John 18:12-14 "Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, (13) And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. (14) Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people."
They "bound Him." Why would this group of soldiers feel the
need to bind Jesus? Let's look back at John 18:3, "Judas then,
having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and
Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons." A
band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. In a quick
study this morning, a band of soldiers would consist of 300-600 men, plus there
were officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. Surely they did not send
this many men to arrest Jesus. Another suggestion was probably 10-60
soldiers in a detachment that had been sent with Judas and the officers of the
temple. It appears they wanted to make a show and also to make an example
of Jesus.
Again I ask, why would they bind Him? Surely this large group of men could
handle one man, or even if the other 11 men were to attempt to deliver Him,
trained Roman soldiers with "lanterns and torches and weapons" could
have quickly quieted any type of uproar. Yet, they bound Jesus to take
Him back to the high priest. Jesus had committed no crime. He had done no
wrong. He surely had not been a violent man. Well, He did show His righteous
anger when the house of God had become a place of merchandise with men taking advantage
of worshippers. What about Jesus had been offensive to these officers of
the temple? Let's go back a few chapters and we will see their very hearts
being expressed. "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on
him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation."
(John 11:48) In this we see Jesus committed no crime; rather it was the
envy in the hearts of these rulers that caused them to look at Jesus in an
offensive manner. If we do not do something, we will lose our place in
society. So for this crime, they came with a band of soldiers (anywhere
from 10 to 600 men) to take this one Jesus back to the high priest.
They "bound Him." I'm not sure if they bound him with ropes or
with chains; but they bound Him tightly with whatever was used. Here is
the point of my writing this morning: Jesus was bound to this moment long
before these soldiers bound Him. There was a covenant, an oath, a promise that
had been made long before that day. In fact, the promise was made even before
God said "Let there be light." A covenant was made between God the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are so many passages that confirm
this great truth. I will share only a few.
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, spoke these words concerning Jesus:
"To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his
holy covenant." (Luke 1:72) The holy covenant was made before the
foundation of the world and was announced to the fathers of Israel, beginning
with Abraham. See Genesis 12:1-3.
The writer of Hebrews closed his writings with these words: "Now the
God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of THE EVERLASTING COVENANT,
(21) Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in
you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Then the last one is found in the book of Revelation. Though the words oath or
covenant, are not mentioned, we can clearly see the work of Jesus Christ was
established before the foundation of the world. "And all that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of
life of the Lamb SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD." (Revelation
13:8)
So now, you may ask, why am I bringing all this into the conversation about
Jesus being bound. I say this because Jesus would have gone with them
willingly. Why? Because He had made a promise to the Father: I will lay
down my life for my people. The angel said it to Joseph, "She shall
bring forth a Son and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for HE SHALL SAVE His
people from their sins." He was bound by a promise, not ropes or
chains. Thank you Lord Jesus!