In the weeks leading up to Easter, Christians the world over spend time thinking about the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ. We are going to be spending our weeks looking at what the gospel writer John says about the last hours of Jesus’ life.
This is the worst night in Jesus’ life. Jesus is betrayed by a friend. He’s arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Every one of His good friends deserted Him. And He’s about to go through a sham of trial. Millions of believers will take the Lord’s Supper in churches all over the globe, remembering this very night on which Jesus was betrayed. Again, this is the worst night in Jesus’ life.
Now, our American culture is obsessed with criminal law. TV programs appear every single night of the week that show lawyers, investigators at work, and experts solving some juicy crime.1 In recent days, every news program has been devoted to the disappearance of Nancy Gutrie, the 84-year-old mother of the NBC Today co-anchor. We hear about “the presumption of innocence,” and terms such as “burden of proof,” and “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Why Should I Care about the Trials of Jesus?
You should care to study and analyze the trials of Jesus because…
1. The Trials Reveal Who Jesus Really Is
Jesus is surrounded by the most powerful people of His world – the priests, governors, and soldiers. Yet, He maintains control to show He’s a king.
2. The Trials Show What Your Salvation Cost
When you watch Jesus go through the injustice, the humiliation, and the rejection, you see how all these pile on up on Jesus. Jesus willingly paid this price, and your salvation was not cheap. Your gratitude and worship should only deepen as you study these trials.
3. The Trials Expose the Human Heart
In the trial narratives, we see:
• religious hypocrisy (the leaders)
• political compromise (Pilate)
• crowd pressure (the mob).
The trials show how humanity reacts when confronted with truth. The trial forces believers to ask, “How would I respond if I stood there?” Now, pause for a moment.
Religious People Killed Jesus
Let’s not blame a race of people, the Jews, for killing Jesus. Let’s be honest – it’s religious people and a religious system that sought to execute Jesus. It didn’t matter the race. You could substitute any other type of religious system - Baptist, Catholic, Hindu, or Muslim.
4. The Trials Teach Courage in a Hostile World
Jesus stands firm in the face of ridicule, power, and violence. He speaks truth without anger, fear, or compromise. For believers living in a culture that may oppose their faith, the trials become a model of faithful witness. Your motivation is this: The trial strengthens spiritual courage.
Two Overlapping Scenes
Find John 18 with me. Here in the Gospel of John are two scenes, and they’re happening simultaneously. John shows us two scenes happening at the same time.
Think of a picture with two different cameras and two different locations. You’re watching the movie where the camera shows this scene, and then it pans quickly to another scene, and both are overlapping one another. The two scenes occur at the same time: one is a courtroom scene; the other is a courtyard scene.2 Peter is in the courtyard denying Jesus, while Jesus is in the courtroom being railroaded. In the next few minutes, I’m going to ask for all your attention on the courtroom, and we will focus on Peter in the courtyard some other time.
Six Phases of a Trial
The gospels record Jesus’ trial as having 6 phases. If you remember, Jesus experienced 6 trials – 3 were religious, and 3 were civil. Now, the last night of Jesus was a night like no other. While the four gospels give us the facts of Jesus on trial, nowhere do they offer any comment on Jesus’ emotions. Nowhere do we read anything about Jesus’ physical reaction to the scourging and the flogging He endured that evening.3 We are only left to imagine how Jesus felt and how He reacted.
Spread out over these 6 phases, Jesus would have 4 judges that fateful night – Annas, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas, and Pontius Pilate. These men differed greatly, but they would agree on this: the execution of Jesus would end His movement, and no one would be talking about these events 2,000 years later. Oh, how wrong they were! While all four gospels touch on the trials of Jesus, the gospel of John offers us a comprehensive view of His trials.
Sermon Preview
1) Jesus’ Trial Before Annas
2) Jesus’ Trial Before Caiaphas
3) Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate
1. Jesus’ Trial Before Annas
“Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said” (John 18:21).
“The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” (John 18:19-23).
1.1 Setting the Scene
It’s probably really early on Friday morning now, maybe 1 am. It’s either April 7, 30 AD, or April 3, 33 AD. Jesus will not sleep all night. He’s about 8 hours from crucifixion.
Jesus is arrested and brought to Annas, the senior high priest, who interrogates him and has him beaten. The Bible says that the temple police and the soldiers led Jesus to the high priest named Annas. This was probably a brief interrogation while the Sanhedrin were being woke up. There were no charges and no witnesses. This was an illegal trial.
1.2 Annas
The sheer fact that Jesus is brought to him first gives you a sense of Annas’ importance, even if you don’t know who he is. Annas may have been the one who had masterminded Jesus’s arrest after Judas had approached the chief priests concerning his betrayal.4 John alone includes this account of a brief hearing before Annas, the former high priest and father-in-law of the present high priest, Caiaphas. Then, all five of his sons, plus his son-in-law Caiaphas, hold the office of high priest at one time or another. You can think of Annas as the founder of a religious dynasty.
1.2.1 Religious Cartel
This family was extremely wealthy, and they would have controlled a lot of the market for ritual and sacrificial goods around Jerusalem at the time.5 Maybe you brought an animal from your farm to sacrifice, and Annas’ moneychangers said your animal is no good. You need to buy our animal, and they charge you prices like you're buying a $25 Coke at Disney World. Plus, there’s evidence that the moneychangers paid the high priest rent to station themselves inside the Temple.6
1.2.2 Jesus and the Moneychangers
Remember how Jesus ran the moneychangers out of the Temple twice over an approximately 3-year time span? No wonder Annas wanted to talk to Jesus. Jesus impacted this family’s pocketbook! You think if Jesus ran out of mafia guys out of the concrete business in the NYC area, that the mafia don wouldn’t want to talk to Jesus? Annas raked in the money from the moneychangers!
1.3 Jesus is Questioned
Annas questioned Jesus about two items: Jesus’ disciples and His teaching in verse 19. “So, Jesus, how many followers do you have? Who are they, where are they, and what exactly do you teach them to believe? What’s your statement of faith?” Annas wants to know whether Jesus poses a political threat, since he knows the Romans won’t allow a civil disturbance in Jerusalem. Annas had lived under Roman rule for years, and he knew they were highly sensitive to any lawless behavior and to riots during the Passover holiday. Having no one to stand with Him or to represent Him, Jesus offers no answers about His disciples. But He will talk about His teaching.
1.4 No Self Incrimination
Beginning in verse 20, “Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said” (John 18:20-21).
This might be seen as an initial appearance in court in a modern sense.7 Jesus has a legal strategy behind His response. First, Jesus should not be forced to incriminate Himself. Since this was supposedly a Jewish trial, Jesus knew the self-incrimination was illegal according to Jewish law.8 Jesus says He didn’t teach anything in secret. Jesus tells Annas to find witnesses if He wants to execute Him. Jesus didn’t cower before the high priest as if He were guilty. Jesus challenges the religious cartel boss. Jesus’ lack of fear because this ultra-wealthy high priest would have caught everyone’s attention. Maybe Jesus does this because, after all, He’s really the true high priest.
1.5 Slapped in the Face
It is right here that an officer of the court strikes Jesus at this moment, according to verse 22. He slaps Jesus and asks, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” Do you remember some time before this that the chief priests sent officers to arrest Jesus long before this? But they didn’t slap the cuffs on Him back then. It was a Temple officer just like the guy who hits Jesus who comes back and says, “We’ve never heard anyone teach like this guy” (John 7:45-46).
How they have changed their tune since that day! Jesus was punched in the face! How’s that for a legal strategy! This officer had violated Jewish law when he hit Jesus.9
Note Jesus’ response: “Jesus answered him, ‘If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?’” (John 18:23). Jesus didn’t apologize. Jesus asks for a fair trial, but He received only more violence rather than justice.
Everyone ignores that they acted illegally, and Jesus is bound and dispatched to Caiaphas for the second phase of His trials.
1. Jesus’ Trial Before Annas
2. Jesus’ Trial Before Caiaphas
“Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest” (John 18:24).
It’s still really early on Friday morning now, maybe 2 am. Jesus is about 7 hours from His crucifixion.
2.1 Jesus and Caiaphas
Annas next sends Jesus to Caiaphas, who is actually the high priest of that time. Notice in verse 24 that it is Caiaphas who actually calls together the Sanhedrin to examine Jesus (Mark 14:53). Now, John doesn’t give us any details on Caiaphas’ interrogation. John’s gospel simply skips over to the trial and goes straight to Pilate and the Roman phase. To fill you in on the details, Caiaphas does convene the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the highest court in all of Israel - it functioned as the Supreme Court.
It could have been as early as 2 am when they got together, even though legal trials were not to convene before sunrise. The Gospel tells us they went searching for witnesses to condemn Jesus, but they couldn’t find two to agree (Matthew 26:59-60). When the witnesses fail to agree with one another, Caiaphas finally asks Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mark 14:61b). Jesus’ response is clear: “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62b). The Bible says the high priest tears his clothes and asks for a decision from the convening Sanhedrin. Mark says, “And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!; And the guards received him with blows” (Mark 14:64b-64).
2.2 Injustice
The kangaroo court explodes in outrage! They found Jesus guilty of blasphemy. This wasn’t justice. This was a setup. No real charges. No real witnesses. And no fair hearing. The verdict was already decided before the questioning ever began. What’s fascinating through all of this is this: Jesus is the only calm person in the room.
Let’s return back to gospel of John together.
1. Jesus’ Trial Before Annas
2. Jesus’ Trial Before Caiaphas
3. Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate
“Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death’” (John 18:31).
It’s still really early on Friday morning now, sometime before 6 am.10
Jesus is less than 3 hours from His crucifixion. Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin handed Jesus over to the Romans, where we pick up reading:
“Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (John 18:28-32).
3.1 Jews, Romans, and Pilate’s Authority
“Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death’” (John 18:31).
Make no mistake about it, the religious leadership wanted to kill Jesus.
But they can’t do that, and here’s why: The Romans are in charge. Rome ruled the region by a governor, and in Jesus’ day, that guy was named Pontius Pilate. Now, the Jews couldn’t execute someone legally. The Jews have no authority in their land over crimes for capital punishment. So, the Jews have to bring it into a secular court, which is why you have the civil trial. Pilate, who’s introduced in verse 29, is acting as judge, jury, and executioner, began by asking the temple authorities, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” (John 18:29). Americans have a separation of powers in our republic, but this was not the case with Roman law. Caesar placed his all-powerful rule in the hands of the governor, who had Rome’s full authority to execute someone.
3.2 The Governor’s Headquarters
Now, our scene shifts into seven episodes starting at the end of verse 28. Everyone’s out in front of the governor’s house, where we witness the outside court where “the Jews” waited, and finally, backstage, in the inner Praetorium, where Jesus was held, where Jesus and Pilate converse.
The Praetorium was the headquarters of the Roman military governor. The Mishnah says that a Jew who enters a non-Jew’s (gentile) house is ceremonially unclean. So, they make Pilate move back and forth throughout this scene. Look at the irony: the religious leadership is careful not to pollute themselves so they are able to eat the Passover…while… They manipulate the justice system to execute Jesus Christ. They take these elaborate precautions to do something religiously minor, yet violate a major biblical teaching.
Let’s pick back up on the story…
“So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber” (John 18:33-40).
3.3 Switching Charges
Let’s step back a moment to see how we arrive here. The religious leaders engineered Jesus’ conversation with Pilate because they didn’t possess the authority to execute Jesus
Jesus is before Pilate because the religious leaders wanted Jesus out of their way. They wanted Jesus to wash Jesus off their hands. Yet, these evil men were torn between two systems of law – the Hebrew code of law and the laws of Rome. The Jews didn’t hand Jesus over for execution by stoning, which was an option. Instead, they sought a political crime for Jesus, where He claimed to be a king. They switched the charge from blasphemy in the religious phase of the trial to sedition in the political phase. Now, they put Jesus before Pilate in order for Pilate to deliver the death sentence.
Jesus isn’t recorded as saying anything in the other 3 gospels during this civil phase. Only John’s gospel gives a window into one of the most intriguing conversations in history. The resulting conversation between Pilate and Jesus takes place in private quarters (the praetorium), away from the potential mob violence outside. As he questions Jesus, the Jewish religious leaders are just outside awaiting his verdict (John 18:29-31).
3.4 No Rival to Caesar
In the opening of the interrogation, Pilate asks, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Pilate wants to know if Jesus claims to be a political power. Note how Jesus responds to Pilate’s question, for there is a deliberate strategy He employs.
First, in verse 36, “No, I am not the kind of king you are thinking about. My servants don’t fight.” But just one verse later, “I am king. I was born to be a king.” At every stop along the way, Jesus refused to be the king everyone wanted. Kings have a well-defined territory. You can go to the map to see where their kingdom lies. What did the Roman legions have to fear from this solitary man?
Remember, just before our recorded conversation at Jesus’ arrest, Peter attempts to defend Jesus: “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:10–11).
Jesus is intentional here. His kingdom doesn’t move forward by political power. Jesus tells Pilate, “I don’t want my followers taking up arms to advance my cause.”
“Are you a king?” “Yes and no.” “I am not a political leader, and yet I’ll have an enormous impact on the way in which people actually live.” Jesus never came to establish a government on this earth. Yet, His reign has a gigantic impact on all governments.
3.6 Born to be a Different King
Now, take careful note … Jesus did not deny being a King. The truth is Jesus was a King, and He is a King. Jesus says so: “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born…” (John 18:37b). But Jesus did not look like a king. He wasn’t seated on a throne, but rather, He was beaten, battered, and soon-to-be crucified. Still, no king in all his pomp and majesty was more king than Jesus. Every inch of Jesus is a king!
3.7 He’s Innocent!
“After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, ‘I find no guilt in him’” (John 18:38b).
Keep in mind, up to this moment, nothing has been proven against Jesus. He has not been found guilty of anything. Every trial He had undergone was illegal. And not one reliable witness had been brought against Him … not one. On three occasions, Pilate publicly declared Jesus was innocent of any crime and didn’t deserve death. I believe Pilate was “this close” to letting Jesus go and doing the right thing, but then he began to listen to the crowd.
Jesus was completely sinless in every way. When Jesus was a little boy He never sassed His mother or father.11 He was never a moody teenager who lied to Joseph when he asked Him where He’d been. He never cheated on a test at Synagogue school. For over thirty years, He kept the law of God perfectly. Jesus was completely sinless in every way.
3.8 Barabbas
“But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber” (John 18:39-40).
Barabbas was a real revolutionary, and he was in prison. It was the custom at the Passover to free a prisoner. This is the ancient equivalent of our last-minute Presidential pardon.
Pilate comes and says, “I don’t really want to have to kill this man, so I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a choice. You want me to convict him, but let’s free a prisoner. Who shall it be? Jesus or Barabbas?” But his plan backfired on him.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that Barabbas was a murderer, a robber, and an insurrectionist. He was a really bad man. Now, Barabbas is in prison, and he is getting ready to be crucified.
Close your eyes to see the events of Good Friday from Barabbas’ perspective with me. Barabbas is thinking about the horrible pain of it all. He’s thinking about the nails in His hands. And then he hears a crowd outside calling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” He says, “Oh my gosh! It’s going to be any minute. They’re coming for me!” Then he hears the soldiers come in, open the door, and say, “You’re free to go.” It’s then that Barabbas thinks to himself, “How could I be free?” As Barabbas leaves, he looks back at Golgotha, where He sees Jesus hanging in His place. And he says, “That’s my cross. Those are my nails. And that’s my death.”
3.9 That’s the Gospel
This is the gospel. The gospel is pictured in Barabbas. Not only does your sin go to Jesus, but His reward goes to you. Barabbas is now free because of Jesus. Jesus earned a reward that Barabbas now enjoys. You are Barabbas; I am Barabbas.
Prayer
EndNotes
1 Mark Osler, Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2010).
2 Skip Heitzig, “The Darkest Night!,” Skip Heitzig Sermon Archive. (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2018).
3 Paul Barnett, The Trials of Jesus: Evidence, Conclusions, and Aftermath. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2024), 1.
4 Andreas J. Kostenberger, Justin Taylor, and Alexander Stewart, The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 104.
5 Robert D. Culver, The Earthly Career of Jesus, the Christ: a Life in Chronological, Geographical, and Social Context (Christian Focus Publications, 2002), 212. See also, Bruce Chilton, “Annas (Person),” in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1:258
6 Paul Barnett, The Trials of Jesus: Evidence, Conclusions, and Aftermath (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2024). 100.
7 Mark Osler, Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2010).
8 Mishna Sanhedrin 6.2; as quoted in Darrell L. Bock, Jesus According to Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 528.
9 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary & 2. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 1095.
0 D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 588.
1 https://gabc-archive.org/wp-content/uploads/s080220.pdf; accessed March 15, 2026.
