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Pretty much any time I hear discussion of power I think of Jesus’ famous exchange with Pilate in John 19 When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cri
by bigred100 7y ago
Pretty much any time I hear discussion of power I think of Jesus’ famous exchange with Pilate in John 19
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.”
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* The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
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Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid,
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and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer him.
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So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?”
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Jesus answered [him], “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
- mac01021 7y agoI've contemplated this exchange a few times over the years, but I never feel like I really understand the point that Jesus is making.
- opportune 7y agoPontius pilate has the power to choose yes or no, but he also must choose yes or no, and this is enforced by the people with power over Pilate. His job to act as the justice system. The people who handed over Jesus forced pontius pilate to make that decision, but could have just as easily not done anything. Think about it this way: suppose you know someone who smokes a lot of weed at home in an illegal state, and their neighbor rats them out, and police discover an ounce in the person's house. That person goes to jail for a month and gets a felony. Who has been more unethical: the person who snitched for adversarial reasons, or the people in the justice system which did their job enforcing the rules given to them?
- mLuby 7y agoThis may be a trick of translation, but couldn't "The one who handed me over to you has the greater sin" refers to God (the Father)?
- meddlepal 7y agoI'm no theologian, but I'm pretty sure the Judeo-Christian God is "perfect" and without sin so no. To sin is to go against God's will or nature. Only humans and I guess the devil can do that because of implied free will. Once again, not a theologian.
- mLuby 7y agoHaha IANAT either, but they have at best a tenuous claim to authority in an discipline that's unfalsifiable. I thought the idea is that everything is or at least was created by God, so that would include Sin. It's same as that "could God create a rock so heavy even He couldn't move it" paradox. Anyway, to me the quote indicates Jesus's loyalty despite knowing the torture and death He's about to experience, as well as indicating Pontius Pilate's relative insignificance in the whole thing. As the parent says, PP is mostly a gear in the machine.
- frickinLasers 7y agoIt probaby refers to Judas, who turned Jesus in for some silver.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- ikeyany 7y agoJesus: The real guilty person here is the person who turned me in, for assuming in the end it is you that we have to answer to, and not a higher power.