Why Did You Strike Me? — The Question That Still Stands

“Jesus replied, ‘If I have said anything wrong, make a formal statement about the wrong; but if I spoke properly, why did you strike Me?’”

— John 18:23 (AMP)

The Setting: A Collision of Kingdoms

This moment occurs during the arrest and interrogation of Yeshua, the Lamb of God who is silent before His shearers—yet not silent here. He speaks. And what He says pierces the veil between what is seen and what is unseen.

Picture it: the atmosphere is heavy with injustice. Soldiers stand by, bound by duty but not truth. The religious elite, threatened by Yeshua’s authority, seek to trap the Word with words. And yet—He is the Word. And the Word, when struck, responds with the very question that unveils the motive of man and the mystery of mercy:

“If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?”

Let us pause here. This was not a rhetorical deflection. It was an unveiling. A spiritual courtroom had been summoned.

The Original Greek: What Was Really Said?

Here’s how John 18:23 reads in the original Greek:

εἰ κακῶς ἐλάλησα, μαρτύρησον περὶ τοῦ κακοῦ· εἰ δὲ καλῶς, τί με δέρεις;

(ei kakōs elalēsa, martyrēson peri tou kakou; ei de kalōs, ti me dereis?)

Literal Translation:

“If I spoke [something] evil, bear witness concerning the evil; but if [I spoke] good, why do you beat Me?”

Notice the exactitude. Two conditional clauses:

1. “If evil I spoke…”

– κακῶς (kakōs) = wrongly, harmfully, evilly

– μαρτύρησον (martyrēson) = testify, give legal witness

2. “If good…”

– καλῶς (kalōs) = nobly, beautifully, righteously

– δέρεις (dereis) = strike, beat violently

This structure is judicial. Yeshua invokes a legal framework—he isn’t asking as a victim; He is holding court. He is not reacting emotionally—He is establishing eternal precedent.

Metaphor and Spirit: The Voice on Trial

This isn’t just about one slap from one guard.

This is about what happens every time Truth speaks—and is struck instead of received. It is about what happens when:

• Conviction meets pride

• Light confronts darkness

• Mercy meets legalism

• The Word made flesh is rejected by the very people formed by it

In this moment, Truth is on trial, but not just in the room with Annas. Every generation faces the same confrontation: What do we do when the Word exposes us?

When Yeshua asks, “Why do you strike Me?”, He is not just defending Himself.

He is revealing the pattern of persecution against the Word throughout history:

• The prophets were beaten.

• Stephen was stoned.

• Jeremiah was imprisoned.

• Yeshua is about to be crucified.

This question exposes the human impulse to strike what we don’t understand, to silence what convicts us, to beat back what doesn’t fit our version of truth.

A Living Word: Still Being Struck

The Word still speaks. And the Word is still struck.

Every time His Word is twisted to control instead of heal,

Every time love is spoken but hate is returned,

Every time truth is preached and violence erupts,

He is struck again.

This is not a passive question—it is an invitation to self-examination:

“If I have spoken wrongly, tell Me. But if I have spoken rightly, why are you offended?”

In our day, this question still echoes. The Spirit of Yeshua still asks us:

• Why do you strike the messenger?

• Why do you shut the Bible when it convicts you?

• Why do you reject the correction that could heal you?

Why This Moment Matters Now

John 18:23 was not simply a pause in the interrogation. It was a divine unveiling:

• He is the Judge being judged.

• He is the Truth being struck for speaking Truth.

• He is the innocent standing trial for the guilty.

And He does not retaliate. He questions. He awakens. He holds space for repentance. And that is love.

Prophetic Parallel: The Slap Heard in Heaven

In the spirit realm, this slap reverberated.

The same hand that would drive a nail now drives a palm across His face. And still, He asks—not “How dare you?” but “Why?”

Why strike the One sent to save you?

This is the mirror moment. Not for Yeshua. For us.

“But if I spoke well, why do you strike Me?”

Could also be rendered, “Why does righteousness offend you?”

He is drawing out the hidden motives of their hearts. And He is doing the same for ours.

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Prayer: The Question That Uncovers All

Abba Father,

You who are Truth embodied and Love extended,

Thank You for never defending Yourself with violence, but exposing hearts with holy questions.

Forgive us for the times we have slapped away what You were trying to say.

Forgive us for recoiling at the very thing that could have healed us.

You still ask us today: “Why did you strike Me?”

Lord, I say—I will not strike You. I will not strike Your Word.

I will not shut down the messenger You send,

even when the truth is uncomfortable.

Give me a heart that listens, a spirit that discerns,

and hands that do not strike but bless.

May I recognize You even when You speak through rebuke,

And may I never slap away the Hand that came to save me.

In Yeshua’s holy name,

Amen.

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Final Thought

The most dangerous strikes are not physical.

They are the ones that happen in the soul—when the Word comes close enough to heal, and we strike it instead of surrendering.

But He still asks: “If I spoke rightly, why do you strike Me?”

Let your answer be:

“I don’t. I receive You. I receive the Word. And I am changed.”

Forever.

He is still speaking.

He is still standing.

And the question still stands.

——

I Hear the Spirit Say…

“I Am the Word you struck when you didn’t understand.

I Am the voice you silenced when it cut too deep.

I Am the correction you called control—because you feared being free.

But I speak again.

I still stand before you—not in anger, but in mercy.

Not to accuse, but to awaken.

I ask not because I don’t know the answer—

but because I want you to hear your own heart.

I ask because love confronts.

I ask because truth unveils.

I ask because I will not stop asking until the scales fall from your eyes.

‘Why do you strike Me?’ I ask,

because I remember the you who loved My voice.

I remember the you who once said yes without resistance.

And I am calling that you back to the surface.

Do not be afraid of what must die in you for truth to live.

Do not recoil when the fire of My word refines you.

For I am not here to punish you—I am here to prepare you.

And I cannot send you if I cannot correct you.

I cannot elevate you if you will not listen when I speak.

So strike Me no longer with silence, with justification, with pride.

Let Me speak—and let it break you free.

For I am the Word,

and I have not finished speaking.”