Jesus, The Final Judge

JESUS, THE FINAL JUDGE

John 18:28-37


HIS HUMILITY, HIS SACRIFICIAL LOVE
V:28. "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early;
and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that
they might eat the passover."
A. Jesus allowed Himself to be judged by sinful men using their sinful standards.
1. The one who made man in His own image, allowed Himself to be judged by the
men He made.
2. They brought the Judge of all judges to the judgment hall to be judged.
3. They brought the supreme heavenly judge who is over all worldly judges to be
judged.
B. "They themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled."
1.They brought the author of sanctification to be judged.
2. They brought the way of sanctification to be judged.
3. They brought the reason for sanctification to be judged.
4. They were with Jesus, the only one who could clean them spiritually, yet they did
not want to be made unclean by going into the judgment hall.
5. They misapplied the law. (Leviticus 15:10-11, 19-20).
a. The law referred to touching a man or a woman with a discharge.
6. They had defiled themselves.
1. Jesus said, "It is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but that comes out of
his heart from his mouth." Matt 15:18.
2. They bared false witness against Jesus.
3. They paid others to lie about Jesus.
4. They had malice in their heart against Jesus.
7. Where ever Jesus is, there is purity.
a. They could not be defiled in a place where Jesus was.
C. "But that they might eat the passover."
1. They did not want to miss the passover, but the passover was in front
of them.

THE ACCUSATION AGAINST JESUS
V:29. "Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this
man?"
A. Pilate was the Roman governor who had judicial authority over the area which
included Jerusalem.
1. The Jews presented Jesus to Pilate to be judged without giving him the reason.
B. A good leader does not act with out investigation.
1. Those who bring charges against someone should clearly present the charges.
2. A good leader will examine the evidence before pronouncing judgment.
3. Accusations based on prejudice and hatred will result in false claims.
a. The Jews brought their mess to Pilate expecting him to rule in their favor.
b. They brought their lies.
c. They brought their false claims.
d. They brought their prejudices.
4. Pilate came out of the hall honoring their rites to get their charges against Jesus.
5. Their religious rites were more important to them than the truth.

V:30. "They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have
delivered him up unto thee."
A. "Malefactor" is from two Greek words; kalon which means evil and poioon which
means to make, lay wait or deal.
1. They claim Jesus was one who lay wait to do evil or one who deals evil.
a. This charge was vague and not specific enough to make a judgment.
b. They did not tell Pilate what Jesus did to be labeled an evil doer.
2. Specific charges have a specific punishment under Jewish law.
a. No specific charge was given against Jesus.
b. They were bold in their own council against Jesus.
c. They played ignorant in the presence of the real authority.
d. This was a testimony to their untruthfulness.
3. They wanted Pilate to execute their illegal judgment.
4. They accused Jesus of being a malefactor, when they were the malefactors.
a. Their testimony of no evidence against Jesus is proof that they were malefactors.

V:31. "Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law.
The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."
A. Pilate had no evidence to make a judgment, so he put the decision back into the
hands of the Jewish leaders.
1. We should never judge someone based solely on someone statement.
2. There are two sides to every story.
3.Very often the truth cannot be obtained from testimony of one side.
a. On one side is light and on the other side is darkness.
b On one side is the "Truth" and on the other side is a lie.
c. On one side is salvation on and the other side is death.
d. On one side is mercy and on the other side is man's injustice.
e. On one side was love and on the other side was hate.
f. On one side was heaven and on the other side was hell.
g. On one side was righteousness and on the other side was sin.
h. On one side was God and on the other side was Satan.
B. The Jews did not want justice but an illegal punishment based on their word.
1. They had the power to punish based on their law, but not the authority to put
anyone to death.
2. The Jews were not interested in restoring Jesus to God, but separating Him from
God.
a. Jesus came to restore man to God.
b. Jesus came to save.
c. Satan came to steal, kill and destroy.
3. The teachers of the law were blinded to the scriptures about Jesus by their own
selfish ambitions.
4. We must be careful to believe all scripture and not just what we agree with.

V:32. "That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death
he should die."
A. Jesus was never in any danger before the Roman council or the Jewish leaders.
1. They were allowed to do only what Jesus planned for them to do.
2. Jesus was in complete control of the situation.
a. In Jesus we are in no danger from man.
b. Satan may cast a shadow of danger, but he has no power.
B. Human government has no authority over the government of God.
1. They tried to kill Jesus before, but He would slip away in the crowd.
2. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, the Jewish leaders said they
would kill Lazarus and Jesus. John 12:9-11
3. Jesus planned the manner of His death to save all men. John 12:32
4. At any point in time Jesus could have commanded a legion of angels to come to His
rescue. Matt 26:53.
5. No one could take the life of Jesus.
a. He gave up His life freely for the salvation of those who believe in Him.
John 10 15-18.
b. The death of Jesus was planned by the Father and foretold in the Scriptures
starting in the Garden of Eden after the fall of Adam. Gen 3:15

THE INJUSTICE
V:33. "Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto
him, Art thou the King of the Jews?"
A. Pilate asked the right question for the wrong reason.
1. Jesus is the King of Kings.
2. He is the spiritual King of all who believe in Him.
3. Jesus was accused of claiming to be the King of the Jews.
4. Jesus was accused of being an enemy to the Roman government.
B. How we see Jesus is important to our testimony about Him.
1. We need to ask ourselves this question. Is Jesus the King of my life?
a. Do you trust Jesus with your life?
b. Do you love Him enough to live according to His Word?
c. Can you trust Him to provide for your present needs?
d. Is your eternal hope in Jesus Christ?
C. Do you see Jesus in the Judgment Hall?
1. Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead.
2. Jesus the eternal Judge has imputed His righteousness on all believers.
a. Jesus has rendered believers innocent of all charges.
b. He has executed a sentence of eternal life with the Father to all believers.
c. Believers ought to be glad Jesus is the judge in our eternal judgment hall.


FAITH IN JESUS
V:34. "Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of
me?"
A. This is a key question from Jesus to us.
1. Do you believe that Jesus is your king?
a. Do you say Jesus is king because someone else said He is king?
b. It is not what someone else says about Jesus that is important, but
what you say about Jesus.
2. You have to know Jesus for yourself.
a. People say a lot about Jesus that is not true.
b. The only way to know Jesus is to study His Word.
c. When you study the Word of Jesus, you see the His glory all around you.

V:35. "Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have
delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?"
A. This is another question for all believers to consider. What has Jesus done?
1. He created the heavens and the earth.
2. He has maintained His creation since its beginning.
3. He made man in His own image.
B. What has Jesus done for you?
1. I don't know about you but...
a. He brought me from a mighty long way.
b. He saved my soul.
c. If it had not been for the Lord on my side, I would not be here.
C. What is He doing NOW.
1. He is keeping me alive.
2. He is the joy in my life.
3. He is my peace in my trials and tribulations.
4. He is the bread on my table.
5. He is water when I thirst.

THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM OF JESUS
V:36. "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now
is my kingdom not from hence."
A. It is good to know that there is a kingdom beyond this world.
1. It is good to know that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, making
intercessions for us.
B. Jesus did not come to take over world kingdoms.
1. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam control over his environment. Gen 2:19.
2. After the flood, God established human government with Noah and his family
Gen 9:1-7.
3. Jesus did not come to remove the authority He gave to man over his affairs.
4. Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom in His name.
a. Jesus established His Church, the body of Christ.
b. Jesus, the leader of the church is seated at the right hand of the Father.
5. Jesus knows His sheep and they know Him and follow Him. John 10:14-17
6. All believers are members in the kingdom of Jesus with a heavenly heritage.
a. Jesus has an intimate knowledge of all believers.


THE MISSION OF JESUS
V:37. "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest
that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I
should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."
A. The mission of Jesus was to be a witness to the truth.
1. The Old Testament was complete more than 300 years before the birth of Jesus
according to the aging of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
2. The truth was available but it was not being told.
a The truth about Jesus and His coming was not told.
b. The truth about the way to salvation was not told.
c. The truth about God's love was not told.
d. The truth about the forgiveness of God was not told.
e. The truth about God's grace and mercy was not told.

THE POSITION OF JESUS
B. Jesus is the truth.
1. He came down from heaven so we could come to know Him.
2. He used miracles and signs to draw men to Himself.
a. Once drawn, He shares the truth.
b. In our life today, God uses trial and tribulations to draw us to Him.
c. He comforts us in our situation so we trust Him.
d. Once we trust Him, He shares with us, who He is.
B. "Every one that is of the truth hears the voice of Jesus."
1. Salvation come by belief in the Word.
2. The evidence of those who believe is the way they live.