Jesus and the Carnival of Fools: John 18:28-40 - Fourth Sunday in Lent
Welcome to the Carnival of Fools, otherwise known as the trial of Jesus Christ. The story is so familiar that it’s easy to miss all its absurdity. For starters, why did they put Jesus on trial when they had already found him guilty? This wasn’t the United States. The temple guards could have ended Jesus right there in the Garden of Olives, the moment Judas Iscariot pointed him out. Even though Roman law forbade the chief priests to enact capital punishment, they still tried to stone Jesus to death several times. And there wasn’t one trial, but three trials. And in the gospel of Luke, there are four trials, but nobody wanted to pronounce judgment. The first trial is before Annas, the former high priest. Even though Rome had deposed him, he still held wielded tremendous authority within the religious establishment. He questions Jesus about his disciples and his teaching, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t render final judgment. Instead, he hands Jesus over to Caiaphas, ...
