Luke 23:1-2 “Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him….”
How do you treat the words of those who disagree with you? The responses to Jesus’ words at his trial seem pretty typical of fallen, human nature.
The Pharisees wanted to twist his words in order to get their way. Pilate tried to alleviate his responsibility by ignoring his words, push them aside like a pile of papers on a crowded desk. And Herod, he was looking for hype. He hoped Jesus would be so desperate to go free that he would use his words to evoke miracles.
Twist. Ignore. Hype. Very human responses when we don’t want to acknowledge the truth.
Some folks are masters at twisting the truth to make it fit their own desires. Like the Pharisees, they don’t look for the spirit behind the words someone speaks. Instead, they bend another’s words to make them fit their agenda. They don’t live by a standard of truth; they live by self-justification. But Jesus is the truth and when we manipulate words at the expense of truth, it says a lot about how we view Jesus.
Once we hear the words of truth, guess what. We’re responsible to them. The Pilates among us either intentionally forget what they know or try to pass the buck if it means saving their own skin. Pilate was so afraid of losing his position that he ignored the truth of Jesus’ innocence. Maybe we treat truth the same way when it threatens our reputation or comfort.
Herod looked forward to hearing Jesus. In keeping with his lustful nature, he wanted to be entertained. Must have thought Jesus would heal a blind man or multiply some flatbread and figs in front of him. When Jesus didn’t accommodate, Herod joined in the mocking and ridicule. He never wanted to hear words of truth in the first place.
The way we treat the truth serves as a good indication of how we view other people. Maybe even the Lord. So let’s not react to folks we disagree with in the same way as those at Jesus’ trial. Revere the truth, no matter how much it might cost. Let’s not twist it, ignore it, or exploit it to serve ourselves.