Condemning

Mark 15:2
(2)  And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so."

(2)  καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὸν ὁ Πιλᾶτος, Σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ λέγει, Σὺ λέγεις.

I think I tend to marvel almost as much as Pilate when I read how Jesus defended Himself before these mock trials.  This was what He came for, so it didn't make sense to fight.  I have enough of a sense of self-preservation that I tend to read the hero's plight in any story with eyes for how he can get out of it.  In this case it would seem that Jesus could have got Himself out of this bind.

The phrase translated "You have said so" is simply Σὺ λέγεις..  With the pronoun it would quite woodenly be "you yourself say."  I'm not sure why it gets translated in the perfect, but that works too.  The point is that Jesus didn't fight.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

What does this do to you?  Do you wonder how this guy could be such a wimp and roll over and die?  That would be a very natural response.  Or do you marvel that this guy could have saved Himself several times and yet chose this path.  It was not an easy one, but it's what He came to do.  I hope that this fills you with deeper love and appreciation for the Savior.

I also hope that this spurs you on to greater action.  What have you come to do?  You haven't come to die for the sins of the world, but what have you come to do?  Are you doing it?  Are you as focused as the Lord was in His mission?  If not, what is distracting you and what can you do to eliminate those distractions?