John 18:28
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
Early in the morning Jesus was led from Caiaphas to Pilate's judgment hall after the Sanhedrin had condemned Him but needed Pilate's confirmation to carry out the sentence. The priests and rulers would not enter the Gentile hall themselves, lest they be ceremonially defiled and kept from eating the Passover. Their exact care for ritual purity stood against inward defilement, for envy and murderous hatred had already defiled their hearts and set them against God's law. The Passover they sought to keep had been instituted by Christ Himself, and He stood in their midst as the true Passover Lamb, so that type was meeting antitype. By rejecting Him they lost the meaning of the feast, though Pilate found Him faultless and He submitted to crucifixion as man's substitute and surety.
Trial Setting and Sequence
Jesus was led from Caiaphas to Pilate's judgment hall early in the morning, after the Sanhedrin had condemned Him but required Pilate's confirmation because they could not carry out an execution themselves. That transfer placed Him at the hall before the events that led on toward Calvary. The night and early hour were a fitting time for works of darkness.
At the hall Pilate questioned Jesus and examined the accusations against Him. He found the witnesses' testimony contradictory and worthless and declared that He was faultless. Yet Jesus was treated unjustly though no sin was proved against Him.
The condemnation in the judgment hall belonged to the trial that led to His humiliation and crucifixion. There He stood in Pilate's judgment hall in the hands of a lawless mob, with Satan having stirred hatred against Him and priests and rulers joining even the lowest and most degraded people in seeking to kill Him. That humiliation and condemnation followed the crowd's change from hailing Him as king to reviling Him and demanding His crucifixion. The disciples had been prepared for this fickleness, so it did not take them by surprise nor lead them to rest their faith on public opinion.
Hypocritical Concern for Purity
The priests, scribes, rulers, chief priests and Pharisees would not enter the Roman judgment hall, for it was a Gentile's house and they would not step over its threshold lest they be ceremonially defiled and kept from eating or keeping the Passover. They remained outside early in the morning while Jesus was led inside from Caiaphas. They were exact about their own maxims and traditions while acting directly contrary to the Word that lights every person. Their care for ritual purity stood against inward defilement, for envy, jealousy and murderous hatred had already defiled their hearts. That defilement had led them to break God's law, to separate from Him, and to act in Satan's spirit with deceived, deluded and hardened hearts.
That same fear of defilement kept the Jews from carrying Jesus' cross to the place of execution. They avoided touching what they counted unclean even while pressing His condemnation to death.
Their inconsistency continued afterward, for they rested little on the Sabbath but held a council about His body. Though they had feared ritual defilement from entering a Gentile's house and would not cross the threshold, they took part in that Sabbath council. They went to Pilate to have the tomb guarded and the sepulcher secured against resurrection.
Passover Meets Its Fulfillment
The Passover the leaders were guarding from defilement had been instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation. He who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy and of the Jewish religious system stood in their midst with divinity clothed in humanity, in human form. His death is what the Passover represented and what the Passover ceremony pointed to, for He was the true Passover Lamb present among them. In that moment type was meeting antitype.
By rejecting Him and failing to recognize Him they had lost the feast's meaning. In the trial before Pilate for examination no sin was proved against Him and Pilate declared Him faultless. Yet He was treated unjustly and submitted to crucifixion as man's substitute and surety.