Denial and Loyalty: Lessons in Faith and Forgiveness

Show Notes

Episode 388: 
In this episode, we delved into the trials that Jesus faced before his crucifixion. We focused on the account in John 18 where Jesus is brought before Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time. We discussed the significance of Annas' role in the trial process and how John was the only one to record this particular questioning of Jesus. We reflected on the lessons we can learn from Peter and John's experiences, encouraging listeners to seek forgiveness and restoration in their faith journeys.

What is The Bible Guys?

Whether you’ve been following Jesus for years or you’re just starting to ask questions, there’s a seat for you here.

Join Jeff and Chris for honest conversations about Scripture, faith, and the everyday stuff we all navigate. With humor, personal stories, and plenty of back-and-forth, The Bible Guys explore what the Bible says and how it connects to your life.

Subscribe, bring your questions, and get to know the Bible one conversation at a time. Head over to TheBibleGuys.com for more information!

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Bible Guys. My name is Chris and I'm Jeff, and we're the Bible Guys. Today we're talking about some of the trials that Jesus starts to go through, these sham trials before his crucifixion. Yeah, because he was just arrested last podcast, and so he ends up going through a series of events being questioned by Annas. He's going to be questioned by Caiaphas, and so today it's only John that records him being questioned by Annis. That's correct. But before we jump into that, we have a stump the pastor segment. Yes, this is written by Patrick G and Hi Patrick G. By the way, thanks for listening. And by the way, I said by the way twice in a row. If you do want to write in a question, you can definitely right in and just email us at info at the Bible Guys dot com and we would love to consider your question for a future episode. Yes, so here's the question. I'll let you take a stab at this, Jeff. When we die, Where do we go before the final judgment? It's a good question. Who asked that question? Patrick G. Thanks Patrick, good question. I mean that that's a really, really, really good question. Specifically, what we know is Hebrews chapter nine tells us it's appointed unto man wants to die, and after this the judgment. So we live after we die, we all have an appointment of death. Turns out life is one hundred percent terminal, and so you have to prepare for that. Yeah, so we have to prepare for that, and then we will stand in judgment before God someday. The judgment we know according to what Paul writes in Thessalonians and Corinthians and what the Book Revelation tells us and other passages, the judgment is a moment. It's a time at the end of all time. Right, It's this event, let me say it that way, not a moment, but this event at the end of time, and when this world has been destroyed, when everything is done and Jesus comes back as the victor. So that'll be the judgment. Jesus talks about that in Matthew chapter twenty five as well as other places. So judgment is coming for all of us. While we're living on this earth, we have an appointment. We will die someday, and then we will go stand before judgment. Jesus said, we've just recently read this. I go to prepare a place for you. So historically means, you know, Orthodox Christianity would say that that place that Jesus went to build for us is the place that we go to while we are waiting for for Christians, while we're waiting for the final judgment. Then Orthodox Christianity would say, for those who are not believers, have rejected Christ, they will go to Hell and wait for the judgment. That seems to work. That's fine, but the reality is Two Corinthians tells us to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Hebrews says basically same thing, to You're absent from the body to be present with the Lord. So I think that Christians go where God is right, that's it. But we do know at the very end, when it's all done, when that judgment is done, and he separated the sheep from the goats, then the Bible says that he makes a new heaven and a new earth. He literally says, behold, I make everything new. There's a new heaven and a new Earth, and the new Jerusalem, which is what you and I would think of as that place Jesus went to build for us, comes down and blends in with his new creation, right, and then we spend eternity on this new heaven where the spiritual blends with the physical, right, which is what I believe originally is what was in the garden to begin with. He's just taking us back to the garden, is what he's doing. So where do we go? We go with God as Christians. If we're lost, we go to Hell as what I believe. There's different views on those things, but that's what orthodox Christianity would say. Yeah, so so wherever God is, that's really the only indicator that you know that that verse in Corinthians to be absent from the body, which, by the way I quoted every single funeral is to be present with the Lord. So we just know we're in God's presence. So so the idea of you know where in heaven, Unfortunately, the Bible says that not the half has been told. That's what Jesus said, Not the half has been told about heaven. Did you know that Jesus actually talked considerably more about Hell than he did even about heaven, so there was not a lot of a lot given about specifics. But hey, where God is, I'll take that. That's right, that's right, that's right. Like, hey, that's that's a good place to be. So I imagine that wherever that is, we'll be safe. So it's not one of those things to be afraid of. It's interesting Paul does not unpack when he writes about heaven. He doesn't unpack the mechanisms or the specifics so much about heaven, but he does say this in Two Corinthians, chapter five, verse six. He says, so we are always confident, even though we know, as long as we live in these bodies, we're not at home with the Lord, for we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we're fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So Paul is saying, Hey, I have a lot of confidence in this. This isn't something to be afraid of. This is something to be confident that when we leave these bodies we'll be at home with the Lord. So where are you going? To be. You'll be at home with the Lord. That's great, right, And I believe that that, then is consistent with what Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you in my father's house, right, is what he says. So I think that that's what he's talking about there. Home is a great word in it. Yeah, come home. That's a good question, Patrick, Thank you, sir. And again, if you want, I want to write us in comments questions, we'd love to hear him. Yeah, all right. Well, hey, we're going to move on, and we're going to segue into John eighteen. And actually there's a this is the only recording Annis questions Jesus, and apparently he's the first to do so, even before Caiaphas, but only John records this. Right. So here's what it says, John eighteen, verse twelve. It says, so the soldiers, their commanding officer and the temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. First, they took him to Annas, the father in law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time. Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders it's better that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. The other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the High priest's courtyard with Jesus. Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priests, spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. The woman asked her, you're not one of the man's disciples, are you? No, he said, I'm not. Because it was cold. The household servant and the guards had made it to charcoal fire, and they stood around at warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself. Inside. The High priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he'd been teaching them, and Jesus replied, everyone knows what I teach. I've preat regularly in the synagogus and in the temple where the people gathered. I'm not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said. Then one of the temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. Is that the way to answer a high priest? He demanded Jesus replied, if I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I'm speaking the truth, are you beating me? Then Annis bound Jesus and send him to Caiaphas, the high priest. So there you go, that's it. Well, Jesus answers well to any question, always, always in a difficult scenario, and so you know, he just has a way of responding that it is just really not going to get him. I mean, it's going to obviously going to get him in trouble. He gets left across the face. Yes see, but in terms of like violating or not saying anything that's not true, and of course he points it out. He says, hey, if I say anything wrong, you must prove it. I'm speaking the truth. Why are you beating me? And then so then it almost seems like then an last has no choice but to say, I don't know what to do with this guy. Yeah, so he bounds him up and sends him the Coiaphas. So I think it's super interesting that they that won, it says. The group that came to arrest Jesus was the soldiers, the Roman soldiers a contingent, it said a commanding officer So this is a big deal. This isn't just a few soldiers, Hey, go round up Jesus. This is a group that needed a commanding officer and temple guards. So you've got two groups of military level people coming in to get Jesus. But they don't take him to the high priest. They take him first to Annis, who is a former high priest. Yeah, and he would have probably had still a lot of power. Well, he's probably the one pulling the strings, right, that's probably he's probably the one who worked it out to get Jesus arrested, because that's why they brought him there first. Also, there may have been a little bit of you know, Caiaphas and the other priests covering their own rear ends a little bit right in that, you know, if it doesn't work out, well Annis did it, it wasn't us. But I think there's a lot of power here. So both Annas and Caiaphas had been high priests. Here's what the note says. Annis was Israel's High priest from eighty six to eighty fifteen. When he was deposed by room and rulers. Caiaphas, Annis's son in law, was appointed high priest from eighty eighteen through thirty six or thirty seven. According to Jewish law, the office of high priest was held for life. So many Jews therefore still considered Annis the high priest and still called him by that title. But although Annis retained much authority among the Jews, Caiaphas made the final decisions. And then you know, goes on and talks about how they clearly cared more about their positions. But it may have been Annis was the one pulling the strings for his son in law. It may have been the fact that they were trying to let Annis be the one that was going to deflect any pressure in case they got in trouble from the Romans. He'd already been in trouble from the Romans. Or it could have been that he was the one who set all this up to hand him over to Caiaphas so Caiaphas can make the final decision. Well, there's a little sort of a chart here in the Life Application Study Bible that talks about the events of Jesus' trial, and so it says that he first goes to Annas, who's the powerful ex high priest, as found in the Book of John, and then what we're about to talk about tomorrow is that he goes from there to he has a trial before Caiaphas, who's the ruling high priest, and then after that it's a trial before the High Council or the Sanhedron, which is sort of like the supreme court of the religious leaders. And then he has a trial before Pilot, who's the Roman governor. He's the highest Roman authority in that area. And then he has a trial before Herod, who's the ruler of the entire region of Galilee. And then he goes back to Pilot because Herod wants to send him back and say, this is not my problem, and sends him back to Pilot, who eventually gives Jesus the sentence. And so that that is really a just a series of events. And keep in mind that they're, you know, they're trying to rush this through before the before the Sabbath and uh, and so this is just a first step in a long process that Jesus is going to go through for the night. And it doesn't say how long that he was there in front of Annus, but we probably know that it wasn't that long because of everything that has to happen in these you know, that certain amount of time. Yeah, So I do like the fact that it says Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples, and the other the other disciple was a acquainted with the High Priest and John. Whenever he talks about the other disciples, he's referring to himself. So I like the fact that John includes that, and he says that he was enter in he was able to enter into the high priests courtyard with Jesus. Now you had talked about this earlier. What are your thoughts on that, like, why was he able to enter in? So there's some indication that perhaps a couple things, Remember we talked about this, perhaps James and John were Jesus cousins. It may have been that, and that John and James's parents, probably his mother would have been related to priests, maybe from a priestly family. And so in that case, then if maybe Zebede could have been a priest for all we know, because the priests didn't work full time as priests, except the high priests and the top leaders. The rest of them worked in shifts for a certain amount of time per year. It was drawn by lots and you'd work for you know, a month or a couple of months, maybe three months as a priest, and the rest of the time you just farmed your farm and you fished your fish and did your thing. So it may have been that, but there's some indication perhaps that you know, John did have access, but it would have been through his parents, and so Caiaphas might have looked at or I'm sorry and is here, and Caiaphas may have looked at this opportunity to let John in to see this is what happens to people like Jesus. Right. It could have been that they were being peaceful with him to be able to make make make an example out of Jesus and say, hey, we don't go against the family business, we don't go against this this system. This is the system, and this is what happens these bad guys. Right. So that's probably how, maybe how John got in. Yeah, so the Bible doesn't say those things specifically. You got to piece all the pieces together. But Mary's sister may have been one of Mary's sisters may have been the mother of James, and uh, yeah, so it's really interesting. Well, so Peter isn't going to deny Jesus for a couple more episodes. Here he denies they're denies him one time right here. No, I'm not one of the disciples. Uh oh, the woman asked Peter, you're not one of the disciples. Well, yeah, that's right. He does deny him. But this isn't This isn't the yea three times. This isn't the three times before the rooster crows twice. That's fine in Matthew twenty six. This is the first time. It just doesn't cover the other ones. Okay, so this is one of the three times. Yeah, because he's out in the courtyard. He's by the fire h and he's waiting outside for Jesus. Yeah, so Peter doesn't go in. Yeah, he's outside. Well, I got to tell you, I can't even imagine what the disciples were thinking and feeling and and you know, so many times when we're in the moment, I think that sometimes we you know, we always wonder how we're going to faire. We always wonder how we're going to do under pressure or in persecution, or you know, when the rubber meets the road. You know, I have a really good friend who is struggling with their faith and they're a super Christian and been a Christian in their whole lives, but really struggling with circumstances and things. And I think that, you know, we have to allow ourselves the humanity of doubting, of being afraid, of running, of denying even we have to allow ourselves that because again, it's just part of humanity. When you know, when Peter is in the garden, he's pulling out his sword because he's like, hey, do you know who I'm standing next to? This is Jesus. But then he sees Jesus arrested, and then Jesus not fighting back, he sees Jesus getting taken off, and I'm sure that that was probably something where Peter, you know, was like, what what is happening here? Right? And so that now he's under stream, you know, duress, and Jesus is getting questioned, and so Peter probably would have never predicted that he would deny his savior. So anyway, all that to say, like, and aren't there times in your life? Hasn't there been a time where things have gotten so bad where just like John the Baptist, right, he's in prison, he's about to get his head chopped off. And he doesn't say, come save me. What does he do? He sends He sends messengers to Jesus saying, could you just remind me and just tell me you are the Christ? Right, Because if I'm going to give my life, I just want to hear it one last time that you are who you say you are. Even though he spent his entire life proclaiming Jesus, you know, paving the way for the Messiah, and here's Peter the same thing, you know, the greatest of disciples apparently, and yet you know here he is cowering by a bonfire. So anyway, all that to say, we just have to not be too hard on ourselves because when the rubber meets the road and life gets really really tough, I think that it's okay to you know, allow ourselves a little bit of humanity. That's what I think. Yeah, certainly denying Christ wasn't okay. No, and Jesus he has to be forgiven for it, Yeah, for sure. So but yeah, I get what you're saying is, hey, if Peter struggled, that wouldn't be a surprise that we would struggle too. Yeah. I just think that people just beat themselves up, and they're like, you know, I can't believe I didn't have faith in this moment, or I can't believe I doubted in this moment. I'm going through a season right now where I have so many questions and I'm discouraged, I'm angry at God, And yeah, you're right, those things aren't. We got encourages at all. It wasn't acceptable at all. No right, But what I'm saying is is there's he had to repent of it. We find comfort in the fact that everybody's human, is what I'm saying. The flip side of that is John didn't do it right in all fairness, So the flip side, so we can't just say, oh, all the disciples ran, Not all of them did. So they all ran away from the arrest, but they follow Jesus. And John gets Peter into the courtyard, but Peter stops there and and John decided to keep sticking with Jesus. John went with Jesus. John goes all the way to the crucifixion. He's the only one mentioned at the crucifixion is John with with Mary. Right, So I think when you stick with Jesus, regardless, you're not going to deny him. It's when you stop and go No, the courtyard's fine. I don't want to go any further. It's getting too scary. I think that's when you wind up failing and you make those you screw up. It's the it's the other side of the story is the other disciple went on and he didn't deny Jesus. He was standing right there. Well, there's something about that. And Jesus actually said behold thy son, right yeah, yeah, and and and behold your mother. And that was to John at the crucifixion. At the crucifixion. Yet, so we don't see Jesus or John really leaving Jesus through the We don't see him with him all the time here. Yeah, but we never see a time when John leaves Jesus in this area. And so John doesn't deny Jesus because he stays close to Jesus. And I think that that would be it. In the same thing where Peter stopped looking at Jesus and started looking at the waves and sinks this is a habit for Peter right a little bit. It's a thing that eventually Peter overcomes. Peter talks about persevering later on in his writings, right, and he talks about sticking with it, and it doesn't matter the kind of person. It's amazing. Of all the people who write, Peter writes more in the short books about facing persecution and sticking with it anyways, then I think Paul does almost even though he only wrote the two little books. And I think that it's a thing Peter learned over a long period of time in his ministry that this was a struggle for him, that he would he was a tough guy, going to cut somebody's ear off with the sword and then run, and then he get nervous and it'd be strong weak, strong, week, and then by the time you read him as an old man, he's like, hey, you know, don't be surprised when persecution comes, and it's going to be okay. Jesus is going to bring us through, persevere to the end. And then he does and he's crucified for Christ. So we know that this is a character thing that he apparently worked on and developed it, as opposed to John just walking in and going, hey, that's not my issue. John had his own issues, but yeah, you know, this was one of those things. So I think in this story, what we wanted to be is we want to be John. We don't want to be Peter. Well for sure, for sure. Yeah, And all I was trying to point out is that we've all been Peter right, a lot of us, you know, I would say, in small ways we've all been Peter right, but in large ways, right, there's crisis of faith that happened, and I would just say, even the best of us get to that point. So yeah, it's it's not okay, it's not excused, but you know, we sin and then God forgives us. And sometimes I think that people have a tendency to beat themselves up and they don't forgive themselves, they don't allow themselves for humanity. It's like there are times when we're gonna fall and and and those times are not good. But God is gonna, you know, forgive us and restore us. And he's and he's definitely going to treat us exactly like Jesus treated Peter as we're about to read, you know, in the next upcoming episodes. So well, that's a great discussion right there. So that looks like it's our time. So we will pick up tomorrow and we'll see then all the Bible guys h