Stations 13-14: Jesus dies upon the cross

Luke 23:44-54

                ⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. ⁴⁷ The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

                ⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

The way in...

            Who killed Jesus?  

            Have you ever played the game clue?  I used to love this game.  The game begins by everyone choosing a player one of six players; Col Mustard, Mr. Green, Prof. Plum, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, and Miss Scarlet.  After dealing the cards the announcement is made that there has been a murder in one of the rooms of the mansion, with a certain object by one of these six characters.  The object of every player is to figure out who did it. 

            This morning we are presented with something like the game of clue.  We know there has been a death.  We know where it was committed and we know with what object.  But do we know who?  Who killed Jesus?

The suspects

             The first set of suspects are the ones most likely to have been convicted for they stood at the scene of the crime with their finger prints covering the murder weapon.  The Roman soldiers were so bold in their crime that they didn't even attempt to hide it.  It is as if they were proud of their work.  It was their work.  They were just doing their job and likely knew that if they refused then it very well could be them up on that cross.  Still, technically, they killed Jesus at Golgotha with the cross.

            But wait, you say, these soldiers were just carrying out orders.  Standing in the governor's mansion was the person that signed his death warrant – Pilate.  He was the one with the power to condemn or free people.  No one else could order crucifixions but the official Roman authority.   He could have set Jesus free or just had him imprisoned.  But he did not.  Instead, after some debate, he ordered Jesus execution.  Sure he took a bowl and washed his hands while declaring that he was innocent of this man's blood.  But no one else could have ordered the Roman soldiers to do what they did.  So, it was Pilate that killed Jesus in the governor's mansion with an order.

            But hold on a second, you might be saying.  Pilate seemed to be on Jesus' side.  He wanted to let him go and had it not been for the crowd he would have done so.  Yes, the crowd.  They are so fickle.  One moment they are singing and cheering, waving palm branches and laying their cloaks on the ground, praising Jesus as he enters the city.  And not long after they are yelling and jeering, waving their fists and tearing their cloaks, demanding Jesus be crucified.  Yes, no doubt it was the crowd that killed Jesus in the courtyard with their shouts.

            But was there someone behind the crowds?  Matthew tells us that someone else influenced the crowd.  “The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds...”  Now, finally we are getting to a missing link in our case – motive.  Who had the greatest conflict with Jesus?  For the last three years Jesus had been butting heads with the religious leaders calling them blind, pronouncing woes and over turning their temple money system.  Certainly the religious leaders had the greatest reason to want to get rid of Jesus – he was challenging their authority.  And so, they set this whole thing up.  Yes, it was certainly the religious leaders that killed Jesus in the temple courtyard with their judgment.  This has to be it, right? 

            Well, there is another guy without whom the religious leaders would never have been able to get close.  They needed an inside man, someone who recognized Jesus for the danger he was and so they paid Judas.  Judas, a man who was one of the core 12 had high hopes for Jesus as he Messiah until Jesus started saying stuff like “the first shall be last and the last shall be first,” and “whoever wants to save their life will lose it.”  And then there was that incident with that woman and the perfume where Jesus allowed hundreds of dollars to be wasted.  Yes, it had to be Judas that killed Jesus with a kiss in the garden.  

            Buuuuut, if we're going to finger Judas, couldn't we expand that accusation to the other disciples?  They had promised to follow Jesus.  They'd kept following even after he told them it required picking up their cross.  Peter had even said that he would protect Jesus with his own life.  Had all of them continued to stand with Jesus when he was arrested, held out their hands and forced the guards to take them as well.  If they'd all stood together, don't you think they'd likely have let him go?  We'll never know, because once the guards showed up, they scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.  Yes, you could make the case that it was the disciples that killed Jesus with their silence in the garden. 

            So, who did it?  Was it the disciples, Judas, the religious leaders, the crowds, Pilate or was it simply the soldiers?  Who killed Jesus? 

Us?

            Get this, there's another theory that claims the suspects in Jesus murder can not be contained to the people of his day and age.  This theory states that in some way Jesus' death was caused by you...and me.  Woe, woe, woe Mr. Sikes, I've got alibies.  I wasn't even born yet.  I wasn't at the scene of the crime.  Plus, I have no motive.  I'm like the Doobie Brothers, Jesus is just alright with me.  I don't even like stepping on ants, let alone killing someone.  You can't be serious? 

            Well, allow me a moment.  As evidence, I'll need to turn back in time a ways; back to the third book in the Bible the one no one reads called Leviticus.  In the 16^th chapter we read about the day of atonement, also known as Yom Kippur.  On this day, Aaron, the chief priest, was to take two goats and cast lots.  One lot determines the goat that is sacrificed for the Lord while the other determines the azazel.  That's Hebrew, I'll get to the English later.  Aaron is to take the Azazel before all the people, place his hands upon it and then “confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites, all their sins – and put them on the goat's head.”  Then, he shall send the goat away...into the desert.   All the wickedness, all the sins of the people are taken away by this goat never to be seen or heard from again. 

            At first glance, this might seem like a kind thing to do to the goat, setting him free in the desert.  But can you imagine the shock if it had shown up back in the village? 

Hey isn't that the Azazel...carrying all of our sins.  My first dog was named Tiny.  She was getting along in years and one day she disappeared.  I asked Mom and Dad what happened and they said she'd probably wandered away into the woods.  I know better now.  You know such was the case with the goat.  Everybody knew what the guy leading the goat into the wilderness was to do when he got out of sight.  No one wanted to see that thing again.  Have you figured out the name of this goat yet?  The Hebrew is azazel, but we know it as the scapegoat.         

            Who killed the scapegoat?  Was it the guy who led it into the wilderness?  Was it Aaron?  Or, was it the people? 

Scapegoating

            As it turns out, scapegoating is not relegated to Yom Kipur.  In fact it was there from the start, some might even say it is our original sin.  In the Garden of Eden when God asked Adam if he'd eaten from the tree he'd commanded him not to what does Adam do?  He blames Eve. And then when God turns to Eve what does she do?  She blames the serpent.  And though we aren't usually sympathetic to the serpent, you have to fell a little sorry that it doesn't have anyone to blame instead it becomes the slippery thing we know today.  But do you see what the first humans did?  Adam scapegoating Eve and Eve scapegoated the serpent.  They tried to put their sins upon another.  What a shame it didn't end with them.  Instead they passed this trait on, like blue eyes or brown hair to their children Cain and Able.  So, what does Cain do when he thinks God isn't pleased with his offering?  He says to his brothers, “Hey Able, let's go out into the field (you might even say the desert).”  And there he attacks and kills him. 

            It feels like it should have stopped there, unfortunately the genetic trait has continued to be passed on.  King Saul scapegoated David and King David scapegoated Uriah.  Israel scapegoated Assyria and Babylon scapegoated Israel.  The Jews and pagan Romans scapegoated the Christians and then when they got in power the Christians scapegoated the Jews and pagans.  On and on the cycle goes. 

            But wait, you might be saying, I don't do this.  I'd never kill a goat let alone another person.  I don't scapegoat, that's bullying.  No?   Think for a second what we do with our words.  Just last week I was talking with a colleague about our Presbytery. She  was saying how she thought I'd done a good job moderating the meeting we had which was nice, but for some reason I felt this wasn't enough so I mentioned another person.  “I like so and so, but can you believe what she said in the middle of the meeting?  That really frustrated me.”  Do you see what I did?  I was feeling the need to make myself look better and so I schluffed my frustrations onto another person.  The common term for this behavior is gossip, in psychology they call it triangulation but biblically its a form of scapegoating and we do it all the time.

            No, I don't think we killed Jesus, yet Jesus does often seem to indicate that how we treat one another is how we treat God.  “Lord,” cried the people, “when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?”  And he will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”    (Matthew 25)

            Who killed Jesus? 

“Into your hands...”

            There is one other suspect yet to be named one that would seem to free everyone from complicity.  Lots of people think Jesus' death had nothing to do with the soldiers, Pilate, the crowds, religious leaders, Judas, the disciples or even really you and more.  Instead, many people say that the greatest suspect is God.  It was God that gave his only begotten son.  It was God that guided Jesus.  It was God that had the power to stop the whole ordeal.  And wasn't it God that seemed to demand all of the sacrifices in the Old Testament – even the scapegoat? 

            You can certainly make the case against God, that he committed infanticide or in some way suicide.  But I will not be one of those to make that case.  Listen again to Jesus' last words on that cross, “Father, into your hands, I commit my Spirit.”  Jesus' body has been in the hands of many people to this point – all the suspects in fact; the soldiers, Pilate, the crowds, religious leaders, Judas and the disciples.  Earlier Jesus told the disciples that he would be “handed over to the Gentiles to be mocked, insulted and spat upon, flogged and killed...” (Luke 18:19) 

            But think back again, how does Jesus respond to the way they handled his body?  Does he scapegoat them back?  Judas?  Jesus kisses.  Peter?  Jesus looks with compassion.  The crowds?  He says nothing.  Pilate?  He says nothing.  The soldiers and religious leaders?  He looks upon them and instead of pronouncing curses, he prays for those who persecute him and says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  How could Jesus do this?  Could it be because he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that even though his body was in the hands of all of these people, his spirit, his soul, his life was in the hands of the Father.

The way out...

            “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but not the soul...” (Mat 10:18)      What Jesus knows is what we spend our lives learning – humanity kills, but God brings to life.  Who killed Jesus?  That question turns out to be the least important.  Of much greater value is the other one, “Who brings Jesus to life?” 

            Let us pray?

Stations 10-12: Jesus Crucified

Text: Luke 23:33-43

                ³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals-- one on his right, the other on his left.

            ³⁴ Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

             ³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar

 ³⁷ and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." ³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

             ³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." ⁴² Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

            ⁴³ Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

The way in…

            Let's start with a little game of name that quote.  I'll give a quote and you have to name the person, song or movie. 

            “If I were a rich man, dadel didal dald die...” (Tevi, Fiddler on the Roof)

            “If you will give me one hamburger today, I will gladly replay you with two hamburgers tomorrow...” (Whimpy, Popeye)

            “If I had a million dollars...” (Bare Naked Ladies)

            “If I were the king of the fooorrrrest...”  (Cowardly Lion, Wizard of Oz)

            Now, what do each of these quotes have in common?  Yes, the word “if.”  If is such a tiny word.  Only “a” and “I” are shorter.  Where I'm from some folks feel the need to stretch the word our from “if” out into “iff'n” as in, “iff'n you'll let me borrow your truck, then I'll fill it with firewood.”  They do this, I think, because there is so much power in these words that it feels like two letters is not enough to contain it.  If is a powerful word.  Few, if any, know this better than Jesus which our passage this morning reveals.     

If you are...

           

            Many things have happened in threes over the course of Jesus' journey to the cross.  Three times Peter denies knowing Jesus.  Three times Pilate attempted to release Jesus but three times the crowd demanded his death.  And now Jesus arrives at Golgotha, a word that means “skull”, where he is one of three crucified.  I imagine few things make for an easier target than this man lifted up, exposed and unable even to move his hands to block his face.  He was an easy target.  People could have thrown rotten fruit, even worse, they threw rotten “if's.”  First from the religious leaders.

            “He saved others; let him save himself IF he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”  Next in line were the soldiers, they'd already gotten warmed up by beating him and placing a crown of thorns upon his head.  “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” Finally, as it turns out, even those who were just as exposed got into the game.  One of the condemned who could not kick or throw a punch was at least able to lob words.  “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  The Greek 'if' is lost in our English translation, but you can feel it there.  It's as if the man is saying, “If you were the Messiah, you'd save yourself and us.” 

            If...if...if...only two letters, such a small word.  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me...especially not little words like “if.”  If words are weapons then 'if' seems like it'd be a pebble, a paper cut or a pin prick.  It is little, but what if the pin is dipped in poison?  That's the power of if.  

If we are...

            You know the poison of “if.”  It's been hurled at you. 

“If you would just pay attention...”

“If you would just eat less...”

“If you were a better father...mother...”

“If you hadn't married him...her...”

“If you'd taken better care of yourself...”

“If you weren't so stupid...”

            If...if...if...we've heard it so often from others sometimes we even hurl it at ourselves.

“If I would just pay attention...”

“If I would just eat less...”

“If I'd been a better father...mother...”

“If I'd never married him...her...”

“If I'd taken better care of myself...”

“If I weren't so stupid...”

            Do you see the poison on the tip of the dart yet?  Do you see how destructive this word can be?  Let's see if we can't look a little closer.    

Have we heard this before

            This isn't the first time Jesus has heard the “if's” is it?  Does it sound familiar?  Think back to early March.  Think back to when we began this Lenten journey of the stations of the cross.  Do you remember where we began?  “Jesus...was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil...”  And do you remember the nature of those temptations?  Did the devil bring drugs and alcohol?  Did he bring dirty magazines?  Did he try to buy Jesus with a flashy chariot or jewelry?  No, the devil came with 'if.' 

            “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

            All the authority and splendor of the kingdoms of the world will be yours, “if you worship me.”

            And finally, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,” and the angels will protect you.

            If...if...if...I think we miss the power of these temptations if we think they only appealed to Jesus' stomach or pride.  No, notice where the if is directed.  “If you are the Son of God...”  More than his stomach or pride, each of these temptations attacks Jesus' identity.  If you really are who you say you are, then you'll be able to do this.  Are we not tempted similarly?

            If you were a good person, then you wouldn't struggle with this.

            If you were a good parent, this wouldn't have happened to your child.

            If you were a good spouse, this wouldn't  have happened to your marriage.

            If you're a good pastor, you're church will get bigger.       

            Do you see the poison in the darts yet?  Once the devil brings our identity into question, then we become a rudderless ship tossed about by the wind and the waves.  And yet, does this poison infect Jesus?  Why not? 

Child...beloved...pleased

            Think back a little further, back to January.  At the beginning of this year we read a passage in which John was baptizing in the Jordan river.  Jesus comes to him to be baptized.  And do you remember the words spoken upon Jesus emergence from the water?  “This is my son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.”  

            Notice again where this affirmation takes place.  Is it at the end of the story after Jesus has been faithful?  No.  Is it in the middle after Jesus has proved himself worthy to  receive the affirmation of the Father?  No.  Not one word of ministry has been spoken by Jesus to this point.  No, God doesn't begin with an “if.”  God doesn't work in “if's”, God works with “because.”

            Because Jesus is his beloved son, he can go into the desert for 40 days.

            Because Jesus is God's beloved son, he can proclaim the kingdom of heaven.

            Because Jesus is God's beloved son, he can heal the sick and give sight to the blind.

            Because Jesus is God's beloved son, he can befriend the outcasts, the lepers, the Samaritans and the tax collectors. 

            Because Jesus is God's beloved son, he can pray God's will be done, he can refuse to lift the sword and he can persevere even when all of those who followed him run away.  Because...

Because...forgive them

            Back upon the cross, the if's are all around.  To be fair, they are valid accusations.    Messiahs, kings, gods are not supposed to get crucified.  The very thing that proves you are the messiah is that you defeat those trying to kill you and others.  It seems somewhat fair for the religious leaders, soldiers and even the criminals to question Jesus' identity by asking why he doesn't save himself and others.  In fact, his name, the name Yeshua means Yahweh saves.  It is the name of Joshua the one that saved the Hebrew people by leading them to victory over the people in the Promised Land.  Joshua saved thousands of lives, but this Jesus can't even save himself.  If he were who he says he was, he'd at least be able to do that.  This logic is attractive, but it is still so full of “if's”.  When  you look closer you'll notice that Jesus has already worked with because.

            “When they came to the place of the skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left.”  And then Jesus speaks and what does he say?  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

            They don't even know...they pound these nails, they hurl these insults and they even think they're doing the right thing.  Father forgive them.  But does this ignorance stop with Jesus?  If it did, Jesus' death, as tragic as it is would just be one of millions.  No, when Jesus says they don't know what they're doing, he is saying they/we don't know how we are doing this to one another.  Jesus is on the cross now, but tomorrow it will be someone else, perhaps even some taunting him.  And if not a cross it will be a sword, a spear or a fist.  In fact, it is because of this crucifying one another that Jesus told the women to weep last week and the reason Jesus wept for Jerusalem.  We don't know what we are doing and it is resulting in death after death after death.  All which should lead us to hang our heads in shame, but what does Jesus say?

            Father, forgive them...  

Because...

            And this brothers and sisters, is our great because.  Because God has forgiven us, we can forgive one another.  Because God calls us children, we can care for others like children.  Because God loves us, we can love others.  Because God delights in us, we can delight in others.  Because God loved us so much that he was willing to allow us to taunt, jeer and crucify him, we can love others so much that we might even endure taunts, jeers and even death. 

            The apostle Paul knew the power of this forgiveness.  He was one of those who taunted, mocked and attempted to kill those that followed Jesus.  His identity was wrapped in hundreds of 'ifs' yet it was shattered with one bright because in which Jesus forgave him and called him to become who he really was.  Love so amazing, so divine would later lead Paul despite his own mockings, beatings and imprisonments to write, “If we live, we live to the Lord.  If we die, we die to the Lord.  So whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord.  (Romans 14:8)

            And this brothers and sisters is the great because.  We belong to the Lord. 

Stations 7-9: Jesus takes up the cross, Simon and the women

Text: Luke 23:26-32

²⁶ As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' ³⁰ Then "'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' ³¹ For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

The way in…

            Do you ever go for walks?  I usually don’t want to go for walks but I’m never sorry I did so.  It’s great to be outside, to pay attention to the neighborhood and to let the kids get out of the house and burn off some energy.  Another cool thing about walks are the people you meet.  Walking, as opposed to driving, puts you in a place of vulnerability which has its risks, but also creates space to meet people.

            Think for a second about the people you have encountered while walking.  Perhaps it is that neighbor who you rarely talk to.  Perhaps it was an elderly lady sitting on her porch.  Maybe it was a group of teenagers that felt threatening until they picked up the handkerchief you dropped and gave it back.  Who have you met while walking?

            Jesus went for a walk, it was to be his final one, in a sense.  But he was walking not with New Balance shoes or a fanny pack or a backpack or binoculars.  Nor was he walking for exercise or to get groceries or to spot birds to add to his list.  No, Jesus was walking with a beam of wood over his shoulder.  Jesus' walk was different from ours, however, like us, Jesus did meet some people along the way.

Simon

            “As they led him away, they,” we can only assume that the “they” is the Roman soldiers, “they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.”  Have you spent much time thinking about this guy Simon? The poor guy travels over a 1000 miles from Cyrene which is in N. Africa in what is modern day Syria, most likely with his family.  The festival of passover has brought them this far and it was likely a trip like going to Disneyland.  Then when he arrives in the Magic Kingdom, instead of Mickey and Goofy, he meets Roman soldiers and instead of a parade with Cinderella he encounters a beaten man struggling to carry a slab of wood.  And instead of remaining just one of the crowd, he is singled out and forced to finish carrying that cross to the hill.  And just like that Simon, who likely had never heard of Jesus, becomes the first one to do what Jesus had said was required of those who wished to be his disciples.  He picked up the cross and followed Jesus. 

            I had a whole parable written about Simon, but for sake of time, I'll save that for another day.  Instead I want to invite you to consider this prayer I came across yesterday written by Edward Hays.

The road to life is crowded

with those carrying crosses -

those who have been flogged and abused

by old age, poverty or alcohol,

by a poor education, drugs or crime

when I see them pass my way,

do I hide – playing a spectator -

or do I freely step forward

adding it to mine,

as did Simon of Cyrene?

            It is a challenge to do as missionary John Carden writes, “to insert the reality of the cross into the tissues of this life,” but Simon of Cyrene gives us help.  This encounter of Jesus on the way has the potential to open our eyes to the way that others, each other are carrying crosses.  We can be like the crowd and choose only to watch, or like Simon, we can help carry the burden.  Scott Dewey, a friend of mine that lives in Denver has a blessing in which he says something like, “Oh Lord, gives us eyes to see in all we encounter, but especially those most difficult, the burdens they bear that we might at a minimum pause before judgment and at best help carry the load.”       

            Oh the people you encounter on walks.

Daughters of Jerusalem

            As Jesus draws nearer to the hill called Golgotha he encounters some women.  We hear a lot about the 12 disciples and tend to think that this was the full compliment of Jesus' followers.  But the gospels remind us that many women followed Jesus among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha as well as Joanna and many others.  It was likely some of these women, and not the 11 disciples that were cowering in the upper room, that met Jesus on the road.  They were weeping and wailing, on their knees crying as this one they followed, they believed in, they loved was stumbling to his death.  They wept for him, yet at that moment he stops and says to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.”

            What is he doing, the women must have thought, telling us to weep for ourselves when he is the one about to die the most horrific of deaths?  As they think this he answers their question.  “For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.  Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”    These words seem to have even more power in light of the hills that covered the people in Oso.  To wish for a fate such as that would mean the alternative was horrific. Why would Jesus say so?

              These words, which likely would have been recognized by the women, were from the prophet Hosea who had written some 800 years before Jesus.  In that passage Hosea explains,  Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people so that all your fortresses will be devastated – as Shalam devestated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.”  Do you hear these words?  The people trusted in their warriors and because they did so, were destroyed.  This is the passage Jesus is referring to.  Is it possible he is warning that something similar is about to occur?  To answer that you have to go back to the day when Jesus, instead of the women, wept.

Jesus weeps

            Not long before this day, after another parade in which Jesus was the center, at that time riding upon a donkey and surrounded by adoring crowds.  He entered Jerusalem, and Luke writes, “when he saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemas will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls, they will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of god's coming to you.” (Luke 19:41-44) 

            Less than forty years later Jesus prophecy would come true.  The people chose armed rebellion.  It even seemed to work for a few years.  But Rome did not take rebellion lightly so they marshaled their troops and led by Tiberius surrounded the city and over many months laid siege.  The Jewish historian, Josephus recorded what happened.  Eventually the walls were breached and the soldiers set fire to the temple.  Here is what Josephus records happened: 

“As for the seditious they were in too great distress already to afford their assistance, [toward quenching the fire]; they were everywhere slain, and everywhere beaten; and as for a great part of the people, they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut wherever they were caught.  Now, round about the altar lay dead bodies heaped one upon another; as at the steps going up to it ran a great quantity of their blood...”  (p.581)

            He would later go on to record that over the seven years of battle 1,337,490 Jewish people were killed while thousands were carried off into slavery.  It was because Jesus saw this that he wept for Jerusalem.  It was because Jesus saw this that he told the women to weep for themselves, because “they did not know the things that would bring peace.”  

A riddle with hope

            Wow, Ken, carrying crosses, hills falling, millions dying, where is the hope?  I will readily admit the more we place ourselves in the shoes of the people on that path, the more difficult it is to see hope.  Jesus on the way of the cross was a dark event during which all of those who followed lost their hope.  And yet, in looking back, we can see that the seeds of hope were being sown in the row created by the corner of the dragging cross.  Some of those seeds come in the last words Jesus said to those women.   After telling the women they'd rather be barren and have the mountains fall on them he says, “For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry.”  What in the world is Jesus talking about, what kind of riddle is this and who has the wherewithal to give riddles as they walk to their death?

Jesus as the green tree

            Isaiah refers to the coming Messiah as “the root of Jesse.”  Many claimed this title, but most of them came with swords and spears rallying the people to a violent overthrow of the Romans.  But what happened to these branches? Most of you have gone camping and built a fire.  Tell me what kind of wood do you use to start that fire?  Yes, dry.  If you choose to fight violent oppression with violent rebellion you may think you are fighting fire with fire, when in reality you are fighting fire with dry sticks.  But Jesus did not come in such a way did he?

            Jesus came proclaiming good news to the poor.   Jesus came healing the blind, curing the lame and raising the dead.  Jesus came making the outcasts such as lepers and tax collectors, incasts whose houses he entered and bread he shared.  And when the moment for armed rebellion arose, when Peter lifted up his sword, Jesus proclaimed, “No more of this, those who live by the sword will die by it.”  I, Jesus is saying, will not be a dry branch.            

           

Dry or Green

            Which kind of branch are we?  How do we deal with violence in the world?  Proverbs 15:1 lays out a similar riddle, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  Jesus was the soft answer, are we, or do we add fuel to the fire with inflammatory language?

            “You have heard it said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth...” To do so, Ghandi would later say, only results in the world going blind and toothless.  It is the way of the dry stick.  But Jesus says, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other also.  If someone takes your coat, give them your shirt.  If someone forces you to go one mile, go two...”  This is the way of the green branch.

            “You have heard it said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”  We only have to look to Egypt, Syria and Afghanistan to see how this is working out.  Not to mention our own community where 19 year old Chucky Williams was shot last week in some dispute.  These are the ways of dry branches.  But what does Jesus say?  “Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.”  Are we dry or green branches?

The way out...

            “But”, you say, “they still burned him.  Despite being a green branch the powers that were still tossed Jesus to the flames.  Yes, and this is why Jesus is warning the women.  It is why he wept for Jerusalem.  If the fire is great enough, even green branches will eventually burn.  But if the fire is that hot, dry branches have no chance.  “But Ken,” I can hear you saying, “if it didn't work for Jesus, why would it work for us?” 

            I remember walking through a trail in Olympic National Forrest.  There to the side was a great fir tree that had fallen.  It was decomposing to the point it was hard to tell where the tree ended and the ground began.  It remember feeling sad for this great tree until I noticed a little green, peeking up from the trunk.  It was a sapling growing from the rich soil of that tree. After noticing the first I saw another, and another and another at least a dozen green shoots were growing from the body of this one tree, all full of life, all green.

            You know one green branch won't put out a fire, but have you ever seen what happens when you take an armload and drop it down upon the flames?  There is smoke, there is some sizzling of the leaves and needles, but before too long the fire dies. 

            Brothers and sisters Jesus says to us, “I am the vine, you are the branches...”  Let us pray.   

Stations 5-6: Judged by Pilate

Last week we read about Peter’s denial of Jesus and his trial by the religious leadership called the Sanhedrin.  After he was beaten, the leaders sent Jesus to Pilate who questioned him and after discovering he was from Galilee (out of Pilate’s jurisdiction), sent him to king Herod.  This is not the king Herod that was present in the birth narrative, rather it is one of his sons.  Herod had wanted to see Jesus, but surprisingly Jesus did no miracles or healings, in fact, he didn’t even speak.  Imagine that, being brought before the king and not saying a word knowing that he had the power of death.  Likely angry and at least disappointed, Herod dressed Jesus in robes and mocked him before sending him back to Pilate.  And this is where we pick up our story.

Text

     ¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ Therefore, I will punish him and then release him." ^{17  18} With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" ¹⁹ (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

     ²⁰ Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ²¹ But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

     ²² For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." ²³ But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.

     ²⁴ So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

The way in…

            Folks from East Tennessee are known for a lot of things; their love for the Tennessee Vols, fried chicken, sweet iced-tea and strong accents.  If you heard recordings of my younger days you know what I mean.  Though she doesn’t like to admit it, my mom has one of the strongest accents you’ll hear – sometimes it’s even hard for me to make out.

            A few years ago we were planning to go to the Sikes family reunion and I asked if the Dobbs would be there.  “Yes,” my mom said, “all of them except for Andy.”  When I asked why Andy would be absent she replied with what sounded like, “because his fear of crabs.”   We’d always had pulled pork sandwiches at the reunion so I could not imagine what she was saying.  “Crabs?  Why is he afraid of crabs?”  “It’s not crabs,” my mom exclaimed, “he’s afraid of crouwds.”  Crowds, ah yes, my cousin had a fear of crowds.

            A fear of crowds is kind of odd to me, only because we spend so much money to be a part of large crowds.  Think of how much money people spend for concerts at Key Arena and the Tacoma Dome.  And how about the quest to be at Century Link field to be a part of the 70,000 12^th Man.   But this number pales in comparison to the 500,000 people who lined the streets of downtown Seattle to cheer the Super Bowl champs.  There is something about being in a crowd that is just thrilling.  What is the largest crowd you’ve ever been a part of?

Marching in Berlin

Pilate and the crowd

            Which brings us to the crowd in our story.  Pilate called together the religious leaders and informs them that he found no basis for their charges against him and therefore will have him beaten and released.  But how does the crowd respond?  “With one voice they cried out, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” 

            It is interesting that Luke tells us that they responded with “one voice.”  Isn't that how crowds tend to respond?  “DE -FENSE...DE-FENSE...SEA-HAWKS...SEA-HAWKS...” The only way to be heard in a crowd is to cry out in one voice.  And what does this crowd cry out? “Bara -bbas...BAR-ABBAS...BARA-BBAS...” 

            Why would the crowd cry out for Barabbas?   

Barabbas – Son of the Father

            I used to think the presence of Barabbas was merely incidental to the story. I thought he was a murderer and thief who had likely deserved to die.  I thought the people disliked this guy but showed how much they hated Jesus by crying to let him out.  I thought it would have been a little like someone saying, “I’d rather let Charles Manson out of jail before I let you out.”  I have come to learn that this was not the case.

            First, notice what Luke reveals about the reason Barabbas was thrown into prison.  It was for “an insurrection in the city.”   Stasis  is the Greek word and can mean discord but most likely meant rebellion.  It is used by the Ephesian leaders in Acts 19 to describe what the Romans would charge them with if they crowd did not disperse.  In another place a lawyer named Tertullus uses the term to accuse Paul of being a 'troublemaker who stirs up riots among the Jews all over the world.” (Acts 24:5).  To be a stasis was not to be a common criminal, it was to be a rebel.  Barabbas was a rebel.

            The second thing that gives me pause on my old view of Barabbas is his name.  The name Barabbas was most likely not his given name but a title.  Bar is the Hebrew word for Son and Abba is, do you know?  Yes, Father.  So his name meant, “Son of the Father.”  Is it possible that the name Barabbas was another title for the ‘anointed one’ which was “messiah” in Hebrew and “Christ” in Greek.  Put this together and we get a picture of man who was fulfilling messianic roles, like Jesus. 

            If you will bear with me just a bit longer I will point out one other thing.  If you flip over to Matthew 27:16 you will read that this prisoner was called “Jesus Barabbas.”  Now notice the options the crowd has before them.  One hand there is Jesus Messiah and on the other Jesus Barabbas. The name Jesus was really common, like John or Dave or Jeremy.  The Hebrew pronunciation of this name was Yeshua which means “Yah – Saves” or Yahweh, which is a Hebrew title for God, saves.  Now come back to the crowd.

            On one hand they have Jesus Christ and on the other hand Jesus Barabbas.  Both prisoners are accused of stirring up trouble.  Both prisoners honor God.  And both prisoners claim that Yahweh saves so why would the crowd shout in one voice, “Bara-bbas...Bara-bbas.” 

Thy Kingdom Come

              When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray he begins the prayer on very familiar ground, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name...”  He begins with praise for God the Father as the one whose name is holy.  From there he continues on familiar ground with a petition that every Jewish person would have been able to affirm, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done...” 

            When living as slaves in Egypt, the people prayed that God's kingdom might come to remove them from Pharoah’s kingdom.  When oppressed by neighboring nations, the people prayed for God's kingdom to come.  When taken away into exile to the kingdom of Babylon, the people prayed that God's kingdom might come.  And when the Romans set up their empire in the middle of Jerusalem, the people prayed that God's kingdom might come and vanquish these enemies.  Everyone wanted God's kingdom to come, not everyone agreed how that would happen.

            Some, like the Essenes thought it would come by removing themselves from society and living faultless lives in caves.  But others believed that God's kingdom would only come by force, violent force...through things like insurrections in the city.  Barabbas represented this way of bringing God's kingdom about.  And what about Jesus Christ?  What was his way?

            When the disciples were arguing about who would be the greatest in the coming kingdom Jesus calls them together and says, “⁴² Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

            And then on the night when Jesus was betrayed, John tells us that after the meal he took a towel, wrapped it around his waist and began to wash the disciples feet.  When they protested, Jesus told them that just as he washed their feet, they must wash the feet of one another.  Are you getting the picture here?

            Way back in the book of Isaiah, we get a picture of the way Jesus would bring about God's kingdom when we read, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold.  My chosen one in whom I delight.  I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1).  Three other passages follow this one in Isaiah and have come to be called the songs of the suffering servant. 

            Are you getting the picture of how Jesus Christ believed God's kingdom would come?    Instead of a crown it would come through a towel.  Instead of a king, you have a servant. And instead of a sword, it would come through the cross.  In his clearest statement of what it means to accept his path Jesus says, “If any would come after me, let them deny themselves, pick up their cross and follow me.”  Does picking up a cross sound like an appealing path to us?  Or, like the crowd, do we prefer to pick up the sword?  The crowd in front of Pilate embodies our tendency.  They and we want Barabbas. 

            And what about Jesus, Pilate asks, what should I do with him.  Once again with one voice they shout, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”  In so doing they are shouting to get rid of this mam-be-pambe way of God's kingdom coming.  Kill this path.  We don't want it.  We want the warrior.  We want the brute.  We want force and intimidation and the sword.

            A third time Pilate asks, “Why?  What crime has he committed?”  And a third time the crowd gave their answer, “they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.”     Three times Pilate asked, three times the crowd rejected Jesus of Nazareth.  Does this sound familiar.

Barabbas or Jesus?

            If you can not picture yourself among the disciples, if you could not picture yourself as peter, can you imagine yourself in the crowd?  It’s hard to do so.  We love Jesus and would never want harm to come to him.  But so did the disciples and they ran away.  So did Peter and he denied Jesus three times.  And now there is this crowd who just a few days prior had cried out “Hosanna, blessed his he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  If we can not see ourselves in the crowd, then we ignore a part of ourselves at our own peril. 

            I've told you about my neighbor and friend Brant who I used to play with all the time.  He had a little brother named Rob who was pretty different from Brant, actually he was pretty different from a lot of people.  Rob was thin and a bit small.  He was smart and artistic but could also be a bit irritating.  Perhaps Rob's worst sin was that he wasn't any good at sports.  Brant and I played basketball or baseball all day, but Rob would come out and play with Smurfs in the flower beds.  And though I couldn't really name it then, he was also a bit effeminate.

            One summer day the crowd of neighborhood kids was down at Jerry Collin's house.  Jerry has this nice wide driveway and we were playing some game; four square or something like it.  The cause of the conflict is lost to history but at some point one of the kids messed up which caused everyone to laugh.  The kid who had messed up was really embarrassed.  So what does he to do?  He looks around the crowd and finds Rob laughing.  “Why are you laughing?” he says.  “You can't even dribble a ball.” “Yes I can.”  “No you can't, sissy.”  “I am not.”  “Are too.” “Shut up!”, Rob replied.  This of course was followed by the classic bully comeback, “Why don't you make me?”  And with that he stepped closer to Rob.  At this point, what do you imagine the crowd did?  Intervene? Try to stop things?  No, they circled around.  They knew some blood was about to be shed. The bully shoved Rob.  Rob shoved back.    All the while the crowd cheered. The bully swung and hit Rob which led him to begin to cry and then run off in anger and shame.  And the crowd?  They were silent for a moment before patting the bully on the back for the work he'd done and courage he'd displayed.  Can you imagine being a part of that crowd?

            If so, I would love to trade places with you because I'd rather have been in the crowd than where I was, in the middle of the ring taking punches at a kid because he was odd, and weak and different. 

The way out...

            The last line of this passage is hauntingly sad.  Luke tells us that Pilate released Barabbas, the one the crowd had chosen, and Jesus?  He surrendered Jesus to their will.  Pilate surrendered Jesus to their will.  Notice who's will Jesus gets surrendered to.  God's?  No, it is the will of the crowd, the people, us.  Jesus wasn't crucified because God wanted it.  Jesus was crucified because we, humanity, wanted it.

            But wait a second, you say, didn't Jesus predict he'd be betrayed and tried and crucified?  Yes, he did.  And didn't he pray that God's will be done.  Yes, he did.  So how can you say it wasn't God's will for him to be crucified?  Because, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only son...”  We have the focus a bit off.  It isn’t God’s will that Jesus was crucified, rather it is God's will is that the world realize how loved it is.  To do that, God gave himself for it and to it – both the world's best and worst.

            To reveal the will of his love, God gave himself to a band of fleeing disciples

            To reveal the will of his love, God gave himself to the will of a denying Peter.

            To reveal the will of his love, God gave himself to the will of the crowd.

            If God’s will was to love characters such as them, could it be that God has given himself over even to me?  Far too often, I have chosen the path of Jesus Barabbas.  So now I pray that I/we may pray to follow the way of Jesus the servant.  Let us pray.