Fundamental Questions John 18-20

Title: Fundamental Questions  John 18-20
Text: John 18-20

Ps Renny Khoo

6 Aug 2017 

Jesus asked 5 questions before the crucifixion.
An overview of John 18, 19 and 20.
John 18 – The betrayal of Jesus leading to His arrest, appear before Caiaphas the High Priest and Pilate the Governor of Judea and eventually was handed over to be crucified.
John 19 -  The crucifixion of Jesus
John 20 -  The resurrection of Jesus
Jesus asked a total of 7 questions, 5 prior to His crucifixion and 2 after it.

1. Whom are you looking for? When He was about to be arrested. It is a question of “Identity”.
2. Am I not to drink the cup that the father has given me? Ch 18 vs 11. It is an issue of “Destiny”.
3. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them…. While Jesus was conversing with the High Priest, Caiaphas. It is a question of “Integrity” or “Reality”. His consistency of the way He lives His life.
4. If I had spoken rightly, why do you strike me? Jesus was struck when He answered Caiaphas. It is a question of “Integrity” or “Reality”.
5. Do you ask me on your own? Or others tell you about me? During Jesus conversation with Pilate. It is a question of “Identity”.

1.     Question on Destiny
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked “Am I not to drink the cup that the father has given me?”. The metaphor “Cup” can be a symbol of enjoyment and blessing. In this case it is the suffering Jesus had to undergo. It was what Jesus was destined to do and from there was able to stand with authority, power and strength when He confronted His would be captors/ accusers.
John 18:37, “For this reason I was born, and for tis I came into the world, to testify the truth.”
John 4: 34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Jesus surrendered his will to the will of his father. The deep sense of destiny comes from a place of surrender to God.

A roller coaster ride of ups and downs in our Christian live with a sense of not getting anywhere is an indication that we need to arrive to a point of surrendering our will to God in our lives. This turning point will bring on a sense of purpose and destiny to our lives. God who created us special will bring forth the gifts, talent and creativity that we are destined to be. This involves a process and a progressive journey towards our lives calling. We can be honest to God when we converse with him, to wrestle the difficult questions in our lives as God is more than willing to answer them.



2.     Question on Reality/ Integrity
Jesus was brought to Annas the ex high priest  and then the official High priest Caiaphas who was a puppet high priest at that time,
Jesus recounted his work in the temple stating that he had live out a consistent, transparent and authentic life. John 18: 20 – 23. What you see is what you get. Likewise, we have to live an authentic life where we share our lives in a transparent and safe environment in particularly in the Connect group setting. We can only do this if we have the presence of God in our lives. As a people of courage and truth we must know that his presence gives us a sense of security, transparency and being real. When we live for God, it is not a matter of doing big or small thing but whether God is in it. Where God is present, even the small things can be big as it will help us to fulfil our destiny.



3.     Question of identity
Pilate asked the right question on Jesus identity. “Are you the King of the Jews”. What is our identity based on what we possess in Christ? God loves us so much that he sent his only son to die for us. We can only experience God when we know whose we are and know we are his beloved.





Questions for reflection and response

1.     If there is one burning question you would like to ask God, what would your question be?

2.     Share your 'surrendering to God' experiences. How was your experience? How did it go?
What made it easier/ harder to surrender to God?

3.      Share your thoughts on living a transparent life (being real, being consistent).