John Bible Study - Lesson 47
Read the passage
below using the 2 different Bible translations:
John
18:28-40 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Before Pilate
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.
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.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.
John
18:28-40 New Living Translation (NLT)
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
28 Jesus’ trial
before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to
the headquarters of the Roman governor.[a] His accusers didn’t go inside
because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the
Passover. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to
them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30 “We wouldn’t
have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “Then take him
away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.
“Only
the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This
fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.[b])
33 Then Pilate went
back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you
the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34 Jesus
replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading
priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
36 Jesus
answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers
would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my
Kingdom is not of this world.”
37 Pilate said, “So
you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was
born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth
recognize that what I say is true.”
38 “What is truth?”
Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not
guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of
asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to
release this ‘King of the Jews’?”
40 But they shouted
back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
Note:
Here are the 3 questions
for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the questions to help
you understand the passage. Answer the questions first yourself before you look
at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask God to help you
understand what you are reading.
3
questions to answer:
1. Content: What
is this passage about?
2. Lesson: What
do I learn from this passage?
3. Application: How
can I apply what I have learned to my life?
Answers
to the questions above and some background:
Content: What is this passage about?
·
Jesus
was sent to Pilate after His trial before the high priest Caiaphas.
·
Jesus’
accusers did not go inside of the Roman headquarters because going inside would
make them unclean and unable to celebrate the Passover.
·
Pilate
questions Jesus’ accusers about the charge against Jesus.
·
The
Jewish leaders accuse Jesus of being a criminal.
·
Pilate
tells Jewish leaders to judge Jesus by their own law.
·
The
Jewish leaders responded by saying that they had no right to execute anyone. (Jesus
predicted that He would be executed)
·
Pilate
takes Jesus into the palace to question Him.
·
Jesus
answers Pilate with spiritual truth and reveals to him His mission, purpose and
identity.
·
Pilate
declares Jesus’ innocence and wants to release Jesus as it was custom to free a
prisoner each year at the Passover.
·
The
people decided to free Barabbas.
Lesson: What
do I learn from this passage?
·
After
the being on trial with the high priest Caiaphas, Jesus is sent to Pilate in
order to get Him put to death.
·
The Jewish
leaders were plotting to kill Jesus:
Matthew
26:1-5 (ERV)
The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus
After
Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his followers,2 “You
know that the day after tomorrow is Passover. On that day the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies to be
killed on a cross.”
3 Then the leading
priests and the older Jewish leaders had a meeting at the palace where the high
priest lived. The high priest’s name was Caiaphas. 4 In the meeting they tried to find a way to
arrest and kill Jesus without anyone knowing what they were doing. They planned to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5 They
said, “We cannot arrest Jesus during Passover. We don’t want the people to
become angry and cause a riot.”
·
Jesus’
accusers did not go inside of the Roman headquarters because going inside would
make them unclean and unable to celebrate the Passover. The Jewish leaders followed
the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. That is why Jesus call them hypocrites: Luke 11:37-54
Here is an
example of how the Pharisees concealed God’s truth to the people:
Luke
11:52 New Living Translation (NLT)
52 “What sorrow
awaits you experts in religious law! For you
remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom
yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”
·
By
falsely accusing Jesus of Blasphemy, the Jewish leaders attempted to kill God’s
Messiah. Ironically, Jesus was the one
sent to save them, but by concealing God’s truth, they themselves were blinded
by their own deception and therefore would pay the price for their rejection of
Jesus.
Here is more
detail on Jesus’s trial before Caiaphas the high priest:
Matthew
26:57-68 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had
arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of
the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter
followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He
entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were
looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But
they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally
two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow
said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high
priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this
testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But
Jesus remained silent.
The
high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell
us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said
so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming
on the clouds of heaven.”[a]
65 Then the high
priest tore his clothes and said, “He
has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have
heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of
death,” they
answered.
67 Then they spit
in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and
said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
(Also,
Mark 14:53-65 and Luke
22:66-71 contain details about this trial)
According
to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was accused of 3 crimes under Roman law:
1. Subversion
2. Opposing tax payments to Caesar
3. Claiming to be a king
Luke
23:1-2 New International Version (NIV)
Then
the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And
they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He
opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
·
Pilate questions Jesus asking Him if He is the King of the
Jews.
Jesus responds: “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.”
So, we learn
that:
·
Jesus’ kingdom
is not of this world:
John
17:14-16
(ERV)
14 I
have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them, because they don’t
belong to the world, just as I don’t
belong to the world.
15 “I
am not asking you to take them out of the world. But I am asking that you keep
them safe from the Evil One. 16 They don’t
belong to the world, just as I don’t
belong to the world.
John
16:28 (ERV)
I
came from the Father into the world. Now I
am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Mark
16:19 New International Version (NIV)
After
the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he
was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Acts
1:9-11New International Version (NIV)
9 After
he said this, he was taken
up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They
were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men
dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of
Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from
you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into
heaven.”
·
Jesus came into
the world to testify to the truth
John
14:6 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus
answered, “I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
John
8:31-32 New International Version (NIV)
31 To the Jews who
had believed him, Jesus said, “If
you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Ephesians
1:13-14 (ERV)
13 It is the same
with you. You heard the true message,
the Good News about the way God saves you. When you heard that Good News, you believed in Christ. And in Christ,
God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he promised. 14 The Spirit is the first
payment that guarantees we will get all that God has for us. Then we will enjoy
complete freedom as people who belong to him. The goal for all of us is the
praise of God in all his glory.
·
Everyone who
believes in God’s truth listens to Jesus
John
10:27-30 New International Version (NIV)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and
they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of
my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
John
14:23 New International Version (NIV)
23 Jesus
replied, “Anyone who loves me will
obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and
make our home with them.
John
8:51New International Version (NIV)
Very
truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word
will never see death.”
The truth is, Jesus
commands us to follow Him:
Matthew
16:24-27 New International Version (NIV)
24 Then Jesus said
to his disciples, “Whoever wants to
be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to
save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me
will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit
their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For
the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his
angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
When people
truly follow Jesus, they die to the old self and allow the new self to define their
transformation in Christ:
Ephesians
4:22-24 New International Version (NIV)
22 You were taught,
with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is
being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be
made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Here is some
great instruction on how to put on the new self and live as a follower of
Jesus:
Colossians
3New International Version (NIV)
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
3 Since, then, you
have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of
God. 2 Set
your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For
you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When
Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also
will appear
with
him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to
your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because
of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used
to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But
now you must also rid yourselves of
all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language
from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old
self with its practices 10 and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the
image of its Creator.11 Here
there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian,
Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as
God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one
another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you.14 And
over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in
perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as
members of one body you were called
to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among
you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through
psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in
your hearts. 17 And
whatever you do, whether in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him.
·
Pilate
finds no charge against Jesus and offers to release Him, yet the crowd asked
for Barabbas to be freed.
·
God’s plan for
Jesus to be the once and for all sacrifice is going to be fulfilled:
Hebrews
7:27 New Living Translation (NLT)
27 Unlike those
other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did
this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he
offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.
Hebrews 10:11-18 Living Bible (TLB)
11 Under the old agreement the priests
stood before the altar day after day offering sacrifices that could never take
away our sins. 12 But Christ gave himself to God for our sins as one sacrifice for all
time and then sat down in the place of highest honor at God’s right
hand, 13 waiting for his enemies to be laid under
his feet. 14 For
by that one offering he made forever perfect in the sight of God all those whom
he is making holy.
15 And the Holy Spirit testifies that this
is so, for he has said, 16 “This is the agreement I will make with the people of Israel, though
they broke their first agreement: I will write my laws into their minds so that
they will always know my will, and I will put my laws in their hearts so that
they will want to obey them.” 17 And then he adds,
“I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 Now, when sins have once been forever forgiven and forgotten, there is no
need to offer more sacrifices to get rid of them.
·
We see God’s
amazing plan unfolding and we should take to heart what God has done for us:
John
3:16-17 New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did
not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Remember: Jesus willingly
allowed Himself to be arrested in order to save God’s people from the
consequences of sin that leads to spiritual death.
Application: How
can I apply what I have learned to my life?
·
Remember
what God’s Word says about how you will be saved.
·
Thank
God for saving you.
·
Live
in the world but continue to maintain an eternal perspective while sharing the
hope you have with others.
·
Be
careful of those who will lead you astray.
·
Test
everything with God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.
·
Remember
it is Jesus’ work that saves you. You cannot earn your salvation.
Don’t forget:
John’s main
purpose in writing this Gospel:
·
To
tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles
·
The
events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life
John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in
the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
Questions
to ponder:
·
Jesus’
trial was unjust. How do you respond to injustice?
·
Will
you speak truth and maintain your character while others try to accuse you?
·
Do
you understand that the life of a follower of Jesus will not be comfortable?
·
Will
you trust God in times of trouble?
Have a great
week…………….Dave
