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John 18:28-38  JESUS ON TRIAL BEFORE PILATE

Introduction:

	In our text today Jesus is brought before Pilate, the
Roman governor for trial.  The Jews bring Him before Pilate
hoping that Pilate would give Him the death penalty.

I.  Jesus led to Pilate's judgment hall for trial

	V. 28, "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall
of judgment..."  Caiaphas was the high priest and,
therefore, was the presiding officer of the Sanhedrin
Council.  The Jews in an illegal meeting during the night
had pronounced Jesus worthy of death.  At daylight they made
that verdict official.  They plotted their strategy that
they might be able to persuade Pilate to give Jesus the
death penalty.  Then they brought Him to Pilate's judgment
hall that they might get Pilate to place a death sentence
upon Him.
	(V. 28), "...  and it was early..."  The Jewish leaders
did not waste time.  As soon as they could they carried
Jesus to the judgment hall to appear before Pilate and bring
charges against Jesus.
	Pilate would not usually be in Jerusalem, but because of
the Jewish Passover he had come to Jerusalem in the event
trouble should arise.  He would be close at hand and able to
put a quick end to the trouble. When he was in Jerusalem he
had a certain building which served as both a place dwelling
and also as an office build for carrying on all business
pertaining to Roman rule over the Jews.
	Guards would always be posted outside this building and
even though it was very early in the morning, the guards
could carry a message inside to Pilate.  (V. 28), "...and
they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they
should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover."
The Jews who brought Jesus to Pilate would not enter into
the judgment hall because it was occupied by Gentiles.  The
Jews considered that if they were to touch a Gentile or
anything which a Gentile had touched they would become
ceremonially unclean.  If they were ceremonially unclean
they  and would not be allowed to enter the Jewish temple or
to participate in the feasts or ceremonies connected with
the Jewish Passover.  The Passover meal itself had been
already eaten the evening before.  But there were other
feasts and ceremonies connected with the Passover yet to
follow and they did not want to miss out on those activities.

II.  Charges placed against Jesus

	V. 29, "Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What
accusation bring ye against this man?"  So one of the guards
carried a message to Pilate, who was inside, and Pilate came
outside to meet with the Jews.  Pilate inquired of the
Jewish official what charges they had against Jesus.
	Instead of giving Pilate a straight answer, the Jews
gave him a very smart alack answer.  V. 30, "They answered
and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not
have delivered him up unto thee."  In effect what they said
was this.  "If He were not a criminal we would not have
brought Him to you."
	We can see that those Jews were not getting off to a
good start with Pilate.  First off, they would not even come
inside to present their case and that alone was insulting to
him.  Secondly, they gave him a smart alack answer to his
question.
	John does not at this point make it clear that they
charged Jesus with anything.  However, Luke makes it clear
that they then presented three charges against Him.  In Luke
23:2 we read, "And they began to accuse him, saying, We
found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to
give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a
King." So they made three charges against Jesus.  First,
that He was a trouble maker and had stirred up trouble
throughout the land.  Second, that He had forbid the Jewish
citizens to pay taxes to the Roman government.  Third, that
He had proclaimed Himself to be the King of the Jews instead
of the Roman Caesar.

III.  Pilate's attempt to avoid presiding in the case

	Pilate was not impressed with their charges.  His first
answer to them was that they should take Him and try them
according their own Jewish laws and customs.  He thought
they had some problem involving their religious matters and
he did not want to get involved in their religious
differences.  So he instructed them to take care of the
matter.  V. 31, "Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him,
and judge him according to your law..."  Apparently the Jews
had not told Pilate that they had already tried Him in their
religious court.
	(V. 31), "...The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not
lawful for us to put any man to death."  Yet in effect, they
now tell him, "We have already tried Him in our religious
court and have found Him worthy of death, but we are unable
under Roman law to pronounce the death sentence upon Him.
Therefore, we bring Him to you."  They make it clear to
Pilate that what they want from him is a sentence of death.
	V. 32, "That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled,
which he spake, signifying what death he should die."  What
the Jews had originally planned for Jesus was that they
would quietly arrest Him away from the crowds of people, and
that they would quietly kill Him and nobody would know that
they had been involved.  That plan did not work out. Jesus
knew that it would be the Romans who would sentence Him to
death and had already prophesied that He would be crucified.
This method of death penalty was not used by the Jews, but
rather by the Romans.

IV.  Pilate's interrogation of Jesus

	V. 33, "Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall
again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the
King of the Jews?"  So the Jewish officials met with Pilate
outside the governor's judgment hall and turned their
prisoner over to Pilate.  They then pressed charges against
Him and Pilate carried the prisoner inside the judgment hall
away from the Jews to interrogate the prisoner and have the
trial.
	The Jews had charged Him with stirring up trouble
throughout the land.  Pilate just ignored that charge.  If
Jesus had been stirring up trouble anywhere in this nation,
he would have heard about it very quickly.
	The Jews had charged Him with forbidding the Jewish
people to pay taxes to Caesar, that is to the Roman
government.  Pilate likewise dropped that charge.  If
anybody, Jesus or anybody else, had been interfering with
the collection of taxes that most surely would have been
reported to him.  So Pilate knew that was a lie.
	But when it came to the charge that Jesus had proclaimed
Himself to be King of the Jews, Pilate could not just drop
that charge --- at least not without an investigation to see
if there were anything to the charge.
	So inside his judgment hall away from the Jews where
they could not interrupt and interfere, Pilate  asked Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?  Do you claim to be the King
of the Jews?"
	Jesus will answer that question, but first He Himself
asks a question.  V. 34, "Jesus answered him, Sayest thou
this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?"
Let me paraphrase.  Jesus said in effect, "Have you had any
reports through your own officers which gave you  reason to
suspect that I am trying to take the throne away from the
Roman government?  Or have you been listening to the false
accusations from my enemies?"  Jesus wanted it to be clear
to Pilate and clear to all that He was being falsely
charged.
	V. 35, "Pilate answered, Am I a Jew?  Thine own nation
and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast
thou done?"  Let me put Pilate's answer in my own words.  He
said, "Listen! I am not your enemy.  Your own people, the
Jews are your enemy.  It is your own people who have made
the accusations against you.  And furthermore, these
accusations have come from the very top officials in the
Jewish religion.  Listen!  These are serious charges and
these are credible witnesses who have brought these charges.
I cannot just drop these charges."  You are going to have to
answer this charge."  Of course, we know that Jesus was not
trying to get him to drop the charges.  He was just trying
to make the point that these men were making the charges
against Him and that they were making their charges out of
prejudice.

V.  The answer which Jesus gave to Pilate's question

	V. 36, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this
world..."  Jesus could not deny that He was a king.  In
fact, He had no intention of denying that He is the King of
the Jews.  And yet He in no way was trying to set up a civil
government over the Jews nor over anybody.  Jesus was the
King in a spiritual kingdom.
	(V. 36), "...if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to
the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."  Jesus
said, "If I were a King over an earthly kingdom, then my
subjects would be fighting for me to protect me from the
Jews who are trying to kill me.  But I am not the king of an
earthly kingdom."  Let me say to you, that if Jesus had
attempted to lead His disciples into battle against the
Jewish officials or even against the entire Roman army, He
would have easily won the battle.  But, of course, the point
that He was making was that He simply did not have an
earthly governmental kingdom --- at least not at that time.
	V. 37, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king
then?  Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king.  To
this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the
world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.  Every one
that is of the truth heareth my voice."  To paraphrase Jesus
said, "I am the King in a spiritual kingdom.  I am a king
whose purpose is to bear witness of truth.  Everyone who
receives and believes my truth is in my kingdom."

VI.  Pilate's verdict

	V. 38, "Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?  And when
he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith
unto them, I find in him no fault at all."  Pilate had heard
enough.  He went back outside where the Jews were awaiting
and he announced his verdict to them.  He announced to them
all that Jesus was not guilty.  He not only found Him not
guilty of the charges which had been made against Him, but
he found no other fault in Him.  He found no fault in Him at
all.  That was the verdict and that should have ended the
matter.  But, as you all know, it didn't.  To tell you the
truth, we ought to be glad it didn't.  Our salvation
depended on Jesus being crucified.

VII.  Some things I want to point out to you

	I am not going to proceed further into the trial.  What
I want to do is to point out some things that involve us in
a very personal way.
	Jesus said that He is the King of a spiritual kingdom.
There are actually two great spiritual kingdoms.  One is
commonly described in Scripture as a kingdom of light and
righteousness.  This is a kingdom which is made up of people
who have received the truth that Jesus mentions in our text.
It is a kingdom which is made up of people who have believed
the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is made up of people who
have been born again.  They have been saved by the grace of
God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  These people
have recognized that they are sinners and not worthy of
going to heaven.  Never-the-less, they will be in heaven
because they have repented of their sins and trusted in
Jesus Christ to save them from the penalty of their sins.
	The other great spiritual kingdom is commonly referred
to in Scripture as the kingdom of darkness and sin.  The
king of this kingdom is none other than Satan, himself.  The
people who make up this kingdom are those who have rejected
the truth that Jesus represents in the world.  They have
rejected the gospel message which Jesus has sent to be
preached throughout the world.  Many of them have rejected
religion of any kind.  Most of them are very religious, but
they have chosen to believe some false gospel rather than
the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They have put their faith in
some plan of salvation that depends on their own good works
to get them into heaven.  Many of them hold membership in
Christian church.  Many of them are preachers or Sunday
school teachers or officers some kind of church.  Some of
them may even hold an office in a Baptist church.
	But all who are in Satan's spiritual kingdom are lost in
their sin.  They have never been born again.  They may have
been baptized or at least ducked, but they have never been
born again.  Most of the Jewish leaders who were members of
the Sanhedrin Council were in this kingdom.  Judas Iscariot,
who was a member of the Lord's church and was one of the
twelve apostles was in the Devil's Even Pilate was in
Satan's kingdom.  We have no way of knowing just who all is
in it today.
	But what I want you to know is that anyone who is in
this kingdom is headed for the wrong place.  He is not on
the narrow road that will lead to heaven, but instead is on
the broad road that leads into the Lake of Fire and
Brimstone.
	It is vitally important that each person put himself on
trial and ask himself a few key questions to determine if he
is in the Lord's kingdom and headed for heaven or if he is
in the kingdom of darkness and is headed for the Lake of
Fire and Brimstone.
	If you will allow me I will direct the questions for
you.  First, let me question you about your sins.  Do you
realize that you have broken the laws of God?  Do you
realize that it is no light thing to break the laws of
Almighty God?  Do your realize that there is a far greater
penalty for breaking the laws of God than there are for
breaking the laws of the State of Texas or the laws of the
United States of America?  Do you realize that you are in
danger of spending eternity in God's prison suffering for
the spiritual crimes that you have committed?  Do you
realize that there will be no early release for good
behavior nor because of an overcrowded prison?
	Do you understand that God loves you in spite of your
sin and wants you to be with Him in glory in eternity?  Did
you know that this is why Jesus Christ went to the cross?
Jesus was not playing fun and games when He went to the
cross of Calvary.  He suffered untold agony.  He died there
in order that He might provide for each of us a way whereby
we could be saved.
	But do you realize that in spite of His love for you,
God will not save you and take you to heaven until you call
upon Jesus Christ and trust in Him to save your soul?  There
is no way that you can turn over a new leaf and get to
heaven by your good works.  The very best of your good works
is not good enough to get you into heaven.
	It takes the power of God to save your soul and to
produce the new birth within your soul.  When you die, it
will take the power of God to carry your soul away to heaven
and make sure that it does not go to the wrong place.  After
your body has decayed and gone back to the dust again, it
will take the power of God to put your soul back in that
body and bring it forth out of the grave to live forever
with God.
	There is no way you can make it to heaven without Jesus.
But if you will place your faith in Jesus Christ, then the
mighty power of God will make sure that you make it there.

Conclusion:

	There are two main questions:  Up to this point of time
have you ever placed your eternal destiny in the hands of
Jesus Christ to take you to heaven?  If not, then are you
ready to do so today?