“Then the squad of soldiers with their commanding officer and the officers of Jewish leaders arrested Jesus and tied him up. They brought him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. (Now this was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish leaders that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.) —John 18:12–14
“They tied him up.” Seriously? How do you tie up the One who spoke creation into being? How do you tie up the great “I AM”? How do you tie up the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form? How do you tie up Omnipotence in the flesh? “They tied him up” simply because Jesus allowed them to bind Him. He allowed Himself to be a sufferer and He allowed His enemies to work their will. He allowed Himself to the object of spite and hatred. He suffered while He served. To free humankind from bondage, Jesus became bound, and we owe our liberty to His bondage. The prophet Isaiah tells us:
“He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.” —Isaiah 53:3–5
“He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. He was led away after an unjust trial—but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.” —Isaiah 53:7–8
Become More
“We see the Son of God taken prisoner and led away bound like a malefactor, arraigned before wicked and unjust judges, insulted and treated with contempt. And yet this unresisting prisoner had only to will His deliverance, and He would at once have been free. He had only to command the confusion of His enemies, and they would at once have been confounded. Above all He was One who knew full well that Annas and Caiaphas, and all their companions, would one day stand before His judgment seat and receive an eternal sentence. He knew all these things, and yet condescended to be treated as a malefactor without resisting.” —John Charles Ryle
Jesus is our great deliverer!
Further Reflection
“Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. —Psalm 61:1–2