John 18:28-40

Jesus goes from Annas to Caiaphas to Pilate. John tells us nothing about Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas but we can find this in the other gospels.

During the trial before Pilate we see him going back and forth between Jesus and the Jews outside, whose fear of defilement has a certain irony, trying to find a way out of the situation he has been placed in. The contempt between Pilate and the Jews is evident in their exchanges. As with Annas, Jesus stays in control of his questioning by Pilate refusing to give way to the interrogation. He is not a king as Pilate understands it, his Kingdom is not an earthly one. Jesus has repeatedly refused people’s attempts to make him a king, he is not interested in an earthly Kingdom.

It seems likely that Pilate thought that by the customary release of a prisoner, i.e. Jesus, he could be done with the whole affair. However, the Jews don’t do as expected and demand the release of Barabbas, a revolutionary, leaving Pilate no choice but to continue with this ‘trial’.

Throughout these events and the ones to come Jesus remains in control of himself and sometimes those around him. One can only suppose that his total trust in his Father’s love and purposes carried him through this awful time.

Response: Choose a word, phrase, idea or action that strikes you as significant at this moment in your life and spend a few minutes reflecting on it.