Thursday John 18:25-40

Jesus was taken to Pilate.

Click here for an online Bible John 18:25-40

They took Jesus from the house of Annas to the house of Caiaphas. The term house is used loosely. It was likely a palace. A group of the Sanhedrin examined Jesus and heard testimony against him. John does not give any details of the events in front of the Sanhedrin. The other gospels provide the story. Jesus admitted that he was the Christ, so they declared that he was guilty of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65 & Luke 22:71). Blasphemy was punishable by death and they had been plotting to kill him anyway. The problem was that the Roman government would not let them perform executions.

Caiaphas had been installed as high priest by Pilate’s predecessor. He began as high priest just before Pilate became governor. Both Pilate and Caiaphas had been in position for only a couple of years. However, they both served for several years afterward. Apparently they got along well together.

The Sanhedrin decided that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, but they accused him of treason in front of Pilate. Pilate could see what they were up to and at first refused to play along. He told that that the issue was religious so they should deal with it themselves. They were so determined to kill Jesus that they threatened to cause trouble for Pilate with Rome if he did not execute Jesus. Pilate tried to appeal to the people by offering to release a prisoner. The religious leaders prompted the people to call for the release of Barabbas. So, Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus.

As Jesus was interviewed by Pilate he spoke of truth. Pilate asked, “What is truth?” The irony was that he was speaking to the embodiment of truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

The Sanhedrin was so dedicated to stamping out threats to their tradition that they were at war with God. Pilate was so quick to avoid trouble that he couldn’t see the truth. We must make sure that we look for truth. Truth comes from God.