John’s Gospel #14 An Innocent Man
CHCC: April 6, 2008
John 18:13-24
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever been accused of something when you were completely innocent? The time that stands out in my mind was a traffic ticket. Now don’t get me wrong … I’ve had plenty of traffic tickets when I was pretty much guilty. But this time, I was completely innocent.
When pulled over for speeding (I was guilty as charged of that violation) they also charged me with a seat belt violation because I had removed my seat belt after being pulled over to get my wallet out of my hip pocket. I was willing to pay the fine for the speeding violation, but unwilling to take the rap for the seat belt violation. I had three witnesses in the car who could testify to my innocence and I went to court along with them and a lawyer who convinced the judge to drop the charge.
I was completely innocent of that seat-belt violation… but that doesn’t make me an “innocent man.” Of all the men who ever lived, only ONE deserved the title “innocent man.” Jesus was the only person to live His entire life without doing anything wrong. Yet, He was arrested, tried, convicted, tortured, and condemned to a death reserved for the worst of all criminals.
When you put the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John together, you see that Jesus endured a total of SIX trials before he was crucified. Three of those trials were before Jewish Religious Leaders … and three were before Roman Civil Authorities. Only John tells about this first trial … and since we’re in a series from the book of John, that’s the trial we’re going to focus on today.
But first, let’s review the events that led up to this night:
• On Sunday, Jesus entered into Jerusalem in triumph– hailed as KING by huge crowds. The religious leaders got nervous.
• On Monday, Jesus drove the merchants and money-changers out of the Temple. The religious leaders were furious.
• On Tuesday, the religious Leaders publicly challenged Jesus in the Temple. He came out looking good, and they came out looking foolish. So they tried to stone him, but Jesus escaped unharmed.
• On Wednesday, Jesus continued to teach in the temple. Meanwhile, the Religious leaders schemed in secret, searching for a way to secretly arrest Jesus. At some point … that day, probably … Judas Iscariot agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of Silver.
• On Thursday, Jesus met with his disciples for their Passover Celebration in the upstairs room of a Jerusalem home. We’ve come to call this “The Last Supper.”
After celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus suggested they walk to their familiar retreat at the base of the Mount of Olives, a garden called Gethsemane. Jesus knew what Judas was up to. He also knew that He was beginning a long, torturous ordeal which would lead to an agonizing death on a cross. He spent His last night of freedom praying for courage to carry out His Father’s will.
Sometime during the night, a cohort of Roman soldiers and several Jewish officers quietly surrounded the garden. As soon as Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss the assailants walked out of the shadows to arrest Jesus. Jesus offered no resistance. When Peter pulled out his sword, to fight for his friend, Jesus ordered him, "Put back your sword. Do you think for a minute I’m not going to drink this cup the Father gave me?" John 18:11 (The Message)
Here’s what happened next: Then the Roman soldiers under their commander, joined by the Jewish police, seized Jesus and tied him up. They took him first to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the Chief Priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people. John 18:12-13 (The Message)
They took him first to Annas … Annas was the head of a large, bold, unscrupulous, and degenerate family who served as Priests in Israel. The name Annas doesn’t mean much to us, but the people of that day knew this man was like “the godfather” of a religious kind of mafia.
1. The “godfather”
Annas had been appointed High Priest back around the time of Jesus’ birth. In that position, he had the same kind of power as a King might have. He held the position for about 10 years. During that time he built up a corrupt sort of empire. Annas and his family grew incredibly rich off of the proceeds of the Temple. After Annas was removed from the position of High Priest, he continued to wield power through his son Eleazar, and later through his son-in-law, Caiaphas.
So, even though Caiaphas was technically the High Priest, Annas was the power behind the position. He played a key role in the plot to arrest Jesus, and he wanted to be the first to question him. Keep in mind that both Annas and his son-in-law Caiaphas had already determined what the end of this so-called trail was to be.
About a week before, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Everyone in the area heard about this incredible miracle of raising a man who had been dead for 4 days. That’s when the Sanhedrin met and decided to find a way to do away with Jesus in secret. Listen to how John describes these events in John chapter 11:
The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. "What do we do now?" they asked. "This man keeps on performing miracles. If we let him go on, pretty soon everyone will be believing in him … and the Romans will come and remove what little power and privilege we still have." Then one of them—it was Caiaphas, the designated Chief Priest that year—spoke up, "Don’t you know anything? Can’t you see that it’s better for one man to die for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed?" John 11:47-52
That’s when the son-in-law, Caiaphas … and the “godfather” Annas … gave the order to have Jesus arrested. When they paid Judas 30 pieces of silver, it was the same thing as hiring a hit-man --- because they had already sentenced Jesus to death.
But Annas and Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin would never admit to that. They wanted to maintain the appearance of dignity. So they held court and pretended to go through the motions of a trial. The Jews were “people of the LAW.” But the trial of Jesus broke every one of their rules. If anything could be called a “Kangaroo Court,” this was it.
2. The Kangaroo Court
A document called the Mishnah records some of the rules and guidelines the Jews had for their court system. They didn’t waste any time breaking their own rules. I’ll list just a few:
No trials were to be held at night – but this trial started in the midnight hours
No trials were to be held on Sabbath Eve or during Feast Days – but this trial started at Passover … and on Sabbath Eve
All trials were to be open to the public – but this trial was held in secret
All trials were to be held in the Hall of Judgment in the temple area – but Jesus was taken to Annas’ chambers, then to Caiaphas before being taken before the Sanhedrin
Any Capital Case (which this was) had to follow a strict order --- beginning with arguments by the defense – but no one was allowed to speak in defense of Jesus at all
By the way, there were men on the Sanhedrin who might have spoken in Jesus’ defense --- but they were not invited to this secret gathering. A leader named Gamaliel should have been running the trial, but evidently he was not present. Later on, in the book of Acts, Gamaliel is the one who advised against persecuting Jesus’ Apostles.
His attitude was “If it is not from God it will fail. If it IS from God, we will not be able to stop it!” Acts 5:39 No wonder he was excluded from this gathering --- along with Nicodemous and anyone else who might have spoken up for Jesus!
According to Jewish law, no one could be Sentenced in a Capital Case until the following day … after the Sanhedrin adjourned and met to discuss the case in pairs. Then sentence would be passed in an orderly way --- starting with the youngest members so they could not be influenced by older members – but Jesus was condemned by unanimous mob action that same day
An accused person could not be required to testify against himself – but Jesus was asked over and over to incriminate himself
The High Priest could not participate in the questioning – but both Annas and Caiaphas interrogated Jesus directly
No accusation could be given unless it was brought by two or more witnesses – but not a single witness was present when Jesus was brought to trial.
John 18:19-21 tells how this fiasco of a trial started: 19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said."
Jesus turned the tables on this Kangaroo Court. He asked, Why are you questioning me? Where are the witnesses? It shouldn’t be hard to find them … I’ve been teaching every day right out in the open.”
How did these fine, upstanding, religious leaders respond to this? Verse 21 says, 22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.
23"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?"
Jesus was the ONE man who could make that statement, because He was a completely INNOCENT MAN. Jesus NEVER said or did anything wrong. He spoke only truth and he did only what His Father wanted him to do. But that didn’t stop these men. Verse 24 says, Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
3. The Innocent Man
Jesus’s trials were the scheming of corrupt men jealously guarding their power. Annas had one very personal reason for wanting to do away with Jesus. Annas and his family made most of their money from the market they set up in the Temple on Feast days. Twice Jesus had come into that Temple and driven the money-changers out. He called them a den of thieves … which was no less than the truth. When Jesus did that, he was hitting Annas where it hurt the most … in his bank account.
Proverbs 29:2 says, When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
I remember talk a while back about whether Character matters for our Political leaders. Character matters more than anything! That’s why I Timothy 2:2 says, "Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God." When our leaders have no respect for God, we are in danger of losing the freedom to worship God.
People are getting a lot of entertainment out of the race for President lately, but we need to remember that who we elect is a serious matter. We need to elect people who are not Power-Hungry. We need people who understand that ALL power belongs to God.
The truth is that all of us hold positions of some sort of power --- whether you’re a politician or a boss or a policeman or a military commander --- or a manager at work, a husband with a family, a teacher with a class, a mom raising children --- We all need to remember that our power comes from God and we are expected to use it in ways that will please God and help others.
In this chapter of John we see two extremes: the power-hungry Annas --- and Jesus --- the completely Innocent man. Annas was willing to do anything to retain his Political and Religious Power. Jesus was willing to do anything to submit to God’s Plan.
So how will you respond when you are falsely accused? If it hasn’t happened to you, it probably will. It may be something as minor as getting a ticket for a seat-belt violation. Or it may be the really hard kind of injustice that sometimes comes at work or from a divorce or from within your family.
Jesus gave a perfect example for all of us to try to follow when unfair things happen. He responded with perfect Truth and unshakable Trust. Jesus remained calm. He answered questions honestly. He spoke the truth with dignity. And most important, Jesus left his destiny in God’s hands. He calmly resolved to drink the cup His father gave Him … and to allow the Father to vindicate Him at the proper Time. We would do well to imitate Christ in our response to the injustices we experience in our lives.
CONCLUSION:
Very few situations in life are more frustrating than suffering injustice alone and unnoticed. Outrage demands justice, bitterness demands revenge, hopelessness begs heaven for relief, and loneliness cries out to be heard as a watching world stands aloof.
During those dark, painful, and lonely times, the silence from heaven can be deafening. At his so-called “trial” before Annas, it looked like Jesus stood all alone. He knew that he was not going to receive any kind of Justice from any human Judge. He entrusted His Life to the ONE who will ultimately Judge everyone in the world … with perfect Justice.
When you face those kind of trials … where you are falsely accused or treated without justice … rest assured, you are not alone. The Lord is with you in your suffering, and He will not allow it to go unanswered. God WILL see that justice is done --- though it may not be as soon as you would like. But if you keep speaking Truth and Trusting God, nothing you suffer will go to waste. In fact, your trials and troubles can be the road to God’s greatest blessings for your life.
