This entry is part 9 of 13 in the series John 13-21

John 13-21

Gospel according to John, Chapter 18:  Read &/or listen from the Bible.

5/ Peter Denies Jesus again                  – Jn.18:25-27
6/ Jesus Before Pilate                               – Jn.18:28-38
7/ Jesus Sentenced to Die                      – Jn.18:39-40

In this second part of the Gospel according to John, Chapter 18, we continue with the narrative of the arrest of Jesus:

5/ Peter Denies Jesus again                  – Jn.18:25-27

25 Meanwhile Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “Are you not also one of His disciples?”

He denied it and said, “I am not!”

26 One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of the man whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” 27 Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

We learned on John Chap. 13 that Jesus had already predicted Peter’s denial :

“36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” 37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”   38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.

In those days, when someone made the comment “before the rooster crows,” it would have been commonly understood to mean the crowing at daybreak. When we read the other Gospel accounts we find they mention, that right after denying the Lord for the third time Peter went out & wept bitterly:
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly. 63 The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.… ( Luke 22:61-63).
But Jesus didn’t rejected Peter, he was forgiven. Jesus personally appeared to Peter after His resurrection, & a restored & fearless Peter preached the first sermon on the day of Pentecost. Peter’s denial & the rooster was recorded in all 4 gospels.
Now when I hear a rooster crow it reminds me of this story & the need for us to be watchful, because before His arrest Jesus was praying in the garden & asked His disciples to do the same, but they had fallen sleep : “Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt.26:38-41). That’s exactly what happened to Peter, when later that same night he fell into temptation & denied the Lord, but the rooster’s crow helped to remind him his weakness & the words of Jesus full of truth.

6/ Jesus Before Pilate                               – Jn.18:28-38

28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was early. Yet they themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. 29 Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

30 They answered him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have handed Him over to you.”

31 Then Pilate said, “Take Him and judge Him according to your law.”

The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” 32 that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying what death He would die.

33 Again Pilate entered the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking of your own accord, or did others tell you about Me?”

35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight, that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here.”

37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “Then are You a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him at all.

Jesus predicted many times his arrest & death to His disciples (Mark 10:32-33), but He willingly accepted to die on the cross for us.
The word Praetorium denotes the seat of a Roman military governor. The Gospel of John mentions only that Jesus was sent to Caiaphas, and then Caiaphas sent Jesus to Pilate. John focused on Jesus’ appearance before the Roman leader, Pontius Pilate.
Notice these men would not enter the Praetorium, because, according to the law, if they entered the house of a non-Jew, they would become contaminated and it would not be possible for them to eat the Passover. So they were very religious or legalistic! They refused to break a relatively small commandments regarding ceremonial defilement. However, they broke a more serious commandments by rejecting God’s Messiah and condemning an innocent man to death.
Pilate asked what is truth?  And Truth was standing right in front of him. Jesus, the only Son of God, was speaking truth to him at that very moment. The truth wasn’t a theory or an equation that many Greek philosophers searched for; Truth was God in the flesh dwelling among us. Anyone who wants truth that doesn’t change, must find it in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 
Jesus did not come to rule over an earthly kingdom. He came to bear witness to the truth of who He is—the Messiah, the Savior of the world.  –Do you believe Him? If you do, then invite Him & receive Him into your heart, learn His words/teachings & follow Him. When you do this you become part of His kingdom & He becomes your King.

7/ Jesus Sentenced to Die                      – Jn.18:39-40

39 “But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

40 They all shouted again, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Pilate knew Jesus was innocent & tried to release Him, but the religious leaders had incited the people to demand the freedom of Barabbas a thief, & crucify an innocent man.

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