John 18:28 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.

NIV: Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

NASB: Then they *brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

CSB: Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

NLT: Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.

KJV: Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

NKJV: Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

At this time, Caiaphas was the man currently recognized by the Roman government as Israel's high priest. John skims over the details of Jesus' sham trials with the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:55–65), which is why Jesus was secretly arrested and brought the Caiaphas' home (John 18:12–14). Long before Jesus was taken into custody, these religious leaders had already decided to have Him killed (John 11:49–53). As the high priest, Caiaphas has some authority from Rome to punish criminals and those who violate Jewish law.

That authority does not include the death penalty, however, and Jesus' enemies want to ensure He's executed. That means taking Him to the Roman governor, Pilate, and attempting to paint Jesus as a seditionist. They will lean heavily on mob tactics and the threat of civil unrest to coerce him into executing an innocent person (John 19:12–15).

The scribes and Pharisees avoid Pilate's residence due to their interpretation of Old Testament law. Their belief was that close contact with Gentiles, including entering their homes, would make a person ceremonially unclean. Since this is immediately before Passover, they don't want to make that mistake.

John 18:28–40 describes Jerusalem's religious leaders taking Jesus to the local Roman governor. While Jewish authorities are allowed punish blasphemers, Roman law will not let them administer the death penalty. Jesus is too well-liked to be assassinated, so His enemies will attempt to paint Him as a rebel against Rome. In a private interview with Pilate, Jesus claims His role as King, but also notes that His purpose is not yet to rule an earthly kingdom. Pilate attempts to appease the crowd, trying to spare a clearly innocent man, but a mob has formed to demand Jesus' death. John continues his habit of skipping details offered in other Gospels. He does not repeat the account of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:55–65), nor the part of Pilate's investigation where Jesus is sent briefly to Herod (Luke 23:6–12).

Jesus is secretly, quietly arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and taken to a series of sham trials before Jewish leadership. This leads to His encounter with the local Roman governor. Jesus accepts being described as "King" but denies that His current purpose is earthly rule. A mob assembled by Jesus' enemies reject Pilate's attempt to free Jesus. In the meantime, Peter fulfills Christ's prophecy about a three-fold denial.

John's Gospel was written well after the other three, so he frequently chooses to present different details. Chapter 17 detailed Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, just before He entered the garden of Gethsemane. This chapter describes Jesus' arrest, sham trials before Jewish leadership, and the beginning of His trial before the Roman governor. In the following chapter, Jesus will be unfairly condemned, executed, and buried.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.