Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
As we read through this final part of John’s gospel, he shows us glimpses of what Jesus’ last day was like. He also shows us who the people are there and what they are like. We see Peter deny Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest. We listen in as the high priest interrogates Jesus and condemns him. We get to know Pilate as he deals with the unruly Jewish crowd. Today, we gain a glimpse into the relationship between the Jewish leaders and Pilate.
One thing that is very clear from the stories of this day is that the Jews have almost unlimited access to Pilate. The governor is not able to hide behind bureaucrats. Instead, the Jewish leaders seem to be able to walk in on Pilate whenever they want.
In today’s passage, the Jews return to Pilate to ask that he finish killing the men on the crosses before sundown.
This entire situation starts to reek of confusion.
Just before dawn, after Jesus had been up all night praying, Judas and his small army find Jesus and take him prisoner. They walk him to the home of Annas, then to Caiaphas. After that, they lead him over to the palace of Pilate. At some point, the sun rises and Jesus is tried before Pilate. Eventually, he is flogged and then finally handed over to the soldiers. The soldiers force Jesus to carry his cross to Golgotha where he is stripped and hung on the cross to die.
Death on a cross was not intended to be quick. It was more important for the condemned to suffer. Yet after only a few hours, the Jewish leaders are asking Pilate to hasten death by breaking their legs.
From the world’s viewpoint, the Jewish leaders look a bit like the Keystone Cops. Crucifixion was not meant to be a quick death. Yet within hours of starting a process that could take days, they are asking Pilate to bring it to an end. They arrange the crucifixion on the day before a special Sabbath when waiting a few days would have taken all the pressure off. The whole thing seems desperately disorganized.
From God’s perspective, it all looks quite different. Planned since the beginning of the world, God’s plan is executed perfectly. Jesus has done every single thing required of Him. Including dying on a cross. Now all that is left is for God to raise Him on the third day.
Application: The chaos and confusion of Jesus’ last day on earth make it seem like everything was out of control. Yet from God’s perspective, everything was going exactly as planned. Faith is trusting that God is in charge, even when everything we are experiencing seems out of control.
Food for Thought: How do you see the actions of the Jewish leaders? Do they seem like people who know what they are doing or are they a bit out of sorts?
They are motivated, but yes, I agree that in their desire to kill Jesus they are not very rational. They are motivated by evil intent, but God will use for His good. His Sovereign plan has Jesus dying exactly when He should, at the time of the evening sacrifice of the Passover Sabbath. The lamb slain for the sin of the world.
Thank you, Rich!
They can dress evil up any way they want, and it still looks evil.