JOHN CHAPTER 18
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Jn 18,1-3
(172aa) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the
wheat >> Devils among the saints >>
False brethren among the people of God >> Judas Iscariot among the disciples
Jn 18-1,2
(174b) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s religion >>
Good traditions (Exception to bad religion) >>
Good habits – To avoid the Roman cohort all Jesus had to do
was change His routine and go someplace else where Judas would not have
predicted. Everything had culminated to this night in Jerusalem when they came looking for Him. Jesus was
obedient in what He came to do; instead of running from His destiny, He embraced it. He went to the beautiful
garden in Gethsemane, being one of His favorite places to pray, and now it was
the place that commenced the single-most sinful event in
the history of mankind, the crucifixion of God's Son.
Jn 18,2-8
(145i)
Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness
of Himself >> Demon possession >> Human state >> Filthiness
>> Rejecting the opportunity to be holy – When it says “they” it included Judas
Iscariot, meaning he was with them,
indicating that he was no longer a disciple of Jesus, but the men who tortured
and killed Christ were probably in the crowd that
arrested Him, and so Judas was party to them. The Bible says
that Satan entered Judas while eating the morsel of bread and wine at the Last
Supper in the upper room, so prior to the Last Supper Judas was not technically
demon possessed, and it was doubtful that he was possessed for long, and then Judas as it were came to his senses from his
delirium. He realized what he had done, similar to the prodigal son, except that
when Judas tried
to repent, he didn’t know how, so he hung himself. Prior to the Last
Supper Judas made all the wrong decisions and never took Jesus to heart; Satan
was grooming him in order to betray the Lord at the right time. This is typical of the world today, people act relatively normal, but Satan is grooming them to receive
the Mark of the Beast at the proper time. When civilization as we know it suffers total collapse, people
will panic and those who do not turn to the Lord will turn to the spirit of the
world that has been preparing them for that day and hour, and demon possession
will become endemic in society overnight.
(155d)
Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer
>> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God
>> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds – Note that they didn’t fall in astonishment,
but were pushed to the ground by divine providence. This happened to verify once more
the identity of Christ, and acted as one more opportunity to repent of their
intensions, but they refused to
stop and think about what they were doing. They just picked up themselves and
proceeded with their plan. It was
not that they were unaware of what happened, but that they refused to
acknowledge it, or that Jesus was the Christ and they were about to execute
Him. Somewhere in their darkened hearts they knew Jesus was
Israel’s Messiah, that He was king of the Jews, that He was God in human flesh,
and they knew they should not lay hands on Him.
So, this divine push was not to inform them, but to remind them that they were
about to crucify the Lord of glory. It also demonstrated that they
were working against their conscience,
which is the root of sin, knowing what they were doing was wrong, and that they
were committed to their plan, ready to push through any problem that got in
their way. The fact that God gave them one more warning just seconds before initiating their plan, proved
their determination to accomplish their goal, though ignorantly. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he
uttered the immortal words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do.” This suggests that many who were in the gang didn't know He was the Son
of God. Outside of knowledge sin does not exist. Sin is not defined as doing
something wrong, but “doing something we know is wrong!” It is
the knowledge of evil (the law) that make sin utterly sinful (Rom 7,7-14).
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Jn 18,4-9
(39ia)
Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus defeated Satan’s
authority >> The demons are subject to Christ –
The
spiritual world was just as involved in crucifying the Son of God as man, and
thus the cross equally judged the satanic darkness as man’s sin through the
body of Jesus Christ. Through the cross God forged a way to forgive man
and condemn Satan at the same time, taking from him the keys of death and hell, so he no longer had a say in the
eternal destiny of those who believe in Jesus.
Jn 18,4-8
(61k)
Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Out of his mouth comes a sharp two-edged
sword: That cut them to the quick / That cut them to the grave
(150e) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Confessing Jesus >>
Making the good confession
(Son of God) -- These verses go with verses 33-37.
Jesus made the good confession at His mock trial, confessing to be the Son of
God, but before that in this passage He made the good confession as the one they
sought, and at the end of the age He will make the good confession in the form
of a sharp sword that proceeds from His mouth (Rev 19-15,21), and that time when
they all fall to the ground, they won't return to their feet.
Jn 18,4-7
(76d) Thy kingdom come >>
Wicked motives >> Motives based on envy
(148c) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Jesus solemnly testified
(167k) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to
the world >> The world’s unbelief
(168c) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to
the world >> Do not conform to the world’s
rejection of God -- These verses go with verses 28-40
(169f) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world is
blind to God >> Willful blindness
–
To
be literally pushed to the ground by God Himself, and still immediately stand
seeking His Son to kill Him
depicts the height of arrogance and spiritual blindness in these people. What is
scarier,
this level of wickedness is not confined to the Roman soldiers in Jesus day,
but is iconic to humanity in every generation that ever lived. This was an
arrogance originating from Satan. There were demonic
forces at work, prompting Jesus to say, “This hour and the power
of darkness are yours” (Lk 22-53). They actually had pride in wielding the power of
Satan. They may not have known exactly what they were doing, but they were doing it
just the same. Subtract Satan’s delusion from the Roman soldiers and they
would have realized that this was truly the Son of God, which is what one of
them said after they crucified Him (Mat 27-54). He finally opened His eyes
after it was too late, perhaps after the satanic forces surrounding the cross
dispersed.
(185k) Works of the devil >>
The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >>
Responding with contempt to the Holy Spirit >>
Indifferent to the Holy Spirit
(233g) Kingdom of God >>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Do not seek the kingdom by the flesh
(253c)
Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal
with the Father >> Jesus has all the external qualities of the Father
>> Son is inherently equal with the Father
– They all fell to the ground after He spoke
these three words: “I AM He.” This is the name that God gave to Moses in Exodus 3-14, “God said
to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM," and He said, "Thus you shall say to
the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'” I AM is the name of God!
Note that God speaks of Himself in the present tense; He knows the end from
the beginning and the beginning from the end, but He chooses to live in the
present, and he taught us to live in the present too, not live in the past or sacrifice the
future for the present or be anxious for anything, but to let tomorrow take
care of itself.
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Jn 18,7-9
(28c) Gift of God >>
God is our advocate >> God protects the Church from the world –
A few verses earlier it says that Judas kissed the Lord as confirmation to the
Roman soldiers that He was whom they sought. They asked Him, “Are you Jesus
of Nazareth,” and He said, “I am He,” and when He said this, the entire
Roman cohort fell to the ground, pushed by an overwhelming force, angels
invisible to the naked eye or perhaps the power of Jesus’ anointing in the
Holy Spirit. This happened primarily as an effort to protect the disciples.
This spiritual experience humbled the Roman soldiers enough to grant Jesus’
request to let His disciples go.
Protecting
his disciples fulfilled the word that He spoke in His high priestly prayer (Jn
17-12) and fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of Psalm 41-9. Not even Judas
was harmed; instead, he hung himself later.
Jn 18-9,10
(228h) Kingdom of God >>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God
working in you >> God works in you to keep you
in His will –
The Scripture just finished saying, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost
not one,” then Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of his fellow man.
It is not that we are so faithful that we follow Jesus; it’s that Jesus is
faithful in keeping us. Had the disciples been easy to
shepherd, it would have made us concerned about ourselves, but difficult as the disciples were to shepherd is a testimony of Jesus’ ability
to keep us in His will too. The minute He turns his back, we are drawing our
sword, solving problems our own way and getting ourselves in trouble, thinking
we are doing the Lord a favor as though we understood Him when we don’t.
This Old Testament prophecy that is quoted testified to
Jesus’ ability to shepherd His disciples, having nothing to do with our
ability to follow Him. The fact that we are following Jesus is a miracle in
itself, since our flesh only wants to go astray. Following Jesus is an
indication that the Holy Spirit is working in our lives; otherwise, we would be opposed
to the will of God. Jesus often rebuked them for
being spiritually brain-dead, arguing with each other about who was greatest,
expecting God to give them whatever they wanted, while their fleshly mind
continually contradicted the word of God.
Jn 18-10,11
(160l) Works of the devil >>
Temptation >>
Tempted to act like an animal
Jn 18-11
(37a) Judgment >>
The cross >> God judged the sin of the world
through Christ
(45f) Judgment >>
Believer’s sin >> Through His Son >>
Jesus absorbed sin of the Church –
Jesus trusted His Father and lived for Him, and in the process of doing His
will, He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah throughout
His ministry, but at the end of His life, He told Peter to take a sword, and,
after using it, rebuked Peter and healed the man’s ear that Peter severed. Had Jesus not told His disciples to arm themselves,
they would not have been carrying knives. Throughout His ministry Jesus
taught that violence had no place in the purpose of God; He never had
anything to do with swords and clubs or with physical violence of any kind.
Therefore, there is a flagrant contradiction in all this, and the only thing
Jesus hoped to gain from it was to fulfill Old Testament prophecy regarding
Himself, which would have eventually been fulfilled by the two robbers that
were crucified beside Him, being numbered with transgressors (Mk 15-28).
(209jb) Salvation >>
The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >>
Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus is the lamb
of God >> We remember His sacrifice at communion –
This event happened shortly after Passover that they celebrated in the Upper Room.
Jesus didn’t need to tell His disciples to arm themselves, this being the
only recorded mistake that Jesus made, and it happened just hours before He
was to be arrested and ultimately crucified to pay for the sins of the
world. The best explanation that satisfies all aspects of the Scriptures
points to the very real possibility that Jesus was losing His nerve,
becoming extremely anxious for what He was about to suffer, not from the
prospect of physical pain but spiritual anguish, for He was about to take on the sins of all
mankind and judged by His Father as the ultimate sinner who committed
every sin since the beginning of time. This brought on tremendous
anxiety, and His anxiety was separating Him from His Father, who was
already withdrawing from Him, suggesting that the process of paying for the sins of the
world had already begun. Jesus experienced fear in the Garden of Gethsemane; He had already started to
become sin.
Jn 18,12-14
(55j) Paradox
>>
Opposites >>
Fulfilling your own prophecy – Caiaphas, the high priest, earlier prophesied
by the Spirit of God that one man should die on behalf of the people, but then
later in this passage we see him acting as ringleader of His mock trial,
advocating that He be crucified. It is one thing to prophesy that a man should
die for the sins of the people, but quite another thing to condemn the same man to
death, fulfilling his own prophecy. This is another example of forcing
prophecy by his own will and showing that God's predestination requires someone
to perform what has been planned to occur before the beginning of time.
Jn 18,15-18
(174i) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >>
Form of a servant but denying God your loyalty -- These verses go with
verses 25-27. Peter had a problem with being double-minded, but
we all have that problem. In other passages we hear Peter-the-impetuous stating he was willing to die for the Lord, which bordered on an
oath, and Jesus taught not to make oaths or promises anymore than was
absolutely necessary. According to Peter, if Jesus would be crucified, then he
would die with Him, but the fact that Peter was standing
by the fire warming himself showed just how far behind his heart lagged from his
confession to suffer for his Master. He wasn’t even willing to shiver for
the Lord, let alone be killed, but that wasn’t what Jesus wanted from
Peter. He wanted Peter alive to be His spokesman for the fledgling early
church.
Jn 18-15,16
(78a) Thy kingdom come >>
God ministers to people through the humble >>
The humble are invisible to men, but God sees them –
The high priest knew John but not Peter, and in this way John asked the high
priest to give Peter access to the courtyard. That was the end of John’s
visibility, who receded into the background, but Peter made himself bigger
when he went to warm himself by the fire, putting himself in a position where
he denied the Lord and risked being nailed to a cross next to Jesus, the
twelve disciples nearly losing their fearless leader before the Church began.
The humble know when to be visible and when to disappear into the shadows. It
is important to be visible only when God can use us in that manner; otherwise
it is better to remain invisible for the sake of staying out of trouble. A lot
of people try to make themselves visible for their own purposes, attempting to
establish a ministry, though many of them never hear from God, so it is not
God calling them, but they seek their own glory and become like Peter, getting
themselves into all kinds of trouble without producing any fruit. If we remain
humble before the Lord, we maintain potential to bear fruit for God, but if we
become arrogant and presume the importance of becoming visible, we will bring
shame on ourselves and hurt people in the process, and it could even lead to
denying the Lord.
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Jn 18,18-24
(42d) Judgment >>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Innocent >> No evidence against you
Jn 18-18
(181i) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >>
Self deception >> Imaginary perception of self >>
Pretending to be someone you’re not
(182a) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >>
Self deception >> Believing the darkness within
you is light -- This verse goes with verse 28
Jn 18,19-24
(73d) Authority >>
Respect positions of authority >> In the Church –
Jesus gave a different reaction to the high priest compared to Paul’s
slap in the face; Paul rebuked the high priest saying, “God is going to
strike you, you whitewashed wall!” (Act 23-3), but when he learned he
was high priest, Paul quickly back-peddled saying, “I was not aware,
brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak
evil of a ruler of your people” (v5). These two responded differently after
being slapped, Paul not knowing that the man was high priest, and Jesus giving
him a reasonable answer.
(143e) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >>
The public >> Jesus ministered publicly –
Jesus regularly spoke in the temple and in the synagogues on the Sabbath, but
during the week especially when persecuted He would go between cities and
conduct services in open fields, and people would come and listen to Him. He
couldn’t have done this in the beginning of His ministry, because no one
knew about Him yet, but once He gained popularity, He had the option of going
into wilderness areas and ministering to people there. This proved to be an
effective method of ministry, and while He was out there ministering, He would
use the wilderness as a teaching tool for the Kingdom of God, and He
integrated many aspects of nature into His messages, but while He was in town
speaking in synagogues, He would preach the gospel in terms of their old
covenant law and the prophets. This proved to be a very effective combination
of settings, where He could both address the issues of their present religion
and introduce the principles of the covenant that was to come.
Jn 18,19-23
(122i) Thy kingdom come >>
Manifestations of faith >> Boldness in adverse
circumstances >> Speak the truth in the face of
adversity
(179a) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >>
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for
questioning His authority – Jesus essentially told them that they could
have ascertained everything they wanted to know from those He taught, for He
spoke
openly to them in public settings, and in fact the chief priests and Pharisees
did confer with them, so that asking Jesus to reiterate what they already knew
was a way of dangling Jesus on a string like a puppet, but He would have none
of it. Since it was a mock trial, these were mock questions and Jesus was pointing
out that fact to them by refusing to answer them, further enraging His
enemies. Giving the wicked what they deserve often provokes and
emboldens them to be more evil, which is what Jesus was trying to do, further
guaranteeing His death. For this reason, the Old Testament's remedy was to completely eliminate
the wicked from the earth, but the
new covenant remedy is to lead them to Christ. It is when people are unwilling
to believe in Jesus that the new covenant runs into a wall, and when the whole world
is no longer willing to believe in Jesus, it is time to drop the curtain
ending the age of grace. When the whole world is populated with the kind of people that
gathered around Jesus wanting to kill Him,
who are convinced in their own mind that they are right about everything,
having become unreasonable and irreconcilable, they do more to beckon the
return of Christ than His own people.
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Jn 18,20-23
(18a) Sin >>
Unrighteous judgment >> Condemning Jesus
(79c) Thy kingdom come >>
Renewing your mind >> Compromising your
convictions -- These verses go with verses 29&30
Jn 18-20,21
(143b) The
Public (Key verse)
(149g) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Preaching the word to the world >> Sowing the seed
Jn 18-22,23
(60a) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> Being sarcastic as
seen through the eyes of the world / Rebuking the Church for being carnally
minded –
Jesus didn’t use fighting words on the high priest but answered him in logical
fashion, which further irritated him, which is different from a deliberate insult.
Nothing angers people more than logic, who have strayed from the
mark and are acting illogical, making logic sound sarcastic. Jesus in His own
way insulted the high priest in a respectful way by attempting to reason with
him, knowing their reason had left them. This was Jesus’ manner of
insulting people; speaking parables was another way is speaking to those He knew would never receive Him,
because they didn’t deserve to know
the truth. According to Old Testament prophecy He was required to preach the
gospel of the kingdom, and it was also prophesied that He would speak in
parables, so that while hearing they may not understand, and while seeing they
may not perceive. From unbelief they would not ask Him to clarify but dismissed
the words of the miracle Worker.
Jn 18,25-27
(76f) Thy kingdom come >>
Wicked motives >> Motives based on
self-righteousness -- These verses go with verses 31,32. Peter
fulfilled Old Testament
prophecy that was written hundreds of years before he was born when he abandoned the Lord.
In the process of trying to
be a pseudo-hero, he diverted from God's expectation of him. If he had to make a
choice and one of them was to become a constituent of God’s predetermined
plan,
he would have accomplished something. Most anybody
would love to fulfill prophecy, but Peter was more interested in personal
glory. Peter no doubt loved the Lord; he couldn’t stand the
thought of abandoning Him, but he had no choice and it was what he eventually
did, but he didn’t like the best answer. He tried to show some kind
of allegiance to the Lord, which was thoughtful but misguided, and he ended up
wounding his conscience more than his fellow disciples by denying he even knew the
Lord, literally putting it into words.
(174i) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >>
Form of a servant but denying God your loyalty -- These verses go with
verses 15-18. Peter
put himself in a dreadful situation when he followed Jesus into the courtyard and
warmed himself by the light of the fire, so that everybody could see him and
recognized his face, which was not very clever on his part. Standing next to
the fire coddling his flesh in the cold night, he contradicted the
circumstances surrounding his being there, which was to follow his Lord into
suffering, contrasting
Jesus’ imminent torture against his fleshly indulgence. His reasoning lodged between a half
idea and a half conviction, not having either, He wrestled with a cauldron of disconnected motives, none of which
promised to accomplish a thing. He wasn’t there from curiosity or to deliver
his Lord but was
there only because He didn’t know what else to do. He must have felt that if
He were anywhere else, He would have abandoned the Lord like the other
disciples (except John), who was there also, and He didn’t want to be like them. In other
words he felt superior to his friends while he stood in the enemy’s camp, on a
quest for pride. John was further from the fire in
the shadows on his own prideful quest.
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Jn 18,28-40
(168c) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to
the world >> Do not conform to the world’s
rejection of God -- These verses go with verses 4-7. The Pharisees earnestly desired to participate in
the celebration of Passover and figured that venturing onto a Roman judicial
courtyard would have defiled them in the sight of God, as though their
conscience were actually intact. Their forefathers didn’t celebrate Passover
for centuries at a time because of their waywardness. Instead, they wanted
nothing more than to fit into the world around them, to fit into the very people
that God had
commanded them to destroy. Apparently God made them feel like freaks and they
sought a sense of normalcy, erecting the nations' idols and foolishly bowing
to them. People have always felt it necessary to fit into
the world, yet everyone also wants to feel special at the same time. This
creates a
conflict of interests that we spend our whole lives trying to resolve, generating confusion,
bitter feelings, skirmishes and wars. We cannot be normal and
special at the same time, alluding to one of many paradoxes of the flesh, sown into the human genome
and remaining an issue from generation to
generation throughout the millennia.
Jn 18,28-32
(21a) Sin >>
Disobedience >> Demonstrating unbelief in the
character of God
(75i) Thy kingdom come >>
Motives >> Being manipulative >>
Controlling people in the dark >> By hiding the
facts
(180e) Works of the devil >>
Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >>
Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >>
Wolves are clever
Jn 18,28-31
(155e)
Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer
>> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of
evil testifies against our motives – Some say that a person’s conscience can be
destroyed, but in a way that is not really true; rather, a person can
manipulate his conscience to permit himself to do whatever he wants, but there is a high cost to
manhandling our conscience. It is a sacred mechanism
instilled in every person. God uses it to simulate sinning in His presence, but
once we start messing with our conscience, we lose our ability to
know God, in that if we can't be honest with ourselves, how can we be honest
with Him? The Jews had incentive to kill Jesus, being a thorn in
their side, and in their conscience they had already disposed of Him, making Him appear as a sinner, and now they
only needed to find a way to make the Romans see that. It is one thing to
manipulate our conscience, but it is another to manipulate someone else. Ultimately, what put Jesus on
the cross for the Romans was His confession that He was a king. Jesus would
not deny that He was the Son of God; if He had to die for that statement, then
so be it. Jesus was the king of the Jews, the king of all mankind, and He
wasn’t about to deny it to Pilate or anybody, for it would make Him appear ashamed of His
Father, though throughout his ministry He avoided the
discussion, since it would have ensued His premature death.
Jn 18,28-30
(19j) Sin >>
Self righteousness will twist your mind – It was very important to the Pharisees that
they made Passover, for they equated it with being right with God, using
it as an emblem to prove their uprightness of heart, but it proved nothing of the
sort. The mind is
able to rationalize anything it wants.
Jn 18-28
(176d) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without
knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Conviction
without commandment –
The Pharisees assumed that if they stepped on a pagan platform of justice, it
would disqualify them from celebrating Passover, thinking they were better
than their ancestors. In 2Chronicles chapter 34 it says that during
King Josiah’s reign the priest discovered in the temple a lost book of the
Law of Moses and from it resumed many of the practices and festivals that
Israel stopped celebrating since the death of Joshua, which were things that
helped to literally define Israel as God’s chosen nation. This interval of
time represented the entire period of their habitation in the promise land.
King Josiah was the first to re-institute Passover, and for this reason God
forestalled judgment on Israel throughout Josiah’s life, but the king after
him did evil in the sight of the Lord, and by that time God had grown weary of
Israel’s waywardness and sent the Assyrians after them, who deported them to
Babylon. 70 years later, when the Assyrians gave them back their nation and
allowed them to rebuild their temple, they resumed the annual Passover feast
and continued to celebrate it until the days of Christ. However, before the
time of Josiah not even king David celebrated Passover, possibly because he
was so busy destroying his enemies, but nor did his son Solomon, who had even
less excuse, since he lived in a time of peace. Rather, Solomon was too busy
building his empire to obey God; Solomon had a lot of faults. Centuries
transpired when Israel did not celebrate Passover, and God warned them that if
they failed to obey Him in these matters, judgment would befall them, and what
were their consequences? They forgot their history with God, who delivered
them from the Egyptians with a mighty hand, and once they allowed their
heritage to slip, they sought a new identity, which they hurriedly borrowed
from the surrounding gentile nations (the world).
See also: History of Israel (Land of Canaan); Heb 11,29-31; 217l
(182a) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >>
Self deception >> Believing the darkness within
you is light -- This verse goes with verse 18. The enemies of Jesus were the ultimate
hypocrites. They were in the process of crucifying the Lord of glory, trying to pin something on Him who was without sin, because He was an offense to
their religiosity. Every time Jesus opened His mouth He battered their sinful
lifestyles with a clarity of truth that no one had spoken before Him or since,
and the worse thing He told them was that they had everything all wrong about
God. This is what sin does to the mind; it distorts people’s understanding
of God to the point of making Him unrecognizable. He told them they were
sinners, but they already knew that, and they tried to hide it from society, but
when He slammed their religion, they wanted to kill Him.
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Jn 18,29-32
(185b) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of
lawlessness >> Having no grounds for your hate >>
Hating Christ without a cause – It was hard enough for the Jews to find an excuse
to crucify Jesus; He continually battered their conscience, but they
couldn’t use that as an excuse to execute Him before Pilate. The
Jews were not allowed to put anyone to death because they were under Roman
authority. The Romans allowed them to practice their religion, but not to
enforce the Law of Moses,
which was often easier said than done, since their religion was integrated
into their law. They needed the Romans to give them permission not only to
crucify Jesus, but even to do it for them, so now they needed to give the
Romans reason to kill Jesus, which was also easier said than done.
Jn 18-29,30
(18b) Unrighteous Judgment Lacks
Evidence
(Key
verse)
(18d) Sin >>
False Judgment lacks evidence >> Undefined
charges – The Pharisees did not answer Pilate’s
question, yet he did not shoo them from his presence. If he wanted to
discourage the execution of an innocent man, he should have discouraged the
Pharisees from talking to him with a disrespectful tone and a note
of sarcasm. Pilate merely said what any
involved judge would have asked a prosecutor, ‘What are the charges against
the defendant?’ In their arrogance and lack of charges they responded,
“If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to
you.” Pilate should have pursued it further and said, ‘That is not an
answer, what did He do wrong?’ If they could not sufficiently answer
that question, he had every right to drive them from his court. Had they used
the statement He made of destroying the temple that He could rebuild it in three
days, it would have made him
sound crazy and they didn’t want Him locked up; they wanted Him dead. They
could not use His confession as the Son of God either, because Pilate was
concerned only about Roman law, not about Jewish religion. Pilate was determined to do whatever it took to keep
the peace even if it meant crucifying an innocent man. They had nothing
against Jesus and Pilate knew it, having done nothing to threaten the peace. Instead,
it was the people who threatened a riot, attributing the disturbance to
Jesus.
(79c) Thy kingdom come >>
Renewing your mind >> Compromising your
convictions -- These verses go with verse 35
(166a) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the
world >> Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful
nature >> Man’s wisdom rationalizes his sin – People believe what they
want, like a black bird capriciously picking shiny objects to line its nest, not to be
confused with pursuing the truth. Ask people what they believe and you will a
get an assemblage of ideas, theories and doctrines haphazardly taped together
in a way that makes them happy. The Pharisees were guilty of this and so was
Pilate, this being an exceptionally lucid example of pursuing convenient facts
designed to make life easier, but rejecting the truth, because
there was no place in his life or in his heart for Him. Pilate
only wanted peace and the Pharisees only wanted murder, and the two were at
odds with each other, except that they had one idea in common: if they got rid of this guy,
maybe life would return to normal, but nothing returned to normal after Jesus visited His
people.
(174e) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >>
Self righteousness >> Justifying yourself
(175h) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >>
Dodging the issue (willful ignorance) >> Dodging
the issue to get what you want – The answer the Jews gave Pilate was the
essence of circular reasoning; they gave him a non-answer. Pilate should have
dismissed them on the spot, since he didn’t have a personal interest in seeing Jesus crucified, yet spiritually the forces of darkness were preying upon the minds of all who
wielded power to make decisions that day.
(182h) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >>
Being deceptive with people >> Lying to others
KJV
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Jn 18-31,32
(76f) Thy kingdom come >>
Wicked motives >> Motives based on
self-righteousness -- These verses go with verses 25-27
Jn 18,33-37
(150e) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Confessing Jesus >>
Making the good confession (Son of God) -- These verses go with verses 4-8. Jesus lived thirty-three years, yet He never
developed a reputation as the Son of God. Much of the gospel of John was written about His last few weeks prior to
His crucifixion, and so all His comments to the Jews about being the
Son of God were taken weeks if not days before his crucifixion. For
thirty-three years Jesus lived without anyone suspecting anything unusual about
Him,
not even during His 3 1/2 year ministry when He performed His miracles, but now suddenly it became
the main subject of discussion, and they used it against Him at His
mock trial to have Him murdered. It doesn’t matter how many ways or how many
times Jesus proved His identity as the Son of God, it only mattered that he made the good
confession, to the Jews, to the Sanhedrin to the chief priests and to Pilate,
for in telling them He told us.
Jn 18-33,34
(17i) Sin >>
Unrighteous judgment >>
Ignorance >> Speaking truth without knowing it -- These verses go with verses
37&38.
Pilate
said to Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" There are two words
here that are out of order, "Are you." Had he switched
them, it would have converted his statement from a question to a declaration
of faith, 'You are the king of the Jews!' In verse 38 Pilate
denied the very existence of truth; then his very next words were perhaps the most profound
truth of the Bible that
Jesus is without sin, "I find no guilt in Him." Pilate was a mixed
bag of contradictions. People search blindly for the right combination of
words to produce the truth, and they will never know how close they got, and yet how far they were in
heart.
See also: 2 letters shy of the kingdom; 58k
(54f) Paradox >>
Opposites >> A few words shy of the kingdom
(58k) Paradox >>
Two implied meanings >> Are you the king of
the Jews? / You are the king of the Jews! – When Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the
king of the Jews,” Jesus heard ‘You are the king of the Jews,’
the letters R and U need to be transposed, converting it from a question to a statement of
faith 'UR the king of the Jews.' Pilate was just two letters shy of heaven.
See also: 2
letters shy of the kingdom;
17i
(62d) Paradox >>
Anomalies >> Being clever >>
Answer with wisdom – Having the
wisdom of God should be one of the characteristic traits of all Christians,
but those with an anointing from God, dedicated to the faith and serving the
Lord with a whole heart as the word of God commands are an anomaly in the
Church these days. Jesus asked Pilate if he believed what he just said or if he merely
parroted what others said about Him. Jesus was concerned about Pilate; it
wouldn’t have done him any good to tell Pilate that He was the king of the
Jews; He wanted Pilate to tell Him. Jesus lived in the weakness of human flesh
and looked like any man; this is what threw people off His scent. Someone
could have been looking for the Messiah and walked right passed Him; even when
He performed miracles people doubted. When Peter said, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat 16-16,17), he didn’t say it in
terms of the miracles he performed, though that was part of it; what
convinced him was the word of God that He spoke. Nobody could perform the
miracles that Jesus did, but somebody could have possibly faked some of them, but
nobody could fake the truth, otherwise it wouldn’t be true. Peter
knew the truth when he heard it, and this is why Jesus chose Peter as one of
His closest disciples. Contrast that with Pilate; Jesus could have talked to
him for hours about God and he would have been unconvinced, because he
didn’t know the truth when he heard it. If the people doubted His miracles
and couldn’t discern the truth when they heard it, how could they believe?
It wouldn’t have done Pilate any good for Jesus to confess that He was the
king of the Jews. People needed
to discern His true identity by the Spirit, as Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and
blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
(63k) Paradox >>
Anomalies >> Sarcasm >>
Answering a fool according to his folly
(75f) Thy kingdom come >>
Motives >> Being manipulative >>
Questioning God’s authority -- These verses go with verse 38
(85a) Thy kingdom come >>
Your words can lead to your own demise >> They
will keep you out of heaven
(159h) Works of the devil >>
Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >>
Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit
confession
(173j) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >>
Unholy sacrifice >> Penance of lip service --
These verses go with verses 37&38
(244j) Kingdom of God >>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Literal
manifestation of God’s word >> His cross is
the manifestation of truth -- These verses go with verse 38
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Jn 18,35-38
(166f) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the
world >> Nature Of Man’s Wisdom >>
Man’s wisdom does not know God – Pilate didn’t know God, but he found no
guilt in Jesus, which means he potentially could know God, and the facts point
toward Pilate later getting saved. Had he found guilt in Him, he
wouldn't have had any more hope of salvation than the Pharisees, whom Jesus
asked,
“How will you escape the sentence of hell?” (Mat 23-33).
Jn 18,35-37
(66d) Authority >>
Lordship of Christ >> Jesus is Lord of heaven –
In those days, to announce oneself a king was a direct threat against the throne of Caesar,
much more if he made this confession to the governor. This is what Jesus did,
yet Pilate tried to free Him, because he saw him as non-threatening. In
contrast, the Church is worldly today because people got the idea that
since the Church is in the world, God’s kingdom must be
of the world. However, the true gospel of Christ is more elusive than
that. We need a simple faith in a simple gospel that a small
child can believe, but for those who want to make their life in the flesh
compatible with the kingdom of heaven, the true gospel of Christ doesn’t
fit in their hearts. They can only profane the gospel and rub their
grubby fingerprints over it. If the true gospel
were of the world, faith would be needless, and perhaps this explains why
there are so many faithless Christians in the Church today. Millennium is coming
when Christ will set up His kingdom on the earth, and then the kingdom will be
manifested in the natural realm, but until then we believe in a spiritual
kingdom that is yet to materialize. Anyone who thinks they can live in the flesh to glorify God is to say
that the reign of man and the reign of
Christ are the same. These are two separate ages,
and we cannot mix them. The Millennium will be an age when the Kingdom of God
is manifested in the natural realm, and then we will enjoy His kingdom in the
flesh, but in this age, the only way to enjoy His kingdom is in the Spirit by
faith in the truth. See also: The elusive kingdom of God; Jn 18,36-38; 223f
Jn 18-35,36
(170c)
Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Pursuing the
glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> Fighting God to keep the
glory of man – Did Jesus just say there
was fighting in the
realm from which He came? We know that Jesus will rule the earth with a rod of
iron during the Millennium, which will be established on this fallen planet
earth. Fighting is
all we see, except that no one is fighting for Jesus; men fight for their
own causes. Living in a body of fallen flesh in this natural realm was not
home to Jesus. He had a place in mind where His body compliments
the eternal realm of peace and love, where nothing passes away and there is no
cause for war, but here we see people fighting for the right to glory in their
shame.
Jn 18-35
(79c) Thy kingdom come >>
Renewing your mind >> Compromising your
convictions -- This verse goes with verses 39&40
Jn 18,36-38
(223f) Kingdom of God >>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >>
Missing the point >> Miss the meaning of the
truth –
This is a conundrum to some people: isn’t the Church the Kingdom of God in the world? On the one hand
yes it is, but on the other hand no it isn't. Jesus was
talking on a spiritual level to Pilate when He said that His kingdom does
not belong to this world. He
meant that His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom; the Kingdom of God dwells
within us. It is not the Church per se as much as it is the indwelling Holy
Spirit joined with the souls of His people that is the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Lk 17-20,21, “Now having been
questioned by the Pharisees as to when the Kingdom of God was coming, He
answered them and said, ‘The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be
observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or, “There it is!” For
behold, the Kingdom of God is in your midst.” When Jesus said, “The Kingdom
of God is in your midst,” He meant both: “the Kingdom of God dwells within
you,” and ‘I am the embodiment of that kingdom.’ We have no
business assigning more meaning to this life than the life that is to come. The
Kingdom of God may be in His people and his people may be in the world, yet the Kingdom of God is not of this realm, and
to circumvent the purpose of God dwelling in us is to emphasize something that is
destined to perish. The Kingdom of God is eternal; for us to place our emphasis
on that which is temporal is a travesty of epic proportions. See also: The
elusive kingdom of God; Jn
18-36,37; 221i
Jn 18-36,37
(221i) Kingdom of God >>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden
behind the veil from the world >> God hides his
divinity from man’s corruption >> The Kingdom of God is from another realm –
Jesus testified, “My kingdom is not of this world.” This statement cannot be
overstated, for it was the reason
Jesus was crucified. It was His answer to
Pilate's question, "What have You done?" This was Jesus' crime: He was not of
this world! It was Jesus' explanation to His disciples as to why they can
expect the world to hate them too (Jn 15,18-25). The fact that the Church
doesn't understand this is the cause of apostasy that started in the third
century and has continued to this day; that is, the Church is not sanctified;
it is not set apart from the world. Instead, it has integrated and become an
entity of the state. If the Church were occupying the
position that God intended, it would be persecuted; and if it were persecuted,
it would be underground. Therefore, the only Church that God recognizes is the
Church underground. See also: The elusive kingdom of God; Jn 18-36; 46a
Jn 18-36
(46a) Judgment >>
Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Violent take it by force
>> Taking the kingdom by force
–
The disciples did not form a band of renegades and come
take Jesus from Pilate by force or from Herod, the Romans or the Jews. His own
disciples did nothing; they were not instructed to do anything. They were in
such shock and horror, they were paralyzed and couldn’t imagine how this
could fit into God’s predetermined plan. Literally everyone was expecting
Jesus to one day overcome the Romans and set up His kingdom, making Jerusalem
the center of the world as it was in King David’s day. Perhaps even the
chief priests and Pharisees were thinking the same thing, and this became
their motive for bringing Him to Pilate, knowing that if He established His
kingdom, they would never be His leaders. In other words, it was obvious to
them and to all that whatever He was planning, they would not be part of it.
Even the disciples were waiting for a day when Jesus would
suddenly take over the world; He raised Lazarus from the dead,
but they would have easily exchanged that event for seeing Him subvert the Roman empire.
This was their expectation based on the Old Testament as they were taught; meanwhile an entire
2000-year age of grace was being completely overlooked. Since the kingdom of Christ
is not of this world, then why are Christians today so
fixated on this life and not on the kingdom that is to come? See also: Expecting the Kingdom of God to appear
immediately; Act 1-6,7;
215i
KJV
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Jn 18-37,38
(17i) Sin >>
Unrighteous judgment >>
Ignorance >> Speaking truth without knowing it
-- This verse goes with verses 33&34.
(23a) Sin >>
Pride closes the windows of heaven
(63i) Paradox >>
Anomalies >> Sarcastic from being emotional >>
Frustrated –
When we compare Pilate with the religious establishment, there were few
differences, but there were also few similarities. One difference was his
lack of knowledge, Pilate knew very little about Jesus, nor did he have motive to hate Him, let alone motive to crucify Him, but he was similar to
the religious establishment in his lack of conviction. When Pilate said,
“So You are a king?”, he said it sarcastically, not believing it. There
is a strikingly large number of people in the Church today who claim to be
saved but don't act like Jesus is their King. Some have ulterior motives for
going to Church, to appease their conscience. They have a religion to answer
the question of God, but they don't want Him to control their lives or have sovereignty over their
will or telling them what to
do.
(173j) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >>
Unholy sacrifice >> Penance of lip service --
These verses go with verses 33&34. Many
people seek God’s calling and purpose for their lives and never find it. If they
discovered it, many would fulfill it, but others would not, being completely
indifferent to God. We could probably say this was true about
Pilate. By the time he delivered Jesus to His enemies, he was well on his
way to believing He was King of the Jews, but he didn’t believe it
enough to change his life. This is the way it is with many people: they
believe He is a king, but they don't believe He is their King. This is Catholicism
in a nutshell. There are plenty of Catholics who love God with all their
hearts, but Catholicism as a religious belief system does not honor Jesus
Christ as king of the Jews.
This too was Pilate, though he was not a religious person, he held Rome’s pagan gods in
contempt along with those who worshipped them, but he became religious
one day, the day he met Jesus and decided to give Him to their enemies. A lot of
people make the same decision, sacrificing Jesus for their careers from a
willful blindness and lack of knowledge, having a hardness of heart and and
too poor vision to know the Truth when they see Him.
(198a) Denying Christ >>
Man exercises his will against God >> Man
withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >>
Resisting the knowledge of God
(200i) Denying Christ >>
Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using
irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >>
Trying to talk your way out of accountability –
The Romans were committed to stomping out all dissidence before
it had a chance to fester, and the Jews were saying that Jesus considered
Himself a king, being how they brought Him to Pilate, for it was a crime to compete against
Caesar's throne. Pilate desperately wanted to escape the situation that the Jews
forced upon him, being a no-win situation. Even his own wife told him to have nothing to do with this man, and
he should have listened to her, but he had no choice. Had he
refused the case, the Jews would have started a riot and taken matters into their own hands and
no doubt stoned Him to death against Roman authority, and it would have
reflected poorly on Pilate in his ability to maintain Roman law and keep the
peace. He was much
like so many people in the world today who deal with the issue of God; instead
of submitting to His authority, they dance around the subject trying to
appease their conscience while trying to preserve sovereignty over
their own lives. Man in rebellion
against God refuses to submit to Him. We try to make deals with Him, while maintaining
our lifestyle, which invariably conflicts with His will. We all need to live with a clear
conscience, and the only way to do that is to have a connection to God, not on our
terms but on His.
Jn 18-37
(66j)
Authority >> Jesus’ authority >>
His words are the authority of God
(106g) Thy kingdom come >>
Faith >>
Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >>
Hearing His voice – Everyone who is of the truth hears the voice
of Jesus. This is reminiscent of the Christmas book that was made into a
movie, Polar Express. The bell at the end of the movie is my favorite
part. The boy couldn’t hear the bells ringing on
Santa’s sleigh. One became detached and landed at his feet; he picked it up
and rattled it by his ear but could hear nothing. Then he forced himself to
believe, and suddenly the bell rang loudly in his ear. He lost the bell on the
floor of Santa’s sleigh, so it became his present under the tree on
Christmas morning. He shook the bell and it rang true for him, though his parents
couldn’t hear it. His little sister heard it, but eventually it fell silent
for her too, but the bell always rang for him even in his old age. That movie
got lousy reviews because it expressed a very profound truth in the Bible,
based on this passage and others: there are those who can hear the voice of
Jesus and there are those who can’t, distinguished by a childlike faith in
Jesus.
(107j) Thy kingdom come >>
The Church is of the truth >>
God’s people can discern the truth
(110g) Thy kingdom come >>
Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the
truth >> Conceived by the Spirit of truth
(144d) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It
bears
witness of His word
(153a) Witness >>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Church bears witness of the Father
through Christ
(154d) Witness >>
Validity of the Father >> God bears witness
against the world >> Witness that the world is
godless >> Witness that the world does not know
God –
Pilate confessed that Jesus was a king, but he didn’t believe it, yet
neither did he think He was a criminal. Had he believed in Jesus, everything would have
changed; He may still have been crucified, but Pilate’s life would
have radically changed, and he would have made a totally different decision.
Pilate was caught between a rock and a hard place, for there was no right
decision he could make with his limited knowledge. He didn’t know the Scriptures; he
may have heard a few things about Jesus, but not from any authoritative
sources. In hindsight,
the right decision was to acknowledge Him as not only a king but also Israel’s Messiah, but treating Him as
such would have destroyed his career as a Roman governor. A little later Pilate discovered that the Jews condemned Him
because He claimed to be the Son of God, and it frightened him to learn this,
and the fact that it frightened him suggests that he saw it within the realm
of possibility, based on Jesus’ actions and responses, along with His
demeanor. The peace that He carried with Him in relation to
his circumstances was enough to convince anyone He was God incarnate.
(206a) Salvation >>
God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to
promises >> Conditions to living in the spirit >>
Conditions to partaking in the spirit
(254h)
Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >>
Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Holy Spirit is life >>
Spirit of God is the life of Christ –
When Jesus said, "Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice," He was referring to the Holy Spirit whom he
would send in His place. When Jesus talked about people able to hear His
voice, He equated Himself with the Holy Spirit, essentially saying that He and
the Holy Spirit are the same, depicting His role in the trinity.
KJV
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Jn 18,38-40
(169j) Works of the devil >>
Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory
of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than
the approval of God >> Fearing their religion
(242h) Kingdom of God >>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >>
World pressures you to forsake your convictions – It wasn’t Pilate’s fault that Jesus was
crucified; rather, it was the Jews who demanded His death. Pilate was ready to
release Him, saying I find no guilt in this man.
Pilate was familiar with a Jewish law that he should release a prisoner at
Passover (amnesty),
though setting a criminal free was never a law of Moses, and he was
hoping the Jews would call for Jesus to be released, but they chose
Barabbas over their King. At Passover the priests would present two goats, one
would be for the sacrifice and the other would be the scapegoat. God used the
scapegoat at Passover to represent the freedman that Jesus would pardon
through His own death. The scapegoat represented not just one man but every
sinner, even the Jews who delivered Jesus to be crucified.
Jn 18-38
(17h)
Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Passing judgment without seeking
truth
–
The Old Testament is filled with
statements that the king’s job (governor in Pilate’s case) was to discern
justice for the afflicted and oppressed, and to make wise judgments based
on his comprehension of the facts and circumstances presented to him,
but Pilate didn’t know the Truth, which is on a much higher plane than
mere facts and information. Truth comes from God. Truth is defined as facts as God sees
them, whereas facts are defined as information as man sees it, which he calls "reality". God can reveal Himself to us by His Spirit, and the things
we understand about Him is our truth, but when we relate this truth to
others, they hear it as facts and information. God gives truth to His believers, and if we haven’t received
anything from God, then
we don’t know the truth. Therefore, to deny the reality of Truth, as Pilate
did, is to inadvertently admit that he doesn't
know God.
See also: Truth (Relativism); Mat 10-39; 95a
(55n) Paradox
>>
Lose by gaining >> Lose the truth to gain
religion –
Pilate represents mankind. He was a man of many ironies that day, for
instance saying, "What is truth?" and then proclaiming that he
found no sin in Jesus, which is perhaps the greatest truth in the Bible. Man through Pilate
admitted that he doesn’t believe in the existence of Truth, and to
disbelieve in Truth is to admit that he doesn't know God. Representing us, he stands as judge of our
creator. Pilate was mostly ignorant of the details of the
case and so is man; he was essentially pressed into service by his seat in
the chair of justice; also God gave man the position of arbitrator, so we
are required by our position to try the Lord. Pilate’s decision was forced by threat of a riot to give
Jesus to His enemies; each one of us plays the role of Pilate, having
his own excuse why he must reject the Truth that is in Jesus Christ or else
make a much tougher choice and defend the Truth. Will we like Pilate sacrifice Him to keep our
place in life, or will we sacrifice our place for what we know is the Truth,
and receive a new life that is full of promises, like a dark trail that is
lighted by faith as we go, filled with mysteries, which is sure to bring change to every aspect of our
lives.
Pilate had a secular worldview, but when he rejected Christ, he suddenly
became religious, having formed his view of God, devoid of Truth, yet
learning more about God that day than all the days of his life combined.
(59g) Paradox >>
Two implied meanings >> What is truth? / There
is no truth! –
Pilate spoke sarcastically as though to confess that the truth is unknowable
or that it possibly didn’t even exist. People who condemn Christianity
often attack the notion of Truth, and Pilate would agree with them, while the
very embodiment of Truth stood in front of Him, denoting man’s utter
spiritual blindness. This is exactly what is happening in the world today by
atheists and others, though the truth is always located in the same place
from generation to generation, right under our noses in the Bible. It is also
over our heads in the cosmos. If people want to reject the Bible, the truth is
still written in the stars, for the theme of creation is that God
exists. Witnesses of the Truth such as Helen Keller, who was both blind and
deaf, understood her existence mostly by a sense of consciousness. Through a
childhood disease she lost her sight and hearing; she could never look to the
heavens after the age of accountability and saw God’s handiwork, yet she
believed in Him; a professing Christian, she condemned the notion of an
unknowable truth. Meanwhile, Pilate had his hearing and sight, yet it
didn’t help him see the light or hear the Truth. Therefore according to
Helen Keller's testimony, consciousness itself is enough proof to believe in
the existence of Truth. All these
things Helen Keller instinctively knew, and this instinct is in each of us,
but some people invent their own version of truth and follow it instead of
God.
(75f) Thy kingdom come >>
Motives >> Being manipulative >>
Questioning God’s authority -- This verse goes with verses
33&34
(79e) Thy kingdom come >>
Renewing your mind >> If you don’t, you won’t
know truth –
Pilate's mind was garbled with worldly beliefs, so when he met God in human flesh,
he battled two counteractive kingdoms. He tried to put them
together, but they were polar opposites. The Church is doing the same thing
in these last days, trying to mix kingdoms, and it results in a mishmash of
religious ideas fit only for old women, incompatible with the world or with the Scriptures.
Christians are acting like Pilate, confused and conflicted, and when Jesus
comes they will be totally unprepared. Their minds are
trained by the elementary principles of the world as they try to understand the second coming of Christ, like pounding a square peg into a round
hole, and as a result faith and love are beyond their grasp. Every thought comes out backwards and every
action drives them further from God. What did Jesus say about His second
coming? “Stay on the alert” (Mat 24,42-51), be dressed in readiness (Lk
12-35), and how do we do that? Should we amass gold and silver or dig a hole
and crawl into it like doomsday preppers? The Bible teaches us to renew
our minds in the word of God and prayer as a means of preparing for His
second coming, but it is unlikely that the Church is doing this, since most
Christians today are in a state of apostasy.
(90a) Thy kingdom come >>
God convicts us >> Conviction leads us in the
way of righteousness –
Meeting Jesus could have been the worst experience of
Pilate's life; really, how sad is that, except that he may have repented
later? This experience divided Pilate's life into BC and AD, and
the rest of the world followed suit with him. Some people would say he
committed the unpardonable sin by delivering Jesus to be crucified, but that
is not the case; for Jesus said to him, “He who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (Jn
19-11), referring to the religious establishment. Pilate sacrificed Jesus in
ignorance, whereas
the Pharisees and their cronies sacrificed Him in full knowledge of His
identity to keep their place in society and to protect their religious
pride, which was far more insidious than anything Pilate did. When he said to Jesus, “What is
truth,” he then confessed to the world that he saw no guilt in Him,
being his confession of faith, speaking the truth in the same breath that he claimed he
didn’t know it. This is what may have given him hope later in his life when he had
more time to contemplate what had happened to him on that fateful day.
(159m) Works of the devil >>
Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >>
Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit truth –
Pilate represents us all, who haggled with the question of God. We strive
with logic to explain Him away, and when that fails, we explain why God
doesn’t work for us, and when those excuses fall apart, we must keep the conversation from ending with the same question,
“What is Truth?” Instead of asking Jesus the question, Pilate spoke sarcastically as to say he personally didn’t believe
in the existence of Truth. He also sarcastically questioned that Jesus was a
king, though had he said these
things and actually believed them, he could have been saved. Although he
said the right words, he used the wrong
inflexion in his voice, and it kept him from heaven, obviously not his tone
but his doubts. He may have repented later, but Scripture gives no reason
to assume this. The decision Pilate made that day wouldn’t get anybody
saved. Jesus was a very difficult case for Pilate, but He is not easy when
placed in
anybody’s court.
(174j) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Form of
godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the
truth
(175j) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >>
Ignorant of what God means >> Ignorant of the
meaning of God’s word
(178d) Works of the devil >>
The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >>
Presuming the facts about the circumstances >>
Philosophy
(185f) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of
lawlessness >> Having knowledge but not
knowing God –
Most people will never be ready to accept Jesus into their hearts, because
they have no place reserved for Him. The same was true at His birth; there was no
place for Him in the inn (Lk 2-7). There has never been a place for Jesus in
this world; He has always been an outsider. For Pilate to defend Jesus to
the point of it affecting his own life was a proposition similar to
adoption. When parents adopt a child, it adds joy, but it also adds
complications that they must be prepared to accept. Pilate
essentially told Jesus that he could not adopt Him, because Jesus
was not important enough, Pilate was too popular and brutish and his life wasn’t headed in
that direction. People often make excuses for
rejecting the Lord, and invariably ask the same question, “What is Truth?” In their conversation with God the truth always
surfaces, and they deny it due to a facsimile of truth they already
entertain that to them is reality but to God is just
another excuse.
People confuse facts with Truth, thinking they are interchangeable, but man has his facts and God has His Truth, and without God man has no Truth, and for this
reason they reject the very notion of Truth. In that way they admit that they
are alien to the Truth.
(244j) Kingdom of God >>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Literal
manifestation of God’s word >> His cross is
the manifestation of truth -- This verse goes with verses 33&34
KJV
WEB
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Jn 18-39,40
(79c) Thy kingdom come >>
Renewing your mind >> Compromising your
convictions -- These verses go with verses 20-23
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