No one can read this report without seeing the sheer majesty of Jesus. There is no sense that he is on trial. When a someone faces him, it is not Jesus who is on trial; is it? Pilate may have treated many Jewish things with arrogant contempt, but he did not with Jesus. We cannot help feeling that it is Jesus is in control and Pilate bewildered and floundering in a situation he cannot understand. The majesty of Jesus never shone more radiantly than in the hour when he was on trial.
Jesus speaks directly to us of his kingdom; it is not, he says, of this earth. The atmosphere in Jerusalem was always explosive; during the Passover it was sheer dynamite. But here Jesus makes it quite clear that he claims to be a king and equally clear that his kingdom is not based on force but is a kingdom in the hearts of men. He would never deny that he aimed at conquest, but it was the conquest of love.
Through his courtroom appearance, Jesus tells us why he came into the world. He came to witness to the truth; he came to tell us the truth about God, the truth about ourselves, and the truth about life.
As William Barclay puts it, “The days of guessings and gropings and half-truths were gone. He came to tell us the truth. That is one of the great reasons why we must either accept or refuse Christ. There is no half-way house about the truth.” We either accept it, or reject it; Christ is the truth."
Loving God of power and justice and peace,
In our broken world
We seek a new order
Where there is courage to speak truth to power
We seek a new order
Where there is mutual support in church and community
We seek a new order
Where there is abundant time for healing
We seek a new order
Where there is peace and freedom for all
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