John - Week 53

Crucify Him 

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John 19:6-7 

6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 

“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.” 

7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.” 

The religious unbelievers wanted Jesus put to death, but they already acknowledged they couldn’t do that. Pilate goaded them on by telling them to crucify Him themselves. Then the Jewish leaders said what they considered blasphemy: Jesus had “called himself the Son of God.” This they could not accept and considered such a claim was worthy of death. 

REFLECT 

The expression “the Son of God” was a way of Jesus saying He was equal with the heavenly Father. The Jews understood this. That’s why they considered it blasphemy. Think about the Lord Jesus having the same characteristics as the Father. 

RESPOND 

Read John 5:16-18 and notice the Jewish leaders clearly understood that Jesus was making Himself equal to God by calling God His Father. Had they considered Jesus any less than the Father it would not have bothered them because they greatly revered others, such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those today who say Jesus is less than the Father are proclaiming a false gospel and do not believe what the Bible teaches.  

More Questions 

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John 19:8-10 

8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” 

Pilate was terrified by the claim of the Jewish leaders that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Pilate asked Jesus about His origin. Jesus’ only response was silence. Pilate could not understand why and threatened Jesus by saying he had the ability to release Jesus or crucify Him. Strangely, Pilate already said Jesus was innocent but had not released Him. 

REFLECT 

Sometimes you are better off to not give an answer when you realize the other party’s mind is already made up. There was no way Pilate planned to release Jesus or he would have done so before. 

RESPOND 

Try framing some questions when you see that a person’s mind is closed. What led you to that conclusion? What is your opinion based on? If you were wrong, would you want to be told about it? 

Degrees of Guilt 

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John 19:11-12 

11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” 

12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.” 

Pilate thought he was so powerful he could release Jesus or have Him crucified. Jesus reminded him the only power he had was what His Father would give him. This passage reveals different degrees of guilt: those who delivered Jesus to Pilate were more guilty than Pilate. The religious unbelievers knew how to get to Pilate by saying he could be in conflict with the emperor if he didn’t find Jesus guilty. 

REFLECT 

Although earthly government leaders may seem powerful, it is good to remember that God is in ultimate control. See Proverbs 21:1 for what the Bible says about this. 

RESPOND 

Read Romans 13:1-5 that tells how God gives authority to government leaders. Yet if the leaders demanded something contrary to what pleases God, believers at that time refused to submit to them (see Acts 4:18-20). This should be the governing policy for today also. 

The Sixth Hour 

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John 19:13-14 

13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!” 

This passage poses a problem for translators. Older translations, such as the King James Version, simply said it was the “sixth hour.” Remember, the trial had been going on over night, yet this says in verse 14 “it was now about noon.” The problem comes because of the way Jewish time and Roman time were calculated. The authors of the first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, used Jewish time where the day runs from approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. John’s Gospel seems to use Roman time, midnight to midnight. So the “sixth hour” in John could be either 6 a.m. or noon. This meant the translators had to choose what the “sixth hour” referred to. Because the trial was overnight it seems this is 6 a.m. rather than noon (Jewish time). For instance, Matthew 27:45 says Jesus was on the cross at the sixth hour (noon by Jewish reckoning). Others would enjoy pointing out a contradiction here unless one understands the different calculations of time. 

REFLECT  

What should you do when someone says there is a contradiction in the Bible? First, admit if you do not know the answer at the time. Then say you will do more research because you are sure it is not an actual contradiction but only an “apparent” one. You could add that you are confident the Word of God does not have contradictions. 

RESPOND 

If you have access to various translations, check John 4:6-7 about Jesus meeting the woman at the well. The same problem exists here about the “sixth hour” as in John 19:14. Then look at Genesis 24:11 that gives the time for the custom of drawing water. This helps you to understand what time of the day the “sixth hour” in John 4:6-7 refers to. 

Despised and Rejected 

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John 19:15-16 

15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” 

“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. 

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back. 

16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. 

The unbelieving Jewish leaders claimed to “have no king but Caesar.” Yet the nation Israel was waiting for a Messiah to come and break the control of the Roman empire over it. These leaders simply rejected Jesus as that Messiah. Following this, some of the saddest words are recorded. Pilate, who claimed Jesus was innocent, “turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.” 

REFLECT 

Let your emotions dwell on this sad moment in human history when someone who thought Jesus was innocent allowed Him to be tortured and turned over for the awful death of crucifixion. 

RESPOND 

If this touches your heart, as it should, with whom will you share your thoughts and feelings? Hopefully you are discipling someone. Share your thoughts with that individual and ask for that person’s thoughts.