John 19:25-27

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25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. ~ John 19:25-27

Notice in our text that the Apostle John does not mention the mother of the Lord Jesus by name. Matthew and Mark do not even mention that she was there. In fact, she is never mentioned in any of the epistles of the entire New Testament. She is mentioned just one other time in Acts 1:14 when she was gathered with the disciples, that’s it. 

The silence underscores that Mary plays no role in anybody’s redemption. If she were  some kind of an intercessor between us and Christ, it would have been obvious.

As we read v.25 we learn that despite the nature of the gruesome cross of the Lord Jesus, it is the greatest means by which any of us can stand tall in a world that is out to beat us down. v.25 reads, "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother." In her hardest hour, Mary stood at the cross.

Think of what she saw as she gazed upon her son. He had been stripped of all of His clothing, utterly ashamed. The Lord Jesus took not just the penalty of our sin that day, He took the shame of our sin. It is the shame that causes us to shun not just ourselves but others. The Lord Jesus went further than we actually ever knew. He took the worst of our sin, He took our shame.

While the Jewish religious leaders were complicit in the crucifixion of the Christ, it was God who was fulfilling His plan by putting His Son on the cross. The crucifixion is an act of God by which He fulfills His purpose to secure the eternal salvation of millions. He had to punish sin in order to substantiate all that is good, true and holy. At the cross of our Lord Jesus, God ruined the eternal effects of the rebellion of Satan.

According to v.26, during His agony and shame, the Lord Jesus was mindful of his mother by giving to her a son to care her. The remarkable thing about this is that Mary had four other sons who could have taken care of her, and probably would have, though they were not yet believers. 

A further remarkable thing is that the Apostle John's own mother was standing right there at the cross. The second woman mentioned here, "His mother's sister," is the mother of James and John, who were cousins of the Lord Jesus. John accepts the responsibility and takes her into his own home. 

The death of Christ on the cross is the purest act of love ever. It is the most perfect sacrifice for sin and the only one that atones. The death of the Son of God is the work of the Father and the Son to provide forgiveness for all who believe in Him.

There were at the foot of the cross of the Lord Jesus only four of His followers. There were many more than this as we know, but only four were there. The apostles had fled, with the exception of one man, and that is John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," and four women. 

This phrase, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," is used five times throughout John's Gospel. I believe this phrase explains why John was the only one of the remaining eleven to be at the cross when the Lord Jesus gave up His Spirit. The others were defined by their love for the Lord Jesus, but John was defined by the Lord Jesus' love for him.

In Luke 2, Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, was told that her Child had come into the world for the rising and the falling of many, and through Him a sword would pierce her soul. She had raised the perfect sinless Son of God in her home. She was loved by Him with a love that was not like any other love any other human being has ever known. She was bound to the Lord Jesus in a way that no other human being could ever know. And here it ends at the cross, and a sword goes through her soul.

In John 7, we are told the Lord Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him. So now His mother needs someone to care for her, someone who believes in Him, and that someone happens to be the only disciple standing there. It is the disciple identified as the disciple whom the Lord Jesus loved.

In his entire gospel, John never refers to himself by name. John and his brother James are referred often as the "sons of thunder." They had a loud and rough reputation. In fact, in Luke 9:54 when they came into a Samaritan village, they were rejected by the people of that village. “When James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’” Then the Lord Jesus rebuked them, saying, "You do not know what spirit you’re of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”'

But something dramatic happened to John. When he wrote this gospel, he sees himself completely differently. He now is known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. This is largely why the Lord Jesus chose him to care for His mother for he had experienced the love of Christ and it had transformed him.

“God so loved the world,” is perhaps the most familiar verse in all of the Bible. Here is a transformed man, a man once known for wanting to call down fire from heaven and burn up an entire town is now defined by a love that he would have never encountered had it not been for the obedient and loving Son of God.

John 19:17-24

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17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. ~ John 19:17-24

The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is my cross; He took it for me. His cross is the supreme expression of God’s incredible love for all of mankind. Throughout the Old Testament, God foretold that the Messiah would be crucified for you and me. Psalm 22 gives detailed description of what the Lord Jesus went through on our behalf.

In Psalm 22:1, we read, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? In Psalm 22:14-17, we read, I’m poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it’s melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, my tongue cleaves to my jaws; You lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers have encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me.”

At Golgotha or "the place of the skull" is the place God dealt with the problem of our sin and death. A few hundred yards outside the Damascus gate in Jerusalem, it was the very spot upon which Abraham was called to offer his son Isaac in sacrifice to God. In a wonderful picture of Jesus bearing his cross, Isaac had to bear the wood for the sacrifice up that hill. 

The cross was an instrument of torture and execution. Death on the cross was shameful, excruciating, and often prolonged. The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross by both hands and feet, but that is not what ended His life. People were known to hang on their cross for weeks, but not the Lord Jesus. It was probably the great loss of blood during His flogging that caused Him to by dead by the ninth hour or three in the afternoon.

God used the evil schemes of men to accomplish our salvation. And He used the worst of men to accomplish the greatest thing He ever did, the salvation of the willing. God did this because He’s rich in mercy, and He loved us with an everlasting love.  

Everything that happened in our text fulfilled Scripture. This is massive evidence, because the ones who are doing all of this to the Lord Jesus were not His followers. They don’t know anything about the Scripture, these Roman soldiers. There’s no effort on their part to fulfill anything. They’re just doing what they normally do at a crucifixion. 

It is significant that the Lord Jesus died within six hours on the cross. Again, He took the place of imperfect man, took the punishment for man's imperfection. 

In v.18 we also read, “There they crucified him, and with him two others.” The other gospel writers describe these other two as thieves, rebels, insurrectionists. That too is a fulfillment of prophecy. In Isaiah 53 we read, “He was numbered with the transgressors.” One of those thieves was the first trophy of His grace. The Lord Jesus said to this one, "Today you will be with me in paradise." 

In v.19-22, it is highlighted, again, that there was a sign placed above the Lord Jesus that read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews." Although objected to by the Jewish religious leaders, Pilate placed this sign in Aramaic, Latin and Greek for all in the known world to read and understand.

And then, in v.23-24, we read, “23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.” 

In the Old Testament, the garment of the high priest was without seam. The undergarment of the Lord Jesus was seamless. As is noted in the book of Hebrews, the Lord Jesus is the better and rightful High Priest. The function the high priest had was to build a bridge between God and man. The Lord Jesus here wears the seamless garment as did the high priest, because He is the true bridge builder. He is God’s perfect High Priest. 

Finally, according to v.24, "divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment." This was the fulfillment of Psalm 22:18 which reads, “They divide my outer garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." There is too much design in this passage for us to turn a blind eye to it. I trust that you have entered into a personal relationship with God by believing in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

John 19:12-16

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12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. ~ John 19:12-16 

Pilate had presided over hundreds of trials. He’d seen many brought before him, both innocent and guilty. All of them, vigorously protesting their arrest, arguing their innocence. But, the Lord Jesus is different. He brings forth no defense. In fact, He remains silent because, as Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was led as a sheep to slaughter and He was silent.” It was His calling and He was willing.

In v.12, we read, “From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”  Pilate went to great lengths to procure freedom for the Lord Jesus, but it was too late. All of his efforts went to nothing because the Jews cried out all the more saying, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 

Pilate thinks he is trapped by the circumstances, not knowing he is involved in a much grander plot, a plot which will determine eternity for many. I am so grateful the Lord Jesus knowingly bowed His will to the One who has given me the type of life that has the touch of eternity upon it. This gifted life brings with it a transcendent view that ushers in the perspective of God for all who are willing to receive it.

According to v.13, Pilate, limited by a fallen world, brings the Lord Jesus out before the gathered crowd. He then sits on his judgment seat, as if he is God. At first he said, “Behold, the Man!” Now he says, “Here is your King!” Pilate brings forth no verdict, the people do that; they’re in charge. Pilate came so close to being the host of eternal life, but stopped short of the willingness that is required.

In v.14, we read, "It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. " Noon was the same hour the Lord Jesus met the woman at the well, it was the sixth hour. There's the reminder again, that number which represents incompleteness. SIX. We are incomplete apart from a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. We will never behold the Lord Jesus as our king until we come to the end of ourselves. When we have exhausted our resources we are then postured to access His.

This One who is boundless was bound by those whom He created. This One who could have overpowered them and rendered them ineffective allowed Himself to be their captive so they could lead Him to death. This One who laid down His crown of glory was given a crown of thorns. This One to whom all will one day fall down and worship was treated with contempt and then slapped in His face.

After the people vehemently request the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus in v.15, we read in v.16, “Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.” Pilate is thinking, “If I let this Man go, there’s going to be a riot. A riot will get me into more trouble with Caesar.” So, in an act of self-preservation, he gives in to the demands of the myopic. This is the end for Pilate. 

Pilate had asked, "What do I do then with Jesus who’s called the Christ?” That’s the question we all must answer, and the answer will determine our eternal destiny. If we confess Jesus as Lord over sin and death, we will be saved from our sin, death, judgment and hell forever. If we reject the free gift of the Lord Jesus, we will have to live, for eternity, with the consequences of our separation from God.

Pilate is a case in point. He stands before the God of eternity, and he drops out of history. He later was dismissed as governor and summoned back to Rome to answer to Tiberius Caesar for his continued failure. On his way there, Tiberius suddenly dies. Having been freed from the charges, Pilate went to Gaul which is southern France. There, according to tradition, he committed suicide.

Some say, “A loving God would not send people to hell.” But, the Lord Jesus spoke of hell more often than any other topic. Two-thirds of His parables relate to resurrection and judgment. 

In Matthew 10:28, the Lord Jesus says, “Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” In Luke 16:24, He quotes Hell's rich man, “dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.” Words such as body, finger, and tongue reveal a physical state in which a throat longs for water and a person begs for physical relief.

The apostles said that Judas Iscariot had gone “to his own place” (Acts 1:25). The Greek word for place is topos, which means geographical location. The Lord Jesus describes heaven with the same noun: “In My Father’s house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). Hell, like heaven, is a location, not a state of mind, not a metaphysical dimension of floating spirits, but an actual place populated by physical beings. God has quarantined a precinct in His vast universe as the depository of the hard-hearted.

The Lord Jesus incorporates the word “outside” to describe hell. “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness” (Matthew 22:13). Outside of all that is good and meaningful and substantive. Once in Hell, there will be no heaven-to-hell visits. No hell-to-heaven holiday breaks. Hell is to heaven what the edge of our universe is to earth: outside the range of a commute.

Finally, the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 10:28 says, "Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." He also says in John 3:16, "Whoever believes in him shall not perish."

John 19:4-11

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4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” 7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” ~ John 19:4-11

Pontius Pilate was anxious to release the Lord Jesus. Twice in today's text, he declares that he has found no crime in Him. In fact, seven times during this trial, Pilate pronounces Him guiltless. The problem for Pilate was the unrelenting lust of the crowd to crucify the Lord Jesus. 

In our text, Pilate presents the Lord Jesus before the gathered crowd as guiltless. He hoped the previous flogging would calm down the blood thirsty crowd. We read in v.4, “Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” Pilate's “not guilty” verdict is, yet again, repeated. 

We read in v.5: “When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!’” The crowd could clearly see that the Lord Jesus is helpless, powerless, and beaten. Pilate does not understand that the Lord Jesus is far more than just a mere man. He thinks by mocking Him and showing Him as a bloody and broken well wisher, the crowd will be satisfied. 

After another crazy proclamation from the crowd to crucify the Lord Jesus, according to v.6, 
Pilate tells the religious leaders, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."  These supposed leaders had the word of God. They had studied it for years on end. And yet, they were blind to the truth that stood before them. The most hardened are those who should have been the most prepared. It is the nature of the word of God to soften the receptive heart. On the other hand, the heart that rejects the word of God is hardened by it the most.

Given all of this, the religious leaders play in to the fulfillment of scripture. Some scholars believe there are more than 300 prophecies about Messiah in the Old Testament. These prophecies are specific enough that the mathematical probability of the Lord Jesus fulfilling even a handful of them, let alone all of them, is staggeringly improbable, if not impossible.

At the end of v.6, Pilate, for the fifth time says, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” And before he’s done he’ll say it a sixth time. But Pilate is a desperate coward and the Jews know it. So they press the issue with Pilate. They are like a group of rabid dogs, unrelenting.

At this point, according to v.7, the Jewish religious leaders appeal to the Law of Moses. In Leviticus 24:16, we read, “The one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall utterly be put to death.” Leviticus goes on to say, “He is to be stoned.” 

The religious leaders have finally come up with a crime, and the crime is blasphemy. This is the seventh indictment that they tried. The first six basic indictments had no evidence, so they come to Number Seven. Need I mention the number seven is the number for perfection and fullness in the scriptures? They end up with an indictment that is actually true; He is the Son of God. They kill Him for the truth. 

In v.8, we read, "When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid." Fear is the worst motivator ever. This underscores the fact that "fear not" is the most repeated command in the Bible. God wants us to know the kind of hope that has the power to produce joy in us even in painful places. On this day, Pilate knew nothing of the teachings of the word of God. Yet, he factors greatly in its fulfillment by sending the Lord Jesus to be crucified.

There is nothing more magnificent in the Bible than this answer of Jesus to Pilate's angry attempt to impress Him with his power. In quiet dignity our Lord simply replies in v.11, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above." He means, of course, that God is the source of all authority. Anybody who exercises any kind of power whatever does so by the permission of God Himself.

We do well to remember that the God of all universes is in control of all of life. This aids us in our wrestlings with our struggle with injustice, pain, heartache, cancer, war and death. The Lord Jesus stood before Pilate, facing the injustice of his phony trial, the hatred of the religious leaders and the vacillating weakness of this governor, and say to him in v.11, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."


That statement, "Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin," of course, refers to the priests. It was the religious leaders who had handed the Lord Jesus over to the Roman governor. The Lord Jesus infers that Pilate is a relatively ignorant man who is unaware of how God operates. But the priests are different. They had Moses and the Law. They had the whole Old Testament. They should have understood the demands of God for justice, love, concern and mercy toward others. The Lord Jesus points out that delivering an innocent man over to this pagan governor to be crucified is indeed the greater sin.

Finally, God planned the redemption of mankind even before time began. The death of the Lord Jesus and His resurrection were the most important events in history. It's no surprise that God would give us signs of His plans throughout Israel's history. The story of the Lord Jesus reveals God's incredible love for us. And throughout the Old Testament, we discover how incredibly thorough his plan for rescuing us was.

John 18:39-19:3

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39 But 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’?” 40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. 1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. ~ John 18:39-19:3 

We return to the trial of the Lord Jesus. Between John 18:38 and John 18:39, Pilate sends the Lord Jesus to Herod Antipas who sees Jesus and thinks that His trial is a joke. Herod, and those with him, mock the Lord Jesus and then send Him back to Pilate.

According to v.39 the Lord Jesus is, once again, before Pontus Pilate who is trying to hold onto some kind of a clear conscience. Even though he tirelessly tries to, Pilate fails to get the Lord Jesus off the hook with the religious leaders of Israel. 

I'm glad that one of the most powerful men on the earth, at that time, was subject to God's will. The Sovereignty of God will always win the day, and aren't you glad? Today, nothing will come into our lives until after it has come through the purview of God's will for us. I would hate to think of how life would be if I didn't have the safety net of God's undeterred will in my life. I like what James Stewart once said, “Behind Calvary's cross is the throne of heaven.”

In v.39 Pilate says, “But 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?" Pilate thought he had a solution that might work, he really wanted to help the Lord Jesus. 

According to v.40, the people, motivated by the Sanhedrin, cried out, "Give us Barabbas!" Of course, Barabbas was a notorious trouble maker. The name Barabbas appears nowhere else in the New Testament, and no information about his previous or subsequent life is given. His name means “son of the father.” Think of it, the real Son of the Father came to earth to take Barabbas' place so that all of mankind could become sons and daughters of the Father.

In v.1, we read, "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged." Pilate had already established the Lord Jesus to not be guilty of anything. This flogging is a desperate effort to do something short of execution to satisfy the bloodlust of this crowd led by the Sanhedrin. 

The Roman flog consisted of a short wooden handle like about half of a baseball bat, to which several leather thongs were attached, and the ends of the thongs were fitted with sharpened pieces of lead, sharpened pieces of brass, sharpened pieces of bone. And the body was then stretched on a flat table or tied by the wrists to a post, or suspended from a ceiling so that the body was taut and the feet didn’t touch the ground. Whatever the posture chosen, the person was then lashed until his body was ripped and shredded.

Pilate wanted the Lord Jesus off his hands. He did not want to kill Him for his own conscience’s sake and his own sense of justice, and because he hated to do what the Jews wanted him to . But he is trapped. If they riot, he’s finished as the Roman leader of this area. 

To make it worse, the soldiers, the servants to the King, in v.2-3, twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, crushed it down on His skull. Put a purple robe on Him, some kind of a faded red Roman robe that was now purple because it had faded in the sun. Then just before they humiliated the Lord Jesus by slapping Him in the face, and they say, “Hail, king of the Jews!"

Irony of all ironies is these Roman soldiers were doing this to the King of Kings. These soldiers and this thug known as Barabbas represent every sinner ever to walk on the face of planet earth. When I look at the story, I conclude, I am these soldiers and I am Barabbas. The Lord Jesus took my place so that I can become the son of the Father and the servant of the King.

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John 18:33-38

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33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ~ John 18:33-38

There was a day when we thought the world was flat. It was not true. There was a time when we believed the earth was at the center of our universe.  It was not true.  What we accepted as true changed. This is what creates the problem.

Truth is not merely an idea. As indicated in the response of the Lord Jesus in v.34, it is experienced, and most importantly, it is lived. If it is not lived, it is not truth. Truth is not the ascent to an idea, it is a way of life. In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus identified Himself as the truth. In John 8:32, He said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” 

The Bible teaches that truth is the Word of God. The Lord Jesus made this clear when He prayed, “Father, Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) When we read the Bible, we discover it bears witness to the truth that is universal, absolute and unchanging.

Three times in v.37-38, the word “truth” is used. In fact, the word “truth” is used 26 times in John's gospel. Pilate did not recognize the truth, because he could not understand the truth. There is a difference between something being true and the truth. 

There is a difference between determining that a statement or fact is “true,” and "the truth.” A true statement about something, relies on observation, judgment, evaluation. You and I become the ones who determine the truth, but if that is all that there is to truth, then we will never reach it, because truth is subject to our judgment, and our interpretation.

Is it any wonder that Pilate could not see the truth, when it was standing in front of him? He was used to being the one who decided what was a true statement and what was not. And here, right in front of him, is a small, weak, inoffensive man who lots of people wanted dead. The Lord Jesus did not have an army, weapons, wealth, or power. 

In v.33, Pilate asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Rome was in power; “the Jews” were not a political group, they were an ethnic group living in the Roman Province of Syria. The claim is absurd that anyone could be King of the Jews, let alone the Lord Jesus. To his observation, it was a true statement for Pilate to say that Jesus was NOT King of the Jews. 

And then the Lord Jesus answers in v.36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Pilate doesn’t get this “kingdom is not of this world.” I'm sure he wondered, "what other world is there?" 

Then, Pilate picks up on the “King” thing again. “So you are a King?” Pilate asks. The Lord Jesus responds in v.37 with “the truth”, not with a true statement, subject to evaluation, but with the truth. Actually, with a story about Himself, “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.”

He does not say that He came to fill our heads with true statements. Although He does some of that, He tells us true things so that we can understand something about the truth.

Truth is not simply a collection of true statements. The truth is that upon which everything rests. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to make known the Father to a people who were separated from their God, by sin. Jesus Christ came to restore us to God, to undo the sin that the world and which we have inherited. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, hung on a cross, died in our place, rose from the dead, and is coming again to restore us, body and soul, to God. That is the truth. 

That is why the Lord Jesus says in v.37, "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." Notice He did not say, “everyone who believes true things listens to my voice.” Rather, only those who are “of truth.” This is the key statement. “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Pilate did not belong to the truth, and so when he sees this Jesus standing before him, he cannot see that He is the Son of God, that He is, indeed, King not only of the Jews but of all. The crowds outside Pilate’s headquarters were not of the truth. And so they could not see that this man was the one sent to save them, and so they asked Pilate to crucify Him.

But you and I see it, because we are of the truth. And this changes everything. You and I do not live up to the standards of God’s law and we never will. We can measure ourselves, evaluate ourselves, but we will fall short. It is a true statement to say that every one of us has, at one time or another, put our trust and confidence in something other than God. These statements are all true because they can all be observed and measured. 

And it is a true statement to say, that, as a result, we are all worthy of death and separation from God. The truth is that because of the work of the Son of God we are righteous in God’s sight, we are perfect in His eyes. That is the truth. And it is because of one man, Jesus Christ, who by His work has called us, justified us, sanctified us and kept us in and by the faith.

What is truth? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He substantiated the truth through being crucified, for us. Because He is the way, and the truth, and the life.

John 18:28-32

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28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” 30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” 31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. ~ John 18:28-32

Rather than prizing righteousness, the religious leaders try to justify their evil motivations by using moralistic maneuvering. This is illustrated in v.28 which reads, "Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover." 

The Apostle John provides the longest and most detailed account of Christ’s hearing before Pilate.The Jewish leaders were asking for the Lord Jesus to be killed, but were worried about being unclean for the Passover. Unbeknown to them, they were fulfilling the plan of God that the Lord Jesus would be the Passover Lamb, sacrificed on the behalf of all mankind.

It was the Feast of Unleavened Bread which accompanied the Passover. These religious leaders did not want to enter Pilate's palace because they thought they would be defiled. Their theology was weak. Their real motivation was their fear of losing their status, influence and power. These gods had supplanted their worship of the one true God.

A world of evil lurks in the hearts of all mankind, especially when we seek to justify our evil actions through our religious routines. We cannot miss the irony of this situation in which Jewish leaders are concerned about ritual defilement while plotting the death of God. They spurned the unclean dwelling of a Gentile without acknowledging the sick and blasphemous conditions of their own hearts.

In v.29-32, we see the Jews making a request of the Gentile Roman leader to do their dirty work. In v.29 Pilate asks, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” In v.30, the religious leaders deliver a weak response by saying, "If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you." Then, in v.31, Pilate refuses their wishes by saying, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." 

Upon arriving in Jerusalem Pilate received word from the Sanhedrin that one claiming to be the King of the Jews had been stirring up the people with miracles and the expectation was that something big was about to happen in Jerusalem. So, Pilate agreed to have this person arrested to control the crowds until the Passover was over and the people had gone home. 

Late that night a group of temple guards came from the High Priest and awakened Pilate. He was annoyed having to awaken from his slumber. After donning a robe, he came out into the night to talk with them. He asked them why they brought someone to him in the middle of the night. He was annoyed by their answer and asked why the local authorities did not deal with the problem themselves. That’s when Pilate remembered his rule about not stoning people during the crowded Passover celebration. So Pilate took the man into custody and brought Him inside.

By now Pilate was wide awake and asked the Lord Jesus if He was the King of the Jews. Pilate knew that if he could just get the Lord Jesus to admit that He was King, he could convict Him of treason, execute Him on a cross and His disciples would scatter and the problem go away. But the Lord Jesus refused to answer Pilate’s question directly and admit to being a king. So Pilate began indirect questioning and asked the Lord Jesus about his activities. It was here that the Lord Jesus admitted to being a king, but His definition of “king” was very different from Pilate’s. The Lord Jesus' kingdom was not of this world.

According to v.32, God used this to bring about what had been predicted 1,000 years before, that when the Lord Jesus died it would not be by the Jewish method of stoning but by the Roman method of crucifixion. Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 describes it very clearly. John is saying that God is still in control of all these events, and working his will despite the free will of man and the right of men to make their own choices. 

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John 18:25-27

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25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” 26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” 27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. ~ John 18:25-27


As he was standing around the fire warming himself, Peter's Galilean accent aided his downfall. Three times he had to deny being a follower of the Lord Jesus in order to save his rear end. And, the third time he did so, he included a pretty bad cuss word to aid his disguise. The minute he did, through the morning air there came the sound of a crowing rooster. Then, he remembered the words of the Lord Jesus that he would deny Him three times. 

According to v.25, Simon Peter was standing outside in the courtyard warming himself by the fire. He is a believer among unbelievers pretending he is not one of Christ's disciples. It is hard to maintain a strong faith when we are pretending to be like the world. 

Moving back and forth between Peter’s denials and Christ’s testimony before Annas, the Apostle John paints a stark contrast between the Savior and one of the most successful disciples. Peter could not stand for the truth under the circumstances. Underscored in all of this: mankind's need for a savior.

When he finally tried to get some sleep, I am sure Peter rehearsed, over and over, his cowardice. He was supposed to be a rock, but this night he crumbled into pieces. He was not who he thought he was. Shame over past failures and sins can define and inhibit us. And the enemy seeks to steal and destroy our faith by shoving our failures in our face. But the Lord Jesus' cross shadows over these types of moments in our lives.

When the Lord Jesus chose us to be His disciples, He foresaw our future failures as sure as He foresaw Peter’s. He knows what is in us much more than we. So He exhorts us along with Peter to watch and pray that we may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Note that word "WILLING." This is the greatest issue in the life of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we do fail, we must remember what the Lord Jesus said to Peter before His failure: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter was going to fail, miserably. But the Lord Jesus had prayed for him. In the end, the Lord Jesus’ prayer was stronger than Peter’s sin. 

Peter’s failure did not define him. And ours will not define us. They are horrible, humbling stumbles along the path of following Jesus, who paid for them all on the cross. And the Lord Jesus specializes in transforming failures into rocks of strength.

The Lord Jesus didn't come to die for sinless people. He came to die for people who have it in them to betray Him, people like you and me. However, He will never betray those on whom He sets His love, but will love us faithfully for all time.

I once thought I had to improve my behavior in order to maintain God's love for me. But, the whole point of the gospel is that the Lord Jesus died for the unworthy ones, like me. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That is the good news of the gospel.

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JOHN 18:19-24

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19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” 22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded. 23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. ~ JOHN 18:19-24

We return to our study of the Gospel of John. We have considered the arrest of the Lord Jesus in John 18:12-14, and Peter’s first denial in John 18:15-18.

In John 18:19-24, the Lord Jesus is being questioned by Annas, the previous high priest. Annas was the father-in-law of the then high priest, Caiaphas. Due to his corruption, Annas had been removed as high priest by the Romans. Yet, he was the power behind the throne, and the soldiers brought the Lord Jesus to him for questioning.

In v.19. Annas begins this first phase of questioning on a totally illegal basis. Jewish law never required anybody to testify against himself, yet that was what Annas did with the Lord Jesus. When asked illegal questions, the Lord Jesus replied openly and honestly, only to be met by contempt and with a contemptuous slap to the face.

In v.20-21, the Lord Jesus responds with, "The law does not allow you to question me. Ask those who heard me. They can tell you. Bring witnesses. That is what the law requires." In response to His statement, the obscure official slaps the Lord Jesus. To the slap, the Lord Jesus responds with "If I have done wrong then tell me what it is. If not, why do you hit me? That is against the law." He simply repeats the position he had taken earlier and stands His ground. This is what it looks like to turn the other cheek: Stand on your rights, without becoming angry or striking back.

In his questioning, Annas focuses on Christ’s disciples and His teachings because he was hoping His answers could be used against Him in the following court trials and thus lead to His execution. He is not concerned with justice; he is only concerned with using the justice system in order to eliminate the Lord Jesus who was in fact a threat to his position, power and wealth. 

In v.22, the Greek word used for “slapped" is raphisma, which describes a blow to the cheek with an open hand. The unaware official said to Christ, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” The official believed that Christ’s indictment of the high priest was improper, illegal and out of line. The official provides for us a very important lesson. This lesson is underscored in Galatians 6:8 which reads, "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction." On a day by day basis, we have the continuing choice to be smart and feed the Holy Spirit who has awakened our spirit to the Lord or we can feed the flesh which is faithful to deliver destruction into our existence.

The only way His indictment of the high priest was wrong was if Christ Himself had been wrong. But He wasn’t wrong. This is why the Lord Jesus said to the officer in v.23, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” The Lord Jesus knew, even as Annas knew, that He was, in fact, right. Annas had totally disregarded the proper legal procedure.

The Lord Jesus, after explaining to the officer the rightness of His indictment of Annas, at the end of v.23 responds to the officer for striking Him with, "why did you strike me?"

When Annas realized he could get nowhere with the Lord Jesus, according to v.24, he sent Him to Caiaphas, the High Priest. He did not have to send Him far, just across the courtyard, where, by this time, the Sanhedrin had gathered. But John ignores that whole trial before the high priest, we get that in the other gospels.

In the course of this hearing, the Lord Jesus had displayed His perfection against the backdrop of the sinfulness of man. Though He was the one on trial, it was those around Him who were exposed to be the ones who were guilty. This is the way it always is when we stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus, the more we walk with Him, the more our sin becomes exposed.

Finally, I've wondered, since the Lord Jesus knew He is going to the cross, why does He defend Himself before Annas? The Lord Jesus defended Himself in order to defend the proper process or to expose the inaccurate and illegal nature of this trial. Everyone who has ever received a proper trial are ingratiated to the Lord Jesus for justice. .

John 18:15-18

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15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. 17 “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” 18 It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. ~ John 18:15-18

The scene shifts from the Garden to the threefold trial which John doesn't cover in much detail. In fact, almost immediately the Apostle places the spotlight on Peter’s denial. He highlights the fact that after the Lord Jesus was carried off to Caiaphas, the High Priest, the disciples ran away for their lives, all but Peter and another disciple stayed around.

John tells us in v.15, "Simon Peter and another disciple followed the Lord Jesus." In Mark 14:54 we learn Peter “followed from a distance.” He’s following Jesus, but he doesn’t want anybody to know it. When we will follow the Lord Jesus from a distance, we will deny knowing Him every time.

In John 20:3, we read, “Peter and the other disciple went forth, and were going to the tomb.” This verse gives us the identity of the other disciple. The other disciple is the Apostle John. In his gospel, John never mentions his own name, never. He calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved five times, that other disciple, another disciple, but never John. 

So, John is with Simon Peter, and he is known to the high priest and entered with the Lord Jesus into the court of the high priest. He goes right in with the Lord Jesus, and John is known to the high priest.

John’s mother was Salome. Salome was related to Mary. Mary was related to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was married to Zechariah, and Zechariah was a priest. So there was a family connection with John's family, and before he became a disciple of Christ, that connection could have been an important connection. 

John's Uncle, Zechariah, was a priest who did his priestly duties in the temple at the altar. Every Passover, they would probably, in going to Jerusalem and into all those events, reconnect with some people they knew in that priestly family. Because he was known to the high priest, he just walked in right with Jesus; but Peter was standing at the door outside.

The Apostle John boldly walks into the presence of Caiaphas with the Lord Jesus while Simon Peter remains outside. While outside, Peter, spoke to the servant girl who asks him, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?" Peter responds with his first lie about his identity. It all started with a lie to a slave girl. You'll remember earlier the Lord Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.

In v.18, we read, “It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.” It was the Passover, and during the day it was comfortably warm; but at night, it was quite chilly. It was late into the night, and the trial was unlawful, because Jewish trials were not allowed to be held at night or in secret.

So Peter is standing with the servants in the dark by the fire trying to keep warm. It is from the place of the servant that we see the ways of the Lord best. Peter is suspended between his fear and his love. He doesn’t want to leave because he loves the Lord. He doesn’t want to be exposed because he fears for his own safety. But he hangs around trying to get a grip on what is really happening. All his self-confidence is gone. He’s afraid, but he can’t remove himself. So there he stands there, warming himself in the place of uncertainty.

Trials, may I remind you, are essential in our personal intimacy with God. We would not prescribe them, but the Lord uses them to hone our heart's ability to see and love Him. Trust Him today to be at work amid your unwanted frustrations.

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