The Truth On Trial

Chaos rarely announces itself. It just shows up as pressure, confusion and that split second where you decide whether to stand with Jesus or quietly step back. We walk through John 18 and watch two kinds of courage collide: Peter’s shaky courage that crumbles under a simple question, and Jesus’ calm strength as He faces interrogation, violence and a rigged system without abandoning truth. Along the way we talk about the enemy’s agenda to steal, kill and destroy, and why spiritual warfare should make us aware but not afraid. 

We also dig into the messy power dynamics behind Annas and Caiaphas, showing how a God-given office can be twisted into a political machine. It’s a striking reminder that religious legalism can look “holy” while missing Jesus completely. That theme hits hard when the leaders refuse to enter Pilate’s house to avoid defilement even as they press for an innocent man’s death, and it challenges us to ask where our own rules and reputation can replace real faith. 

Then Pilate steps in with the question that still echoes today: “What is truth?” Jesus answers with more than words, describing a kingdom not of this world and offering truth that changes a life. The crowd’s choice of Barabbas over Jesus closes the scene with a warning about manipulation and a hope-filled reminder that Christ still brings abundant life, forgiveness and restoration, even after failure. 

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Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

The author of Chaos is still working today, even though his power has been taken away, and it's hard for me to put my head around, but he's still causing trouble. The enemy. Satan, who, like Barabbas, is a robber. In fact, John in John 10:10 said the thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. That's been Satan's operandi from the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Unfortunately, Satan is still working in our midst. He is trying to trip us up and distract us any way possible. The enemy hasn't yet been killed, but he has been overpowered. Just because the devil is still working doesn't mean our good God isn't also working. In today's message, Pastor Carl will teach you that you need to be aware of the devil's schemes, but not afraid. You serve a God who has not lost one battle. He will come through for you and be with you for every fight you face. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

Annas was not a Levitical Jew. I forget what background he has, but the point is, I think even before him, the Rome, the Caesar was beginning to appoint high priests for Israel. And he was appointed a little bit after Jesus was born in 6 A.D. So Annas was appointed by Caesar Augustus, and he was the high priest while Quirinius was the governor of the area. Anybody remember that name? He was the same governor that was there at the time of the census that was taken when Jesus was born that brought Mary and Joseph down to Bethlehem. You following that? So then now Annas, he was appointed a little bit after that, and he reigned from 6 to 15. And then after that, a lot of his sons came along and uh were put into that. It's kind of in 15, the the Caesar at that time took him out of that role, but he still had amassed so much power and reputation that uh he was kind of still in charge of the whole high priestly office. And so he was kind of in charge, but the the high priests that were appointed after him were basically under him. So he was the high high priest, and the high priests were under him, which included, you know, his sons. And his second son, which was actually his son-in-law, Caiaphas, is the one that we're talking about at this time. So you had Eleazar, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Theophilus, Matthias, and another Annis that was uh named after him, and then a couple of others that came along. But there's another interesting name in there, too. Anybody catch that? Theophilus. Theophilus is one of his sons that was later a high priest. The person that wrote this website makes the case that that is the Theophilus that Luke was writing to in his gospel and in the book of Acts, to convince him that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. How interesting if that if that's the case, isn't it? So that's kind of the history there. So this is not the way that the high priesthood was was meant to be. It was not the way that God set it up to be. It was something that the Roman government set up, and these people that went into those positions grabbed a hold of that power and didn't want to let it go. So Annas still had great power and authority. So they went to him first. And then he said, Oh, we need to do this the right way. You need to go to the real high priest right now, and he sent him over to Caiaphas. And then Caiaphas would send him over to Pilate. Now, in the meantime, back in our study, verse 15, Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Who is that other disciple? John always has a way of not talking about himself in first person, so he talks about himself in second person. So John and Peter were following Jesus. Now that disciple, John, was known by the high priest and went in with Jesus into the high into the courtyard of the high priest. So we don't know exactly what kind of relationship John had with the high priest, but somehow he had enough that he was welcomed in to walk with Jesus in this situation. But Peter stood at the door outside. And then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door and brought Peter in. It's okay, he's with me, he can come. Now Peter didn't have that same mindset where it seemed like John really wasn't afraid of the situation. He had some inroads, and he said, We can go in here and we can be with our Lord during this time. But Peter didn't really think that way. And the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, Are you not the one of this man's disciples? Are you not also one of this man's disciples? Are you? He said, I am not. I got to think in this situation that John is thinking, um, I am one of his disciples. I have influence as well. I'm going in with my Lord, and it's gonna be fine. Uh Peter didn't have that same mindset. Peter let fear take over him, and she's letting John in, and she knows John is a follower, and now she's letting Peter in. She's are you one of his followers too? Like John? And Peter says, No, no. No, no. It's interesting, isn't it? I am not. Now the servants and the officers who had made a fire of coal stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves, but Peter stood with them and warmed himself as well. So once he got in, he stood by this fire with these other folks, and they began to ask him questions too, which we'll talk about a little later here. Then the high priest asked Jesus about his disciples and his doctrine, and Jesus said to them, I spoke openly your word. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me and what I said to them. Indeed, they know what I said. I'm not going to stand here and defend myself. I have declared the truth in open for everybody to hear. You've heard it time and time again. I we are not scheming anything behind closed doors. We're not scheming an insurrection. We're just doing what we're doing, and I've come here to save the world. And if you don't believe me, ask all the others that heard me. You heard me, but ask the others as well. And when he had said these things, one of the officers who stood by him struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Do you answer the high priest like that? How dare you speak with such disrespect to the high priest? The high priest that was not appointed by God, the high priest that was not supposed to be there. Never mind those facts. And the one that teaches between right and wrong, between sin and righteousness, is standing before him, and he's the one that he's the servant is slapping. Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why do you strike me? Again, appealing not only to everybody, but to that one specific person who's who who slapped him. Think about what you're doing. Think about what you're saying. What have I done that has broken the law? Because he's just spent three years of his life fulfilling the law, declaring himself to be the author of the law. And yet he's being accused of breaking the law, which he has not done. Then Anna sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. You go deal with him. Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself, and therefore they said to him, You are not also one of his disciples, are you? And he denied it, saying, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, Did I not see you in the garden with him? In fact, weren't you the guy who took my my relative his ear off? And Peter denied again. And immediately a rooster crowed. What a crazy scene, isn't it? I wonder what Peter could have said otherwise. He could have said, Yeah, I was in the garden. And yeah, I did cut off your relative's ear, and but Jesus healed your relative's ear. Wasn't that amazing? Don't you realize that this is the savior of the world? Instead, he turned in uh inside of himself, and and he was overwhelmed with fear, and he denied. Have you found that in your life? You're in a strange situation and you don't know how to answer the question. Oh, may the Lord give us boldness to stand up and not deny the Lord, but to declare the goodness of the Lord and use it as an opportunity to share the gospel, not caring what it would do to us. So in verse 28, they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. They don't, John doesn't really talk much about what happens with Caiaphas. And it was early morning, but they themselves did not go to the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. So here's where the legalism of it falls in. The supposed spirituality of these Jewish leaders who are arresting Jesus and taking him to Pilate, but they wouldn't go, they wouldn't dare step into Pilate's house, the judgment seat, because obviously Pilate is evil, and we are good, and we need to not be defiled because we have a Passover to celebrate here, and we need to be part of that. How often do we get caught up in rules and regulations and we miss Jesus? That's exactly what happened with them. If we look at things from our limited perspective, we will do crazy things. We will call things evil and good that realistically, from God's perspective, are all evil. Every one of us are evil. We've been born as sinners, and yet it's the grace of God that makes us righteous before God, makes us right before God, justifies our sins and gives us an ability to stand before the Lord and worship and in fellowship. Well, Pilate then went out to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? And they answered and said to him, If he were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him up to you. Boy, that's does that not sound like a classic non-answer? And I don't know if you've watched a lot of the political going that's on in the last year, but there were a whole lot of non-answers given this year, weren't there? I asked a specific question, what did he do? Well, if he didn't do something bad, we wouldn't have been taking them to you. Okay. Well, thank you for your clarity. Then Pilate said to them, You take him and judge them according to your law. I don't want anything to do with this. If you got a problem with him, you take care of him. And therefore the Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death, because you in Rome have taken that authority away from us. Only you can do that. That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying what death he would die. How would he die? He would die on a Roman cross. And he he shared that many times. It had to be this way. Um, but of course, the the the Jewish leaders aren't taking him to Pilate because they knew Jesus said that he would be crucified on a cross, so this must happen. Uh, it wasn't like that at all. They were just trying to get rid of him, and and they were tied up because of the rule of the law, and this was the only way that they could do it. So they're bringing him to Pilate, and they're not they're not coming with a a good argument of why Pilate should put him to death, but just with loud noises, with with with protests, saying, You gotta do this, or we're gonna start a riot, basically, and that's what Pilate is afraid of because he has a history of not dealing with people in the right way. And he's, if I understand it right, he was on his last straw with the Roman government and he didn't want to mess up this situation. So he had to figure out in his head what is the right thing to do in this situation. And then Pilate answered, entered the praetorium again, and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews? He wants to find out from the mouth of the accused what is going on. What what did he do wrong? And one of the problems is he's he's called himself the king of the Jews, and Jesus answered and said, Are you speaking uh for yourself about this? Or did others tell you concerning me? Are you interested? See, here's his heart again. Jesus wants to see Pilate saved. Do you want to know because you want to know? Or do you want to know because of what they're saying in the corner that they're putting you in? And Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priest have delivered you to me. What have you done? What in the world, man, have you done? Why are you here? I don't need this trouble. Maybe I could free you or or make something good out of the situation. Give me a good reason. And Jesus said, Well, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight and so that they should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. In other words, I am a king, but I don't I'm not coming to thwart your position or any of Rome's position, at least not at this time. I've come as a suffering servant to open up the kingdom of God to anyone who would believe. And you could just imagine Pilate saying, Oh, you're you're you're a king of another world. You're you're you're you're not talking about taking over, you're not talking about insurrection, you're not talking about, you know, calling out war against Rome. You're just a guy who has a philosophy that you're sharing with other people, and uh you're a little wacky, you know. I I just don't understand this. I don't know what to do with you. So Pilate therefore said to him, You are a king, then. And Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king, for this cause I was born, and and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. And again, you can hear his appeal to Pilate. Do you want to hear the truth? Do you want to be changed by what I have to offer? And what we know, as believers, we know what he's talking about, don't we? For this cause I have come into this world. What cause? To secure our salvation. He's come to defeat the the kingdom of darkness. He's come to bring light to the world, he's come to make a way where there was no way. His first coming was all about his death. He was born to die as the perfect Lamb of God, sinless man, the only sinless man that ever lived, and the only one who could do this job that needed to be done. That is why he came. And whoever believes in this would not perish, but understand the truth, to walk in the truth, that he is the truth, the way, truth, and life. And Pilate said to him, What is truth? There's so many opinions, so many perspectives in this world. How can there be an absolute truth? When indeed the truth is standing right before him. And when he had said this, he he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him at all. He's a little goofy, but why is that a problem? You got a lot of goofy people. You could probably start pointing out it's the high priest and the leaders. Y'all are all goofy. 39. But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the king of the Jews? Giving them an out, giving him an out, giving Jesus an out, placing the opportunity before them. Look, really, guys, this guy is not a problem. And we can we can let him go honorably with this custom. How about it? And then they all cried out again, saying, Not this man but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. And the chosen, their adaptation of this, their interpretation, their presentation of this was very interesting. It showed that how the leaders gathered a crowd of people that would say the things that they want them to say, almost like they paid them to do it, which we see a lot today, don't we? In these riots and these protests at schools. People are paid to come in and start this problem. And so this crowd would be brought in that would say, Barabbas, Barabbas, Barabbas. And the followers of Jesus who knew the truth had the gates shut on them. They couldn't come in to say, Let Jesus go. Let Jesus go. And how interesting, because that very well may be how it how it went down there. Because we see those same things happening today, because the author of chaos is still working today, even though his power has been taken away. And that's hard for me to put my head around, but he's still causing trouble. The enemy. Satan, who, like Barabbas, is a robber. In fact, John in John 10:10 said, the thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. That's been Satan's operandi from the beginning. And it continues today. Why are we so surprised at some of the things that happened that are so much like things that have happened in the past and in the way distant past? It's because the same one is doing it. Do we realize that Satan has come to kill, steal, and destroy? But Jesus has come that uh they may have life and they might have it more abundantly. This is the love of God that sacrificed himself, his heavenly abode, to become one of us, to be born in a stable, to live a life of misunderstanding. His brothers and sisters didn't understand who this guy was. His disciples, you know, they really didn't get it until after the resurrection, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. And in his own, the Jewish people rejected him, mocked him, scorned him, crucified him so that we would have life more abundantly. And that is really when Jesus says to come together and to remember his body and his blood. That is what we are to remember. That he's come to bring us life. He's come to bring us wholeness. And in order to do that, he went through great pains, great rejection, death. He was rejected so that we would be accepted. He was killed so that we would be given life. He was broken so that we would be healed. Lord, we do take the time to consider what you've done. And we begin to look at the scenes and the significance of all that has happened. At least I begin to realize there's so much more there that I don't even get a grasp of. And Lord, we rejoice that you forgave Peter and you restored him, and you used him in powerful ways to build your church, which gives us hope as well. Lord, accomplish your work in and through our lives. Help us to surrender to you and allow you to have your way with us. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

That's Pastor Carl of the Mountain Cross on Come On Up. We're currently going through the book of John. We're so glad you've been with us, and we know there's so much to get out of this gospel book. One of the most powerful moments is in a well-known passage in John chapter 3. Jesus is meeting with Nicodemus and explaining what it means to be born again, not physically, but spiritually. As you might have memorized, Jesus speaks this to Nicodemus, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a promise from God! It sounds so easy, right? But sometimes the pressures of life can push you further away from wanting a relationship with God. Let me tell you, the most important decision you'll ever make is being in right relationship with God. He wants you with him for eternity. So don't be waiting around for the right moment. The best time to choose Jesus is now. If you'd like to learn more about what all of this means, head over to themountencross.com and click on How to Know God. The Mountain Cross is a group of believers in Jesus who seek to grow in faith by simply teaching the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We meet on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville. We look forward to worshiping with you. Well, that's all for today, but come on up to the mountain with us again as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come On Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.