Jesus stands before the highest Roman authority in Judea, and the accusers shift from the religious issues of "Messiah" and "Son of God" to the secular issues of taxes and kingship.
That Jesus opposed the payment of taxes to Caesar was just plain untrue. Jesus had told people to pay the taxes ("pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar ...").
That Jesus puts himself forward as a king was also untrue. He never used the title. In John's Gospel, when the people wanted to carry him off and make him king, he fled.
We can identify with Jesus here. Something we said is taken the wrong way. Or we didn't say it at all. Or we said the very opposite. But it's been twisted. We later hear how this is being passed around, characterized in a distorted way, all sorts of motives ascribes. What will others say when they hear about it? Yet we're helpless to stop it.
It happens in families, at work, in any group.
As Jesus stands before Pilate and listens to what his accusers are saying, we can put ourselves in his shoes. Which, by the way, is a good way to pray, Do it for a few minutes.
- Little Black Book, Diocese of Saginaw