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Study No.13 :   To Gethsemane  :  John 18:1-6

A. Find Out:

        

1. Where did Jesus take the disciples? v.1

2. So who came with whom? v.2,3

3. What are we told about Jesus? v.4a

4. What did he ask? v.4b

5. What was then spoken? v.5

6. What happened when he said who he was? v.6

 

B. Think:

1. Why do you think Jesus chose this olive grove to go to?

2. How must the arrival of the other group have been?

3. What does this passage tell us about Jesus?

C. Comment:

     Having put the future firmly into his Father's hands in the upper room, Jesus now leads the disciples across to the Garden of Gethsemane . John gives us but the barest details of what took place, for the Synoptic Gospels had already given the details. They tell us it was Gethsemane and that he went there and prayed further (Mt. 26:36-), that Judas came and kissed Jesus (Mt. 26:47-49) and that a fight ensued (Mt. 26:51 & Lk 22:50,51). John simply tells us that they went to the garden and Judas came and betrayed them.

      Observe Jesus' control in the whole thing. When the arresting party came there were many of them and they carried torches. There were no street lights and so the brightness of their torches would be clearly seen some way off. This was no surprise arrival. Jesus could have left quickly before they arrived but that would have defeated the object of the exercise! When they arrive, Jesus is quite aware of what is happening, why they have come and what will follow, and almost goes out of his way to make himself known. As he declares himself something strange happens: the arresting party all fell down! Now, whether that is a sign of their disarray or of the power of God is not made clear, but it shows clearly who is in charge here!

 

D. Application:

1. Jesus was in full control of this awful situation.

2. Remember, he is still in control, however awful the situation!

Study No.14 :   Let these go!   :  John 18:7-14

A. Find Out:

        

1. What did Jesus ask? v.8

2. Why? v.9

3. What did Peter do? v.10

4. But what did Jesus command? v.11

5. What did they then do with Jesus? v.12

6. To whom did they take him? v.13,14

 

B. Think:

1. How does Jesus show his shepherd heart?

2. How does Peter show his impetuous heart?

3. How does Jesus show he is still aware of moving in divine plans?

C. Comment:

     The arresting party has just fallen back but Jesus simply stands there. There is no move to escape. This is one of the clearest things that separates out the account of Jesus Christ from any other religious leader: he wilfully and purposefully allowed himself to be arrested, tried and crucified. It was all part of the divine plan, there is no escaping it, and Jesus certainly, didn't want to!

     Even in the midst of all this Jesus is thinking of his followers: Let them go, he instructs the arresting party. Yet as well of thinking of his disciples he is also thinking of his Father, for it was not within the plan for any one of the disciples to be taken as well.

  Simon Peter can't just sit back and let this happen and lashes out with his sword. It is perhaps a sign of the distress he feels. It is Luke the doctor who records Jesus healing the man's ear (Lk 22:51 ).

     Finally they get round to arresting Jesus and tie him up, a rather pathetic sign of their power. If Jesus has wanted to escape he would have done so a number of times. They take him to the leadership of the religious establishment. The guilt that will cover this whole affair will include everyone from the ordinary crowd to the leading religious authorities!

 

D. Application:

1. Jesus “gave himself”. He wasn't taken.

2. He did it in perfect accord with the Father's will. Praise him.

Study No.15 :   Denial   :  John 18:15-18,25-27

A. Find Out:

        

1. Who followed Jesus? v.15a

2. How did they get into the courtyard? v.15b,16

3. What were they doing there? v.18

4. Who first asked Peter about being a disciple? v.17

5. Who was the third one to ask him? v.26

6. What happened after the third denial? v.27

 

B. Think:

1. What must Peter have been feeling to have followed?

2. What do you think he felt in the courtyard?

3. What do you think he felt after denying Jesus three times?

C. Comment:

     The other disciple with Peter was possibly John and so the two of them, follow behind to see what will happen. They no doubt had a whole mixture of feelings at this point, possibly confusion, anger, fear and so on. John, if it is him, gets them into the courtyard of the house. Once there, inside shut gates, it is possible that Peter suddenly felt hemmed in and very vulnerable. It is late evening and it is cold and all of the glorious things that have been happening over the past three years now seem very far away.

      Those of us who would wish to condemn Peter need to remember that Jesus didn't; he merely gave him the opportunity to restate his love for him (see end of the book). If we want to condemn him for his three denials, it also means that we have never yet been put in these sort of circumstances - yet we have failed the Lord in less daunting ones!

      The Synoptic Gospels record the distress that Peter felt after his denials; John merely gives the basic facts: three people challenged him and three times he denied Jesus, and then the cock crowed, just like Jesus had said. Yes it is all being worked out exactly as Jesus knew it would. This is a black time for Peter. Feel for his humanity!

 

D. Application:

1. No excuses! Peter failed! We all fail the Lord!

2. Jesus does not write us off. There is yet hope!

Study No.16 :   Before the High Priest  :  John 18:19-24

A. Find Out:

        

1. What did the high priest ask about? v.19

2. What did Jesus say he had done? v.20

3. So what did he ask? v.21

4. What reaction did he get? v.22

5. What was Jesus' response to this? v.23

6. What then happened to Jesus? v.24

 

B. Think:

1. Look up Lk 3:2, Acts 4:6. Who were Annas and Caiaphas?

2. Look up Mt. 26:57,58 How do the two accounts differ?

3. Consider Jn 18:13 What seems to be the order of things?

C. Comment:

      Commentators are uncertain about Annas and Caiaphas but it is probable that John, writing many years later than the other three Gospel writers, seeks to redress an omission in the Synoptics. They simply say Jesus was taken before the high priest; John implicates both Annas and Caiaphas. Perhaps when the others wrote either or both of the men were still in power; when John wrote much later they were probably both now dead. It is though that Annas was the power behind the religious throne and had been high priest, but was now just the power behind Caiaphas who was present high priest. That would be why Jesus would have been taken to Annas first. It is quite possible that both men lived in the same place and so Peter in the courtyard (recorded in both Matthew and John) is outside the place where they both were. When Jesus was taken from Annas to Caiaphas (v.24) it could simply have been to another suite of rooms in the same building.

      Whatever the truth, the dealing with Jesus is quite clear. This is not an unbiased hearing. As Jesus pointed out, he had done nothing in secret and if they had a charge, bring the witnesses. Jesus had nothing to fear from the truth. The violence of one of the officials there indicates the malice that was present there.

 

D. Application:

1. The whole religious leadership was implicated in Jesus' death!

2. Jesus had nothing to fear from the truth. May it be for us also.

Study No.17 :   Before Pilate  :  John 18:28-40

   

A. Find Out:

        

1. To whom did the Jews go and why did he come to them? v.28

2. What did Pilate ask and suggest and with what responses? v.29-31

3. What did Pilate ask Jesus and what did he answer? v.33,34

4. What then did he ask and what was Jesus' response? v.35,36

5. What assertion did he make and what did Jesus respond? v.37

6. What was Pilate's assessment and the crowd's response? v.38b-40

 

B. Think:

1. What do the Jews show to be their clear intent, and how?

2. What do Pilate's first questions try to discover?

3. What does Jesus reveal about himself in these verses?

C. Comment:

     From the religious leaders Jesus is now taken to the civil or military leader, Pilate. It's coming up to Passover so the Jews want to remain ceremonially clean and so won't enter a Gentile house. Thus Pilate goes out to them, probably not making him feel particularly amiable towards them! When he ask about charges they refuse to give details and basically say, “We've judged him, and he's a criminal who deserves the death penalty!”. Now the point to note is that blasphemy was only a religious crime, not a civil one.

     Pilate goes on to interrogate Jesus himself. Is this man a rebel leader likely to upset the peace? When Jesus side steps giving a direct answer Pilate pushes to ask what he had done. Jesus speaks about his kingdom, indicating that his actions have all been to do with another sphere, and are not therefore pertinent to any issue of civil disturbance here. Pilate leaps on this as if to say, ah, so I'm right, you are a king! Of course, says Jesus, but not in the sense you are thinking about. I'm a king over truth, my rule is all to do with truth. That confuses Pilate! The end result is that he declares Jesus innocent and offers to release him but the crowd are determined to have him killed and so shout for another prisoner to be released instead.

 

D. Application:

1. Jesus' kingdom is not about earthly matters, it's about truth.

2. Unrighteous people are not concerned about truth.

Study No.18 :   Flogged  :  John 19:1-7

A. Find Out:

        

1. What happened to Jesus next? v.1

2. What did the soldiers do to Jesus? v.2,3

3. What did Pilate then tell the Jews again? v.4

4. How did the religious leaders respond? v.6a

5. But what was Pilate's response to them? v.6b

6. What did they say back to him? v.7

 

B. Think:

1. Why do you think Pilate had him flogged?

2. Yet what comes over clearly from Pilate in this passage?

3. On what grounds, is it clear, are the people wanting Jesus killed?

C. Comment:

    Pilate is shown here as a mixture. On the one hand he is shown to be a judge who will not go against the evidence and just bend to the wishes of the prosecutors, while on the other hand he is shown to be harsh and indifferent to the plight of an innocent man. Pilate had the opportunity to really bring justice into this situation. Instead he sat on the fence!

     He has already declared Jesus to be innocent ( 18:38 ) yet he is still willing to have him flogged for no apparent reason, a flogging that would have left his back in shreds. The only reason that can be thought of is that Pilate wanted to be seen as one who meted out justice and had dealt with whatever minor wrong of which the Jews accused Jesus. So Jesus is beaten and mocked by the soldiers who are seeming to say, “We're the rulers here, so called king of the Jews. Whatever you might think yourself to be, you're nothing before us!”

     Again Pilate declares Jesus innocent; there is nothing the authorities have told him that warrants him sentencing Jesus to death. But the Jews turn to their own laws. Look, they seem to say, our laws say this man should be put to death for blasphemy, but you won't let us do it so you must do it. They are clear on Jesus' claims!

 

D. Application:

1. Evil men succeed when good men remain quiet.

2. The quiet of good men starts to make them evil men as well!

Study No.19 :   Bowing to Pressure!  :  John 19:8-16

A. Find Out:

        

1. How did Pilate respond to their charge of blasphemy? v.8

2. What did he ask and how did Jesus reply? v.9

3. What did Pilate then say and how did Jesus reply? v.10,11

4. What did the crowd shout and how did Pilate respond? v.12,13

5. What did Pilate ask and what did they reply? v.15

6. So how did Pilate respond eventually? v.16

 

B. Think:

1. What pressure had the crowd previously put on Pilate?

2. How had that affected him?

3. What pressure do they now put on him?

C. Comment:

     At the mention that Jesus might be the Son of God Pilate, possibly because he is a superstitious heathen, becomes afraid. The Romans had their gods. Was this one of them come down? That prompts him to ask where Jesus had come from, but Jesus sensing the futility of his present reasoning doesn't even bother to give him an answer. Don't you realise the power I have, is Pilate's way of trying to make Jesus speak. You only have power because it's given you from one above you (Caesar and ultimately God) and (implied) power brings with it responsibility, and so the one who handed me over (Caiaphas) is guilty of greater sin, for he should have known better.

     Amazingly Pilate goes along with this, probably realising the truth of what Jesus says, and so goes to release Jesus. However the Jews play their trump card: if you are a friend of Caesar's you'll do what we say. Jesus had just reminded Pilate about his power coming from Caesar and now the crowds play on this. The implication is, we'll tell Caesar if you don't crucify this man! Politics is a dirty business and Pilate doesn't want to have to go justifying himself to an unpredictable Caesar. Pilate gives in and Jesus is condemned to death!

 

D. Application:

1. Political expediency is the enemy of truth.

2. Political expediency is the brother of cowardice.

RECAP No.3  "Arrest & Trial"  John 18 & 19

SUMMARY :  

      

In this third group of 7 studies we have seen :

- Jesus arrested in the garden of Gethsemane

- Jesus taken to Annas and then Caiaphas

- Peter denying Jesus three times

- Jesus taken to Pilate

- Pilate cross examining him

- Pilate finding him innocent

- Pilate having Jesus flogged

- The crowd constantly pushing for execution

- Pilate eventually giving way and giving Jesus for execution

 

COMMENT :

      These chapters reveal the shame of mankind! We are part of mankind!

 

LESSONS?

1. Jesus was in complete control in every crisis

2. We fail him so often in a crisis

3. Hard hearted men ignore the truth

4. Evil men succeed when good men stay quiet

5. Political expediency is wrong!

 

PRAY :

     Thank the Lord that he willingly went to the Cross to take your punishment. Thank him for his grace that enabled him to go through that crisis. Ask him for that same grace for your days.

 

PART 4 : "Death & Resurrection"

     In this last and final Part watch for the evidence that declares Jesus Christ as unique in the history of mankind: his resurrection after death. Read the details, be quite clear, he died! Read the testimonies, be quite clear he rose from the dead! In some ways these are the most important chapters in the whole Bible, showing as they do the death of the Saviour of the world, and his resurrection triumph. Watch also how Jesus goes to lengths to meet his various close followers and re-establish them and set them on their future course. Poignant chapters!