The fellowship of finding another like-minded believer seemed to give both Joseph and Nicodemus the courage and resources they needed to do for Jesus what they could not find a way to do alone, or separately.
Gospel of John: Hail Caesar
The chiasm outlined by Jo-Ann A. Brant has a classic seven-point structure. A Exterior: John 18:29-32, Jesus is brought to Pilate with a demand for execution; Pilate refuses B Interior: John 18:33-38, Pilate asks about Jesus’s royal claim C Exterior: John 18:38-40, Pilate finds Jesus innocent, but the temple elite choose Barabbas … Continue reading Gospel of John: Hail Caesar
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Gospel of John: Bar Abbas
Pilate stood and shouted over the fray, Which of the two do you all want me to pardon and set free to you? Bar Abbas? Pilate bit out his name with a look of contempt, or Jesus who is called Christ? The comparison was obvious: Did they still want to free a villainous murderer, or would they take the nobler option of freeing this gentle holy man who had been falsely accused?
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Gospel of John: He is a Galilean
Caiaphas waited expectantly. He had been forceful in his insistence that Jesus was an agitator, inciting trouble all over Judea, having started his insurgency in the northernmost reaches of Jewish territory and bringing subversion all the way down to Jerusalem.
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Gospel of John: What is Truth?
Jesus’s spiritual kingdom of truth apparently had borders that extended far beyond Judea and even Rome. His kingdom had no borders, because every person who wanted to know the truth would listen to Jesus and become a citizen in his kingdom.
