Okay, first of all, verses 1
through 13 of John chapter 18. When Jesus had spoken these words,
He went forth with His disciples over the brook Sidron, where
was a garden into which He entered with His disciples. Judas also,
which betrayed Him, knew the place, for oftentimes thither
he resorted with his disciples. Judas then, having received a
band and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came thither
with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing
all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto
them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto
them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then
saith He again unto them, Whom seek ye? And they say, Jesus
of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you
that I am. If therefore ye seek Me, let
these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled which
He spake of them which thou gavest Me have I lost none. Then Simon
Peter, having a sword, drew it, and smote the high priest's servant,
and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put
up thy sword into thy sheath. The cup which my Father hath
given me, shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain
and the officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him, led
him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas,
which was the high priest that same year. Now picking up at
verse 19 through verse 24, the high priest then asked Jesus
of his disciples and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him. I spake openly
in the world, I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple,
whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me what
I have said unto them. Behold, they know what I have
said.' And when he had thus said, spoken, one of the officers which
stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "'Answerest
thou the High Priest, O?' Jesus answered him, "'If I have spoken
evil, bear witness of me, but if well, why smitest thou me?'
Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas, the High Priest."
Now verse 28, Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of
judgment, and it was early. They themselves went not into
the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they
might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out unto them
and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? They answered and said unto him,
If he were not a malfactor, we would not have delivered him
unto thee. 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,
that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which he spake,
signifying what death he might die. Now that verse in Acts 3
and verse 13. The God of Abraham and of Isaac
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his son
Jesus, whom you delivered up, denied him in the presence of
Pilate when he was determined to let him go. Now this morning,
we are studying from the Gospel of John. And John gives us a
very short, a very abbreviated account of the Lord's in Gethsemane,
saying nothing of the great agony and the great misery that our
Lord endured there. However, this is not a loss unto
us. We're not at any loss. Because
the first three gospels give us a good account of our Lord
in the garden. But in the process of the Lord's
arrest on this night, John gives us an account here of one of
the most amazing things which our Lord ever did during the
days of His ministry. And that is that He slew His
arrestors. He slew those that came to take
Him by the very word of His mouth. Just by the word spoken by the
mouth of our Lord. And the Scriptures tell us that
they fell backward, each and all of them down upon the ground. We'll say more about that later. But there are some expositors
who think, in verse 3, that there are two bodies of men that have
come for to arrest our Lord. First, there is that band of
Roman soldiers that is sent from Pilate or the governor. that
they might keep an oversight, they might watch and not let
things get out of hand. Then also, in verse 12, we read
of the captain and the officers of the Jews. These are sometimes
called the temple police. and we see their activity in
the scripture. The Sanhedrin Council exerted
authority over Jewish matters under the watchful eye of the
Roman government. There were many things that they
could judge for themselves. There were many matters that
they could handle. And so, on one occasion, they
had sent the temple police to arrest the Lord and to bring
Him in John chapter 7, but they came back empty-handed saying,
never man spake like this man. But here in chapter 18, the Lord
puts up No resistance at all from those that come to take
Him. In fact, He goes out to meet them. And He even identifies
themselves. Who are you seeking? Jesus of
Nazareth. I am Jesus of Nazareth. On other occasions when they
sought to put our Lord to death, He passed out of their midst.
He delivered Himself from them. They couldn't get hold on Him.
And by some marvel, He delivered Himself so that they could not
take Him. But before He is taken away,
our Lord gives here in John 18 a manifestation of the power
that resided in him. For as soon as he said, I am,
you notice that he is italicized in the scripture, as soon as
he said those words, I am, the whole group fell back down to
the ground. That's again in verse 6. They
went backwards. They fell. This is a miracle
as evidenced by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It's a miracle to His disciples. It's a miracle to Judas who betrayed
Him. It's a miracle to the temple
police. It's a miracle to the Roman band that had come to take
Him away. Now, I don't know about you,
but I'm a little surprised here. I would imagine that having experienced
that great falling back at His Word, that we should have expected
them to all jump up and run away as fast as they could and get
out of there. That they did not. is simply
amazing. It seems that this would be the
time to say, never a man spake like this man. But this must
be counted among the miracles of our Lord and Savior. What's the significance, however,
of this great miracle? Why at this time? It was not
that he might escape, though he could have escaped at that
time, not that his disciples might flee away and be safely
out of harm's danger and get out of the way. It was not a
ploy. simply to distract the band so
that they might be free. This was not the purpose of our
Lord speaking this way at all. Instead, it is a glorious display
of Christ's power, that by the very word of His mouth, He is
able to work great wonders. able to throw that hoodlum band
down on their backside before they can come to arresting. We know from the Scripture, from
the Old Testament, from Exodus 3 and verse 14, we know that
the words, I am, are of great significance. These are the words
that God said to Moses, tell them, I am, has sent me. I am what I am. I am what I will
be. And our Lord often used these
words of Himself. I am the way. I am the resurrection. I am the truth, the way, and
the life. Jesus, therefore, used that word
to identify Himself with God the Father. Well, you know what
impetuous Peter did. He draws out his sword, because
he told the Lord a long time ago, this ain't never going to
happen to you, Lord. So he draws out his sword and
he cuts off the ear of one of the servants by the name of Malchus. And the Lord tells him, put up
your cup, Peter. I must drink, put up your sword,
I must drink the cup which my Father hath given me to drink. And in verse 12, Jesus submits
and allows himself to be bound and to be taken away like a common
criminal. And this begins the Lord's journey
through both the Jewish and the Roman civil legal system, which
would culminate in his death upon Calvary's tree at the hand
of the Romans. In verse 13, the first place
they took him was to one kin to the priest, a man named Annas. Annas was a man of some influence,
father-in-law to the high priest of Israel, at that time. Many
have served as a sort of a co-priest and this might have been one
of those occasions. And some believe that this was
a private session before Annas who acted in the capacity of
a high priest. You will notice as we read that
John carries two matters that are mingled together or side
by side. Number one, the Lord moving toward
Pilate. Number two, the behavior of Peter
and coming true of the prophecy that he would deny the Lord that
very night. And verse 14, we now have another
one of those explanatory verses from John that he is famous of. He says, having mentioned Caiaphas,
John reminds his readers that this was the very same Caiaphas
who had given a certain counsel unto the Jew. You'll find it
in John 11, and it is amazing. He gave counsel unto them that
it was expedient, that it was good, that it was beneficial,
that one man should die for the people so that the whole nation
would not perish. As I said, the reference is to
John 11, 47 through verse 53. In verse 47, the Jewish fanatics
convene a council to discuss what they might do to solve their
Jesus problem. for he was doing many miracles. And in verse 48, they say, if
something is not done, if something is not done to curb this man
and his influence, he will cause such a great stir among the Jews,
whereby the Romans will come and take away both our place
and our nation. John 11 and verse 48. He said,
this is going to get out of hand. The Jews are going to make such
a following for Christ until the Romans are not going to tolerate
it. And they're going to come and
they're going to crush and they're going to take away our nation. So, the counsel of Caiaphas in
John 11 and 50, he tells them as cold-heartedly as any man
ever said anything in his life. It is better that one man die
for the people than that the whole nation perish not. That is, if the death of one
man could avert this political catastrophe, even if he is a
miracle worker, It is better that we give him and put him
to death than that our whole nation should be destroyed. David Brown wrote on this passage
in John 11, the counsel of Caiaphas literally amounts to this, quote,
the way to prevent the apprehended ruin of the nation was to make
a sacrifice of the disturber of their peace, unquote. They
were willing to see Christ killed to save their political necks
and political arrangement. Caiaphas, in effect, tells them,
if putting this man, Jesus, to death avoids provoking the Romans
and spare our place and our nation, it is a good thing. We'll meet
this prognosticator later in John chapter 18, that is, Caiaphas. But the first stop after the
Lord was taken was a private audience with Anna who, in verse
19 of John chapter 18, asked the Lord about His disciples
and about His doctrine. For example, why are you making
disciples? Why are you gathering together
followers? What is your teaching? What is
your doctrine? What is it that you say? What
do you believe? What's the doctrine that you're
putting out among those that are your followers? And in verse
20 and 21, the Lord answers, look, what I teach I have taught
openly again and again. I've taught it in the synagogue.
I've taught it in the temple. I've not been in secret. I've
not been in hiding. You can ask those that heard
me, for many have plainly heard me and they will tell you what
I have said." Well, Matthew skips over Annas in his account of
this and takes us directly onto Caiaphas. You can see that in
Matthew 26, 57 through verse 68. And there they suborn false witnesses
willing to perjure themselves, that is, willing to lie that
Jesus might be condemned. Others told of his claim to build
the temple in three days and thought that that was blasphemy. But then in verse 63 there of
Matthew 26, Caiaphas puts the Lord under a very solemn oath
before God. He says to the prisoner that
is now before him, listen, I adjure thee, I charge thee before the
very God of heaven, I solemnly urge you in the name and the
presence of God." Then Caiaphas asks the question, are you the
Christ, the Son of the living God? And Caiaphas, Matthew 26
and 64, has the Lord answer, you have said it, or it is even
as you have said. But then looking in Luke's account
of this, Luke 22 and verse 67, has Jesus saying this, If I tell
you, you will not believe." Then when he asks again, he tells
them they have said, and the Lord declares that he would sit
down on the right hand of God in the heavens before the Father. We have to understand these men
do not ask about Jesus being the Son of God for any spiritual
profit or insight on their part. It is not that they desire to
believe on Him or to become one of His disciples. They figure
that they have set a trap for the Lord and that He has taken
the bait. They have Him now, for they charge
Him to be guilty of blaspheming, if claiming to be divine, of
being the Son of God, a capital offense under the Jewish law. Any blasphemer under the Jewish
law was taken out and stoned to death. When Caiaphas heard
our Lord say that he's one with God, We read that he rent his
clothes because he heard he thought blasphemy. in Matthew 26 and
65, and said some in Luke 22 and verse 71, what more do we
need to ask or to hear? We have heard it with our very
own mouth. Then in Matthew 26 and 66, the
question, what do you think? What do you say? What is your
verdict? what should be done. And they
all said in Matthew 26 and 66, He is guilty of death. He deserves
to die. Mark 14 and 64, they all commanded
him guilty of death. After all, their law did call
for the stoning or the death or a capital offense against
the blasphemer. Leviticus 24 and verse 16, blasphemers
in Israel who blasphemed the name of God were taken out by
the congregation and were stoned to death there. They would say
to Pilate in John 19 and verse 7, We have a law, and by our
law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. You see it in Matthew 26, 67
and 68. After declaring him worthy of
death, then they heap upon him further insults. spitting in
his face, hitting and slapping him. and mocking his ability
to prophesy. But let's go back to John 18,
28. After they had taken the Lord to the Roman judgment hall
to be judged there by Pilate, the Roman governor, and it was
the very worst day of public service of this man Pilate, no
doubt. Pilate asked them, the Jews bringing
him, What accusation are you bringing against Him? What charge
are you lodging against Him? What has He done? What is the
reason why you accuse Him in verse 29? Now this seems to offend
the Jews, to be asked that, who indignantly reply to Pilate,
If he were not guilty, if he had not committed a crime, we
would not have brought him unto you. As if to say he is a malfactor,
he is a criminal, unless he were an evildoer, we would not have
delivered this man unto you. Now, let's say this before we
wade out into this. We know that Pilate would several
times during the course of these hearings and proceeding, several
times he would say to the accusers of the Lord Jesus, I find no
fault with this man. Not once, but over and again. I find nothing worthy of death
in him. Not only that, but relative to
their charges of sedition, Pilate found that Jesus was no threat
against Caesar or against the kingdom. Matthew 27 and 18. Pilate
knew that for envy they had delivered
him. He knew that it was a Jewish
squabble and that it was out of envy that they had brought
the Lord before his court. Now the text in Acts 3.13 says
Pilate was determined to let him go. One version has it like
this, he had decided to let him go. He did not think the charges
were legitimate. He knew it was a Jewish problem
and he knew that they only wanted to use him to put the Lord under
debt. Poor old Pilate. Unknown unto
him, he is caught between his own judgment and the pressure
of the Jews and the sovereign providence of God. And so he
declares, the Lord is innocent. yet still gives the sentence
that he be crucified or put to death. And during the turmoil,
he is caught once and again between the rage of the Jews against
Christ and the warning of his wife at what she had suffered
in a dream that night because of this man. And so Pilate's
dilemma is, he must condemn an innocent man And perhaps they
should not have given him so much turmoil if it were a common,
ordinary person or citizen. But there is talk around town. There is a belief in the minds
of many. that this man is the king of
the Jew, that he is the very son of God. So let us consider
some of the attempts that Pilate made to, quote, let him go, unquote. All of them, as we know, ending
in failure. for the bloodthirsty Jew would
be content with nothing less than the death of the Son of
God. Their aim was to see him on a
Roman cross and put to death. Well, it says Pilate was determined
to let him go. First of all, let's notice his
first attempt at letting Jesus go, of washing his hands, of
having to deal with this and to make a decision. You'll find
it in John 18 and verse 31. And what did Pilate do? He said
to those Jews, you take him and judge him according to your laws. Now evidently the Jews were allowed
to deal with some religious matters, matters of their law, matters
of their scripture, their religion, their temple, and such like,
and Pilate might take this to be according to Acts 18, 14 through
16, the same way that it was with Paul when he stood before
Galileo. Paul before him charged by the
Jews with persuading men to worship God contrary to the law. Galileo refused to hear their
case against Paul, drove them out of his court. The same thing
in his ruling before Claudius in Acts 23 and verse 29. This is a religious matter. Take
it away. The same thing before Festus
in Acts 25, verse 18 and 19. Festus said this is some religious
matter. Take it away and handle it yourself. But here the Jews inform Pilate
they want the one before him put to death. And they didn't
have the authority, they didn't have the power to do that. So
Pilate's first attempt failed. Take him and judge him according
to your law. Uh-uh. We're not allowed to put
one to death. And we won't even put to death.
Now let's notice the second ground that Pilate sought to let him
go. And I do not say that we're taking these in their exact chronological
order. Only in the order that the stakes
rise higher and higher and higher. In John 18 and verse 38. Pilate said for his second attempt,
I find no fault in him at all. Luke tells it, 23 and 14. Pilate
tells the accusers, I have examined him before you. I have found
no fault in this man as touching those things whereof ye accuse
him. And by the way, Herod had reached
the very same conclusion. Pilate sees the Jews will not
be content with such a verdict, so he tries two more things in
an effort to let Jesus go. The third one is Pilate will
honor a long-standing custom of the Jews and the Passover,
of releasing on the Passover one prisoner. At the Passover,
it was a custom to release a prisoner and let him go. John 18, 39.
Luke 23 and verse 17. So he brings before them one
of the very worst that you could imagine. One, and let them have
their choice. And that one that he brings is
Barabbas. He thinks that the Jews, as mad
as they are, will choose to free Jesus rather than the guilty,
evil, malicious Barabbas. Barabbas was a robber, John 18
and 40. He was guilty of sedition and
of murder, Luke 23. Now, does Pilate think surely
they will choose to release Jesus rather than this vile Barabbas? Surely they will not favor Barabbas
over Jesus. But in Acts 3, 13 and 14, that
is exactly what Peter charges upon them. You denied the Holy
One and the just and desired a murderer to be granted unto
you. And in Luke 23, 17 through 25,
there's a good account of this matter. It was a concession which
the Romans had given unto the Jew, as stated in Mark 15 and
verse 6 and Matthew 27. And verse 15, that at the Passover,
every year, the Jewish Passover, he released unto them a prisoner
whomsoever they desired. Now Pilate evidently sought to
use this custom as a means of releasing Jesus. We can only
wonder if Pilate had Barabbas brought before them as also Jesus,
and he gave them a choice. Matthew 27, 17, which will you
that I release unto you, Barnabas or Jesus? And watch O Wiley,
Pilate, which is called Christ? See, Pilate is tweaking the Jews,
but also trying to solve his dilemma. Pilate, Barabbas rather,
the great criminal, or Jesus which is called Christ. He seems to be attempting to
tip the scales in the favor of Jesus. For he says it again in
Matthew 27.17, or Jesus which is called Christ, Mark 15.12,
John 18 and verse 39 uses it, the King of the Jews. Would you
that I release this evil Barabbas or him who is called King of
the Jew? Would they really choose a known
murderer and robber and free the one that Christ free the
one that was guilty and put the one that is innocent unto dead. But the Sanhedrin court responded
in John 18 and verse 40, not this man, but Barabbas. And when Pilate asked in Matthew
27, 22, what shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ,
they cry out in unison, let Him die, let Him be crucified, let
Him be crucified. Indeed, they desired a murderer. Acts 3.14. We see this again
often in every segment of our society and of every society
that people generally will choose a corrupt scoundrel over someone
of a better character and quality. And in all of this, there is
a fourth thing which Pilate tried. in seeking to let the Lord go.
Number 4, Luke 23 and verse 22. He says to them, I found no cause
of death in him, but I will therefore chastise him and then let him
go. Perhaps thinking that this would
satisfy the bloodthirst of the Jews. In other places, it is
scourged or flogged to punish by whipping. And the Roman flogging
was certainly a painful and an awful, awful thing. The Roman
scourging was no easy or light thing. It was painful. It was degrading. It marked one
as the vilest of men. It left the victim bloody and
bruised and beaten and scarred for his life in the flesh. But even this was not punishment
enough to satisfy the rage of the Jews against their Lord. They wanted Him crucified. They
cried out again and again, crucify Him, crucify Him. We will not
have this man to reign over us. We have no king but Caesar. And Pilate said in Matthew 27
and 24, I am innocent of the blood of this just man. See ye to it." Remember, his
wife said, have nothing to do with him. I've suffered much
in a dream. And Pilate brought a basin of
water, washed his hands before them all, and said to them, I
am innocent of the blood of this just person, see you to it. The people answered in Matthew
27, 25, His blood be upon us and upon our children. Then number five, let's consider
one more attempt of Pilate to extricate, the fancy word meaning
to free himself from this dilemma. Caught between his belief that
the prisoner was unworthy of death and the rage of the Jew,
in Luke chapter 23, verses 5 through 7, Pilate heard something that
was a relief unto his ear. Pilate heard that Jesus was a
Galilean. And he knew that Herod had Jewish
diction over Galilee. And Herod just happened to be
in town in Jerusalem at that time. So Pilate sends the Lord
over to Herod. He transfers the case over unto
Herod. And there Jesus was mocked by
Herod's men of war. But Herod found nothing worthy
of death in Him. And he returned him again unto
Pilate, who made the case to the Jew. Look, Herod even himself
came to the same conclusion that I have, Luke 23, 14 and 15. Here's what I'm going to do then,
Pilate said in Luke 23, 16. I will therefore chastise him
and let him go. That will satisfy you. I'll give
him a beating." The Jews shouted Pilate down, loudly shouting. They were like an angry lynch
mob. They were on the very verge of
riot and of violence and they demanded Pilate put the Lord
to death. Nothing less than that would
satisfy them. We read in Luke chapter 23, 23,
their voices and their shouts prevailed until Luke 23 and 24,
Pilate gave in passed upon Jesus the sentence
of death that they had demanded, and Barabbas, the evil one, was
set free. Jesus began to do with as they
wished. He delivered him over to them.
Pilate resigns himself to pacify the Jew, to condemn a man that
he knows to be innocent. He has exhausted all attempts
at his disposal to free Jesus from his death. But methinks
the words of Joseph Hall are true, and quote, what an inward
war do I yet find in the breast of Pilate, unquote. An innocent
man, a guilty and lawless mob standing before his court, his
conscience recoils from putting the Lord to death, but political
expediency overrides the conscience and the better judgment of this
governor by the name of Pilate. His wife warns him not to have
anything to do with this just man and putting him to death,
while the Jews do question his alliance unto Caesar. They say,
look, You are not Caesar's friend if you let this man live or go. In desperation, Matthew 27, 24,
he washes his hands, declares himself innocent, Pilate is guilty,
However, even though what he has done to Jesus, according
to Acts 4 and verse 28, was whatsoever God's hand and counsel determined
before to be done, neither Pilate, calling Christ innocent, nor
what the Jews And the rulers did. None of that flew out of
the bounds of God's appointed and sovereign providence. All
that they did to Jesus was exactly what God had before determined
to be done and brought to pass by His providence. You can see
that in the second psalm quoted in Acts chapter 4. The Jews had
done their part now. And soon the Gentiles would take
him and do theirs, and Psalms 2, 1 through 3 was fulfilled. Yet he that is without sin will
be made sin by God's design and imputation. The just one shall
suffer for the unjust, and Pilate was an instrument in the hand
of the Lord God. Even Judas is an instrument in
the hand of God to fulfill the Scripture and to send our Lord
to His saving death upon the cross. Yes, Pilate tried everything
at his disposal to deliver Him, but was unable because God had
delivered up His Son in the decree of eternity to the death of the
cross so that God's providence overrode all of the attempts
of men on both sides. God's will is done. And next
we look at Him, next Lord's Day, God willing, upon the cross as
He is crucified for the sins of His people.