Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
At daybreak, Israel's leaders march Jesus from the high priest's house to the Roman governor's door, and then stop outside. They will not go in: a Gentile building would make them unclean and cost them the Passover meal.
The Praetorium
Older Bibles call the building they would not enter the judgment hall. The ESV calls it "the governor's headquarters."
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe word is praetorium, as it is translated in Mark 15:16. It was the official residence of Pilate the governor in Jerusalem. John 18:28, 33; John 19:9; Acts 23:35... Other Bibles translate it 'common hall' in Matt. 27:27, and 'hall of judgement' in John 18:28.
Because the accusers stayed outside, the trial ran in two places at once, and the prisoner paid for it.
J. T. MawsonWe are following the footsteps of our lowly suffering Lord from Gethsemane to Golgotha, as John records them. We must feel how the terrible hypocrisy of the Jews increased His sufferings and multiplied His sorrows. They would not enter the judgment hall, so that they would not be defiled and could eat the Passover. They kept their ceremonial law down to the last detail, and yet howled like unclean dogs for their prey. So the bewildered Pilate, hoping to find a way out, rushed the Lord Jesus in and out of the judgment hall again and again.
Scruples Are Not Conscience
A man can be strict about a rule and still be blind to right and wrong.
J. N. DarbyWhat terrible blindness was theirs! They did not want to defile themselves, so that they could eat the Passover (v. 28). At that very moment they were handing over the true Passover Lamb to be sacrificed. Scruples are not conscience. We must not go against our scruples, if we have them, but conscience looks to God and to His word. Conscience did not stop the Jews from buying the blood of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. But a scruple did stop them from putting the money Judas threw back into God's treasury in the temple, because it was the price of blood.
The Defilement They Never Noticed
They kept clear of the building while sending an innocent man into it. Jesus had already told them where uncleanness starts.
L. M. GrantThey would not enter the judgment hall themselves, because their religion counted this a defiling thing. Yet they required the Lord Jesus to go in. They would stay outside and shout for the death of the innocent victim! They knew that eating the Passover allowed no outward defilement. But the Lord had told them that the evil coming out of their own hearts is what defiled them (Matt. 15:11). They had tried to avoid taking Him on the feast day (Matt. 26:5). But God had decreed that the Lord Jesus should be sacrificed on the day of the Passover. This was the day Judas found convenient to betray Him.
Handing Over the Lamb
Their zeal never rested, and it was aimed at a death they did not understand.
William KellyLate and early they were at work, from one high priest to another, pushing on to the Roman governor. Bent on the blood of the Messiah, they would not enter the praetorium; they must not be defiled, since they would eat the Passover and had not yet done so (verse 28). They little thought that they were only bringing about the death of the true Passover Lamb. In guilty unbelief they were fulfilling what the law said, to their own destruction, whatever God's purpose in His death.
The Timing Question
It is morning, yet the Passover meal is still ahead of them. One writer explains this by the scale of the feast.
C. StanleyHuge numbers gathered at the appointed place, Jerusalem, and there were only ten to twenty people to each lamb. So the number of Passover lambs must have been very great... The Passover also took a long time, so most of the night would pass before all had eaten it... So it appears they returned to finish the Passover by eating the lamb at the very hour they handed Jesus over to the Gentile power to be tried and killed.
The Whole World on Trial
Once Jesus crosses that threshold, the case leaves Jewish hands, and a second party is exposed.
The Bible TreasuryThe coming of Christ is the last and great test for man. It was seen when Jew and Gentile united in denying and rejecting the Lord. The one hated Him and shouted for His death; the other was indifferent, handing Him over to death while finding no fault in Him. What a scene! Jewish hatred and Gentile indifference combined, and Jesus, the Holy One, is led out to death. The Gentile was only a little less guilty than the Jew. Pilate washed his hands for nothing.
Summary
- Place — the praetorium was the Roman governor's official home in Jerusalem. Because the accusers would not enter it, Pilate ran the trial inside and out, moving the Lord back and forth.
- Scruple — a scruple fears breaking a rule; conscience looks to God and His word. The same men who bought blood with silver would not put that silver into the temple treasury.
- Defilement — they feared a doorway and missed the heart. Jesus had taught that what comes out of a man is what defiles him.
- Lamb — they guarded their right to eat the Passover while handing over the true Passover Lamb. They meant murder; God meant sacrifice.
- Verdict — Jewish hatred met Gentile indifference at that door. Pilate washed his hands, and it cleaned nothing.