The Gospel of John is an enigma. It can seem quite mystical and sometimes appears to be inconsistent. Surface reading can lead to some strange and often misleading conclusions, but not nearly as strange as reading between the lines and at deeper levels.
The story ahead comes from the perspective of a man known in the gospels as Joseph of Arimathea, a very rich man. He was a member of the ruling Jewish council, the Sanhedrin. He was also a secret follower of the man called Yeshua (Jesus to you and me). He had to keep his connection with Yeshua quiet because the High Priest Caiaphas and most of the council wanted Yeshua, whom many believed to be the promised Messiah, to be put to death for blasphemy. Why, he claims he is the Son of God! The Promised One of the Most High. How dare he! Joseph knew that there is no place in Jewish law that provides for the death penalty in such cases. So Caiaphas and the others demanded that the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate order Yeshua's death based on the charge that he was creating insurrection among the people of Judaea. He was therefore guilty of sedition and of plotting to overthrow the Roman government. The Jewish populace, most of whom loved Yeshua and saw him as sent from God, had no idea that the council was making such insidious plans. Pilate was not particularly enamored with the idea of putting Yeshua to death by crucifixion, which was what the council wanted. But neither was he interested in having any kind of uprising, which he feared the Jewish leaders would incite if he did not meet their demands. He was in this God-forsaken part of the world because he was not in the best stead with Caesar. An uprising would bring the power of Rome down upon him and he would most likely end up somewhere even worse, perhaps in a Roman prison out on the frontier. If he sent this Yeshua to the Jewish puppet king Herod, maybe he wouldn't have to deal with it. Unfortunately, Herod did not play along and returned the ball, so to speak, to Pilate's court.
Pilate's wife told him she had had an ominous dream about the man Yeshua. "We must have nothing to do with him," she declared. "This whole exercise will bring us to no good."
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