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Good morning, Covenant Family. I pray that as you read or listen to this, that there is something in your life where you can sense God’s love for you and where you can feel joy. Because we’re spending several Sundays reading through the week leading up to the crucifixion, the texts we’re reading on Sunday mornings aren’t joy filled. I pray, though, that seeing, in Peter, someone we can relate to is hope giving. And I pray that reflecting on Jesus’ love and grace and the invitation to repentance is lifegiving. It sure is for me! One thing we barely looked at on Sunday morning, though, is Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders and their enforcers. Let’s take a brief look at that in John 18:19-23 in this Covenant Weekly for March 10, 2026.

Here is how John describes the interrogation of Jesus:

19 Meanwhile [that is, while Peter was denying Jesus the first time], the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

It seems that Jesus is getting a little sarcastic with his questioners. They ask him about what he’s been teaching and, rather than telling them again, Jesus says, “Hey! I’ve been living and teaching publicly for a few years now! Go ask all the people who’ve heard me what I said!”

It is likely he did this because they are trying to deal with Jesus quietly and privately. If they start going around asking people what Jesus said, it will become a very public incident. And, ultimately, because he doesn’t give them what they want it does become a public incident.

But there is something in what Jesus does that is challenging for me to think about. My tendency is to want to control the narrative. If someone wants to know what I think and believe and teach, they should ask me because I’m the one they want to know about. Jesus, however, releases this control by saying, “Ask everyone who has heard me!”

I find this fascinating for a couple of reasons. First, because what people hear often has little to do with the intent of the communicator. I still get surprised when, after a Sunday sermon, people come up to me and, in telling me what they appreciated about a message, say I said something that I’m pretty sure I didn’t say! Most of the time it’s far better than what I could say, which reminds me of the divine aspect of our times together. But the point remains. Humans can be really unreliable witnesses when it comes to accurately hearing, remembering, and understanding what someone else is saying!

Another reason I find this fascinating is that Jesus knows that his disciples currently do not understand all that he’s been teaching. Even those closest to him don’t get it.

But still, he says, “Go ask them about me. Ask them what I teach. Ask them what’s important to me.”

What I’ve been thinking about is, what would people around me say if someone else came to them and said, “This Jon guy. What does he teach? What does his life demonstrate? What’s actually important to him?” If others were asked, “Don’t give me the varnished version. I’ve read all that he’s put online. I’ve even watched his sermons. But you’ve sat with him in board meetings and over coffee. You’ve had facetime with him. What’s he really about?”

Jesus has lived his life in such a way that he is completely comfortable saying, “Go ask them.” His interior life and exterior life are so aligned that he is comfortable with letting go of the narrative. The common word for that is integrity.

How is mine? How is yours?

As I think about this, I’m aware of a temptation to work harder at fostering an image - to put up a stronger front even in smaller settings. But the goal of this is to drop those barriers while inviting God into the deepest parts of our interior life. It is to become vulnerable with those around us (at least those closest to us) while also becoming vulnerable with God and the work of God in our lives. This is the example Jesus set for us in how he lived which allows him to rest in the testimony of others, to release control of the narrative. He didn’t know for certain what others would say. In fact, ultimately people were paid off to lie!

But he knew who he was and how he’d lived and he could rest in that. May God give us the courage to be transformed from the inside out and to live with vulnerability with each other so that we can have that kind of rest, too.