November 21, 2021,
Catherine Martinez, OSB, St. Joseph Monastery in Tulsa, OK
Who Is Your King?
Are you the king of the Jews?
With this question, Pilate unwittingly engages Jesus in a debate about power, authority, and truth. (Jn 18:33b-37) Jesus has been handed over to Pilate to be tried as an enemy of the Roman Empire and inciting the crowds. When the crowd brought Jesus to Pilate, they were already intending on having Jesus executed. Pilate was a participant in this exchange with Jesus, although not a very willing one. He tried more than once to get the people to change their minds about handing Jesus over.