The Gospel of John | Priests and Witnesses – John 18:12-27
Jesus, acting as the true High Priest, stood on behalf of witness bearing falsehood of His name, taking our punishment upon Himself.
With the arrest of Jesus Christ it would seem logical that there should be some sort of religious based trial within the walls and jurisdiction of the Pharisees and temple courts. Yet, it should come as no surprise that the trial of Jesus Christ would assuredly not be a fair trial. After all, Jesus, never sinning, had committed no wrong. He had not broken any laws. Nor had he spoken any truths. The people, however, dragged him before the father in law of the high priest to accuse and question Him. Annas had been the Father in Law of Caiaphas the High Priest at that time. Moreover, the family of Annas had been well represented as High Priests throughout the history of the Temple with multiple sons and family members serving as High Priest. This beginning to the trial of Jesus Christ would be inundated with falsehood and lies as people sought any reason to attempt to smear the name of Jesus Christ.
As Jesus allegedly roused people to rebellion in the tiny city of Jerusalem, it would be advantageous to all people that this issue resolve itself quickly. Thus, Caiaphas, the High Priest at the time, sought to expedite the process, knowing that it would be better for one person to die and calm the unrest in the city than to descend into rebellion any many dying therein. While missing the obvious right in front of him, Caiaphas had been more correct than he thought. Through the death of on man, Jesus Christ, the people of God would be restored to their true and right relationship with God. Jesus serves as the true High Priest among the people. He represents man before God and stands between them and the eternal holiness of a righteous Father. For all the truth of Jesus Christ, the witnesses that stood before the priests of the day built their witness on a lie. Even Peter, fearing the reaction of the crowd would deny having been affiliate with Christ. The true witnesses to the message of Christ caved to the will of the world to condemn the true High Priest standing before God on behalf of men.
Jesus as The True High Priest
In this part of John 18, there is a juxtaposition between the ruling elites of the temple during that day and the representative of God to the people. Annas brought this idea of the ruling class that dominated the people. Even this hearing before the hearing sought to level charges before any type of trial had begun. The decision would be made long before the actual trial and Jesus would inevitably be found guilty. For Annas and Caiaphas, the goal had been to maintain the status quo of the world and cling to the power they held. Jesus, though, sought instead to deal with the issue of sin in the world that had plagued mankind since Genesis 3. The system that the Pharisees and the High Priests sought to maintain had been disastrous for mankind as people stayed condemned in their sin.
Jesus though, took on flesh to represent mankind to God as one of men. MankindIn a few sections of the modern bible translations, Jesus’ prayer over the disciples is referred to as the Priestly prayer. He prayed on their behalf for their transformation and redemption by the coming works of Jesus Christ in the world. Jesus stood before the Priest to take the punishment upon Himself that we rightfully deserved. The Priesthood had never been intended to maintain its own power and its own structure in the world but had been intended to represent mankind to God. Now, Jesus who took on flesh and lived among the people as one of them, represented the true priesthood as the only one able to fully represent mankind to God. Jesus stood in the gap, bridging the distance between God and man as the true High Priest, and taking the weight of the falsehood of the world so that those who remain in Him would live.
- How do you see Jesus representing mankind in this section of John 18? How is He serving as High Priest in this moment?
The Untruthful Witnesses
During this first part of the trial, two types of witnesses stood present in the first discussion with Annas and Caiaphas. One of the officers of the supposed court had slapped Jesus beginning the violence against Him. This had been as a result of Jesus’ claim that nothing He said had been hidden but that everything had been out in the open. This has been in stark contrast with the arrest of Jesus which has largely been in secret, hidden from the view of the people. Furthermore, this striking of Jesus for insulting the High Priest completely ignored the truthfulness of the Christ’s claim. Furthermore, Peter, who had been with Jesus and even just defended his honor, now, facing the crowd of judgment and the reality of the situation, denied Jesus and any affiliation with Him. Peter feared the repercussions of being with Christ now as He stood in chains before an unfair trial.
The people’s rebellion against Jesus Christ in this moment is just a shadow of the truth of mankind’s rebellion against God. From the start of sin, man had rebelled against the goodness and righteousness of God. Mankind knew the truth yet chose a lie instead, choosing to live as people who reject the truth and goodness of God and chose to attempt to live according to our own strength, striking God by choosing sin rather than salvation in Him. At the lowest of mankind, knowing the truth of Jesus Christ and rejecting Him still, Jesus took the punishment and condemnation we deserved, dying in our place so that we might live. Peter reminds us that, left to our own devices and our own inhibition, we rejected Christ during the time it mattered, unable to stand on our own for Him. We ultimately crave the allure of sin and exchange the goodness of God for supposed self preservation. In that moment, Christ stood alone bearing the weight of our sin that we could not bear to stand. Where we faith in truthfulness and sinfulness, Christ stood victorious on our behalf. In our failure, He is revealed to be successful. In our weakness, He is revealed to be strong.
- What is the significance of Peter’s denial of Jesus Christ three times?
Discussion Questions
- How had the ruling High Priests already made up their mind about the teaching of Jesus Christ? How does this compare with the juxtaposition of the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit?
- Why do you think Peter feared being associated with Jesus Christ when a few hours earlier, he had been willing to fight for Him?
- In what ways does the failure of Peter to remain consistent reveal the struggle of all people to follow God? What does it reveal about the strength of God?
- Why should be we thankful that Jesus Christ stood in our place rather than us? Why should we be thankful that Jesus bore the false accusations of the crowd?
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
