3/23/17
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
When Jesus appeared before Pilate in John 18, Pilate was in a difficult position. The Jewish leaders had brought him a prisoner and told him that the prisoner needed to die. Although Pilate was not precisely known as a kind and gentle governor, he did have some scruples. All manner of bad things can happen when you are found to put prisoners to death without investigating yourself.
Is Jesus the king of the Jews? Jesus doesn’t really answer this. But he does say that his kingdom doesn’t come from this world. If it did, his followers would have been fighting. The only push back they gave when Jesus was arrested was Peter’s attempt on a guard using a sword. Jesus had healed the man, thus disapproving of Peter’s actions.
Pilate does conclude that Jesus may be a king. Jesus’ answer is a little vague. “You have said that.” What does the evidence actually tell us about Jesus? Is he a king? Is he the very God? What does he do and say? He shows himself to the the King of Heaven. He shows himself to be the one who brings reconciliation between humans and God. He shows himself to be the resurrection and the life. That seems the best conclusion.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
When Jesus appeared before Pilate in John 18, Pilate was in a difficult position. The Jewish leaders had brought him a prisoner and told him that the prisoner needed to die. Although Pilate was not precisely known as a kind and gentle governor, he did have some scruples. All manner of bad things can happen when you are found to put prisoners to death without investigating yourself.
Is Jesus the king of the Jews? Jesus doesn’t really answer this. But he does say that his kingdom doesn’t come from this world. If it did, his followers would have been fighting. The only push back they gave when Jesus was arrested was Peter’s attempt on a guard using a sword. Jesus had healed the man, thus disapproving of Peter’s actions.
Pilate does conclude that Jesus may be a king. Jesus’ answer is a little vague. “You have said that.” What does the evidence actually tell us about Jesus? Is he a king? Is he the very God? What does he do and say? He shows himself to the the King of Heaven. He shows himself to be the one who brings reconciliation between humans and God. He shows himself to be the resurrection and the life. That seems the best conclusion.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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