[00:00:01] Welcome to the River Church podcast. We're all about bringing the life, hope and love of Jesus to everyone around us. For more information, check out our
[email protected] if you are following along, feel free. In a Bible, feel free to turn to John 18, which I'm going to be dipping in and out of this morning.
[00:00:21] And this morning we're going to be looking at three different characters and considering how they treated Jewish Jesus and what we can learn from them.
[00:00:32] Judas, who was Judas Iscariot, Jesus friend Annas, who was the high priest, and Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor. But first of all, does anyone know what day it is in the Christian calendar today?
[00:00:47] Palm Sunday. Yes. What happened on Palm Sunday?
[00:00:53] Jesus went into Jerusalem. Thank you, Marilyn.
[00:00:57] What was he riding on? A donkey? Yes. A colt. And as in a colt, as in the donkey, not in witchcraft. Sorry.
[00:01:07] And it was a custom that if royalty was entering the city, that palm branches and coats were put on the floor because they were seeking to worship the king. And so this is the reception that that Jesus had when he rode into Jerusalem because the Jews perceived that this was the king of the Jews. He was the Messiah that had been promised. And there was lots of expectation around him. He was going to be the one who was going to liberate them from Roman oppression. He was going to declare their independence and he was going to re establish Israel so that he was going to make the nation great again and it would be like returning to the good old days under King David's reign.
[00:01:55] So he was expected to be this military leader as well.
[00:02:00] So lots of expectation around Jesus.
[00:02:04] But the night before this entry into Jerusalem, Jesus had been having dinner at Lazarus house and his sisters had been there, Martha and Mary. And after dinner, Mary had poured perfume, this super expensive perfume over Jesus and had anointed him. And Judas was at the dinner, the 12 disciples were there and Judas complained and he said, you know, you could have sold that perfume and given that money to the poor.
[00:02:36] And the thing was, he wasn't really interested in being a blessing to the poor, in giving that money to the poor. See, Judas actually was the keeper of the common purse. The disciples functioned like a community and they pulled their money, they had this money bag and it was a common purse and Judas was the keeper of it, but he used to take money out of the common purse.
[00:03:06] So the idea was that if Mary sold the perfume, the money would go into the common purse and it would just have more for Judas to thieve.
[00:03:21] But the money bag and what was in it didn't really satisfy Judas.
[00:03:25] So after dinner, he went to the chief priests and the temple guard, and he asked them, what are you willing to give me if I hand Jesus over to you?
[00:03:39] Jesus struck a deal.
[00:03:41] 30 pieces of silver, which is a pittance back in those days to betray Jesus.
[00:03:47] And a few days later, after Jesus had eaten dinner and left the house he was in and went to the garden of Gethsemane with the disciples, Judas peeled off and went in the opposite direction.
[00:04:02] And John 18, verse two, onwards, tells us now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
[00:04:15] So Judas came to the garden guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
[00:04:26] Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, who is it you want?
[00:04:33] Jesus of Nazareth. They replied, I am he. Jesus said. And Judas, the traitor, was standing there with them.
[00:04:42] This is quite shocking behavior, you know. Jesus had called Lazarus to follow him. Yep, I've got that round the right way. I'm a bit worried that I'm going to get me Jesus and my Judas round the wrong way.
[00:04:54] And the two of them, they'd spent, well, Judas had spent three years with Jesus. They'd eaten together. They had gone on long walks from one town to another together. They must have had deep conversation.
[00:05:08] Judas had seen Jesus do amazing miracles. And Judas had been discipled by Jesus. You know, he was one of the 12 disciples.
[00:05:17] They wouldn't have just had a friendship, they would have fellowshipped together. This would have been like deep brotherhood.
[00:05:24] And the problem wasn't that Judas didn't love Jesus, he just loved money more.
[00:05:31] You know, we live in a world of uncertainty, don't we? Prices have been rising since COVID And the recent troubles in the Middle east means that prices are set to rise even further.
[00:05:43] And part of our human nature is that we want to feel safe and secure. And it's easy to slip into thinking, you know, if I had a little bit more money, I'd be okay. I'd be able to make ends meet even if the unexpected happens.
[00:05:57] And it's kind of tricky to say how much money that little bit more is that we need to help us feel safe and secure. But we just like the security of thinking that we can provide for ourselves.
[00:06:10] And we'd never behave like Judas. We'd never go and steal money because we're obviously a morally upright people, aren't we? We're Christians, but We slip into pursuing money in different ways. Maybe taking those extra shifts at work or that overtime, maybe seeking to climb the career lad or creating an additional income stream through tutoring or exam marking, through blogging or vlogging on social media, through renting out maybe a possession. We have our garage or another house. And if we can't create an additional income stream, what we do is just hang on to what we have. And we lack generosity, seeking to hoard so that we feel a little bit more in control.
[00:07:02] The Bible teaches, though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
[00:07:08] Because no one can serve two masters.
[00:07:12] Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.
[00:07:17] You cannot serve both God and money.
[00:07:22] You see, it's not wrong to have money and it's not wrong to financially plan. Money itself isn't the problem, but it's our heart attitude towards it.
[00:07:33] Because if we pursue money because we perceive it gives us financial security, we become enslaved by becomes our master. And no matter how little or much we have, we start to think upon it, we start to dwell upon it and think that it will enable us to control the circumstances of our lives and keep us in the lifestyle we, we are accustomed to. It whispers that security and peace of mind is something that we can buy.
[00:08:04] And before we realize it, money starts convincing us that security comes from our bank balance and not from God. And our dependence upon God just starts to slowly drift away.
[00:08:20] Judas choice to betray Jesus revealed where his heart truly was.
[00:08:27] His loyalty was not with his king and his friend.
[00:08:31] It was to his own interests.
[00:08:36] So we're going to continue our story. Jesus is arrested, he's bound, and on this very night he is taken to the high priest's house.
[00:08:49] Now a little bit of explanation about high priests because if you are following along in John 18, it could seem a little confusing.
[00:08:58] The high priest was the spiritual leader of the Jews. And so the most devout Jews believe that once you were appointed a high priest, that was it, you were high priest for life.
[00:09:09] So Annas was viewed as the high priest. He was the really big influence. He was the biggest influence in the priestly family. He was the real power behind the priestly family. But the Romans had appointed Caiaphas. And so he held the high priest's office just for that year. But he was more like a puppet ruler, okay.
[00:09:33] And Annas responsibility as high priest was for upholding the religious law, for ensuring that the legal processes were strictly followed. And so trials, any trials needed to Be public. They needed to be during daylight hours.
[00:09:51] And Annas was responsible for maintaining order and peace and justice.
[00:09:57] And the witnesses needed to be called first to give evidence against the accused. And the temple guard was responsible for ensuring that confessions weren't coerced through violence. Okay, so let's find out what happened at Jesus trial. And as we're reading, try to reflect on what Annas is responsible for and what actually happened, because we're going to have a look in a minute at the inconsistencies.
[00:10:31] Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
[00:10:36] I've spoken openly to the world, Jesus replied. I've always taught in synagogues and at the temple where all the Jews come together.
[00:10:44] I said nothing in secret.
[00:10:46] Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.
[00:10:52] When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face.
[00:10:58] Is this the way you answer the high priest? He demanded, if I said something wrong. Jesus replied, testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me then? Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
[00:11:16] Sorry, I think I might have missed out the first line there.
[00:11:19] Anyone notice any inconsistencies between what Annas should have been doing and how he actually behaved?
[00:11:28] Do call them out. He used. Sorry, I don't know who said that. Thank you.
[00:11:32] Thank you, Nigel. Yes, he used violence.
[00:11:38] You could only strike a prisoner once he was guilty, once he was found guilty.
[00:11:44] Any idea what time of day this trial was conducted?
[00:11:51] It was at night.
[00:11:53] It was at night. So it was beyond daylight hours. So that was illegal.
[00:11:57] It was in.
[00:11:59] It wasn't public. Thanks, Sue. It was actually in Annis's house.
[00:12:03] It wasn't in the public arena, so it couldn't be witnessed by other people.
[00:12:10] The other thing is that Annas doesn't call the witnesses, he questions Jesus. Because what he's really trying to do is get Jesus talking so he will incriminate himself so that Annas can frame him.
[00:12:25] The one who is responsible for upholding law and order and for justice is actually breaking all the law. And Jesus, as he is answering Annas's questions is revealing how hypocritical Annas is being. But it's not the only reason that Annas doesn't like Jesus. See, Annas and Caiaphas, they were exploiting the common people.
[00:12:51] Under their authority, the temple court had become like a marketplace. They were selling sacrificial animals and they had a money changing system going on and they benefited from it personally.
[00:13:06] But the people had no choice but to follow this system because if they didn't, the priestly family would kick them out of the temple and they would become socially ostracized. It would have religious implications for them, but also social implications.
[00:13:22] They would struggle to make a living and get work. They would have no access to the temple. They wouldn't have access to forgiveness of sins or, or to God. So it was a really serious thing. So they had no choice but to follow the rules.
[00:13:39] But when Jesus went into the temple, he overturned the money changing tables. He drove out the animals, the sacrificial animals.
[00:13:48] He sought to cleanse the temple of corruption, which won the hearts of the people.
[00:13:56] The other thing was that Jesus offered forgiveness of sins. He was the one who healed people and he made them clean.
[00:14:04] So not only was Jesus showing that this high priestly family were hypocritical and corrupt, he was offering everything that the temple provided.
[00:14:16] Spiritual leader he wasn't.
[00:14:20] He wasn't interested in loving God through obedience to his commands.
[00:14:26] He wasn't interested in righteousness and justice. All Annas really cared about was doing the religious thing, performing the religious practice that made him look like he was devoted by God, while at the same time he was just avoiding anything that didn't benefit him personally.
[00:14:45] But Jesus threatened to disrupt the system that gave Annas his power over others and kept him in the lifestyle he was accustomed to. So Annas wanted to get rid of him.
[00:15:00] You know, all of us, whether we feel like it or not, all of us have power over other people.
[00:15:07] Maybe in your workplace, you're a manager or a team leader and you have power over your staff.
[00:15:14] You may work in health care and you have power as a doctor or a nurse or a physiotherapist or as a practice manager, over patients.
[00:15:24] You might work in the educational sector and with teachers who have power over children.
[00:15:30] Or maybe you're not in paid employment, but you contribute to the voluntary sector and you have power over people who use your service.
[00:15:41] Or you have power as you volunteer in our kids ministry.
[00:15:49] You could also have power in a social setting.
[00:15:53] Parents, we have immense power over our children.
[00:15:57] Older siblings can often have power over their younger siblings. Or maybe you're a caregiver who has power over a vulnerable adult, teenagers in the room.
[00:16:09] You also have power. You have immense power on social media to influence your peers. Your words can give life or they can injure.
[00:16:23] And all of us have power over the marginalized in our society, over the refugee, over the ex offender, over the homeless.
[00:16:34] And if you're in this room and you are a follower of Jesus already, you have power over the unbeliever, whether to share the gospel with them or not.
[00:16:46] You know, every day we are faced with choices, and our choices impact others around us.
[00:16:55] And like Annas, our human nature can tempt us to make sure choices that serve our own interests.
[00:17:03] Sometimes obedience to God means we have to face outcomes that don't look particularly attractive.
[00:17:11] For example, this week. Bit of a confession here.
[00:17:15] I like to think I'm an honest person, and I was sent a bill by a builder, and he had done some work, and I knew what to expect. And when I got the bill through, I thought, oh, that's less than what I thought.
[00:17:30] And so I had this dilemma.
[00:17:32] Do I just pay the bill and hope he doesn't notice and get away with it, or do I email him back and say, do you want to check this and give him the opportunity to kind of charge me the right amount?
[00:17:48] You see, I had financial power over the builder, but my human nature tempts me to serve my own interests, even though I think I'm an honest person.
[00:18:00] And not emailing the builder back would have gone against my own values.
[00:18:07] Annas liked having power because it meant he could look after his own personal interests.
[00:18:15] His loyalty wasn't to Jesus, it was to himself.
[00:18:23] By the way, I did email the builder back and did pay them.
[00:18:27] Okay, back to our story.
[00:18:31] The Jews take Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.
[00:18:36] And this man is responsible for upholding Roman law, okay?
[00:18:42] But the Jews, they struggle to present any real evidence against Jesus to Pilate. And so he tells them to just go and judge Jesus. Jesus by their own religious laws. But the Jews object.
[00:18:56] You see, only Rome can sanction an execution.
[00:19:00] So the Jews need Pilate to pass the law.
[00:19:08] Can't think of the word convict.
[00:19:10] Convict Jesus of treason.
[00:19:13] And he needs them to do their dirty work for them.
[00:19:17] But Pilate is worried about upsetting the Jews. You see, in the past, he's relied on violence and intimidation to control the people, and it's not gone down very well. He's not particularly popular. Several incidents have already resulted in rioting, and he can't really afford for any more riots to start because the Jews, if this mob starts rioting, and Jerusalem is packed with more Jews at the moment because they've all come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover festival at the Temple, things could easily escalate.
[00:19:54] So it's likely that Pilate was under strict instructions from Rome to make sure that there was no more civil unrest, because if there was, Pilate would be out, you see.
[00:20:05] So let's pick up the story. In John 18, Pilate went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus, and asked him, are you king of the jews?
[00:20:17] Is that your own idea? Jesus asked, or did others talk to you about me? Am I a jew? Pilate replied, your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?
[00:20:30] Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world.
[00:20:33] If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.
[00:20:40] But now my kingdom is from another place.
[00:20:45] You are a king then, said pilate.
[00:20:48] Jesus answered, you say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into this world is to testify to the truth.
[00:20:57] Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
[00:21:01] What is truth? Retorted pilate. Sounds like the politician, doesn't he?
[00:21:06] With this, he went out again to the jews gathered there and said, I find no basis for a charge against him.
[00:21:14] But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the passover. Do you want me to release the king of the jews? They shouted back, no, not him. Give us barabbas. Now. Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.
[00:21:35] Now pilate wants to establish whether Jesus is a threat to Rome.
[00:21:40] He would have known that Jesus had received a king's welcome as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
[00:21:52] And when pilate questions Jesus, Jesus admits that he is a king and that he's come to show everyone truth.
[00:22:03] But, you know, someone who was a king who was seeking to overthrow the Roman government would have ridden into Jerusalem on a horse with an army, and he would be bent on revolution, wouldn't he?
[00:22:17] Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent, so he has a choice to make.
[00:22:23] Does he do the right thing, release Jesus, risk this Jewish mob rioting, which could be the end of his career?
[00:22:33] Or does he please the jews?
[00:22:36] Execute an innocent man, avert rioting, but he can continue with his authority and his position.
[00:22:47] Pontius Pilate was a people pleaser, and I know what that's like because that's what I used to be like.
[00:22:55] I used to seek to please somebody over here, and I'd please them. But I suddenly become conscious that I'd upset somebody over here. So I'd then try and suddenly realized that as I'd pleased them, I'd hurt somebody over here. So I'd try to please this person. And it was such a stressful way of living, but it was like this ingrained Pattern of behavior, ingrained pattern of relating to people that I had in my life that I wasn't even really aware of until Jesus started to speak to me through the Holy Spirit and started to bring change to my life.
[00:23:31] And so the likelihood is that people pleasing was just an ingrained pattern of behavior that was in Pontius Pilate's life. Pleasing people and seeking their approval mattered more to Pilate than justice.
[00:23:48] And so Pilate opts for a compromise.
[00:23:51] He tries to appease the Jews by following one of their religious customs. But it backfires, because when faced with a choice, the Jews choose to release Barabbas, who was a murderer and a rebel.
[00:24:06] You see, when we're given a choice, human nature chooses rebellion against God.
[00:24:15] Pilate tries to appease the Jews again. He has Jesus mocked and flogged like a criminal. But that's not enough for the Jews.
[00:24:24] They insist that Jesus must die.
[00:24:28] And as Jesus relinquishes his right to defend himself, and as Pilate sits upon the seat he uses for official judgments, he says, here is your king.
[00:24:42] Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, take him away. Take him away and crucify him. Shall I crucify your king? Pilate asked.
[00:24:51] We have no king but Caesar, the chief priests answered.
[00:24:56] Finally, Pilate handed him over to be crucified.
[00:25:01] The Jews demand Jesus be crucified. They claim their loyalty is to Caesar.
[00:25:09] Pontius Pilate's loyalty certainly wasn't to Jesus. It was to himself.
[00:25:16] So Jesus was led away.
[00:25:19] He was nailed to a cross.
[00:25:21] He was crucified.
[00:25:24] And at noon, darkness covered the land.
[00:25:28] This was a sign of God's divine judgment being poured out on Jesus on behalf of the whole of humanity.
[00:25:37] And Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[00:25:43] As he experienced the weight of our sin and the agony of being separated from his father.
[00:25:53] And the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, signifying that God had opened up the way into his presence through his suffering and death.
[00:26:07] Jesus paid the price for our rebellion against a holy God.
[00:26:15] But Jesus also came to testify to truth.
[00:26:18] Jesus is actually the embodiment of truth. And he shows us the truth about God's character, his holiness and his love and his compassion. He shows us the truth about his kingdom, his righteousness and mercy and peace. And he shows us the truth about humanity that our human nature leads us to rebel against God.
[00:26:45] And therefore we need to be saved.
[00:26:49] And it's only by putting our faith in Jesus work upon the cross that it means that we can experience the presence of God the Father in this life and in the afterlife to come.
[00:27:07] And without faith in Jesus, we are separated from God the Father. We function like orphans without a father. And that separation from God isn't just in this life, but it continues in the afterlife as well, in hell.
[00:27:27] So I want to appeal to you that if you have never put your faith in in Jesus and sought to follow Him, I want to encourage you to do that this morning.
[00:27:41] If you have come with a friend, please speak to the friend about it.
[00:27:47] And if not, I would love to talk to you afterwards about Jesus. Come and find me and we can chat.
[00:27:55] But for those of us who have made that decision to follow Jesus, we have decisions to make every single day. And those decisions draw us toward God or pull us deeper into self reliance.
[00:28:12] Judas, Annas, Pilate. They show us how easy it is for our loyalty to drift away from God.
[00:28:20] Money, power and approval from other people never truly satisfy us.
[00:28:27] But Jesus, the embodiment of truth, he is completely trustworthy.
[00:28:33] And as we make decisions to resist the temptation to follow our own human nature and choose loyalty to our King, as we surrender to him, he shapes us, reshapes us from the inside out.
[00:28:51] Does the band want to come back? Please.
[00:28:54] And Jesus frees us from being enslaved by our human nature. And he awakens in us a desire for Him. Because it's only in knowing God as a Father that we can truly find lasting contentment and peace and be saved.
[00:29:16] So I want to invite you to just stand with me, Just like us, to have a moment.
[00:29:32] Where we just ask the Holy Spirit, maybe in the worship time this morning, maybe as I've been speaking, you feel like the Holy Spirit has just started to stir something in you.
[00:29:45] He started to reveal to you maybe an area of your life where your loyalty is divided.
[00:29:53] And he invites you this morning to come and bring that area of your life to him.
[00:30:02] To repent from self reliance, from doing our own thing, from following our own human nature, and to make a decision to follow him and surrender that area of our lives to Him.
[00:30:19] Let's just take a moment to just invite the Holy Spirit and ask him to speak to us.
