Grace
to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The
text for this meditation is written in the 27th Chapter of the
Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 11 – 54:
11 Now Jesus stood
before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the
Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But
when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then
Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”
14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single
charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
15 Now at the feast
the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they
wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called
Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to
them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called
Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that
they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was
sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do
with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a
dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders
persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The
governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for
you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them,
“Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him
be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he
done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
24 So when Pilate saw
that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took
water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this
man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the
people answered, “His blood be on us and eon our children!” 26 Then
he released for them Barabbas, and having fscourged3 Jesus, delivered him to be
crucified.
27 Then the soldiers
of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered
the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him
and put ja
scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of
thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling
before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And
they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And
when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes
on him and led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
32 As they went out,
they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his
cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha
(which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine
to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And
when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting
lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him
there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against
him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then
two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And
those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and
saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save
yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So
also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He
saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come
down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He
trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am
the Son of God.’ ” 44 And the robbers who were
crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
The Death of Jesus
45 Now from the sixth
hour there was darkness over all the land7 until the ninth hour. 46 And
about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And
some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And
one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it
on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others
said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And
Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn
in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The
tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep
were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his
resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When
the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the
earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this
was the Son of God!”
Our Passion Gospel
begins with the Governor of all things standing before Pontius Pilate.
Ironically, the all-powerful Lord allows Himself to be questioned by a weak and
sinful representative of the Gentiles.
We know that Pilate
is weak because he eventually caves to the pressure of the crowds to crucify
Christ.
Although it was God’s
preordained plan that Christ would die for the sins of the world, that does not excuse Pilate for allowing this
perversion of justice; for all that he tried to claim innocence, he was
guilty as well.
Perhaps
Pilate should have listened to his wife. She sent a message to him while
he was sitting on the judgment seat. “Have nothing to do with that
righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”
Dreams, in general,
are unreliable. They can mean anything or nothing. In this case,
the earth-shattering events to come were so momentous that even that woman’s
dream pointed to the truth. A gentile woman became a prophet of sorts, to
speak the truth about Christ. He was the righteous man, innocent and
unworthy of death. Leave Him alone, she advises.
Yet Pilate does not
listen. He listens instead to the bloodthirsty cries of the mob.
He tries to claim
innocence. He washes his hands in a public display, as if that proves
that he is not guilty of killing an innocent man.
Like all of us,
Pontius Pilate wants to appear innocent to the world. We do not want
people to see our guilt. We want to hide our trespasses, as if to show
the world that we are a good person, not bad. To what lengths will we not
go? Surely we have lied to protect our reputation. Surely we have
covered up or hidden or kept secret whatever is shameful in our lives.
Surely we have blamed others for what is really our fault.
Ever since the Garden
of Eden, when Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, we have all been
trying to show an innocent face to the world.
Sometimes we are as
naive as Pilate, thinking that an outward show like washing with a little water
can make us innocent.
This is not the case,
especially not in the way Pilate meant it. There is a true washing that
removes guilt. Real, physical water is used, combined with the Word of
God. This washing from God is not a humanly invented sacrament for self-justification.
In Christ who died, Baptism has become the true washing of innocence. For
Christ washes us into union with His death. He washes us into the
holiness of His Blood, shed in perfect righteousness for sinners.
Pilate saw none of
this. He was only fearful of the riot that was beginning. The Jews
were prone to rebellious demonstrations that often had to be put down in bloody
fashion. Pilate was probably more fearful of the repercussions to his
political position than of the violence the people might do.
May our motives be
more pure. May we not fear man, but the Lord God, and so strive to keep
His commandments. May we resist the pressures of those around us who want
us to act contrary to the Law. May we also not remain silent and do nothing
when the innocent are slandered, or threatened with death.
In the midst of the
travesty of justice and inhumanity in the Passion account, the Jewish people
speak what is perhaps (unknowingly to
them), the best prayer that can be spoken in response to the suffering of our
Lord. They cry out, “His Blood shall be upon us and upon our children!”
What they meant was a
horrifying half-truth. Let Him be killed, and we will take
responsibility. They thought that He was such a bad man, an unholy
blasphemer, that any means justified the ends to which they were putting
Him. They thought that God would surely approve of killing this Man whom
they thought to be evil.
Yet if we pray this
same prayer in faith, it takes on a wonderful and blessed meaning. “O
Lord, let Your precious Blood, shed on the Cross, be on us and our children!”
For no one is righteous unless the holy Blood of the Lamb covers their
iniquities. The only ones who have life are those who receive in faith
the benefits of the death of Christ.
May we humbly trust in
the Blood of Christ. May the Lord grant us faith that does not waver as
it clings to the innocent death of our King.
The soldiers made fun
of Him. They knelt down before Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Even as Blood dripped from the crown of thorns, they felt no sympathy.
They gave Him a reed for a scepter, then took the reed and beat Him with it.
He did not
protest. He did not use His power to defend Himself. For He did not
come to avoid pain, but to willingly suffer it. He submitted to all the
humiliating shame.
When they had
crucified Him, the soldiers sat down to keep watch over Him. When they
should have been kneeling in reverence, they sat casually, as if the most
important event in history was not happening before them. This was only a
job for them, an order to be obeyed. Perhaps they were bored or annoyed at
this duty?
Lest we be too proud,
let us remember that we are sometimes bored or annoyed when the Lord is in our
midst. We are sometimes casual when we should be filled with reverent awe
when the Lord gives out the fruits of His death.
When He hung upon the
cross, the people mocked Him by calling Him the Son of God. They said,
“You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save
Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. … He
trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for he said, ‘I
am the Son of God.’”
Set aside the
complete lack of compassion behind such words, which is horrible enough.
Beyond that, we see a total misunderstanding in the crowds. These people
meant to show that they were really the pious, spiritual people, and Christ had
been a liar. For surely, they thought, God would not completely abandon
His own beloved Son, which Christ had claimed to be.
What they don’t
understand is that is the exact reason He came. He came for sinners, just
like those who stood before His cross to mock Him. He came into human
flesh so that He could bleed even for the soldiers who pounded nails into
Him. He willingly came to Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, to present
Himself as the Lamb without blemish who would be slaughtered for our sins.
The crowds so
misunderstood the purpose of God in sending His Son. Almost certainly if
we had been there, we also would not have seen the glory of God in the Man
tortured on Golgotha. We only see the plan of God for us in hindsight
because He has revealed it in Scripture, and then opened our minds to
comprehend by His Spirit through Holy Baptism. Without that revelation, we
would be as ignorant as the crowds who mocked Him on that day. If we were
numbered with His disciples, we would see the Cross of crucifixion only as a
terrible event when innocence was tragically crucified.
Through the good news
of the Holy Scriptures, we now know that the Passion of Christ is our
salvation. We see in His sufferings the glory of God’s grace. We
comprehend, even us who are spiritually ignorant in our flesh, that Christ is
the Son of God, who came for this exact purpose – to save us by His death.
So Christ is recognised
as the Son of God by the centurion. He is not recognised when He is
feeding the multitudes or doing miracles or showing love in His words.
No, He is recognised as God’s Son when He breathes His last and the heavens are
dark and the earth shudders and rocks are split. The centurion is filled
with great fear because he recognises that here was no mere man, but the Son of
God.
In death, Christ
shows Himself as the true Son of God more clearly than anywhere else. On
the Cross, He fulfils His identity as the Son who obeys His Father even to the
point of death.
He yielded to death
at the very end because even then, after all He had suffered, He did not have
to die. He was still the almighty Son of Man who could have resisted death
forever. With a single word, He could have healed all His wounds and
stepped down from the Cross. At a single word, legions of angels could
have swooped down from heaven to rescue Him. Jesus Christ, true God and
true man came to finish all things. He did not shy away from death, even
after all the torture and pain inflicted on Him. Even then, He
voluntarily yielded up His final breath.
This is the love of
Christ for us. He suffered all rather than lose us. He suffered the
greatest shame in history to redeem us. He paid the ultimate price, dying
for our sins when His innocent flesh should never have tasted death. All
this He did for us.
We see the benefits
of His death when the bodies of many saints were raised. They came out of
their tombs after Christ was raised and entered Jerusalem and appeared to many
people.
This is a foretaste
of the Resurrection at the Last Day.
God was showing us
that His Son’s death had already purchased eternal life for all His saints.
We have eternal life
also, because Christ died in our place. Because the Innocent Man paid our
punishment in death, we receive His reward in unending life.
The
Lord keep us in reverent contemplation of these events this Holy Week, since
these events are our life and salvation. Amen.
The love and peace our lour Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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