John 18:12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews [Temple guards] arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. ESV
What is the general theme of the passage?
The final act of the betrayal of Jesus has begun. The duty of the band of soldiers, their captain and the Temple guards is to arrest Jesus, but executing Jesus is a challenge for the line of authority. Annas, the first in line doesn’t want to deal with Jesus and hands Him off to Caiaphas. Caiaphas’s answer is not justice but convenience…sacrifice Jesus for the good of everyone involved.
What does it say about God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?)
There are no additional words here from John to justify the tension between God’s heart and these unfolding circumstances as the death of His Son becomes the convenience of man.
What does it say about people?
Man’s nature of betrayal is the silent emphasis of why these two verses about Jesus’s death matter.
Is there truth here for me?
These two verses showed me how complicated it is to have to deal with God’s “silence.” I wanted John to give me inspired Words from God about His reaction to this betrayal but instead I had to consider His silence revealed His Sovereignty. God knew exactly when, what and who would be involved in this part of Jesus’s story. That didn’t mean He justified the evil betrayal or that His heart wasn’t broken by the reality of it. It didn’t mean He’d overlooked the behavior of all those who took part in it just so His will would be done. Trying to figure out why John chose to emphasize God’s silence in these two verses forced my mind to consider the wisdom of what God “didn’t say.” The God who is all knowing, ever present and all powerful chose “silence” to endure the anguish of watching every detail of the plan He knew was coming to pass so His Son would be proclaimed “that one man [who] should die for the people.”
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