. Next stop: the governor’s headquarters.
John 18:28-19:16 details what happened at Pilate’s place. Pilate questioned Jesus, acquitted Him, and tried to appease the crowd (18:28-40). Then Pilate questioned Jesus again before being pressured by the crowd to condemn Jesus to crucifixion (19:1-16). Pilate goes out (29-32) and in (33-38a) and out (38a-40) and then in (19:1-3) and out (4-7) and in (8-11) and out (12-15), but Jesus will be lifted up. Three movements in the last half of chapter 18: from accusation to acquittal to attempted appeasement.
The officials of Ciaphas bring Jesus away from the judgment of the religious court into the state court. They would only go so far.
Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 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.” This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 18:28–32, ESV)
The they are the same as “the officers of the Jews” in verse 12. Neither Annas or Ciaphas came in person; they would have been named. The officers led Jesus from the house of Ciaphas , probably a compound where Annas lived and where the Sanhedrin convened, to the governor’s headquarters. It was early in the morning . If they were going to get Jesus killed, they had to move quickly.
They also had to move carefully. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover . For clarity, this use of Passover probably is like that in Luke 22:1 where “Passover” refers to the entire week of “the feast of Unleavened Bread,” not only to the eating of the Paschal lamb. Jesus and His men ate the Passover proper on Thursday night. But there were other parts of the feast on Friday and the next seven days.
There is no Old Testament law against being in a Gentile location. The Jews did have a tradition that, since Gentiles sometimes killed their babies and buried them in their houses, entering the house would be contact with dead bodies, making one unclean for seven days (Numbers 9:6-11). The practice was hyper-scrupulous and it missed the point at Pilate’s. These Jews had lying and murder in the hearts. They missed the point of the Passover altogether.
[T]hey do not consider that they carry more pollution within their hearts, than they can contract by entering any place however profane. (Calvin, 205)
The governor of Judea was a man named Pilate , installed by Tiberius in AD 26. Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” There is some question as to what Pilate already knew at this point? Had he agreed a few hours earlier to lend soldiers to arrest Jesus and is now playing dumb? Did he not know about the arrest and is now trying to assess the situation?
The Jews answer as if Pilate knew enough, though he answered as if he needed information, or at least as if he wanted to make the Jews sweat. They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we wouldn’t have delivered him over to you.” It is as if they said, “Our word should be good enough.” This is the principle: guilty because declared guilty. They don’t supply any specific accusation. They call Jesus an evil-doer. What does that mean? They could have voiced the charge and provided the evidence unless, of course, they really didn’t have anything.
Pilate responded as though he had nothing to worry about. Take him yourself and judge him by your own law . “I don’t want to deal with this. This is your problem.”
The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” Rome took capital punishment as a privilege for themselves. The other gospel writers explained that the Jews did eventually strike on a charge that Pilate paid attention to: that Jesus claimed to be a king. If Jesus was a problem, then he was a Jewish and Roman problem.
John inserts a telling providence. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die . What had He said? He said that He would be lifted up (John 3:15, 12:32-33). When Jews executed, they usually stoned or sometimes used swords. Jews believed that “a hanged man is cursed by God” (Deuteronomy 21:23, see also Galatians 3:13). Romans crucified criminals, which Jews also saw as a way of being hanged on a tree. They wanted it done and they didn’t want to get their hands dirty.
Jesus was not at the whim of defiled men. He was following the course His Father gave Him.
This paragraph relates the examination that Pilate gave Jesus. One of them is all about the truth.
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (John 18:33–38, ESV)
For some unstated reason, maybe to get away from the clamor of the crowd, Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus . We don’t know how John knew what happened, but we do know that now Pilate has some quiet; he doesn’t have to keep listening to the demands of complainers. Pilate said to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” All four gospel writers include this question, and all four begin the question with you , “You are the King?” This is eventually what the Jews accused Jesus of to get Pilate to take Him in for questioning (see Luke 23:2, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”).
Now begins Jesus’ good confession. First, He asked, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Perhaps Jesus hadn’t been within earshot of Pilate outside the headquarters. Perhaps Jesus wanted to get a common definition on the table. What did Pilate mean when he used the title, “King of the Jews”?
Pilate knew enough to know that it was a religious reference even more than a political one. See how he responds. “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me.” In other words, going down this road confirmed that this is an internal issue. Besides, if Jesus really were King of the Jews, the Jews wouldn’t be trying to kill their King. It’s too much for Pilate to believe. He asks his only good, even if skeptical question, “What have you done?”
Jesus answers the first question about His kingship. “My kingdom is not of this world.” So, yes, He is a king. But He clarifies about appearances. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.” Pilate must have wondered, where are these “servants”? And if the servants fought, they would have fought against the Jews? This argues further against Jesus being King of the Jews if Jesus needs protection from the Jews. Jesus finishes, “But my kingdom is not from the world.” He’s a different sort of king than Pilate was used to.
Then Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus had no appearances of being a king and even though He answered with that assumption, it didn’t compute.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king.” “That’s why we’re having the conversation in the first place.” And it was an important, true, and eternal issue. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth . What truth? Not just true things. He wasn’t just a fact-tracker. It’s true that any truth is only true because He made it so. It’s true that whatever He says isn’t false. He bears no false testimony. But the good confession, the truth, is that He came to bear witness about His kingdom. He is the redeeming Lamb-Lord. He is the Sovereign of Sacrifice. He is King, and that has true consequences beyond what Pilate could know, let alone stop.
Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice . Standing in Pilate’s sandals, this sounds like foolish fanaticism. What religious nut job doesn’t claim to know truth and that only a select few get it? So Pilate asked, “What is truth?” He doesn’t use the article (the truth), and he doesn’t really care.
His word is simply that of the practical pagan skeptic. The educated Roman world had many men of this type. They had no faith in their own gods although they continued the usual idolatrous rites. (Lenski, 1236)
To Pilate, Jesus may be a few days behind taking His meds, or maybe taking some new ones that were messing with His mind. But whatever He is, Jesus is no threat to Caesar nor the governor. This is no crisis. This is a religious crazy.
Pilate could have, he should have declared Jesus innocent and released Him. Instead, he tries to earn points with the Jews while also rubbing their faces in his power.
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber. (John 18:38–40, ESV)
Pilate went back outside and said, “I find no guilt in him.” That was enough. Why didn’t he dismiss the case and the Jews? But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover . “Let me do you a favor.” This was not a Jewish law. It was not really Passover appropriate either. Nothing was appropriate about dismissing unrighteousness.
Pilate gave them a choice he thought even they couldn’t mess up. Barabbas was as bad as they come. He was a robber , a word that describes not just one who steals, but a “revolutionary,” a “insurrectionist,” a “guerrilla” (BDAG). Mark said he had murdered in part of rebellion against the authorities (Mark 15:7), Luke said he had been thrown into prison for insurrection (Luke 23:19). He represented everything the Jews said they hated, except that he also represented them. The other option was Jesus, the King of the Jews . Certainly Pilate mocked them by putting this title on Jesus. Why stir them up if he really wanted to be rid of Jesus? Because he was a fool.
They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!”
We’ll see more of Pilate’s futile attempts to appease everyone in the chapter 19.
The King became a curse for His subjects. The ruler of the kings on earth is the redeemer of sinners on earth. His kingdom is not from the world. It’s origin is not here either. But that is not to say that “his kingdom is not active in this world, or has nothing to do with this world” (Carson, 594). His kingdom upsets every earthly power in it’s time. The truth is that Jesus reigns and He will reign on earth. By His blood He freed us from our death, our blindness, our love of lies, and made us a kingdom.
Through Him the blessing of Abraham extends to us so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. He is coming again. It is not crazy. He made the good confession of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.