Bible challenge John 18: ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ In this chapter of the New Testament Jesus is arrested and taken to the Jewish leaders and then on to Pilate. Read John 18 online or look it up in your Bible. Going Deeper Before you start your daily reading, say a prayer asking God to guide your thinking as you read, and then read the Bible with the aim of learning something new. After the reading, consider how it may affect your life and relationship with your heavenly Father and allow your increased knowledge of the Scriptures to shape your character and strengthen your trust in God. Discussion notes on John 18 •Some people have suggested that compared to the synoptic gospels, John’s account puts Jesus firmly in control of things even during his arrest and trials. Do you agree? •Could “this other disciple” (v15) be the author, John? If so, it would seem he had special access to the details of the trials (v16). How does this add credibility to the gospel account? While other gospel accounts deliberately emphasise that the Last Supper was a Passover meal (Matthew 26:19; Mark 14:16; Luke 22:15), and it would seem that Jesus shared this same meal before his arrest according to John, too, we read (v28) that there were still Jews keen not to become defiled so that they could eat the Passover later that day (the day of Jesus’ crucifixion). Does this add credibility to the theory that for practical purposes – presentation and slaughter of the lamb – the Passover was actually extended for two days or do you think some ate the Passover during the daytime and some the evening before (each Jewish day is from sunset to sunset)? More on John 5 John is concerned to show that Jesus was no mere passive victim of circumstances. He is actively in control of events. The initiative is with Christ, not with His enemies. It is they who are really unfree, mere puppets directed by evil powers. So in this passage, Jesus does not wait beneath the shade of the trees to be hunted out. The calm dignity with which He presents Himself to His enemies fills them with awe and throws them into confusion. In the Passion Jesus is active – not passive. Yet His action is totally different from that of close and spiritual struggle. Peter’s is an all too instinctive and unconsidered reaction. With the arrest in the garden it appears that Christ’s last chance of freedom has vanished. Astonishingly, with hands tied together and wholly at the mercy of His captors, Jesus now begins His greatest work. Men could bind Him with cords, or nail Him to a Cross, but they were powerless to quench His love, lessen His resolution or deflect His loyalty. One outstanding impression gained from the life of Jesus is that He was extraordinarily free. Martin Conway claims this was a two-fold freedom. Negatively, Jesus was free from ‘personal anxiety and insecurity, from the social patterns and restraints of the prevailing culture – free from anything that stood in the way of His living in the way He thought He was meant to live’. Positively, Jesus was free for ‘His neighbours, for the calling and purpose He knew to be supremely urgent and important’. When we are tempted to feel robbed of our liberty by outward circumstances we should ponder the freedom of Christ – especially the freedom of the bound and crucified Christ. If we would know the freedom of Christ, we must seek it in the single minded love not in the absence of pain and suffering. The story of the passion is the most complete exposure of human sin and foolishness. Only because it is, at the same time, the most complete revelation of God’s unswerving love can we dare to face its implications. Today’s passage, for instance, has been likened by one commentator to ‘a drama being performed on a double stage’. We witness two scenes: the trial of Jesus before the high priest and the denial by Peter of His Master in the nearby courtyard. Here is supreme irony. The man who was supposedly God’s representative is confronted by God Incarnate, the Hope of Israel. He utterly rejects Him. Confident of his own wisdom and grasp of spiritual truth the priest sees the Christ as a mere impostor. How different it might have been if, like Nicodemus, the high priest had dared to question his own prejudices! Lack of humility leads men into all kinds of sin, including the rejection of God Himself when He comes to us in some unexpected form. A different form of pride led to Peter’s downfall. The disciple was no coward, as his entry into the enemy’s camp shows. Perhaps it was the form of the question, ‘Surely you are not another of this man’s disciples?’ which caught Peter off guard. It was the kind of question which positively invites the answer ‘No’. When we are challenged, ‘You surely don’t believe that?’ if we don’t deny Christ like Peter, for the danger is not so great, we often start apologizing for our faith. Early in the morning Jesus was taken from the high priest’s palace to Pilate. The Jews refused to enter the Governor’s residence because they were anxious to avoid ritual defilement. Scrupulously careful about ceremonial purity they were totally indifferent to justice. Their refusal, however, enabled Pilate to interview Jesus privately. This interview, recorded at length in the fourth gospel, is full of subtle contrasts between two types of kingship. How surprised the Governor must have been when his first question drew from his Prisoner simply a further question! This Man seemed to be making no effort to escape the awful fate which awaited Him. The question Jesus put to His earthly judge – ‘Is that your own idea, or have others suggested it to you?’ – is timeless. In so far as it represents Christ’s passion for reality, His hatred of insincerity, it can as well be applied to ourselves. No toying with second-hand opinions will lead us to truth. We must seek the truth from Christ Himself if ever our religion is to be based on more than hearsay.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 04:59:56 +0000
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