Jesus on Trial

Posted on Oct 10, 2019

In its year-long journey through the Gospel of John, WHITE HORSE INN (Sun 800, Tue 1500, Fri 200) arrives at chapters 18 and 19, recounting Jesus’ arrest and trial.

When a band of soldiers arrive at the garden of Gethsemane seeking to arrest Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus turns to them and says, “I am he.” In fact, this short phrase appears three times during this part of the narrative, which means that John is placing special emphasis on these words. So why are they significant, and what effect do they end up having upon the hearers? This on “The Arrest and Trial of Jesus”, the week of October 6.

When Jesus is brought before Pilate, he is essentially accused of being a kind of rival king, a usurper to the throne. He replies, “My kingdom is not of this world.” What are the implications of this statement for us as Christians? For example, should believers separate themselves from the world? The second week of October, the hosts discuss the significance of Pilate’s words—“Behold the man”—as he presents Jesus to the crowd wearing a purple robe and a crown of thorns.

In John 19 we’re told that Pilate delivered Jesus over to the chief priests who led him out of the city to the place of crucifixion. If the chief priests were basically in charge at this point, where might they have taken Jesus? The book of Hebrews gives us a hint when it says that Jesus suffered “outside the camp” (13:12), which turns out to be a specific location mentioned in the Old Testament as well as in a variety of second Temple sources. The week of October 20, the hosts will discuss the meaning and significance of Golgotha.

In the last program of the month, Shane Rosenthal sits down with Justin Holcomb, author of Rid of My Disgrace, to discuss the latter half of John 19. What is significant about the fact that Christ’s garments were divided up among the soldiers, or that he experienced thirst while suffering in our place on the cross? Why does John seem to emphasize the fact that blood and water flowed when a soldier pierced his side?