John 18:33-37 (NRSV)
As I Timothy 6:13 puts it, “Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession.” John provides some reflections on the nature of that “good confession.” Jesus does not offer a defense. Jesus did not owe Pilate any defense. He offered only a confession. By offering this confession, he also showed the limits of political power.[1]
An inscription at Caesarea, placed on a stone and dated from the time of Jesus, identifies “Pontius Pilatus” as prefect of Judea. He held this office from 26 to 36 AD. He was the representative of Roman military, financial, and judicial authority in Judea. Most Judeans and Samaritans viewed Pilate unfavorably, as the most tangible representative of an occupying authority. However, if individuals respected Roman authority and paid taxes, the Romans could be quite neutral in a region. Of course, one could also be in trouble if one gained popularity among the peasants. In Judea, this meant claims to kingship. The time of Passover, a remembrance of deliverance from bondage in Egypt, was a dangerous time for the Romans. Pilate was present, discouraging the crowds from rioting in the streets. Generally, Pilate does not want to insert himself into a Jewish dispute. His concern is only whether someone threatens Romans power in the area.
The account of the arrest of Jesus by the Romans has focused, until now, upon the innocence of Jesus of the charge against him. In this episode, the emphasis shifts to how Pilate will respond to the truth. Jesus shifts the focus of Pilate’s questions from the realm of provincial political power to the idea of truth.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus has said little about the kingdom of God, although he does have concern that people might make him king. Pilate wants to keep the conversation in terms of power. Which one of us has the power here? Are you a king? From where do you get your power? By forcefully claiming a kingdom "not from this world," Jesus defines the nature of his messianic identity. As proof, Jesus points out that he has no soldiers, no armies, and no lawyers that are fighting for his freedom.
Jesus wants to speak in terms of truth. In fact, his “job description,” if you please, the reason God made him and the purpose God has for him, is to testify to truth. Those who listen to the truth hear his voice. Those who are part of his kingdom listen to his voice. Pilate, the representative of power, will use force. The truth, Jesus, who earlier in this gospel said, “I am the Way, I am truth and life,” uses “voice.” Pilate wants to know “what” truth is, when what he needs is to know “who” truth is.
33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews (Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων)?” The question is consistent with the other gospels as well. Pilate questions Jesus about kingship. John has said nothing about the rule of God, while the Synoptic Gospels have it as a major theme. However, as often in this gospel, John will take a theme of the Synoptic account and present it in a unique way. Thus, John expands on the concept of kingship here. If so, the kingship of Jesus is, to Pilate, political and is an act of treason against the power of Rome. We find a similar question with a quite different answer in Mark 15:2, “Pilate asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? He answered him, "You say so.” With John, the kingdom is in the world, but not of this world. Where did Pilate get this title for Jesus? In John 6:15, the people tried to make him a king. 34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” The question challenges Pilate's personal knowledge of Jesus and the charges that Jewish authorities have leveled against him. By suggesting that Pilate only knows what "others tell you about me," Jesus reminds Pilate that he has no "evidence" against Jesus except the hearsay evidence of priests. The question by Jesus is not one of further education but of clarification. 35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? This translation is the most literal of the first retort of Pilate. The reply of Pilate has contempt in it. Yet it establishes some early groundwork for his non-culpability in the whole matter. As a public official, a political leader, an important Roman citizen, Pilate has no reason to wallow in the concerns of the bothersome, insignificant Jewish inhabitants of this land. His declaration, however, also serves to free him from appearing to be in alliance with the Jewish authorities who brought Jesus to him. This Jewish problem, Jews accusing another Jew, is not something in which Pilate wants involvement. Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Pilate's response is contemptuous. 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from Roman authorities handing me over to the Jews. However, as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” By making such a forceful claim, Jesus defines the nature of his messianic identity. The Jews were waiting for a Davidic messiah another glorious warrior king who would free them from exile to a renewed position as the holy kingdom of Israel. This is not Jesus' identity or intent. As proof, Jesus points out that he has no soldiers, no armies, no lawyers fighting for his freedom, an observation that resonated with an official of the militarily based Roman Empire. He may refer to the incident in 18:10-11, where Peter pulled a sword when the Romans came to arrest Jesus, and Jesus told him to put it away. Matthew 26:53 even refers to the idea that Jesus called upon his Father to deliver him had the point been to have a kingdom on this earth. For John, the kingship of Jesus is a theological category that redefines the understanding of power of the world. We saw that understanding at work with the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, as the disciples spread palm branches along the way, proclaiming, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – the king of Israel.” The point here, in contrast, is that any power Jesus comes from God, not military might or human institutions. Because of this, in the world, the kingdom is inconsiderable and from a human point of view and insignificant kingdom, a kingdom that is like leaven in the meal, or a treasure hidden in the field, or the gran of a mustard seed. His kingdom does not come in a way that says, “Look, here it is.” We need to see that even in John, the focus on the concealed or hidden nature of the king and kingdom. His disciples forsook him. In the end, he was alone. The servant of God entered the world in this way but pressed on toward revelation in the resurrection and ascension. In all of this, we have “the royal man.” [2] 37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” We need to consider this notion of king and kingdom. “Are you king of the Jews?” Pilate asks. He asked with a certain condescending sneer. Must have. Big, powerful Pilate has the legions of Rome backing him up. Powerful Pilate stands strong before this whipped, bleeding, bedraggled Jew, Jesus. “Are you king?” Some of the soldiers surely snickered. How should I know who you are? Pilate does not know, he cannot know. He is a Roman, a Gentile. He knows power, the power of the sword, Roman law. All he knows is that kingdom, a kingdom propped up by the sword, the Roman occupation forces in Judea, violence, the clinched fist, the boot, the Roman Bar Association. Jesus arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week with crowds proclaiming him king. Undoubtedly, the crowds desired the restoration of the past glory of the kingdom of David. They envisioned throwing off the oppression of Rome. The concern of Pilate is here. He wants to know if Jesus is the type of king that threatens Rome. Political and military power is the concern of Pilate. Frankly, these are our concerns as well. We want to be the party in power.
Of course, Jesus points out that he has no soldiers, no armies, no lawyers fighting for his freedom. By forcefully claiming a kingdom "not from this world," Jesus defines the nature of his messianic identity. Political and might Jesus' identity or intent.
Jesus answered, “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. The final words of Jesus to Pilate in this first interview once again demarcate the otherworldly character of his job description. This job description thwarts the attempt of Pilate to find evidence of treason against Jesus. Pilate wants to talk about the claim of Jesus to "kingship." Jesus instead talks about "truth." If John's gospel leans toward Hellenistic notions about "kingdoms," the words Jesus now speaks about "truth" are still overwhelmingly Hebraic in nature. In John 8:47, we read, “Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God." We find a similar sentiment in I John 4:6, “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” "Truth" for Jesus is not merely something that one thinks about; one feels truth and acts it out in life. In Hebraic culture, there is no such thing as a separate intellect. Hebrew thought inextricably binds mind, body and emotions together. The root meaning of the Hebrew emet, "truth," is "trustworthy" or "faithful." In Hebrew, "truth" is a term more descriptive of a person than any intellectual proposition.[3] Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Here is the critical question. If we believe the truth belongs to us, then we are truth-shifters, those who shape the truth to make it fit their version of reality or to justify their ungodly or anti-social behavior. If we belong to the truth, if we have ordered our lives around the truth, then we listen to the voice of Jesus. When we make ourselves custodians of the truth, when we believe that the truth belongs to us, we listen to our own voice and the voices of those who think and act like us. We listen to the voice of our political party, our country, our religion, our faction. We listen to the voice of our fear and insecurity. We listen to the voice of our prejudice, our individual needs and desires, our experience.[4] We should notice the metaphor of “voice” that Jesus employs in his response to the charge of kingship. In explicating whom it is that belongs to the truth, Jesus declares that the members of his kingdom are precisely those people who listen to his voice. In the gospel of John, the voice of Jesus plays a key role in the conversion and ultimate salvation of those who follow Jesus. The metaphor of voice incorporates Jesus’ role both as eschatological prophet and as the word of God. In 5:25-29, during a debate about the authority of Jesus, he explains that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (v. 25). In 10:1-18, the parables of the sheepfold and the good shepherd, Jesus can lead the sheep because they hear and know his voice, but “they do not know the voice of strangers” (v. 5). The metaphor of voice guides the whole discourse (vv. 3, 4, 5, 16, 27). Finally, the first resurrection appearance in John’s gospel, the epiphany to Mary Magdalene at the tomb (20:11-18), centers on the voice of Jesus. Although Mary had already looked at Jesus, she did not recognize him until she heard his voice speaking her name (v. 16). Bringing these insights back to the dialogue with Pilate, we might encapsulate the confrontation in this way: Power (Pilate) uses force, but the truth (Jesus) uses a voice.
We honor truth when we say that we need to speak it, even if our voices shake. In Jesus, we have the self-revelation of God. Preachers and theologians do not have the task of providing easy answers to human questions, even one as important as truth. In fact, maybe the good teacher of Christianity will make us progressively aware of a mystery. God, in Jesus Christ, is the cause of our wonder.[5] We humbly submit the formation of our views and concepts to the revelation of truth we have in Jesus. Yes, that is simple and mysterious at the same time.
John may well want us to put ourselves in the position of Pilate. We make judgments about our lives. We may believe we are doing the right thing. Yet, we may choose the expedient over the right. When we have an experience where the witness to Jesus comes before us, we have a decision to make. What will we do with Jesus? A bit of Pilate is in us. We think we are the judge. Yet, it may well be that we are on trial.
The late Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopal priest who served parishes in New York and Pittsburgh, told the story of a man entering the Salon Carre, the room in the Louvre in Paris in which hangs some of the most exquisite masterpieces in the art world. The man looks hurriedly at some of the works of Rembrandt and of Leonardo da Vinci, and then remarks to a guard, "What's all the fuss? I don't think these paintings are all that wonderful." Whereupon the guard replies, "They are not on trial‑‑you are."
[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.2 [64.3], 176.
[2] Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.2 [64.3], 167-68.
[3] (For more discussion on this difference, see Ian Pitt Watson, "God's Truth" The Princeton Seminary Bulletin, 7, 1986, 67 75.)
[4] Michael K. Marsh, “The truth does not belong to us.” Interrupting the Silence. Interruptingthesilence.com, November 22, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
[5] It is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder. --Kallistos Ware. Thanks to Rev. Linda C. Rahe, retired ELCA clergy, Holland, Ohio, for sharing this.
No comments:
Post a Comment