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.

Even Glaciers Move

Change is hard for people. We like things settled, things we can count on. In my role as a police executive, I am responsible to keep our business practices consistent with current technology and to adjust our policing strategies to disrupt emerging crime trends. I challenge police officers and professional staff to think beyond the tasks they perform day in and day out and make changes where necessary. I typically get this response; “But we have always done it this way!”

The foundation for change is relationships. Relationships require patience. Preparing people for change takes what I call Time and Grind. It’s the willingness to spend time together, grinding out the details. Over time, even the most stubborn person can come around. After all, even glaciers move!

Thomas Kuhn was a philosopher of science. He is credited with the phrase, “paradigm shift.” He viewed science as long periods of normality interrupted by brief periods of revolutionary discovery. Revolutionary discovery resulted in mopping up operations or “crisis science.” Some describe police work in a similar way as hours of boredom punctuated by moments of terror. It is during these significant events when change happens and glaciers move.

This cop story was at the moment that Jesus died on the cross. Specifically, it is the story about a bunch of cops assigned to oversee the crucifixion. In Jerusalem, law enforcement was the responsibility of the military. Roman soldiers were the cops and Centurions were their commanding officers. Matthew 27:50-54 tells it like this: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’”

To these soldiers, I don’t think the crucifixion alone was any big deal. Dealing with religious extremists was common for these guys. They were charged with keeping a delicate balance of peace between the Roman Empire and the ruling council of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin. The Chief Priest was the mayor and the members of the Sanhedrin were the councilmen. Time and again, the Centurion and his men were called to put down uprisings and deal with trouble makers identified by the politicians: religious, political and sovereign.

I expect that these cops were around when John the Baptist was calling people to repentance. It is even possible that some of them carried out the order to behead John. They likely heard the stories about a guy named Jesus. They heard the rumors that he was a king preparing to lead a revolution, that he healed sick, that he fed 5,000 people from a few fish and some bread and he told people he was God. The story of Jesus played out right in front of them.

I think they took all this in stride. It was just another guy causing trouble and disrupting the way things were always done. It was just another day on the job when they scourged Jesus, beat him and forced him to carry the cross to Golgotha. But at the moment of Jesus’ death, everything changed and the glacier moved. All the evidence fell into place, the cops connected the dots and they were front and center at the moment that the power of sin was broken. 

Three days later, these same guys were probably guarding the tomb and witnessed the resurrection. Some of these cops accepted Christ as the Son of God, others took a bribe and perpetuated a lie that his body was stolen by the disciples. In the end the paradigm shifted, the world as they knew it changed forever.

The best part is that God continues to work in our lives each day. He is committed to the Time and Grind required to draw us closer to Him. He stands by us through the Significant Events of our lives and the Mopping Up Operations that follow our Moments of Terror. 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9