JOHN 18:12-14, 19-24 GOD IN THE DOCK

12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?”

24 Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

What fear the perpetrators of evil have before the One who is good. Jesus has already told them to take him and has opposed the violent response of his followers, and yet his “captors” feel they must bind him. This prisoner is brought before the former high priest and sire of a dynasty of high priests, and Annas is concerned with his disciples. In an act of supreme cowardice, an official strikes the prisoner whose hands are tied.

Jesus taught in the open and his words were well known among the people. He spoke freely among them and revealed to them the true nature of God and the path of obedience to God. The revelation was accessible to anyone who was willing to listen. Yet here we have the religious leadership tying up Jesus and interrogating him as if he had some sinister secret message he would otherwise not tell them.

For us, who live in a sin-darkened world, there is always a suspicion that what is plainly stated is not the whole truth. Somehow we think that the truth will only come out through manipulation or coercion. When it comes to Jesus and the Scriptures, we tend to bind the Word of God with the threads of our own understanding and desire and then challenge him to make himself sensible to us. When we search for the truth using the categories of our reason and experience we are employing corrupt faculties to identify the pure reality. It is like trying to see ones reflection in a dull piece of metal. The truth will only come to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. More often than not, that inspiration will be a shared inspiration that comes to us through the witness of Jesus’ disciples.

Save me, O Lord, from the presumption of putting you on trial in my life. Your loving nature, merciful yet just, has been proven on the cross and it transcends my experience and my reason. May I ever humbly accept your truth as it has been handed down through the Church and expressed by your disciples through word and deed. Amen.