Holy Saturday

John 19:38-42

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

* * *

At first blush this passage seems very straightfoward - a factual accounting of Joseph and Nicodemus preparing Jesus' body for burial. There is no conversation, no controversy; there are only two adjectives to give depth to what is happening. But I think what is more compelling is what is not said. This must have been a time of such great confusion, fear, and despair on the part of the disciples. They had put their full faith - staked their lives and reputations - on this Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah, and now he was dead. What do you do, and where do you turn, when for all the evidence you can glean it seems your God is dead?

I find it interesting that those who asked Pilate for Jesus' body and buried him were not Jesus' right hand men. John and Peter and the other "main characters" we know so well are not even mentioned. Instead, it is Joseph and Nicodemus who step up to fufill Jewish tradition and give Jesus a proper burial. I think I probably would have been somewhere with John and Peter - in utter despair and fearing for my life.

I think the lesson here is for those times when it seems like God is dead, or just busy or unconcerned or distant. It is such a great reminder that we just don't see the bigger and more glorious picture - that in our times of darkness and confusion God is working a grand plan of salvation. While the disciples were hiding and mourning, Christ was overcoming the curse of death and bearing our punishment that we might be saved. They just didn't get it, and most of the time I think I am barely grasping on to that truth too. I pray that as we prepare to celebrate Easter we will remember this truth: that when it seems like all hope is lost, God is doing his most glorifying work.

Good Friday

John 18:1-19:42

After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?"

So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?"

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God."

Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor."

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
"They divided my clothes among themselves,and for my clothing they cast lots."And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

* * *

What a truly heart breaking time, with such a stark dichotomy between the devout courage and selflessness Jesus displays vs. those around him. The theme that strikes me the most in the passage is the testing of human will in doing what is right when doing so brings great adversity and discomfort. This certainly is no easy task. Throughout this passage, however, we unfortunately see time and time again the faltering of couragespans most apparently by the high priests, Pilate and Peter.

When Jesus Is first addressed by the high priests, he does not waver, or hesitate: "if it is Jesus that you seek, I am He". He doesn't run, He does not hide, but even assists them in their task by identifying Himself. Jesus completely offers himself to them with full knowledge of what danger and suffering lies ahead. After Jesus submits himself, Peter, in an act of defiance, cuts the ear off of Malchus. Unfortunatey, while this is a valiant effort Peter has missed the great purpose to which Jesus goes. Jesus fully accepts this immensely difficult path "shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" Jesus then goes willingly to be sacrificed for far greater purposes than that of protecting one's own personal welfare. But Jesus' selflessness and courage is not mirrored by the very contrasting behavior of those around Him.

Firstly, the high priests' authority in their respected positions has been challenged by Jesus. They feel very threatened by His teaching, which has often been counter to their own. After capturing and striking Jesus, Jesus asks "If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" It is much easier at times to give in to one's natural emotions, and always easier to choose the side of self preservation. The high priest's have an opportunity to do what is right, but instead do what is easy. Instead of stopping to question what Jesus' actual crime is and entertain the possibility they are wrong, they instead remain unmoved in their stubbornness of mind. They wish to get rid of this threat and preserve their positions and places of power. Thus they instead do not stop to question their actions, but instead move forward to crucify Christ.

We see a further example in Pilate, who is in a unique position of power, as he decides Jesus' fate. But Pilate too falters in doing what is right for the sake of personal comfort and self preservation. He himself cannot determine any falt of Jesus'. However, he is faced with the great current of the large angry masses at his doorstep exclaiming "Crucify!" Pilate could make a very unpopular decision to release Jesus and do what is right. After all, he cannot find find any wrong done by Jesus and has no reason to crucify him outside of the unwarranted cries of the masses. Sadly, however, in the end Pilate's courage in this situation fails as did the high priests, as he gives Jesus over to be crucified. Pilate cannot overcome his fears of disappointing the masses, and the revolt that would likely ensue.

Of course, the most blatant lack of courage and faintheartedness in this passage is that of Peter. Three times Peter denies his relationship to Christ, fearing condemnation and danger to himself. Peter chooses the path of comfort and self preservation over righteousness and loyalty to his Lord. Perhaps my favorite imagery illuminating the character of this betrayal, is of Peter standing by the fire as he denies Christ. Here we find Peter literally warming and bringing comfort to himself, as he fails to make the loyal, but uncomfortable choice.

However, what is most difficult to me personally about this passage, is that while I can see all of these faults, and fully recognize the wrongdoing in these individuals, I truly don't know if I would have possessed the constitution and necessary courage to behave differently were I in the same position. I certainly know what I would have wanted to do, and dearly hope that I could have done right where these others faltered, but I honestly, and quite sadly, do not know. As I examine my own life, I look at the number of times that I've stood tall for righteousness at the cost of receiving great adversity, calamity, or even violence, Such times are few and far between, or else far milder than those in the passage. I certainly have not put my own life at risk for the benefit of others, nor have I had to staunchly oppose an angry and violent mob of people with disdain for my cause. Most of the time, I seek comfort and ease, with patterns and routines of the familiar and accepted day-to-day living.

But perhaps in this thought we can see one of the points of this passage. That it was not only the high priests and Pilate who crucified Jesus. It is instead the general frailty of will within all human beings, including my own, which crucified Jesus. It is in being broken beings, so susceptible to weakness, who know what is right, but still so often do not do it, that denied and crucified Christ. Indeed, this is a dark and heartbreaking story of Christian life. But if it is to serve some good at all, perhaps it may at least bring great humility, and great honesty as to our own frailty as humans. Perhaps in seeing the great susceptibility to weakness of will inherent in the human condition, we will be emboldened to strive for greater courage and constitution in living out our Christian faith.

Maundy Thursday

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

* * *


Humility

I found a great blog post that helps explain how we, as servants of God, can be humble servants like Jesus was with his disciples, but do so with a fullness of spirit and a confidence about us that makes us successful in that role.

“To have a strong, large ego isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is a needed thing, especially if we are ever to achieve anything of worth. Nobody does anything great without a strong ego, and that doesn't mean that he or she isn't humble. For example: Few people would ever think of Mother Theresa as having had a big ego. We think of her as humility incarnate. Yet, clearly, she had a huge ego - a powerful self-image that allowed her to stand before the whole world convinced of her truth, convinced of her worth, and convinced of her importance... She was aware that she was a unique and blessed instrument of God in this world and she was secure enough to act on that. And yet she was humble… She was simply a channel of somebody else's power and grace. She had a huge ego, but she wasn't an egoist. She was never full of herself, only full of God (http://www.37days.com/2009/12/book-.html).”

Jesus spent his time on earth as a channel for God, too, but he did this with such strong humility that his disciples couldn’t wrap their heads around it! Peter’s perception of who Jesus, “The Great Messiah,” was “supposed” to be, seemed to be turned upside down by Jesus’ willingness to do things that a fearless, conquering leader would never be caught dead doing. Jesus was all about breaking down false perceptions of his role on earth- he did this through his healing ministry, through the washing of feet and through his dying on the cross. God sent his son to be a servant; a powerful leader, yes, but primarily he came to be a servant. We must be reminded of our duty to be confident, ego-filled servants to mankind, too. Granted, living after His example is a tough act to follow, but if we “love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another,” we have an opportunity to share God’s love and spread His mission in the way that God would hopefully have us do.