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John 3:16-17
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John 3:16-17
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12 friends have opened a study shared with them.
The pastor asked if we could take me to lunch. I was eager to say yes. After the meal arrived, he asked me if my wife could stop causing trouble. He promised me the church leadership would handle the situation. But the trouble wasn't my wife. It was that a pedophile was entering an area designated for children. That's when I learned that my seat at the table was designed to silence a threat.
John 18:12-27
Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus and tied him up. First they led him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better for one man to die for the people. Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard. But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. Then the servant girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, "You aren't one of this man's disciples too, are you?" "I am not," he said. Now the servants and the officials had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself. The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. "I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus answered him. "I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews gather, and I haven't spoken anything in secret. Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said." When he had said these things, one of the officials standing by slapped Jesus, saying, "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" "If I have spoken wrongly," Jesus answered him, "give evidence about the wrong; but if rightly, why do you hit me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, "You aren't one of his disciples too, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you with him in the garden?" Peter denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed.
Annas was deposed as high priest fifteen years ago, but Jesus is taken to his home. His son-in-law Caiaphas is the official high priest, and John reminds us that he has decided Jesus should die. This family isn't interested in justice or truth, but maintaining power and managing their reputation. Instead of calling witnesses, Annas asks who is involved with Jesus, and looks to find errors in his teaching. He wants Jesus to incriminate himself and betray his associates. Jesus responds to a night-time inquisition before loyalists, "I have spoken openly to the world." His ministry was in public places, where everyone could hear him. He asks for witnesses and evidence. An officer slaps him across the face. The slap is about putting Jesus in his place, and reminding everyone else of their role: comply with Annas' agenda. Silence anyone who doesn't go along. While Jesus is exposing the insiders, Peter is outside in the cold. He's warming himself at a fire with the people who seized his rabbi. As he talks with the women and the servants, the questions are threats. Annas asks Jesus about his disciples. A servant girl asks Peter about Jesus. Jesus says everything is openly known. Peter says he doesn't know him. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, "I am." In the courtyard, Peter said, "I am not." Jesus is bound, but his spirit is free. He has nothing to hide. Peter is free, but fear motivates him to lie. The rooster crows, and we know Peter's time has come. It's the darkest time of night, and the only person telling the truth is sent away.
Why does John switch back and forth between Jesus inside and Peter outside?
When have you witnessed the people in charge protect themselves by their process?
What would change if you believed Jesus knew how you failed him, and still loved you?
What's one environment where you hide your allegiance to Jesus? Ask a friend to pray with you, and ask God to give you the courage to be a public witness.
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