Day 18

Lord’s betrayal and denial

John 18

Key Verses: 6, 15, 27, 31

This is no shootout at the OK Corral. No resistance to arrest here. No swat team needed. Jesus walks out and surrenders. They show up ready for a fight, and Jesus gives Himself over to death. Remember, Jesus mission was to die for our sins. His purpose in coming to earth was about to be fulfilled. So He yields to the will of God. His first act of sacrifice is to gain the freedom of His disciples, which He does.

Jesus is taken into a high security area and one of the disciples is able to gain access for himself and Peter. One of the disciples has some connections. Not all political connections are evil. Some can be used for the sake of the Gospel. We must make sure that the means match the Gospel. No bribe is passed and accepted, no future favor promised, no influence sold. This disciple just asks that Peter be able to come with him, and permission is granted. “He’s with me.”

In the chamber Jesus ‘trial’ begins and lying is on the menu. Jesus makes some clear statements, is slapped, and His slapper lies about the identity of whose presence he is in. This slapper knows Annas is the head of the Priestly family. He Their family controls who is High Priest for most of the first century AD. I get the picture of a Mafia family. He is the ‘godfather’ of this family.

Our reputations go with us everywhere we go. Remember Malchus, the servant who received the first ‘ear ectomy’, his story has quickly passed through the servant rumor network. And now, the man who swung the sword is standing in the courtyard of the ‘godfather’. If I were a good servant, I would ask for identification as well. There might be a medal or a promotion in it.

These leaders bring Jesus to the one who has execution authority and they still have no real charges to present, certainly nothing deserving death. They in essence tell Pilate “trust us.” They are asking Pilate to delegate his authority to them, something a smart leader does carefully. And Pilate is not a stupid ruler, so he wants to examine Jesus himself.

REVIEW: Acrostic Theme & each chapter’s phrase.