John 18:30 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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John 18:30

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And at first they didn’t have one, but then their reply in verse 30 is: ‘They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, [if he was not a criminal and we hadn’t properly found him guilty] we would not have delivered him up unto thee.’ So it is a trial of strength.Why did the Jews, those Jewish leaders, why did they want Christ dead, why did they have this plot to execute him? We ought to consider the reasons because they are relevant even today.

Firstly, Christ would not join their establishment. They had tried to get him to fall in line and co-operate with them, but it didn’t work. He would not accept that they had any spiritual standing. In fact he constantly exposed their conduct, their hypocrisy, and they hated him for this.

Then he constantly exhorted them to repent and told them, ‘You have no relationship with God unless you repent of your sin.’ Well, that stung them because they were so self-righteous.

They were also determined to kill him because he presented himself as a spiritual Messiah. They wanted someone who could deliver their nation from the Romans and make them rich and powerful, and then of course, as the religious establishment, they would benefit enormously. And here comes one, with all his miraculous powers, who says he is that Messiah and his mission is spiritual. So they hated him for this complete contradiction of everything they believed and taught.

Then again he was stealing the attention of the people. Wherever he went the crowds followed him, while the crowds weren’t interested in the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees. They wanted to get rid of him for that – out of sheer envy.

Application

All these things are reflected today. Why were we, before conversion, so determined not to consider salvation, not to serve Christ, not to worship God and love him, not to seek his will in our lives? Why were we against God? Well, yes, because we loved our sin, but also because we had a lot in common with these leading Jews. We looked at Christians and Christians annoyed us and upset us. Why? Because they will not join our lifestyle, our world. They say that we are not good enough, that we are sinners and will be condemned! One of the features of the Christian faith which is most resented today by people at large is the notion of hell. ‘They believe in hell! What a terrible thing!’ Why are people so opposed to this? Because it implies that because they are not believers in Christ, they will go to hell. Outrageous! Terrible! Often we are rejected for pretty well the same reasons that Christ was rejected by the Jewish establishment in those days.

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John 18:30 Commentary and Bible Study