Good Friday

Good Friday was not a time of celebration for those who conspired against Jesus. The Pharisees went to a lot of trouble to stir up the people of Jerusalem during the days following Palm Sunday. It was easy to recruit the merchants. Jesus pretty much got off his donkey and made jackasses out of them, “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written, he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-13)

Jesus would call out the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in a scathing retribution of how they manipulated and twisted the truth of the scriptures for their own gain.  He labeled these corrupt leaders hypocrites, blind guides and fools. He accused them of neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness. He labeled them unclean, wicked and descendents of murders of prophets. He challenged them to do what their hearts were already plotting, “Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!” (Matthew 23:32)

His instructions to his followers were direct and to the point, “So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:3-4)

They were in charge! They decided who was worthy and who was not! They were not about to let some homeless guy who they believed healed people by the power of Satan and told others that their sins were forgiven usurp their positional and personal power in the Jerusalem community.

G.K. Chesterton offered this insight, “As savage heroes might have kept the sun in a box, they kept the everlasting in the tabernacle. They were proud that they alone could look upon the blinding sun of a single deity; and they did not know that they had themselves gone blind.”

Pontius Pilate was in this too. He was afraid to put Jesus to death because of the risk that he would have to put down yet another rebellion. Pilate knew that two of Jesus’ followers, Judas Iscariot and Simon, were both Zealots and he lost many Roman soldiers to injury or death from Zealot attacks. It would not be a good end to his week making terrorist mad by crucifying their leader. His intuition and experience with the Sanhedrin told him that Jesus was not the trouble maker they made him out to be. Even his wife knew something was different about Jesus and sent Pilate a note during the trial that read, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” (Matthew 27:19) How to get out of this?

Pilate put the decision in the hands of the people and gave them a choice. “Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd…So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.” Offering up Barabbas would be like offering up Charles Manson. The Pharisees and elders were ready for this and the members of this kangaroo jury yelled out, “Give us Barabbas!” “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility!’” (Matthew 28) Pilate took the easy way out and ordered the execution of Jesus.

With Jesus gone, they could go back to business as usual – or could they? They had to get beyond the third day after his death to be sure. Jesus said that if they destroyed the temple, he would raise it again in three days. They had to keep his followers from stealing the body and make more of a martyr out of him. Roman soldiers guarded the tomb and a Roman seal was placed on the stone; but fear still gripped them.

It would seem that in the 21st Century, 2,000 years after the resurrection, the crucifixion would not continue to strike fear in the hearts of people. In 2003, I served as a Public Information Officer and one of my responsibilities was to represent law enforcement at a number of civil rights organizations. I attended a monthly meeting of one particular group and the discussion focused on the upcoming release of the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. The movie is a very realistic depiction of the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Media reports were out and speculation of the film’s impact ran wild. I was shocked when one member of this “civil rights” group proclaimed, “Temples will burn when this movie is released!” The comments, unchallenged by anyone in the room, demonstrated to me that even after 2,000 years, the cross still brings with it fear and trembling. 

As you contemplate the cost of your salvation today, pray for those who cannot yet comprehend the meaning of the cross. Let us unite in prayer so that those whose hearts are calloused will be able to hear with their ears, see with their eyes and know the grace, peace and forgiveness that surpasses all understanding.

Pounding Nails

In the early 80's, Christian rock music gained popularity in the church community and one of my favorite bands was Undercover. Perhaps my interest in the band was due to some sort of prophetic message for my future career. (For the record, I am also a fan of The Police) One of their songs included this lyric, "Three nails, three days, one way to God." Understanding the significance of the three nails was my inspiration for this post and the story begins at the moment of Jesus' arrest.

“…Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.’ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him.” (Matthew 26:47-49)

“When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, ‘Lord, should we strike with our swords?’ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:49-51)

“‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?’”(Matthew 26:51-53) 

It occurs to me that the last guy Jesus healed before his crucifixion was a member of the posse sent to arrest him. It happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter used his sword and hit a guy in the head. He was lucky he only lost an ear. Yet even in the chaos of his arrest, Jesus had compassion on a man who conspired against him and healed him.

Judas betrayed him. Peter denied him. All of his disciple’s fled. Yet it was the law enforcement detachment that carried out his arrest, torture and death sentence. Not one of the better moments for our profession. We were part of the conspiracy between the Chief Priest and Pontius Pilate. We beat him, flogged him, forced him to carry the cross on the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, nailed him to the cross and stood by to watch him die.

We were very good at our craft. We hit him with the scourge 39 times because we knew that 40 strikes were likely to end a man’s life. We beat him to the point of death but not enough to kill him.

“Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.” (Matthew 27:27-31)

Once we got him to Golgotha, we made sure to nail him through his hands and feet in places that would not sever an artery. We put a small block of wood under his feet so he could push himself up for air to prolong the suffering of death from crucifixion. Still Jesus prayed for us, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

G.K. Chesterton, in his book The Everlasting Man, offers this insight on the events of the crucifixion. “All great groups that stood about the Cross represent in one way or another the great historical truth of the time; that the world could not save itself. Man could do no more. Rome and Jerusalem and Athens and everything else were going down like a sea turned into a slow cataract.”

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

It is troubling that even the people charged with upholding the law would throw in with a mob to torture and murder an innocent man. The reality is that we all participated directly in the crucifixion of Christ. Every Christian realizes sooner or later that it was for THEIR sin that Jesus died. In a way, I held the hammer and pounded the nails into his hands and feet. And yet there is hope, “for it is by grace you are saved through faith and it is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God.”

Three nails, three days, one way to God.

No Parking

“Whatever people expect, they soon come to think they have a right to: the sense of disappointment can, with very little skill on our part, be turned into a sense of injury.” - Screwtape, Senior Tempter, Hell. (The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis)

“An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.” Proverbs 18:1

One night in Santa Barbara, I met a partner at a 7-11 for a cup of coffee. We got our caffeine fix and stood outside the front door of the store next to my police car. We talked for a few minutes and a woman pulled up in a car next to where we stood. I could see that in the back seat was an orange, 2 ½ foot tall “A” frame sign printed front and back with the words, “City of Santa Barbara - No Parking.” These signs are used to create temporary no parking areas for special events, road work and such. Now it looked to me like this woman “borrowed” the sign from the City to create her own personal “No Parking” space when she needed it. I was looking into her car trying to figure out why she would have the sign in the first place and she saw me staring. 

“Can I help you?” she asked with sarcasm halfway to the front door.

“Yes, where did you get that sign?”

“It was a gift.”

“A gift? From who?” This was getting interesting.

“From someone who is with the city LONGER than YOU!!!” She was winding up and clearly irritated that I would dare to ask such a question.

Now here was a person who was skirting the rules and got caught. I knew it. She knew it. It was now a game to see how I could get the sign out of the car.

“You can’t have that.” I said in very matter of fact tone.

She started to argue and insisted that the sign was given to her.

“You can’t have that.” I repeated the statement.

“What do you want me to do? Give YOU the sign?” Sarcasm dripped from her words.

“Yes.”

She walked back to her car and started a verbal barrage about how this was unfair, how she had a “right” to the sign and expressed her general distain for city employees. She unlocked the car, took the sign out and handed it to me.

“Thanks.” I said. I opened my trunk, put it in and continued to drink my coffee.

The woman was really mad now. She was yelling as she walked into the store. The door closed behind her and while I could not hear her words, it was clear that she continued to yell as she walked to the Slurpee machine. People inside stopped what they were doing and watched the unhappy tax payer. My partner suggested it was time to go.

I got in my car and backed out to leave. The woman sees me leaving; bolts from the back of the store, past the cashier, shoves open the front doors and yells, “WHY DON’T YOU GO EAT A DOUGHNUT!”

I laughed as I drove away.

The sad reality was that this woman believed she had a right to this sign. Who was I to question her possession of it? It does not take long working as a peace officer to figure out that people who break the law are, for the most part, driven by selfish ambition. Galatians 5:19-21 puts selfishness in perspective: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Considering that selfish ambition falls into the same category as extreme as witchcraft on one end and as innocuous as discord on the other, it is clear to me that all have sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God. (Romans 3:23) While it is not likely that we will face a judge for the choices we make, the truth is that we will all have to answer for the No Parking Signs we have a in the back seat of our cars. There is no break we can get from a cop, no court that can issue a stay and no amount of time spent in a prison cell to escape eternal judgment. Forgiveness is only found at the foot of the cross.

Mark 10:32-34, “They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ‘We are going up to Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.’”

Occupy Jerusalem

The Occupy Wall Street movement started when the Canadian editor of an anti-consumerism magazine proposed the occupation of Wall Street on September 17, 2011. His call to action went viral and spawned a worldwide movement. Groups representing the “99%” protested a variety of causes and many engaged in criminal behavior causing millions of dollars of property damage. These protesters required public safety agencies to clear encampments; make arrests and restore order. Media reports spun the movement as representing the economically trampled on one hand or as anarchists trying to take over the world on the other. I saw firsthand in San Francisco how a small group of people disrupted communities and disrespected people who chose not to be part of their movement.

Behind it all is a man not really interested in meaningful reform proclaiming, “We will wreck the world.” He and his followers are self described anarchists. His first act of defiance was to jam a quarter into a shopping cart dispensing machine in a Canadian supermarket parking lot rendering it inoperable. “I didn’t stop to analyze whether this was ethical or not. I just let my anger flow.” What followed was a philosophy that espoused the hatred of big business in any form. “Let your anger out. When it wells up suddenly from deep in your gut, don’t suppress it -- channel it, trust it, use it. Don’t be so unthinkingly civil all the time. Rage drives revolutions.”

With the beginning of Lent, we celebrate and remember a very different Occupy movement in Jerusalem. Occupy Jerusalem took place 2,000 years ago on what we call Palm Sunday. Matthew 21 describes it this way, “The disciples…brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

This “occupy” movement started with one man and twelve apostles. This was no call to anarchy but a call to repentance. Jesus would unite God to man on the cross and break the power of sin. If Jesus and his followers were part of the 1%, it was only to reach the 99% that were perishing. Where one man called followers to anarchy to, “wreck the world,” Jesus called people, by grace, to be saved through faith.

1 John 4:4-6, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

John 1: 1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”