By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: John
18:28-40
John
18:39-40
“But
you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you
therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 Then
they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas
was a robber.
(NKJV)
In the passage of John
18:28-40, we see Jesus as the focal point of warfare on two fronts,
spiritual and political. While what is occurring in this passage is chaos and
something out of control, with an innocent man tried and even the Roman leader
of the region finding nothing wrong, this is part of God’s plan. Jesus came
into the world to die as the Lamb of God and then to resurrect from the dead in
victory over death with these events the fulfillment of this plan. God’s plans
often do not play out according to how we think they should, but they are God’s
plans and something we must follow.
After His mock trial before
the Jews, Jesus is taken to the Praetorium early in the morning to face a Roman
trial (John
18:28). The Jews could not go in with Jesus so Pilate went out to the Jews,
asking why they have brought Jesus to him (John
18:29). The Jews tell Pilate that if they did not believe Jesus was an evildoer,
they would not have brought Jesus to him to which Pilate responds, telling them
to try Jesus according to Jewish law (John
18:30-31). The problem for the Jews is that it is unlawful for them to put
anyone to death with this fulfilling how Jesus said He would die (John
18:31-32).
Pilate returns to the Praetorium
and asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews, to which Jesus responds by asking
Pilate if he is saying this of Himself or based on what others have said (John
18:33-34). Pilate responds, asking Jesus if he is a Jew, reminding Him that
His own nation and chief priests have delivered Him to him, asking what He has
done (John
18:35). Jesus tells Pilate that His kingdom is not or this world, otherwise
His servants would fight to rescue Him from the Jews (John
18:36). Pilate then asks Jesus if He is a king to which Jesus responds with
that being the reason He was born with a mission of bearing witness of the
truth (John
18:37). Pilate asks Jesus what truth is and immediately goes out to the
Jews, declaring he finds no fault in Jesus (John
18:38).
Hoping to defuse the
situation, Pilate reminds the Jews of his custom of releasing someone to them
at the Passover, asking them if they want him to release Jesus, the King of the
Jews (John
18:39). The Jews ask for Barabas, a robber instead of Jesus (John
18:40). This leaves Pilate with only one solution if he wants to avoid a
volatile situation, release Barabas and execute an innocent man.
Jesus’ hour has come, and
after a mock trial before the council of the high priest, Jesus is delivered to
Pilate, setting in motion the fulfillment of prophecies about how Jesus would
die. The spiritual front of this war against Jesus is the result of Satan
blinding the eyes of the Jewish religious leaders to the fact Jesus is their
Messiah (Isaiah
6:10; John 12:40). However, the Jewish leaders have a problem, their law
forbids killing Jesus so Pilate returns to Jesus, asking if He was the King of
the Jews (John
18:31-33). Jesus tells Pilate he has come to bear witness of the Truth,
with Pilate asking Him what truth is. Returning to the Jews, Pilate tells them
he finds no wrong in Jesus (John
18:36-38).
Now we see the political
front of this war over Jesus. Pilate has a custom of releasing someone to the
Jews during Passover and believes they will release Jesus since He has done
nothing wrong, calming the volatile situation. However, when the Jews ask for
Barabas, a robber instead of Jesus, Pilate has no choice if he wants to prevent
a riot but to offer an innocent man up to death. All of this is according to
God’s plan for Jesus to be the ultimate Passover lamb offered up for the sins
of the world.
The Church is engaged in spiritual
warfare between truth as expressed in the Word of God in print and in the flesh
in Jesus Christ (John
1:1). However, the Church is not fully engaged in the battle and is
therefore lukewarm and weak. When the political whims of a woke culture are
against the Church, many will cower in fear and fail to speak out against atrocities
that go against the Word of God. It is easier for the Church to preach a feel-good
message of prosperity to avoid speaking out for truth, like the Church of Laodicea
(Revelation
3:14-17). Instead of preaching the Gospel and the need for salvation from
sin through the blood of Christ, many churches tickle the ears of the
congregation with a self-help message, leaving their first love, Jesus Christ (Revelation
2:4-5; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). The Church must repent of its apostasy and return
to the Great Commission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts
1:8; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).
If you are a Church
leader and have fallen away from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I invite
you to repent and return to what Jesus commissioned the Church to do. If you
are part of a Church that has fallen away from preaching the Gospel, leave and
find a Church that does. If you are reading this and have never prayed to
receive salvation by a profession of faith in the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, I invite you to pray with me now.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
I pray the Church returns
to a Church that turns the world upside down, or right side up, like the Church
in the Book of Acts (Acts
17:6).
