Welcome to the Daily Deciple Podcast, where we seek daily to be with and to become like Jesus, our teacher. Welcome to the Daily Deciple Podcast, it's Travis, and we're going to be in John chapter 18. And the title of the podcast this morning is, You Don't Have to Win. And that's actually kind of a crazy podcast title in our current cultural moment because there's so much pressure to have to win.
Win the contest, win the battle, win the argument, get on top of the narrative, you know, prove your point better than next person to defend yourself, match their energy, whatever it might be, right? You have to win. And honestly, that's not a current cultural moment. That is the perpetual cultural moment.
There's always been this pressure to win, to get on top, to be the best, to make the best argument, you know, to control the narrative, to defend ourselves, to strike back, to match the intensity of the other person, whatever it might be. And there's nothing wrong with winning, per se. But when it becomes the driving force in our lives, we have to ask the question, do we ultimately win? And our purpose is always to win.
Do we actually ultimately win? And I think that Jesus gave himself the freedom not to win. And I think this moment that we're going to look at in the life of Jesus summons us into that kind of rest and that kind of identity and that kind of freedom that we don't have to win all the time. So where in our lives right now do we feel like we need to win, to prove that point better than them, to defend ourselves, to make them understand, you know, to get the last word, to outperform, to outachieve, to be on top.
Where do we feel like we have to win? And if we can think about that for just a moment, I think this passage could be really, really powerful for us this morning as daily disciples. John, chapter 18, Jesus is on trial. And beginning in verse 19, it says, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.
And if I just pause there for a moment, when we don't feel like we have to win, we don't mind being questioned. Jesus is being peppered with questions by the most powerful group in Judea. He's being questions about his disciples, questions about his teaching. And Jesus is fine with that.
When we don't have to win, when we don't feel like we have to get on top of the conversation, prove our point, defend ourselves, right? Get the last word in. We don't mind being questioned. Ask your questions.
Great. And I'll answer them. I'm happy to answer them. When I've answered them, then I'll remain silent.
And Jesus does that. He answers questions. And then when he feels like he's answered the questions, he remains silent. Even if people don't fully understand him, he doesn't feel like he has to win the conversation.
So they're asking him questions. And then one of the people in the room slaps him in the face. And Jesus says, if I said something wrong, then tell me what I said that was wrong. But if I am speaking the truth, then why did you strike me?
And then the Sanhedrin sent him off to Pilate. And I think that last line is very interesting. The Sanhedrin doesn't know what to do with this man that doesn't feel like he has to win. You see, the Sanhedrin is used to dealing with people that either cower or run or strike back or feel like they have to win.
And then the power games ensue and the Sanhedrin overpowers. But they don't know what to do with Jesus because he doesn't have to win the argument. Yet he stands there in that space and in that moment. Something who he is answering questions, being vulnerable, but not having to get on top of the conversation, prove the point, defend himself, get the last word.
And they quite literally don't know what to do with Jesus. So they send him off to Pilate. Maybe Pilate will know what to do with this man. Of course, Jesus is in the middle of an unjust trial.
He's been falsely accused. He's been struck in the face. He could defend himself. He could argue his case.
He could shut them all down with his wisdom and his wit and his intellect. And there's nothing wrong with wisdom and wit and intellect. Jesus makes good use of his wisdom and his wit and his intellect on other occasions. It's not because he wants to win.
It's because he wants to love. That's always Jesus's motivation. In this situation, Jesus responds with just a calm clarity. He's not escalating.
He's not ranting. He's not retaliating. He's not striking back. He doesn't have to win in the moment.
And I'm just meditating on this story. And I'm thinking about where in my life do I have to win? What conversations do I have to win? Where do I feel like I always have to defend myself?
And as I'm looking at Jesus in the story, as we're looking at Jesus in the story, I think one of the things that comes to my mind is that we don't have to match the energy of other people. Jesus is struck, but he doesn't strike back. He refuses to let someone else's behavior determine his response. He doesn't have to match their intensity.
And some of us are constantly reacting. We're matching tone, matching intensity, matching sarcasm. But Jesus is saying to his disciples, this is what maturity looks like. I don't have to become what I'm experiencing.
Even if I'm experiencing intensity, even if I'm experiencing someone who's trying to win or overpower, I don't have to become what I'm experiencing. I don't have to become them. I'm living in a different kingdom. I don't have to prove my point.
And Jesus could have dismantled their arguments. I mean, imagine being the kind of person that could just dismantle someone else's argument. Jesus could have won. Kind of like when he was on the cross, and he said, hey, I could call down legions of angels and just wipe the floor with these Romans.
He could have won, but would that have actually led to a true win? He could have dismantled their argument. But Jesus clearly isn't driven by being right or winning. He's just going to be who he is.
And I think so much exhaustion, so much of the exhaustion that is present in our lives comes as a result of needing to win the argument, to defend ourselves, be understood by this group of people, answer these questions in such a way where people are satisfied, always explaining, always defending, always needing people to see it our way. And what would a life look like if we didn't have to win every conversation? If we could sit there like Jesus in this passage, they're peppering him with questions, questions, questions, questions. He's answering the questions.
They slap him. He doesn't slap back. He just says, if I've spoken something that's untrue, tell me what's untrue. But if I've spoken the truth, why do you strike me?
And as we're talking about this this morning, the other thing that comes to my mind is that going low, which may be the opposite of winning, choosing to go low in humility is not weakness. It's strength under control. Jesus is not being passive. He's never passive.
He's restrained. He goes low and that's strength under control. It's cross-shaped strength. It's redemptive strength.
It will change the conversation, change the world, change the situation. Winning doesn't do that. Winning often just perpetuates more need for winning. But going low is true strength.
And that's exactly what Jesus models here. So going low doesn't mean that we don't have a voice. Going low means that we're not controlled by our need to use the voice that we have. And I just want to say that again because that hit me.
Going low doesn't mean we don't have a voice. Going low means that we're not controlled by our need to use the voice that we have. Turning the other cheek, by the way, doesn't mean we don't have a cheek to turn. One of my favorite authors loves to talk about how Jesus turned the other cheek because he had a cheek to turn.
He knew who he was. He could have struck back, but he chose not to. And the author that I love puts it this way, we actually have to have a cheek in order to turn it. Jesus had a cheek.
He knew who he was. So he was able to turn the other cheek. He was able to go low. And it wasn't about winning.
It was about true strength, true strength, not having to get on top of the conversation. Win the argument, prove our point, make everybody understand. But just being able to stand there, not reacting or matching the intensity, but responding in truth and being present. And so as daily disciples, let's try this today.
When there's an intense moment, intense conversation, someone's coming at us with bravado, or needed to win, or peppering us with questions or whatever. Let's just pause, lower our voice, maybe stay less than we would actually want to say. And let there be a moment. If we could, here's daily disciples, let's do this today.
Let's find a moment where we could win and then choose not to. Let's find a moment where we could win and then choose not to. And walk in that genuine cross-shaped strength that our Rabbi modeled for us. And we will talk soon.