April 5: What Do You Do With Jesus?
♫ Music:
Day 43 - Wednesday, April 5
Title: CHRIST BEFORE PILATE
Scripture: John 18:28–40
Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas’ presence into the palace. It was now early morning and the Jews themselves did not go into the palace, for fear that they would be contaminated and would not be able to eat the Passover.
So Pilate walked out to them and said, “What is the charge that you are bringing against this man?”
“If he were not an evil-doer, we should not have handed him over to you,” they replied.
To which Pilate retorted, “Then take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” “We are not allowed to put a man to death,” replied the Jews (thus fulfilling Christ’s prophecy of the method of his own death).
So Pilate went back into the Palace and called Jesus to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked.
“Are you asking this of your own accord,” replied Jesus, “or have other people spoken to you about me?”
“Do you think I am a Jew?” replied Pilate. “It’s your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done, anyway?”
“My kingdom is not founded in this world—if it were, my servants would have fought to prevent my being handed over to the Jews. But in fact my kingdom is not founded on all this!”
“So you are a king, are you?” returned Pilate. “Indeed I am a king,” Jesus replied; “the reason for my birth and the reason for my coming into the world is to witness to the truth. Every man who loves truth recognises my voice.”
To which Pilate retorted, “What is ‘truth’?” and went straight out again to the Jews and said: “I find nothing criminal about him at all. But I have an arrangement with you to set one prisoner free at Passover time. Do you wish me then to set free for you the ‘king of the Jews’?”
At this, they shouted out again, “No, not this man, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a bandit.
Poetry & Poet:
“One Crown that No One Seeks”
by Emily Dickinson
One crown that no one seeks
And yet the highest head
Its isolation coveted
Its stigma deified
While Pontius Pilate lives
In whatsoever hell
That coronation pierces him
He recollects it well.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH JESUS?
Receive John 18 as it is uniquely sung by the Sunday 7 PM Choir .
The ‘Jesus before Pilate’ scene stands in the middle of a whirlwind. Judas, a student of Jesus, betrays Jesus and hands him over to a Roman battalion and officers sent from the Pharisees and chief priests (18:3, 12). Let that sink in. But Jesus does not hide from His betrayer or those seeking to arrest him.
Another close student of Jesus’ - Peter - ends up denying Jesus while an influential religious authority (the high priest) questions Jesus’ truth-claims. The swirl of guilt-by-association and conformism-to-correctness fill the atmosphere. But Jesus remains honest and transparent in his responses.
John is painting with contrasting colors. What stands out to you about Jesus’ posture before various powers that seek to seize control of Him? Even as threats surround Him, does He hunker-down into self-protective mode? Is He defensive of His ‘rights’ before Jewish and Roman authorities?
In the presence of (false) accusatory, interrogating claims, Jesus makes himself known but not in the manner of a lawyerly apologia. Strikingly, the replies of Jesus often lead with questions.
Throughout John 18, especially when Jesus is before Pilate, John paints contrasting visions and practices of power, even how to hold power. What do you notice about how divine power is held in the presence of earthly powers? A striking image is on display. Is it analogous to a “lamb being led to the slaughter, a sheep that is silent before its shearers” (Is. 53:7)?
Jesus does not seek to control his circumstances. He stands between a highly accusatory mob that demands his death and Pilate, a “law and order” governor, who is inquisitive of this so-called ‘evil-doer’ and ‘king’
The trajectory of Jesus in John 18 is a rather offensive image to a particular sensibility of a “strong man”; from that framework, Jesus does not appear to be ‘strong’ and ‘in control’. The optics on Jesus look like He’s weak, acquiescing, even passive, not leading with a ‘commanding presence’ but from his vulnerabilities, and certainly not ‘in charge’ as one would expect for a ‘King of the Jews’. Consider the striking artwork by James Tissot.
There is not a Satan-tempting-Jesus narrative in John’s gospel. Yet, the scenes in John 18-19 resemble a ‘testing’ pattern. One can nearly hear in the background the slithering tongue of the Accuser in a hermeneutic of ‘strong man’ idols and ideologies (e.g., in the spirit of): “If you are the Christ, can’t you save yourself?!” (Mt. 4:5-7; cf. Lk. 23:37).
What king allows himself to be taken and sacrificed? Why follow him? Is this what obedience to God means? How is that freedom? A Nietzschian mind is offended. Paul walks over to the apoplectic ‘wise men’ and posits . . . what if the ‘foolish’, ‘lowly’, and ‘weak’ things are chosen to shame the ‘wise’ and ‘strong’ (1 Cor. 1:26-29)?! What if?
Our ‘offended mind’ often seeks to put on trial that which we regard as ‘offensive’ or ‘foolish’ to our own eyes. We can do it with God and the work of God. We can see our neighbor that way. We can even see ourselves that way. You know what that is like?
In the courtroom of my own making, my mind is the Chief Justice and the Constitution. I bring order, or so I think. My control keeps order, at least the illusion of it. “What is right in my own eyes?” is the center of my deliberations in the courtroom of my own mind. Can mercy even enter? Is there a seat for her in the hallowed halls of my own sense of ‘right(eousness)’?
Pilate has arrived at his official headquarters. His presence is a sign that he intends for there to be order, not disorder erupting on his watch during Jewish high feast days. He is the governor, after all. Like the Pharisees and the chief priests, in the courtroom of Pilate’s mind, he’s ‘in control’.
What does Pilate achieve in the meritocracy of his own mind?
* He finds that Jesus is not an ‘evil doer’ and declares three-times (isn’t that interesting?) that “I find no guilt in Him” (18:38, 19:4, 19:6) yet . . .
* He yields to the demands of the chief priests and Pharisees, even to the point of releasing Bar-abbas, ironically, a known insurrectionist (and whose name literally means, “son of the father”).
Consequently, Pilate’s sense of ‘keeping order’ entails ‘staying in charge’ in the courtroom of his own mind . . . even if justice is not upheld and the innocent are not protected. Even the high priests end up emphatically declaring, “We have no king but Caesar!” (19:15). Oh the irony! What a ‘crown’ of achievement for Pilate, even as a crown of thorns, mockery, violent scourgings are given to Jesus. Oh the double-irony! What is lost by self-protection of position and status? Emily Dickinson discerns
While Pontius Pilate lives
In whatsoever hell
That coronation pierces him
He recollects it well.
In the courtroom of our own mind, our “crowning achievements” can become a “coronation that pierces us.”
What do we do with Jesus, the “humble king”? We don’t own Him. He is not our ‘project’ nor an ‘enhancer’ or ‘add-on’ to our status and standing. He regularly defies the courtroom of our own thinking. Are we willing to come to terms with the audacious humility of divine power held in the presence of earthly powers, a “crown that no one seeks” compared to other ‘coronations’?
The poetry of Paul in Philippians 2 illuminates, singing that Jesus, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant . . .” (NIV)
The humble king that would become victorious over death, sin, and the devil reveals the ‘origin story’ of His kingdom and His kingship in the very presence of . . . governor Pilate: My kingdom is not founded upon the way this world does ‘might’ and ‘right’ (18:36).
The reason for His birth? To the pragmatic governor, Jesus discloses that He has come “To witness to the truth. Everyone who loves truth recognizes my voice” (18:37). In one sense, Jesus participates in a tradition and ministry of bearing witness (remember John the Baptizer’s ministry in John 1?).
In another sense, Jesus’ voice is integral to reality, reverberating across generations. Can you hear? Do you see? Are you ready to follow? Jesus turns on its head the slyfull slithering of ‘strong’-and-‘right’-in-my-own-eyes. In fact, does he not step on its ‘head’, even as God is put in the dock?
What does Jesus’ (show) ‘trial’ really judge? Perhaps it is this: Whether I actually love truth, but not on my own terms? Am I willing to stand under the truth and strength of who Jesus is, to attune my life to His voice? Or, am I dismissive, flippantly thinking, “What is truth, anyways?” “Can’t I just turn Jesus into a tool that I want Him to be for my own self-protection, promotion, and preservation, to help me become master of my own self-justifications?”
Jesus stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets (Colossians 2:16, The Message).
Prayer:
Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.
–––Psalm 139:23-24, The Message
Joseph E. Gorra
Writer and Educator
Talbot Alum
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Translation of the Bible for the 2023 Lent Project:
J.B. Phillips New Testament Translation of the Bible
J.B. Phillips (1906-1982) was well-known within the Church of England for his commitment to making the message of truth relevant to today's world. Phillips' translation of the New Testament brings home the full force of the original message. The New Testament in Modern English was originally written for the benefit of Phillips' youth group; it was later published more widely in response to popular demand. The language is up-to-date and forceful, involving the reader in the dramatic events and powerful teaching of the New Testament. It brings home the message of Good News as it was first heard two thousand years ago.
https://www.biblegateway.com/
About the Artwork #1:
Jesus Before Pilate - Interview #1
James Tissot
c. 1886–1894
Gouache over graphite on grey wove paper
16.8 cm x 28.6 cm
Brooklyn MuseumNew York
Following the accusation of blasphemy by the chief priest—a crime that demands the death sentence in ancient Jewish tradition—Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea. Bound and bloodied from his beatings, a stoic Jesus faces Pilate, who wears the pristine white toga of his rank. The two meet alone in the Hall of Judgment, though several eavesdroppers appear through the screen in the background. In the moment depicted by Tissot, Pilate asks Jesus whether he is the king of the Jews. Jesus replies that “My kingdom is not of this world” and that his purpose is to “bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:36-37)
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/13490
About the Artwork #2:
Jesus Before Pilate - Interview #2
James Tissot
c. 1886–1894
Gouache over graphite on grey wove paper
22.7 cm x 15.7 cm
Brooklyn Museum
New York
In Tissot’s second interview painting, Pilate again confronts Christ after he has been brutally flogged and given a crown of thorns. Tissot purposefully seats Pilate in a chair upon a tiger skin “rug,” meant as a display of wealth and demonstrating his earthly dominion, status, and power. Tissot paints this encounter which bears witness to the “showdown” between terrestrial and divine authority—the powerful Roman governor intent on maintaining order in lands under his governance and Jesus who tells Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 ESV). Jesus was telling Pilate that he needed no earthly defense. Tissot found the scenes of Christ’s passion—his sufferings and crucifixion—more absorbing than any of the other images he had composed throughout his series The Life of Christ. Most of these images ask the viewer to consider the brutality of the passion and thereby to meditate on precisely what Christ endured to secure redemption for humanity.
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/3207
About the Artist:
James Tissot (1836–1902) was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of fashionable, modern scenes and society life in Paris before moving to London in 1871. A friend and mentor of the impressionist painter Edgar Degas, Tissot also painted scenes and figures from the Bible. In 1885, Tissot had a revival of his Catholic faith, which led him to spend the rest of his life making paintings about biblical events. Moving away from impressionism and postimpressionism, Tissot returned to traditional, representational styles and narratives in his watercolors. To assist in his completion of biblical illustrations, Tissot traveled to the Middle East to make studies of the landscape and people. His series of 365 gouache illustrations showing the life of Christ were shown to critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences in Paris, London, and New York, before being bought by the Brooklyn Museum in 1900. Tissot spent the last years of his life working on paintings of subjects from the Old Testament, which he unfortunately never completed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tissot
https://www.artbible.info/art/biography/james-tissot
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/james_tissot
About the Music: “Pilate and the People” from “The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ/St. John Sung Gospel” from the album St. John Sung Gospel
Lyrics: “Pilate and the People”
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the Praetorium,
In order not to be defiled so they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
“What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him,
“If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”
At this Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone,”
In order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered,
“Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered,
“I am not a Jews, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”
Jesus answered,
“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
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. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him,
“What is truth?”
When he said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
“I find no guilt in him. But do you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again,
“Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head and clothed him a purple cloak and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out to them and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them,
“Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, ”Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, according to that law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pialte heard this statement he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?” Do you not know that I have the power to release you and I have the power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the palace called Stone Pavement in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The Chief Priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
And he handed him over to them to be crucified.
About the Composer:
Matthew Wolcott is a Dallas-based singer-songwriter. Wolcott attended Louisiana State University on an academic scholarship, studying mechanical engineering and computer science as a path into the aerospace industry. But music always called out to him, and after college he continued songwriting and spent over ten years on and off the Dallas live-music scene—although his passion would parallel both law school and a law career. Eventually, he returned to writing and playing music behind closed doors, trying to unearth his unique sound and style. Wolcott's rich, Americana-infused vocals are beautifully lifted by infectious melodies and inspired instrumentation.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0kfqVAInJjLCEMm7XafFNH
https://www.matthewwolcott.com/
About the Performers:
From chant, traditional hymns, Taizé, and choral anthems, to contemporary, praise and worship, gospel, and spiritual songs, the Sunday 7pm Choir strives to sing beautiful, sacred, Christian choral music from all genres, all for the glory of the Lord. This is the music/chant version of the “Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ,” arranged by Benedictine Father Columba Kelly. This version was recorded virtually due to the COVID pandemic.
https://www.sunday7pmchoir.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American lyric poet who lived in seclusion and commanded a singular brilliance of style and integrity of vision. Dickinson is widely considered as one of the two leading nineteenth-century American poets, alongside Walt Whitman. After studying at the Amherst Academy, she briefly attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst, Massachusetts. By the 1860s, Dickinson lived in almost complete isolation from the outside world, but actively maintained many correspondences and read widely. Dickinson’s poetry was heavily influenced by the metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, her reading of the book of Revelation, and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town, which encouraged a conservative approach to Christianity. While Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet and regularly enclosed poems in letters to friends, she was not publicly recognized for her poetry during her lifetime. It was not until after her death—when Lavinia, Dickinson's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems —that the breadth of Emily’s work became apparent. A complete collection of her poetry became available for the first time when scholar Thomas H. Johnson published The Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson
About Devotion Author:
Joe Gorra
Writer and Educator
Biola Alum
Gorra is a frequent contributor to Biola’s Lent and Advent projects. His writings have also appeared at VeritasLifeCenter.org, ChristianityToday.com, Patheos.com, Equip.org, and in various academic publications, including the Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care, the Journal of Markets and Morality, and The Christian Research Journal.