John 18:22

John 18:22 says, And when He had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand saying, Answereth thou the high priest so?  Jesus had told them the truth, and they were angry.  There was no law that said a person could not answer the high priest truthfully.  Jesus did not threaten him or even berate him.  Also, evidently the high priest had taken on a role of power instead of service.  If religious leaders today take on a role where they are worshipped as much or more than God, then there is a problem.  Verse twenty-three adds, Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou Me?  Jesus was telling the man if He spoke evil, then he should address the evil, but there was no reason to hit Him.  This was true not only because Jesus had not said anything evil about the high priest, but also because He had only truthfully answered the question asked Him.  When people do not want to hear the truth, they often lash out and sometimes become violent.  We, as followers of Christ, need to simply make sure that we speak the truth and never lash out at others in anger.  Jesus did not retaliate when He was struck.  He simply asked why the man felt he had the right to do what he did.  The truth sometimes angers people, and they strike out at the one speaking it.  They may even physically attack the person presenting the truth.  As followers of Christ, that doesn't give us the right to strike back.  We simply need to continue to proclaim the truth.  If people don't want to hear it, we can do nothing about that.  Verse twenty-four continues, Now Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas.  Even when Jesus was bound, the religious leaders still saw Him as a threat.  Of course, He was only bound because He chose to be.  When the world thinks it has bound up God, it needs to look more closely at what is really happening.  The world will never bind God.  We as His followers need to live in the power of that truth.