Truth: A Story for Good Friday

I wasn't planning on writing anything today. Its Good Friday and I am sure there are a million other blogs being written today. I have other things that I need to prepare for. Yet in this preparation I came across two verses in the Gospel of John that hit me like a ton of bricks. (Or a ton of feathers. They are the same you know.) So I guess then I have a blog for today.

Now I know you all want me to get right to the verses, but I do need to start with some background. Don't worry this will be short. 

Brought to Pilate

So we all know the story of how Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus gets taken away and eventually ends up before a guy named Pilate. This guy was appointed by the Caesar. He was sort of the representation of Caesar in Jerusalem. Pilate was an important guy. He alone had the power to execute (or free) someone. This guy is no joke.

So this is the guy that the Jewish leaders bring Jesus to. They want him dead. Jesus has been upsetting their power, their kingdom, from the get go. For just one example see Matthew 15 where Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that their traditions are in fact hated by God.

It is no wonder that these guys wanted Jesus dead. So they bring him before Pilate to be executed. The problem with this is that Pilate doesn't really see the reason for it. It is true that Pilate had the power to execute anyone, but it was usually people deemed enemies of Rome. Pilate doesn't think Jesus fits this description so he tells the religious leaders to do it themselves.

One note here. It was within the power of the Jewish leaders to execute someone. They bring a woman before Jesus ready to stone her. The point was that they wanted Jesus humiliated. If he gets crucified he is not only deemed an enemy of Rome, but in Jewish tradition he would be cursed. 

What is truth?

It is at this point that Pilate questions Jesus. He asks if Jesus is the King of the Jews. Jesus doesn't deny it, but claims that His kingdom is from another world. Pilate again asks if Jesus is a king. This time Jesus says that Pilate is correct and that He has come to testify to the truth. Then Pilate asks "what is truth?"

I want to stop here. Jesus is truth. He said so Himself. Pilate has truth standing right in front of him and asks. Pilate is at a crossroads in his life. Does he believe all the things that Jesus is? Does he give up the power that he has as a Prefect of Rome? Whatever was going through Pilate's head he at least doesn't see reason to kill Jesus. So he makes an offer to free him. The Jewish leaders choose a robber.

At this point I could retell the story, but I think it is better if you just read it yourself. I'll wait.

We have no king but Cesar!

I want to note two things here. 

First, the question of authority. Jesus essentially says that all the power that Pilate has comes from God. This is huge. As I said above Pilate had a lot of power. he was given power by Cesar. He had the power over life and death. Yet Jesus tells him that this power is meaningless since God is lord of all. Even after this, Pilate still seeks to free Jesus.

Second, it is only after the Jewish leaders threaten to tell Cesar that Pilate sends Jesus to be crucified. This is important. The Jewish leaders. The ones that should know better. The guys that claim to worship God. These guys are now proclaiming that Cesar, not God, is their king. Pilate knows that this claim is grounds for treason against Rome. If he does not send Jesus to death now, he will be killed not Jesus. 

What I have written I have written

So now we get to those two verses. The two verses that caused me to write this blog. There is so much in so few words. Did you read them? Did you catch it? Did you see what I saw?

Pilate saw the truth that the religious leaders did not. Pilate saw that Jesus was God. Pilate understood the ramifications of what was going on. Pilate came face to face with God and was changed. he understood all the Jesus was telling him. Pilate now had an answer for his question about truth. 

By contrast the Sanhedrin and the religious leaders were blind. They could not see the truth that was right in front of their face. Why? Because they wanted to keep their kingdoms. Let me say that again. The religious leaders sent Jesus to his death because they refused to give up their power to God. 

See Jesus came to establish a new kingdom. This kingdom is one where all are welcome. It is a kingdom that finds the broken and helps them. It is a kingdom without hunger or poverty. It is a kingdom without crying.

But it is also a kingdom that puts others first. It is a kingdom that says that what I want is second. It is a kingdom that is in direct conflict with the kingdoms of humanity. It is in direct conflict with the kingdom of Donald Trump, the kingdom of Bernie Sanders, the kingdom of Philip Lawton.

This is the truth. We must give up ourselves -- our selfish desires for power -- to live in this kingdom. This is the truth that the religious leaders could not accept. They wanted to continue to have their limited power. They wanted to continue to lord this power over others. Do you?

Not your kingdom but God's

This is the question of Good Friday. This is why Jesus went to the cross to die. Yes Jesus died for your sins. But part of those sins is claiming that I know best. Jesus died because we think out way is better than God's way. This is what Adam and Eve thought and it didn't work out well for them.

I will end with this video. It reminds us on this Good Friday that it was our sin, our kingdom, that nailed Jesus to the cross. Why is it good? Because the cross points to the Resurrection and the Resurrection has saved us from ourselves. 

May you, on this Good Friday, remember that it was your sin that held Him there. May God break your kingdom. May you see the truth hanging on a tree. May you give up your kingdom willingly. And may you rejoice in the kingdom of God.

Amen!