The Nature of Power

A Reflection for Good Friday, April 18 by Rev. Dr. Laura Truax

Lectionary reading for 4/18/2025: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

Selected passage for reflection: John 19:10 - 11

Read

John 19:10 - 11

9 Pilate went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.

Reflect

The past few months have been tough. Everywhere, bullies seem to be winning. Dominating the world stage and, if I’m honest, captivating some of my best energy. Likely, this is why I approached this account of Jesus’ execution through the lens of power: Who thinks they have it? Who actually has it? How do they use it and when?

Like ocean currents crashing to shore and pulling back out, John moves the narrative energy from Judas to Caiaphas, Caiaphas to Pilate, Pilate to the crowd, and crowd to Pilate, where power seemingly remains. There is a gurgle from the Sanhedrin, who quibble with the nomenclature on the cross, but quickly, the final declaration from Pilate. 

Nowhere do we see Jesus control the situation.  At no point does Jesus demand, compel or force his will on anyone…other than himself. Certainly, Pilate is aware of who is holding the power - he names it directly in 19:1, exhibiting surprise at what he presumes is Jesus’ passivity. Pilate asks, “Do you not know that I have the power to release and power to kill?” 

In other words: What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you groveling or begging? Do you not understand that I’m in charge of everything that happens next? 

Pilate. Singular and Supreme. The titular head of a political and military system controlled by him. We note that John’s narrative has no hand-washing of guilt, or second-guessing of a wife’s dream. John has left the belly aching to his friend Matthew. John’s Pilate is the cold, intellectual head of the Roman state without remorse. A moment of fear from a mob storming the gate, but nothing more.This Pilate is seemingly all powerful. 

If not for the calm self-possession of Jesus. Jesus whose demeanor stops Pilate cold. The only piece that throws Pilate off the mark is the disposition of the whipped prisoner, Jesus. While Jesus doesn’t exert power over anyone else, his power over himself is magnetic. It’s a power of being fully present — to all of it. Jesus doesn’t retreat into religiosity that might  disconnect him from the horror. He is in touch with his mind (his discourse on truth 18:37) body (“I thirst” in 19:27) and spirit (inviting new relationships in 19:26-27 and knowing when his work is complete in 19:30). 

Jesus' power isn’t conferred from outside, it comes from within. A certainty of his divine purpose; a confidence that nothing happens outside of God presence and a clarity that everything happening would be in the eventual service of God’s liberating Love, foreshadowing Paul’s realization that “God causes all things to work together for good.”

We throw words like “miracle” around, and in just two days, we will proclaim the Miracle of the Resurrection. But to me, the miracle is the tenacious grip Jesus has on faith in divine power. Faith to believe his life was not a failure. That while he had spoken to thousands, these final hours of life had no more than a handful.  Faith to believe that he didn’t need to see the other side of death, to believe that God would accompany him there. Faith to know that while his particular work was completed, God’s work on earth would continue. 

Faith to believe that the greatest power was not coercion but love. That Love would be the answer to the smug arrogance of Pilate. Love would be the antigen to the mob of the misled. Love would be the only force that would heal the world. 

Respond 

The dramatic contrast of this text asks us what kind of power we are exercising. Jesus was always quick to stand up and speak up. But he did so from a consolidated place of peaceful conviction. Spend some time imagining Jesus and then reviewing your own responses and actions. 

Rest 

Jesus, you are in control of the world. May your power be my motivation and your example my desire. May you continue to move my feet and keep my heart. 

About the Author 

Laura Truax is a minister, author, and teacher with a current focus on meditation and contemplative listening. She leads a daily meditation group at MeditationChapel.org, and is active in teaching through The Olive Tree Community.