John 18:33-40

Read John 18:33-40

Jesus is betrayed and arrested and the High Priest and Jewish leaders are looking for a way to bring Jesus to death without inciting the wrath of the crowd or usurping their authority in a Roman territory. Pilate is the answer as they bring Jesus before Pilate under the charges that Jesus was claiming himself to be a King of the Jews. This would have been troublesome for Pilate because on one hand Jesus had developed a reputation in the area and quite a following and from all accounts he had not done anything to stir up revolution. However, to claim to be King of the Jews would have been a direct challenge to Caesar and would merit death under Roman authority.

When Pilate asks Jesus the question “Are you king of the Jews?” there is a great deal of irony that is apparent to the readers. This is because we have already learned that Jesus is the eternal Word of God, creator of the universe, and by whom all authority was established, and through whom all authority derives its power. The absurdity of Pilate asking Jesus this question is meant to be understood by the readers and it shows just how misunderstood Jesus was and just how blind people were to who he is.

After getting into a back and forth with Jesus, Pilate finishing his line of questioning with the hypothetical question, “what is truth?”. This question comes after Jesus telling him that he came to bear witness about the truth, and he is the way the truth and the life. Despite finding no guilt in Jesus, Pilate is still stuck in limbo because the crowds clearly want Jesus dead. He finally tries to abdicate his responsibility by giving the crowd the choice between Jesus and an insurrectionist/robber Barabbas. The crowd determined that Barabbas the guilty should go free and Jesus the innocent one should die.

Questions

  1. Why do you think Jesus does not seek to defend himself to Pilate?

  2. What is the significance of the questions that Pilate asks Jesus?

  3. What are some ways that Jesus is perfectly innocent in unique ways, both throughout his whole life and also in this particular situation?

  4. Why are the crowds seeking to have Jesus killed?

  5. How does the Passover custom that Pilate references in verse 39 connect what Jesus is doing to the history of redemption for Israel?