With Dale Ratzlaff
John 18:28-32
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
John leaves out the details of the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. Here, in brief, is the account given by Matthew.
The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” (Mt. 26:62-66).
The Jewish leaders have now judged Jesus to be a blasphemer who deserves death. If Jesus were not God, the YHWH of the Old Testament, their judgment would have been correct. They were following the law laid down in Leviticus 24:16:
Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
The Jewish law stated that the death of a blasphemer should be by stoning. They had tried to stone Jesus before, but He had eluded them.
The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God” (Jn. 10:31-33).
The prophecies and words of Jesus do not point to a stoning death. Rather, the Messiah was to be “lifted up.”
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up (Jn. 3:14).
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself (Jn. 12:32).
Crucifixion was a Roman practice, and in the providence of God, we see how this sentence and execution was carried out.
The Praetorium was the official residence of the Roman governor. John records that it was “early.” The day started at 6:00 am. The Jewish law stated that the death sentence could not be given at night. Therefore, we can assume that at daybreak the Sanhedrin met to confirm the sentence of blasphemy. The Jews wanted to kill Jesus, but they knew that under the current system of Roman rule, they must get Roman cooperation. Considering this it appears that the time of these events took place about 7:00-8:00 Friday morning.
The Jewish law stated that the dwelling places of the Gentiles were unclean. This did not apply to a courtyard, but to the interior of a building. For this reason, the Jews felt they could not go into the Praetorium but could observe the deliberations from outside.
Here again, we see the irony of the Jewish leaders. They were more concerned with avoiding association with Gentiles than they were about putting Jesus to death who did not have a fair trial.
29 Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” 30 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.”
31 So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” 32 to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.
It appears that the Jewish leaders felt that it would be a “slam-dunk” to get the Roman ruler to agree with their call for the death penalty. After all, the Romans had sent out a huge number of troops to arrest Jesus. They calculated that they would assume the guilt of Jesus. We note that the Jews did not give a specific reason for asking for Jesus’ death. The Romans would not have accepted their sentence of blasphemy. Because the Jewish leaders could not come up with a valid reason for condemning Jesus, Pilot through it back into their hands.
We might ponder the reason Jesus had to be crucified. Why would not death by stoning work? As long as Jesus gave His life for the sins of the world what difference would it make regarding the mode of His death? There are several valid reasons. First, the whole of Scripture speaks of the value of blood atonement in the sight of God. Stoning would not meet this criterion. Second, and most important, is that being “lifted up” is linked to the curse of sin.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE (Gal. 3:13).
Crucifixion, then, would allow for the blood atonement, the lifting up on a cross speaks to the curse of sin. Although not mentioned here, the crown of thorns, another aspect of the curse given to Adam would not have been fulfilled by stoning. God, in His sovereign will, was working out the divine plan through wicked Jewish and Roman leaders.
Application
- We see in the account of Jesus being tried by both the Jews and Romans the sovereign hand of God working through enemies of truth to accomplish His will. At no time does it appear that God forced these leaders to go against their personal will. We gaze into a mystery but in that mystery, we can take courage. When things appear to be out of our control, God stands often unseen, working all things together for God.
- As we read John’s account, we see Jesus taking the curse of sin upon himself. He “must” be lifted up. He was cursed for our sins so that we may be blessed by His righteousness.
- The Jewish leaders placed moral value to man-made interpretations of ritual law. We must be careful to separate moral principles over ritual practices.
Prayer
Father, thank you that I can trust you to work all things together by your sovereign will. Help me to use my will to act according to your revealed will. Thank you that Jesus was “lifted up” for my transgressions.
In Jesus name.
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