Mark 15: 1-21
I don’t know why Jesus doesn’t say anything when Pilate interrogates him. If Jesus’ intention was to announce the kingdom of God then proclaiming its arrival in the presence of regional head of the Roman Empire would have made a tremendous impact. It would have shown his followers that this whole Messiah thing was true. With a word, he could have conquered the principalities and powers that dominated God’s people.
But Jesus just stood there. His lips sown shut.
It could be that Jesus knew that Pilate wouldn’t have heard him. Pilate wouldn’t have understood what Jesus was talking about.
It could be that Jesus knew who had the real power. He knew that the cross was stronger than Pilate’s imperial might.
I think the lesson for us here is to trust that the cross does mean power. The power of self-giving love over domination.
Too often, Christians mistake worldly power for God’s power. At a local Christian bookstore, a sign stands over the theology section that commands, “Defend Biblical Truth" against, who, exactly?
I don’t think “Biblical Truth” (whatever that is) needs to be defended. The demand for one's "Truth" to dominate looks like a power grab. Jesus never said, "Go out into the world, defend the bible, demand the world adopt a 'Christian worldview." If that was his agenda, then he would have stood up to Pilate. Instead, he simply stood silent.
Perhaps the best way to witness to the “truth” of the bible against an sort-of-believing world is not to get into arguments or debates, but to point to the cross. Just like Jesus did.
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