#34: “Jesus Before Pilate”
SCRIPTURE: John 18:28-40
INTRO:
Note that…
THE JEWS WOULD NOT ENTER THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE SO
PILATE WENT OUTSIDE TO MEET WITH THEM.
The Scripture passage for today says that the Jews did not
enter the governor’s office “so that they would not be defiled but
could eat the Passover.” Now, what’s that all about?
The Jews had three main annual feasts (Leviticus 23:4-44)
which they observed: Passover, Pentecost (a.k.a., Harvest), and
Booths (a.k.a., Tabernacles). The Passover is synonymous with the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, named after the bread the Jews ate the
night they departed Egypt under Moses. The Bible often uses leaven
as a metaphor for evil since it permeates the bread. Thus, bread
without leaven symbolized leaving evil influences behind in Egypt
which of course represented slavery and idolatry. Passover began
on Nisan 14 (March/April) and lasted eight days, recalling God’s
deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian captivity in 1446 B.C. under
Moses.