Declaring Innocence, Assuming Guilt: John 18:28-40

As we move through John’s gospel, and specifically focusing closely at how John describes the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, I am amazed by an event that John seems to skip over. While describing Jesus’ questioning before Annas in the last passage, following the questioning, John tells us Jesus is then taken to Caiaphas.

However, while the other gospels include a trial in front of Caiaphas, John skips over this event, possibly because he was not present for it, or perhaps because John wanted to emphasize more details about Jesus’ time with Pilate.

This leads us to our passage for this episode, which focuses in on Jesus’ time with Pilate while the Jewish leaders are pressing for Jesus’ death. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will read it using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 28, John tells us:

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

In this passage, I am amazed by a slight twist in perspective. This prompts me to wonder if there were more Jews present than simply the religious leaders. I suspect this was the case, otherwise Pilate’s actions would not make sense.

This perspective twist is found in the last portion of verse 38 and in verse 39. In these verses, John tells us that after questioning Jesus, Pilate “went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, ‘I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release “the king of the Jews”?’”

This statement does not make logical sense. If Pilate does not find a basis for any charge against Jesus, then Jesus would be unjustly arrested, and He would deserve freedom regardless of any custom present in the region.

However, as soon as Pilate has finished declaring Jesus’ innocence in his eyes, He offers to free Jesus as a prisoner. The only way this makes sense is if Pilate believed that the Jews present were there independent of the religious leaders, and not part of the same group. The religious leaders had brought Jesus to him because they wanted Jesus dead, and because of this, it makes no rational sense that Pilate would ask these same religious leaders if they wanted Jesus freed after declaring Jesus’ innocence.

I suspect that Pilate believed the crowd of Jews present were Jesus’ allies and not hand-picked leaders from the surrounding regions. Since this was Passover weekend, the chief priest and religious leaders in Jerusalem would have a crowd of synagogue leaders present from all over the region, and with the influx of people visiting Jerusalem for this festival, they could easily pull a crowd of anonymous looking Jews who were all opposed to Jesus.

However, in Pilate’s conclusion, He subtly shifts focus from assuming Jesus’ innocence into assuming Jesus’ guilt. From what John describes mixed with what other gospels share about this event, I suspect that Pilate was surprised with the response the crowd of Jews gave him.

This leads us to a powerful truth we can learn from this event. When the crowd shouts back that they don’t want Jesus, but that they instead want Barabbas, they are picking their picture of who the messiah would be over the Messiah God ultimately sent. Barabbas had taken part in an uprising, and he was slated to face the cross that weekend, but Jesus’ arrest and condemnation gave Barabbas a second chance at freedom.

In a powerful, while somewhat ironic way, Jesus takes the punishment of the messiah the Jews chose, and Barabbas represents the worst in humanity. Jesus took the punishment of a criminal onto Himself when He did not deserve it, and since we have all broken God’s law, we are all criminals based on God’s standards. While we all deserve death, Jesus stepped into history to take our place, dying a death He did not deserve, so that we could have the promise and assurance of eternal life, a gift we don’t deserve, because God loves us that much!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life, and choose to accept the gift Jesus offers to each of us by repenting from sin, which is the spiritual way of saying that we turn away from living sinful lives and place our focus on Jesus. Intentionally place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and in His sacrifice to cover your sins, and be sure to say Thank You to God by living each day moving forward for Him.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover what God and Jesus are like. Through the pages of the Bible, discover how much God loves you, and what Jesus was willing to face in order to give you the opportunity of a new life with God. When we prayerfully focus on Jesus, we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, and we intentionally move closer to Jesus and closer to God.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!