Jesus Didn't Flinch - Day 42*

* I've posted blogs on the Sundays in Lent. Since the Sundays in Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days, I will have a total of 46 postings. JWN


Jesus has been picked up by the Roman guards. His dearest friends and disciples have vanished. He has been up all night, being shuttled from one tribunal to the next. He has suffered insults. He has endured endless questioning. He has heard Peter deny him. He is facing his death.
It would seem like everything was stacked against him. It would seem like he would have had almost nothing left, that he would have agreed to almost any confession or apology to get out of his agony. It would seem like Pilate had all the power and that Jesus had none. But this was not the case.
It is clear during Jesus’ time with Pilate that Jesus had the power. Pilate, who had the army right outside, who had all the accoutrement of position, is on his heels throughout his time with this half-naked preacher and teacher.
Pilate asks, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus responds, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” (See John 18: 33-38)
Pilate wants to know if Jesus is a threat to King Caesar. He is thinking about a political king.
But Jesus just sidesteps him. He doesn’t really answer. They go back and forth and Pilate asks him again if he is a king and Jesus says, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” And then Pilate asks him, “What is truth?”
Yes, good question. What is truth? What is your truth? What is the truth of your life—the truth that you stand upon and hope upon?
Is Jesus our King, our Lord, our Savior, our Leader, our All, or is some version, some manifestation, of Pilate, who represents all the principalities and powers of this world? We all have a choice.
It took me years to see Jesus’ courage in this interview, years to see that he had the power and not Pilate, years to see that he didn’t flinch.
He didn’t flinch because he knew that if he did, his work of reconciliation between God and us would have been destroyed. He didn’t flinch because he looked at God’s call to him and our need for him. He didn’t flinch because what could Pilate do other than take his life. He didn’t flinch because he knew that in giving that very life his mission would be complete.
If you follow Jesus you are in an apprenticeship of learning how not to flinch to life, to love, to hope, to forgiveness, to service, to joy. So, be like Jesus. Don’t flinch.