What Jesus Did

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, "I am going to bring [Jesus] out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty."

—John 19:4 NLT

Key Thought​

Pilate knew the truth, but couldn't bring himself to live by it! Jesus was innocent. He said it again and again. [1] The problem was he wouldn't live up to what he knew was true. He chose political expediency over truth, even ignoring his wife's pleas to have nothing to do with harming Jesus because he was...

 

The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on [Jesus'] head, and they put a purple robe on him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

—John 19:2-3 NLT

Key Thought​

If you can't defeat him, beat and mock him. That might have been the slogan of the religious leaders who hated Jesus. The religious leaders wanted Jesus dead, and in the process of getting what they wanted, the soldiers decided to have some "fun" at Jesus' expense. A long...

 

[After the people called for Barabbas to be released,] Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip.

—John 19:1 NLT

Key Thought​

Pilate believed Jesus was innocent, but had him flogged! It was a political move for Pilate. It was torture for Jesus. Having your back beaten and chunks of skin ripped out each time the whip struck was horrific punishment. Pilate thought the flogging would appease the blood-lust of the mob. It did not. Instead, flogging Jesus only set the stage...

 

[Pilate said to the crowd,] "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'?"
But they shouted back, "No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

—John 18:39-40 NLT

Key Thought​

At first glance, we look at the choice made by the people on this horrible day when they called for Barabbas to be released and Jesus crucified [1] and wonder how they could do it...

 

"What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "[Jesus] is not guilty of any crime."

—John 18:38 NLT

Key Thought​

Pilate answered his own question when he spoke the truth: Jesus was not guilty of any crime. The whole process is a great reminder of the travesty of injustice and the loss of human decency and integrity. Jesus was delivered into the hands of those who hated him. The Messiah was convicted on trumped up charges in an illegal trial...

 

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."

—John 18:37 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus came as King. He did not come as a king in robes of royalty or with a fine palace and a royal court. Instead, Jesus came as the King of Truth in simplicity and with a band of everyday folks called apostles. His mission was not to conquer the...

 

[After the Jewish leaders indicated to Pilate that they wanted Jesus executed,] 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.
Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?"

"Am I a Jew?" Pilate retorted. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?"

Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my...

 

Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover. So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, "What is your charge against this man?"
"We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted.

"Then take him away and judge him by your own law," Pilate told them...

 

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[After Peter's second denial of Jesus,] one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Didn't I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?" Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

—John 18:26-27 NLT

Key Thought​

Three strikes and you're out. That's true in baseball. That's also true under some of the laws in the United States. It is not true with God's grace. Regardless of what you've...

 

Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, "You're not one of his disciples, are you?"

He denied it, saying, "No, I am not."

—John 18:24-25 NLT

Key Thought​

A disciple? Yes, a disciple is one who follows a master in order to be like that teacher. Clearly, Peter hasn't gotten the concept yet. He might be willing to be like Jesus in his power, performing miracles...