John 18:22-24
When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
And then comes the repercussions for those audacious words.
John’s Jesus, unlike the portrayals offered in the other three gospels, does not stay silent during his interrogation, but instead answers with a boldness that reminds readers – and probably those in attendance – who is really in charge of this situation.
And in response, one of the police strikes Jesus, reprimanding him for not addressing the chief priest with sufficient respect. But notice that Jesus is undeterred by this excessive use of force. Rather, he challenges the police officer with pretty much the same message he offered the high priest, defending the truth of his testimony and challenging them to meet him at the level of truth rather than accusation, irritation, or hearsay.
This has been a theme in John’s Gospel from the beginning: that Jesus has come to bear witness to the truth. The truth of God’s grace, the truth of God’s love, the truth of God’s availability to all who seek God, the truth that God will not be contained to the Temple or even to one faith tradition, the truth that in Jesus God has come to save the world.
And Jesus, as the preeminent witness to – but also embodiment of – this truth, can do nothing else but continue to speak it, no matter what the cost. This commitment to bear witness to the truth is what got him in trouble in the first place, of course. And this is what will lead him to death…and us to life.
Prayer: Dear God, we give thanks for Jesus’ commitment to the truth and ask that you grant us courage to bear similar witness and to stand with those who are oppressed for telling the truth of their experience. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
An amazing passage. It preaches!