The Pharisees knew God's law but they did not know God. They began persecuting Jesus when he healed a lamb man on the sabbath (John 5:1-16). Yet, they were willing to commit the greatest injustice that ever took place on the sabbath. They led Jesus bound to the Praetorium but did not go in themselves "lest they be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover" (John 18:28-29).
The Praetorium was the Roman's version of the court room. It sometimes referred to the entire court yard as well as the building. The Jews were not allowed to touch things that were considered unclean, for several hours before eating the Passover and they considered things that belonged to the Gentiles as unclean. However, the religious rulers did not hesitate using the very people they hated to do their dirty work.
They told themselves they were going to have Jesus killed for the sake of their nation (John 11:49-52). But they hated Jesus because he continually pointed out their inconsistencies (Matthew 23:24-36; John 7:7) Man's depravity leads him to hide the truth even from himself.
We need the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin (John 16:8-13; James 1:22-25).
