The White Elephant
Long ago, it was a custom in Thailand that the king would give a white elephant to any noble that he didn’t like. The white elephant was an exceedingly rare creature. Being so rare, and being a gift from the king, who could possibly be so insolent as to refuse such a gift?!
But, having received a white elephant, what does one do with it? A white elephant takes up space and eats – a lot. And so, the white elephant was known as the rare and wonderful gift that nobody wants.
In John 18, Jesus is on trial. The author skillfully shifts the camera between different scenes, showing Pilate shuttling between the interior of his headquarters (v. 28) to the Jews outside (vv. 29-32), then returning in again (vv. 33-38) before another trip outside (vv. 38-40).
This movement highlights a bigger ‘shuttling’ that is going around. Jesus is led from the high priest Annas (vv. 13-23) to the house of Caiaphas (vv. 24-27), but then he is handed over to Pilate (v. 28). The Jews want to give Jesus to Pilate, but Pilate wants to hand him right back. He says, “Take him yourselves, and judge him by your own law” (v. 31). But the Jews don’t want him, and Pilate tells Jesus that they “have delivered you over to me” (v. 35). Pilate goes out again and asks if they want him released (v. 39), but they want nothing to do with him (v. 40). When Pilate again tries to give him back (19:5), they refuse (v. 6). After this, Pilate actively sought to release him (v. 12), and still the Jews will not take him (v. 12).
What is the meaning of all of this back-and-forth? For one thing, John highlights the way that the world responds to Jesus. The Jews have Jesus, but they don’t want him, so they are constantly sending him away. Pilate is in the same position. At the same time, you can’t just ignore Jesus. Pilate can’t easily get rid of him. Jesus demands a response. He is a rare and wonderful gift for the world (just read the beginning of John to discover this). But for all his value and worth, nobody wants him. For an unsaved world, Jesus is the ultimate white elephant.
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