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, his son-in-law, and the official high priest. Caiaphas then hands Jesus over to Pontius Pilate, who wants nothing to do with any of this. He asks Jesus some questions, but finds no reason to condemn him, and why should he? 

Jesus wasn’t a murderous insurrectionist, like Barabbas, the Jewish rebel he had in custody. 

Pilate tries several times to set Jesus free, but the chief priests wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. So, Pilate has Jesus flogged, then brings him back before the people, all bloodied and beaten, and tries again to set him free. But they wouldn’t relent. 

By now, Pilate knew (or should have known) that he was being manipulated into doing the chief priests’ dirty work. He could have set Jesus free with a under Roman guard and ordered his soldiers to put down the mob. But he couldn’t afford to take that risk.

Pilate and Caiaphas weren’t exactly friends, but they needed each other to stay in power. Pilate handed the chief priests a big win, because they can go back to the Jews and say, “We didn’t kill Jesus, Pilate did!”

The real reason why they manipulated Pilate into killing Jesus was because they understood that Jesus was more than some charismatic, crackpot rabbi. They saw the signs Jesus performed. They recognized that Jesus had power they did not. They recognized that Jesus was beloved and they were not. Furthermore, Caiphas unwittingly prophesied that Jesus would die not only for the Jewish nation but all the lost children of God. So, they pursued Jesus’s crucifixion not for the sake of the Jewish nation or the lost children of God, but for themselves, and their delusional belief that what was good for them was good for all. Best of all, they spared themselves of blood guilt by getting Pilate to do it for them.

Jesus, who barely speaks this entire time, pronounces judgment on his judges. He exposed their incompetence, their weakness, their deceitfulness, and their demonic cruelty. 

Pilate asks Jesus, “what is truth?” A peculiar question for someone to ask whose life was built on lies…

The Roman Empire built itself on the lie that Caesar was God, and whatever was good for Ceasar was good for Rome, and whatever was good for Rome was good for all (including the crucifixion of an innocent man). That lie put everyone who wielded power on its behalf in a dangerous position. They had power as long as it was beneficial for those more powerful than they. And, I should add, they remained alive as long as it was beneficial for those more powerful than they.

The chief priests knew that if people abandoned them and followed Jesus, Rome might take everything away from them, including their lives. Pilate also knew that if Rome wasn’t pleased with how he was governing his Jewish subjects, he could lose everything, including his life. Incidentally, Rome deposed Pontius Pilate and Caiphas at the same time.

The truth will set you free, but the lies will hold you prisoner.

The trial of Jesus is a Carnival of Fools; a political wrestling match between men who weren’t nearly as smart as they thought and had far less power than they realized. Though they held the power of the sword they did not have the power of truth or righteousness. The Kingdom of God will judge men such as these, but not for their conquests or construction projects, but for the blood they shed to achieve their glory.

The ultimate judgment against those who condemned Jesus will be that their treachery played into God‘s plan all along. That’s how it works when God’s kingdom comes: evil destroys itself. True power, which Pontius Pilate had the opportunity to wield, isn’t about dominating others for your own benefit. True power is about setting others free. That’s the power of the cross: your freedom from death and the devil was won when Jesus surrendered himself to death and the devil. The truth by which God created all things couldn’t bear the death of the righteous one, hence the Holy Spirit raising Jesus up on the third day. And the Gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection, which many tried so valiantly to silence, has encircled the earth, robbing the kingdoms of this world of its citizens who will now live forever as the Kingdom of God. 

The world thinks that we are a carnival of fools for worshiping a crucified God, for believing in hope in this chaotic world, for proclaiming that mercy triumphs over judgment, for trusting that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. But these are the truths that set us free. The kingdoms that make gods of men, that exploit the many for the benefit of the few, that punish the innocent and reward the guilty have been put on notice: Christ is crucified. Christ is risen. Christ is king, and he is coming again. 

John 18:28-40 (NRSVue)

²⁸ Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” ³² (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

³³ Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷ Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. ³⁹ But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ They shouted in reply, “Not this man but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a rebel.