Lent - A Flash of Lightning - A sign of things to come

"You know nothing,

nor do you consider that it is better for you

that one man should die instead of the people, 

so that the whole nation may not perish."

The wind was blowing from the east. The clouds obscured the stars that normally twinkled their messages in a code that is unfamiliar to us. The heat was oppressive but the wind held the smell of coming rain. All of these signs tell us that a storm is coming. 

In the Gospel reading for this Saturday before Palm Sunday, the high priest shows why he is the high priest.  The Romans were unusually kind to the Jews. They allowed them to practice their religion, they did not require them to sacrifice to the genius of the emperor. All of the other peoples that they conquered had to do this as a matter of course.  As a matter of fact, one way a politician could be sure that his career would be a short one would be to stir the Jews up so that they rioted.  Pilate, a very mediocre governor at best, knew this as did Caiaphas the high priest.  Just so the Jews remembered who was in charge, the Romans held the priestly garments that had to be worn when the high priest was going to enter the Holy of Holies.  The high priest would have to go to Pilate and ask to use the garments.  Pilate would not refuse, but, the fact that they had to be asked for served as a reminder to the Jews that they were what might be called "free slaves."  They were free to practice their religion as long as it served the need of the empire to allow them to do so. 

Besides fig and olive trees, Palestine had a whole lot of messiahs appearing at this time.  Jesus was one of many at the time.  Normally, these so-called messiahs could be tripped up and deported out of Jerusalem with donkey dung in their beards, by just a few questions posed by the Pharisees or failing that, if a messiah got too troublesome, the Romans would be pressed into service and the pseudo-messiah would soon find himself preaching in the mines or decorating a cross.   

Jesus was different. He did not preach revolt against the Romans, as a matter of fact, he counseled the people to give to Caesar what was his.  He would not be tripped up by the Pharisees, and some of them were masters at the game. Jesus also did things that could not be readily explained.  He cured a man that had been born blind, unheard of!  He also fed thousands on just a few fish and crusts of bread.  This man was dangerous because the people, the great unwashed, not those that worked for God in the Temple, were finding this man to be a credible Messiah.  The messiah was thought by some to become a leader that would throw the Romans out of Israel, an idea that the emperor would hardly approve of. 

With the kind of support Jesus could bring to bear, he was a threat to the peace. Pilate had no love for the Jews and would like nothing better than an insurrection with a sword carrying messiah at its head that he could crush with impunity.  As a matter of course, should this happen, the temple would be destroyed and the priesthood of Yahweh would disappear and be no more.  

The High Priest knew these things.  He could see the big picture here.  Jesus had to go and so the plot to not only trip him up but to kill him began in earnest. He told his assistants that it is better for one man to die for the nation than for the nation to disappear. 

Enter our friend Judas.  Judas was never really accepted by the other apostles.  Judas controlled the purse strings and was always complaining about how much was being spent.  He too could see that those in power were bent on neutralizing the threat that Jesus was.  He saw a way here to both make a little bit of money and to win favor from the high priest and his friends.  Judas went to them and offered to give Jesus up at a time and a place where the crowd would not see, important because the Temple did not want to have a riot on their hands.  

So now, the stage is set.  In a little less than a week, Jesus would be arrested, tried at night, a violation of the law, be found guilty and condemned to death.  Judas would receive his thirty pieces of silver, the price of an unskilled slave. Judas, the traitor, who was feeling very guilty over his betrayal and despairing of God's mercy, would go out into the darkness, which was his only friend and by his own hand precede the Messiah in death. 

Tomorrow, while you are listening to the Passion of Christ, keep this background material in mind.  Watch how the parts all fall together from the arrest in the olive garden, through the various trials, through the torture until Jesus cries out in a loud voice, "It is finished."  Watch the players in this drama.  If you pay attention, you will garner a greater respect and awe at what Christ did for you on that terrible yet wonderful day.