Scripture Reading: Luke 23:1-25
What's the best way to have someone killed who has influence among the people?
This is what the religious authorities were trying to figure out in Jesus' day. He was a brilliant teacher, healer and exorcist. He was itinerant in that he didn't set up shop for very long in any one town or place. He challenged the status quo and was a threat to those in religious power.
Within the Hebrew scriptures, there are passages that grant the authorities the right to capital punishment. However, the Roman authorities that occupied Judea kept a strict rein on the right to execute people for crimes. They didn't allow for Jewish leaders to take matters into their own hands if it meant a death sentence.
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| This is the Man by Myroslav Duzinkevych, 2002 |
Certainly, Roman authorities executed a lot of people. The main people that they would have had no qualms about killing were insurrectionists who threatened the power of Caesar in this locality. So, notice through today's passage that Jesus is being painted as a threat to Roman rule.
They start out complaining that he kept them from paying taxes. As we think about tax day in the US, I don't think this complaint was a legitimate worry of theirs, do you?
They call Jesus the Messiah - the king - which would have been a direct threat to Pilate. But Pilate doesn't see him as a military leader. They have plenty of accusations but Pilate doesn't see one that successfully paints Jesus as an insurrectionist.
When Jesus gets handed off, Herod just wants to see a miracle. For some reason, Jesus doesn't seem up to it. Jesus is not an entertainer.
In the end, neither Pilate nor Herod see Jesus as a threat deserving death.
The crowd then picks an actual insurrectionist over Jesus.
We often choose violence over peace and have throughout human history.
On this Good Friday, I must honestly look at myself and ask why this is. I know that I choose violence - maybe not physically - but in the words I sometimes use. I pick violence in that my blood gets hot over things that frustrate me. My thoughts at times are not thoughts of peace.
And in these instances, we become a part of the mob demanding Barabas over Jesus.
Prayer for the day:
Oh God, this is a heavy day. We recognize that we do not have it all together - either individually or collectively. Why would Jesus stay silent when a word might have released him? Help us to sit with the fact that someone would lift us up at any price. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, the Messiah. Amen.
Picture, This is the Man by Myroslav Duzinkevych, 2002. Used under the Creative Commons License.
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