John 25 Chapter 18-19

[HKHaugan]

John 25 Chapter 18-19

It's one thing to be performing miracles, healing people, teaching faith and hope, drawing crowds to hear you, being followed by disciples, your every move and word being observed and catalogued by enemies and having adoring people full of expectation about how you will change the world they're in. But you also know that no one has really understood who you are and what you have really come to do. Not even your own disciples, family and friends. They also are trapped in a social and political atmosphere of survival that is better described as an 'atmos-fear.'

Where are the crowds that hailed Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem? Where are those He fed on the mountain? Where are the recipients of His healing and those astounded by His teaching? It's night and the institutional leadership of religion and the state have put wheels on their conspiracy to kill Jesus. Troops are coming to arrest Him accompanied by the 'religionistas,' aka representatives (lackeys) of the chief priests and Pharisees. (Note---there's always someone to do the dirty work of leaders who don't want to look bad. Advisory committees, middle-management or ambitious underlings ready to go. Religious denominational leadership is no exception. Ego plays a big part in career goals and power maintenance. Pontius Pilate's behavior is a perfect example.)

Now we want to see Jesus' reaction in His every next moment. The key verse here is vs.4; He knew what was going to happen to Him. In other words He knew the Word like in Is.53, how He would be treated. Then the prophecy in Ps.22 of feeling forsaken is realized and as far back as Gen.3:15 He would be attacked by the devil. Who can deny the foreshadowing of Abraham's son Isaac being an intended sacrifice bearing the wood to the mountain (Gen.22)? What is for sure is Jesus' commitment to His Father's will that the Cross must lift Him up before the world to die a lonely death for the massive sin blanket covering humanity and each individual heart needing His forgiveness. He is the bridge between God and man, the connection between the Spirit of God and the spirits of people and the channel of truth between the seen and the unseen. He alone understands the reality of the fear-isolated human heart, the sin that separated it from God and the devil's manipulation of it. He knows what it means. There can be no doubt He's seen crosses dotting the roadsides and early on alluded to that image when He said each had to take up theirs in order to follow Him (Mt.10:38).

So here, after His prayer, crossing the Kidron Valley and arriving at the Garden of Gethsemane, a series of events, moments, will test Jesus' mind, heart and spirit. How will the perfect man react when 'they' (the unseen forces of evil, the spirits of conspiracy, fear, pride motivating religious and political leadership) send soldiers to arrest Him? The atmos-fear is filled with the expectation that Jesus will start the revolution against Rome and the compromised Jewish leadership. After all, He who raised Lazarus can accomplish this without a problem. Forgotten are Jesus' prophetic words that He would suffer and be killed and for this reason come “to this hour (12:20).” For hour read moment.

For a moment let's look at that word before we go on. Moment is the consciousness of having to make a choice or decision to react in some way, to give a response to something that has just happened or is about to happen. It's a challenge to our ego, to a call to stand up in unpleasant surroundings, to finding ourselves alone plagued by thoughts from the past. It's also a consciousness of wanting to express thanksgiving for an unexpected blessing, a funny joke, the smile of a child, the beauty of a sunset, just being with people you know understand you, the taste of a good meal and we could go on. Those moments are up to you and me. The question is, 'Who do we trust to react in our every next moment?' The point here for disciples of Jesus is that every conscious moment is an event that gives us an opportunity to be a force for the grace, love, truth, right and faith that is in Jesus. From our moments of solitude to being in the midst of lots of people, it is the consciousness of self having to respond. A moment is a self-conscious event. It is right here in Chapter 18-19 where Jesus' every next moment is facing death that the self-consciousness of Jesus defines what it means to be an image of God which is what human beings are. His reaction, His response to events in which He finds Himself, His identity, His life, who and what He is, gives us the basis for how we see ourselves and how we respond to the circumstances in our every next moment-circumstance-event.

Jesus is the definition of human moments perfected.

Let's look at His moments as recorded in Ch.18-19:

Vs.1 moment 1. The Kidron Crossing

After the prayer Jesus heads across the Kidron Valley toward Gethsemane (vale of oil, fat vale---Mt.26:36) on the Mount of Olives. King Josiah ordered cult idols that had been in the Temple to be destroyed in Kidron Valley in 6th century B.C. It was also known as Tophet (drum), a place of detestable child sacrifice (2Kings 23:10) where drums were used to drown the screams of children being sacrificed. Perhaps we can see why Kidron is mentioned. It's the world in which we live; a world of silent and loud screams. Jesus is descending into and then crossing the horizontal valley to ascend vertically to Gethsemane. From Mt.Zion through Kidron to Mt.Calvary.

Vs.2-6 moment 2. Judas leads the soldiers and Jewish officials to the Garden.

“They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons (vs.3).” Man without God tries to light the darkness but always sees power and weaponry as the answer. What was Jesus' reaction when He saw Judas leading the soldiers? The passage says that Jesus knew what was happening (remember 13:26) but, instead of retreating, moved toward them and asked “Who is it you want?” Obviously there is no fear in Him, no defensive maneuver, no stalling, just faith.

When they replied “Jesus of Nazareth” Jesus said, “I am He” causing them to shrink back and fall on the ground. His confidence in who He was, His Father's Son, signals to us that with Him in us no obstacle can stand against the witness we have of Him and for Him in our every next moment.

Vs.7-9 moment 3. Release of the disciples.

When He asks again, “Who is it you want?” they said “Jesus of Nazareth.” He immediately responds for the sake of His disciples to let them go. Self-concern is over-ridden by concern for others. Jesus makes sure that He fulfills His prophecy (6:39, 10:28, 17:12) that not one of those the Father has given Him will be lost. In the midst of His arrest He pleads for others. The light of His faith shines in the real darkness, a note to encourage us when He calls us to be the light of the world for others (Mt.5:14).

Vs.10-11 moment 4. Peter's Sword and the Cup of wrath

Peter takes his sword and cuts off the right ear of the high priest's servant Malchus (Gk. Kingly). Jesus counters, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Five things to see here. First, it is a reprimand to Peter. Was he impulsively reacting according to his false expectation about the Messiah? Second, Jesus cares about His enemies and their hearing the message that will follow after Pentecost. Third, so He heals even His enemies. Fourth, in the Garden Jesus prays twice (Mt.26:39,42) for the cup to be taken away. The cup is the cup of wrath (Jer.25:15-28). Fifth, the sword against Malchus carries out the prophecy of Jer.25:29 which Jesus heals by taking the punishment upon Himself on the Cross. All five by His perfect faith.

Vs.12-14 moment 5. Arrest

Jesus is arrested by the soldiers, their commander and the Jewish officials. He simply allows it.

As we continue with these challenging moments they show faith being perfected in Jesus. He is allowing His humanity to be stretched to the limit. The injustice that is being heaped against Him is the fickle social shift prompted by the spiritual powers of darkness. They invade man's attempt at self-preservation through control and power, so prevalent in the world in every age. It's 'atmos-fear,' spiritual 'deja vous' all over again.

The Peter sequence of faithless denial takes place in vs.15-18 and 25-27 as a necessary contrast to the perfecting faith that Jesus pours out all around Him.

Vs.19-24 moment 6. Jesus before Annas (grace of Jehovah) high priest emeritus and father-in-law of Caiaphas.

Middle management brings Jesus before Annas. Jesus makes no attempt to change the course of the conspiracy. Rather He submits to it as He does to the whole process He knows will mean His death. Again it is faith that absorbs Jesus in these perilous moments.

As Annas questions Him it is the calm self-confidence of Jesus that persists. He tells how He has spoken openly to everyone in synagogues and the Temple where all Jews assemble. He's done nothing secret. Why should He be questioned? For that He was struck by one of the officials who was probably trying to look good to his superiors. Not an unusual dynamic. Jesus' response is plain and simple. “If I said something wrong say what it is. But if I spoke the truth why did you strike me?” (For that man and many others, there can be no doubt, a lot of self-interrogation took place after the Resurrection.) Jesus then is bound and taken to Caiaphas. Be reminded he is the one who inadvertently prophesied Jesus would die for the nation (11:49-51) to justify his conspiracy against Jesus.

Vs.28-19:22 moment 7. Jesus before Pilate Moments of silence and moments of testimony

Vs.28-32 present an interesting interlude between Jesus' encounter with two high priests, Annas and Caiaphas, and the Roman governor, Pontius (sea) Pilate (armed with a spear). The Jewish leaders take Jesus to Pilate. The irony here is classic. The leaders refuse to go in. It's Passover season. Entering Pilate's palace would make them unclean therefore unqualified to eat the Passover meal. They are about to demand the execution of Jesus but want to do it 'religiously.' That dynamic is so part of the power struggle on every level in businesses, denominations and social groupings. Being doctrinally right according to the rules of any group is more important than any of the persons in the group. Religion overrides relationship. This is one of the facets of errant human nature that the unique person of Jesus came to change. A personal relationship with God is more important than any man made rule.

Pilate comes out and asks the Jewish leaders about the charges against Jesus. They say He is a criminal. Pilate really doesn't want any part of this so he tells them to use their law to deal with Him but they counter with Roman law which doesn't allow Jews to execute. Pilate needed a way out so he calls Jesus before him and asks, “Are you king of the Jews?” Jesus' reply is a question exposing the conspiracy, “Is that your idea or did others talk to you about me?” Pilate's defensive response says it again, “Am I a Jew? It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus replies to Pilate that he was right in saying He was a king. It was the reason He was born, why He came into the world and to testify to the truth. That everyone on the side of truth listens to Him. Again, it is the confidence and calm honesty with which Jesus responds that sets Him apart.

Pilate asks the long debated philosophical question which in the text seems to be sloughed off as unanswerable, “What is truth?” Again Pilate tries to evade a decision having found no basis for a charge against Jesus. He then comes up with the ploy of using a Jewish custom to release a prisoner at Passover time. The leaders and crowd call for a local rebel named Barabbas instead of Jesus.

Through six of these events Jesus remains silent. The seventh He speaks. But it doesn't stop there.

Ch.19:1-3 moments 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 the brutal treatment gets under way. 8-Pilate has Jesus flogged. 9-He was mocked and 10-struck in the face by the soldiers, 11-a crown of thorns put on His head and 12-he was draped in a purple robe.

Vs.4-5 moment 13. Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd saying “Here is the man.” Here He is demoted by the state.

Vs.6-7 moment 14. Now He is demoted by religion. The chief priests and their officials shout, “Crucify him!” based on their assertion that Jesus blasphemed because He claimed to be God's Son.

Vs.8 moment 15. The real spiritual culprits surface here, fear and its manipulator. Pilate was afraid but so were the chief priests, their officials, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Their individual hearts and Pilate's heart formed a coalition of fear, personal heart fear egged on by the spirit of fear, the devil's tool.

Vs.9 moment 15. When asked by Pilate where He came from Jesus gave no answer.

Vs.10-11 moment 16. Here is the last time Jesus responds to Pilate who claims he has the power to free Jesus or crucify Him to which Jesus replies that Pilate's only power has been given to him from above and that the one who handed Him over is guilty of the greater sin. Later in Acts 3:13 Peter accuses all the “Men of Israel” as guilty. That would mean the individual hearts that took part, those who shrunk back in fear, the disillusioned due to their false expectations and those who were indifferent and apathetic. “There are none righteous, no not one (Rom.3:10).”

Vs.12-16 moment 17. Pilate's attempt to set Jesus free is met with the Jewish leaders' accusation that he is no friend of Caesar if he frees anyone who claims to be a king. In this fiery exchange Pilate relents and sends Jesus to be crucified. In both moments 16 and 17 Jesus is there hearing it all, but remains silent.

Vs.17-37 moment 18 to uncountable. This is a series of moments that make an event. He is forced to carry His own Cross to Calvary. Every tear, every jeer, every fear in the people who watched His way to Calvary were moments recorded in His heart. Each moment presented a choice to quit or forge ahead. Then, pushed to the ground, one continuous consciousness of pain from the nails being driven a stroke at a time, then being lifted up, the continuous struggle to breathe, the continuous inner call to be faithful, the continuous indifference of those involved, the presence of a mother, a friend or two, those who were close but not there. In the midst of these moments are the moments of faith that extend out to His enemies, to John, to His mother and most of all His Father. His words are moments to last forever, three of the seven here in John's Gospel (vs.26-27,28,30).

If one thing can be said about Jesus on the Cross is that His birth, life and death were really one continuous moment of God's time consummated in the Resurrection. That moment was for us. He is our moment. He absolves all our past moments and frees us when we choose to let Him direct our every next moment in this world. The summary of this section is best described in the prophecy from Isaiah 53; again, some 700 plus years before Jesus was born.

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors (NIV).”

A postscript to this passage will come after Chapter 21.

Vs.38-42 It might be good to note here that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, after getting permission from Pilate (offsetting the notion that they stole the body), took Jesus' body, wrapped it in spices and strips of linen and placed it in a new garden tomb where the crucifixion took place. It was done secretively because (vs.38) Joseph “feared the Jews.” Again, fear is the dominating atmospheric influence.