Slices
Prepare
What traditions (personal, local, family or faith) are precious to you? Why?
Bible passage
Jesus before Pilate
28 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. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, ‘What charges are you bringing against this man?’
30 ‘If he were not a criminal,’ they replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’
31 Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.’
‘But we have no right to execute anyone,’ they objected. 32 This took place to fulfil what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
34 ‘Is that your own idea,’ Jesus asked, ‘or did others talk to you about me?’
35 ‘Am I a Jew?’ Pilate replied. ‘Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?’
36 Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’
37 ‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate.
Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’
38 ‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, ‘I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release “the king of the Jews”?’
40 They shouted back, ‘No, not him! Give us Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Explore
As the day of Passover preparations dawns, John’s account is layered with irony. Bent on celebrating the festival and bound by ritual requirements (v 28), the chief priests press charges against their true High Priest, unknowingly participating in the sacrifice of their true Passover Lamb (John 1:29). Adhering to their Sabbath traditions, they evade religious and regional law (v 31); in avoiding defilement, they miss their Deliverer. They even demand Barabbas, a criminal, whose name means ‘son of the father’, in exchange for the righteous Son of the Father (v 40).
It’s not just the religious leaders: Pilate dismisses truth before Truth himself (v 38; John 14:6). But most of their discussion centres on Jesus’ kingdom – a reign of a different nature to any originating in the world (v 36). The charge of claiming kingship was a political tactic designed to hook Pilate – no Roman governor wanted to let an insurrectionist slip past. But… a carpenter from Galilee, whose followers had scattered? Did Pilate consider this a serious possibility?
Amid the clash and clamour of these regimes, Jesus focuses on and expands our understanding of his person and purposes. Truth invites us to listen to who he is and how he lives (vs 36,37).
Respond
Pray: ‘Lord, I don’t want to miss your truth when it runs counter to the world’s customs and kingdoms. Teach me to listen for you in even the most unlikely places.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Deuteronomy 25,26; Romans 6
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray that as the South West team seek to develop more Faith Guide holidays (including a surfing weekend, Go Wild! weekend and a primary age weekend) they will have vision and faith. Pray for the emergence of holidays that will have real impact.
Bless a Year 6 child with a copy of It’s Your Move
Next term Year 6 children across the UK will begin preparing for their move to secondary school. It’s Your Move is a brilliant guide that helps to smooth the transition. Filled with top tips, advice, and Bible-based reflections, this little book has become a backpack essential over the last 24 years!
Could you bless a child with a copy of It’s Your Move?
