Don't Panic

From John chapter 18:
28Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"
30"If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

31Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law."

"But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. 32This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

33Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

34"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

35"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

38"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"

40They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

and John 19:

7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he 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?"

11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.

15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.



Okay, keep that passage in the back of your mind for a moment, both Pilate's conversatinal points and Jesus' reaction throughout this whole process.

In Bible Study last night, which, in no relation to this topic at all, parenting, a comment by the leader on the DVD, Tim Kimmel, really, really struck me. Forgive me for harping on this whole idea, but I feel like when God finally gets through to me I have to stay stuck on it until I feel like it really sinks in.

Tim said: "God is on His throne. God is not panicking."

And it struck me as hilariously funny, for two reasons. One - I truly cannot picture God panicking. Through any stretch of my imagination, I cannot picture him hopping off of his eternal throne and running around with a crease between His eyebrows, wringing His hands and clenching His teeth in worry.

This is a good thing, not because I'm not imaginative, but because I have a foundational belief that God is all-powerful and cannot ever be taken aback and anxious about life.

However, my second reaction, also funny, was "well, if I don't believe God ever panicks, then why do I act like I do?" I often act (I should say with good reason, when my husband looses a job, when some very expensive appliance in our home breaks, when my car is literally about to explode) as if God must be freaking out with this unexpected turn of events, and, as Nipsy would say, "what are we gonna DO??!"

But God is not. he's not sitting stone cold without feeling or action, but He's not freaking out. He's taking it in stride, and, here's the best part - communicating with us on our level.

I write for a living (the bacon bits, anyway), and One of the foundational lessons for a writer is figure out who your audience is. If you can't communicate on your audience's level, don't bother. They won't figure it out. This works for both gifted students and those with disabilities. Gifted students will hardly hear things they aren't challenged by, and vice versa for those with learning or other disabilities. God, go figure, understands this concept to a T.

He meets me where I'm at. He says, look, you're freaking out. I'm not so much, but let's walk this path together and I'll listen to you ranting and I'll send some of My special brand of other-world peace back atcha. Let's talk about what you're going through and think of some practical solutions to let Me handle it. He is gentle, prodding when needed, scrappy and absorbing, each as they are called for by my particular blend of person.

Now back to the gospel of John. This is one of the places we see this solidified as extremely as it could be: Jesus' own death. If there was ever a cause to freak out, it's right now. It's before Jesus is flogged, when He's talking with the most powerful Roman authority in His region, and when He, over and over again, has a chance to save Himself in teh chaos that is erupting.

But he doesn't. Two things are particularly evident in these sections of scripture: Jesus is not panicking. Not even a little. Not even like a drop of sweat accidentally trickling down his face worried.

Not only that, but look at what He's saying to pilot. Not the message of the words, but the manner. Pilot is a regional king. Jesus talks to Pilot in his terms. He talks about being a King, about being of royal descent and of royal responsibility. He talks about things greater than this world, and by displaying a sense of calm and assurance in who He is and what He is called for, Pilot meets Him where he is. Pilot does everythign he can to change the natural course of events. Pilot is often displayed as the man who washed his hands of the One True Christ, but really, Jesus was revealed to Him in the same way Jesus reveals himself to us regularly: God doesn't panic, and God is on His throne.