ALL
POWER SUBMITTED ITSELF TO NO POWER FOR ME
John
18:28-40
THE LAMB WENT AND WE ARE CLEAN
V:28 Then the Jews led Jesus from
Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and
to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; 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?"
A. The
first point in verse 28 is ritual cleanliness versus spiritual cleanliness.
1.
Background
By the time of Christ, ceremonial cleanliness by water had
become institutionalized into a purity ritual involving full immersion in
a mikveh (or miqveh), a “collection of water.”
Mikveh purification was required of all Jews before they
could enter the Temple or participate in major festivals. Hundreds of thousands
of pilgrims converged on Jerusalem for Passover and other major feasts. One
hundred mikvehs, attesting to the need for water purification before entering
into Temple rites, have been found by Hebrew University’s Benjamin Mazar around
the wall adjacent to Herod’s Temple.
2.
Can you imagine being clean on the outside and dirty
on the inside.
3.
When you focused on how you look to others, you
will never see your faults.
4.
The Jews were concerned about defiling
themselves by not going into the palace,
While breaking all of God’s law by killing an innocent man.
B. The Jews accused
the Father of righteousness of being righteous.
1.
They put the Father of cleanliness on trial for
being clean.
2.
They did not understand that the food that went
into the body did not make them clean.
3.
It is the Word of God that is in the heart that
makes you clean.
NO CHARGE, MY BLOOD IS FREE
V: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."
A. From
their mouths the Jews condemned themselves.
1.
In their minds they made Jesus be a criminal
without justification, thus lying to the
Pilate.
2.
They could not answer the question of charges
because there was no truth in them.
3.
They made a claim without evidence. Basically,
trust us.
4.
The rich and powerful use their position and
money to condemn the poor.
B. They
had nothing to justify their charge against Jesus but their agenda to control.
1.
The ‘we’ included the entire Sanhedrin court.
2.
People will collaborate together to destroy
you.
3.
Evil needs evil to back up evil.
4.
The company you keep defines who you are.
JUDGE BY THE LAW, DIE BY THE LAW
V:31 Pilate said, "Take him
yourselves and judge him by your own law."
"But we have no right to
execute anyone," the Jews objected. 32 This happened so that the words
Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be
fulfilled.
A. Notice
Jesus was in charge of the proceeding.
1.
Everything was going as He planned it hundreds
of years before.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23
If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death
and his body is hung on a tree, 23 you must not leave his body on the tree
overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a
tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is
giving you as an inheritance.
2.
Because of the repeated disobedience of the
Jewish nation, they were under enemy control.
3.
They were not able to execute God’s commands as
He required.
B. The
Jews had the law. They were teachers of the Law.
1.
Their disobedience prevented them from using the
law.
2.
Perhaps the real reason for not killing Jesus
was to keep their conscience clean
Of the blood of Jesus.
3.
They had no problem stoning Stephen.
4.
They had no problem stoning the lady caught in
adultery.
5.
They could easily say the Roman’s killed the
Messiah.
YES, JESUS IS KING OF THE JEWS AND ME
V: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. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to
me. What is it you have done?"
A. When
you know the truth you can see the ignorance of others.
1.
Pilate didn’t know why Jesus was brought to him.
2.
So Jesus asked is what you know me, what you have determined by your
investigation or
What you were told by the Jew.
3.
Jesus question may have made Pilate realize that
he had no justification to condemn Him.
4.
If you accuse someone, you need to be sure you
have the facts.
B. Pilate
knew he and no information, therefore he put the reason for the trial back on
the Chief
Priest and his
group.
1.
Pilate sought a confession from Jesus for the
reason of the trial.
2.
Jesus did not give an answer for He wanted
Pilate to come to a conclusion he could live with.
WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD
V:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom
is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest
by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
37 "You are a king,
then!" said Pilate.
A. Jesus
led Pilate to the reason He was on trial. He claimed to be a king.
1.
The answer Jesus gave probably seemed foolish to
Pilate.
2.
My kingdom is not of this world and my accusers are not my people.
3.
Jesus people would fight for Him to keep Him
from coming to trial.
B. Jesus' kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom that only a select people is His subjects.
1.
Jesus is King of Kings
2.
The world will not accept His kingdom
3.
His own people who brought Him to trial rejected
Him.
BE RIGHT, PROCLAIM JESUS AS KING
V:37b Jesus answered, "You
are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this
I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth
listens to me."
A. Jesus
gave Pilate His mission.
1.
He is the way the truth and the life.
2.
He stepped out of heaven and became man so that
truth could be
Could be demonstrated to man.
B. There
are two sides
1.
There is the Spiritual side
2.
There is the world’s side.
3.
The people of the world will not accept the spiritual
side.
4.
The spiritual side contains the truth.
5.
The truth is we are all spiritual beings
6.
Every one of us has a body, a soul, and a
spirit.
7.
The Human spirit that remains unchanged by the
Gospel is
Is evil and controlled by Satan.
8.
The Human spirit that is changed by the Gospel
is good and
Controlled by the Holy Spirit.
KNOW THE TRUTH AND SET YOURSELF FREE
V:38 "What is truth?"
Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no
basis for a charge against him. 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'?"
A. Pilate
saw the truth of the situation.
1.
Pilate heard the truth.
2.
Pilate witness the truth in action.
3.
Was he changed? I don’t know.
4.
The truth fell on rocky ground, was Pilate changed, I don’t know,
B. The
truth may have affected Pilate’s response to the Jewish accusation.
1.
I find no basis to charge Jesus.
2.
The truth affected Pilate’s wife.
Matthew 27:19
While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife
sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man,
for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
a.
This tells three things:
b.
Pilate listen to his wife.
c.
Pilate valued her advice.
d.
Jesus affects the decision of people for your
advantage.
3.
When the truth falls on you, it affects your
family.
4.
I suggest that at this point Pilate remained unchanged
because he passed the
Decision back to the Jews.
Matthew 27:20-21
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the
crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 "Which of the two do you want me to release to
you?" asked the governor.
NIV
FOOLS RUSH IN WHEN WISE MEN FAIL TO GO.
V:40 They shouted back, "No,
not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.
A.
Pilate lack the courage to do what he knew was
right.
Matthew 27:24-25
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but
that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in
front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said.
"It is your responsibility!"
25 All the people answered, "Let his blood be on
us and on our children!"
1.
We have to be careful what we do in the heat of
a protest.
2.
We can curse ourselves when we act in ignorance
3.
The same people who said “Hosanna, glory to God
in the highest” now said
Crucify Jesus.
B.
In the heat of a protest, normal people can
become totally irrational.
1.
Not only did the people in the crowd curse
themselves, but they cursed their
Children.
2.
Crucify an innocent man. But release a
murderer.
3.
Long after the protest ends, we suffer the sins
of our actions.
4.
Compare this to the 2020 riots on the US capital.
a.
Many normal people now face jail time.
b.
Some of the chief instigators went free, while
their children suffer.
C.
The chief priest and the Sanhedrin court instigated
the crucifixion of
An innocent Jesus, Lord of Lords, King of Kings to
maintain their
Authority and prestige over the community.
1.
In 70 AD the Roman emperor Titus burned the
temple in Jerusalem to the
Ground and destroyed the city.
2.
We must understand that the truth never fails.
Mark 13:1-2
As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said
to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent
buildings!"
2 "Do you see all these great buildings?"
replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will
be thrown down."
3.
Pilate asked Jesus what is truth?
a.
Here you have it in our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ and the 66 Books of the Bible
The record of truth.
b.
In 2022, we are in some terrible times, but the
truth still stands in all God’s power.
THANK
GOD WE HAVE A JESUS THAT WAS WILLING TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR OUR IGNORANCE
Rev. M. Mitchell
NIV
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