Now Jesus stood before
the governor; and the governor asked him, saying: "Are you the King of the
Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so."
When Pilate confronted Jesus asking, "Are you the King of the
Jews?" the response from Jesus was not silence but an affirmation of his Kingship.
Then why was Pilate not worried about this Jesus King?
This event is presented in more detail in the Gospel of John. When
Jesus is asked the same question in John 18:33, his response was, "My Kingdom is not
from this world." When Pilate asked again, Jesus answered, "You say that I am a
King." Jesus’ response to Pilate was not significant because Pilate recognized
that Jesus’ Kingdom was not a political realm which would be a threat to Roman
authority. In Pilate’s opinion, Jesus was not a rebel to be concerned about.
This Lenten season, how do we hear Christ’s answer to this deepest
question of our heart? To us, is Jesus’ answer one that also makes no difference to
us, no concern to how we live our lives? Or do we truly recognize Jesus as King, the
Christ, the Son of God? Does Jesus’ affirmative answer to Pilate make any difference
to how we live or lives as servants in his Kingdom?
In the quietness of prayer, is Christ’s response felt as a
potential threat to our well-ordered lives and our narrow expectations of how things
should be? Or is his answer an exciting invitation to hearing the call to be a part of his
Kingdom?
Prayer: We pray to be willing to accept Christ’s call to
servanthood in his Kingdom. Empower us to be open to seeing his rule in unexpected and
surprising ways. Amen.
