Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As we have already indicated that the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ was prefigured in the very first Passover ceremony in Egypt, with instructions that a male lamb without blemish had to be slaughtered in the evening twilight, in the presence of the whole assembly, we now come to the actual dramatic scene in which almost everyone has played a part.
It even presents a difficulty to single out one particular group to blame for this crime of deicide. For, what do we have? A strangely mixed crowd of rebels – Priests, Levites, Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, Herodians, Servants and Soldiers, countless young men and women and children, all assembled to witness and to be part of the slaying of the lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lays down His life willingly for His friends.
The blood-thirsty crowd is visibly intent on finishing their task of slaying their victim to quench their thirst. They even take full responsibility as they declare before Pilate; “Let His blood be on us and on our children”- Matt. 27:25. Whether they know it or not, it is for their own good that they play a part in slaying the lamb of God. Why? Because the blood of Jesus, that they ferociously seek and demand, does not seek revenge nor vengeance. Rather it is sprinkled for the sake of reconciliation, forgiveness of sins, and for peace. It is the precious blood that “speaks more eloquently than that of Abel” -Hebrews 12:24.
Jesus was not simply killed – that would be an understatement. He was rather slain. They devoured Him like a paschal lamb before its sharers. Even their pretense of conducting a fair trial betrays them. If this must be counted as a trial, these were real amateur attorneys at Law. This trial comes across as one of the most inconsistent trials ever recorded in the history of Law. It is even laughable in God’s sight. And how embarrassing this must have been in the eyes of Angels when Divinity was tried by human justice! In fact, these men cared less about the outcomes of the trial, all they wanted was to get rid of Him. Even the book of Wisdom exposes their evil thoughts;
“The wicked say, let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; …
He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of God…
He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is His Father…
With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and patience,
Let us condemn him to a shameful death,” – Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22.
Pilate is given the opportunity to show himself a good politician. He is up against a king whose scepter is Truth, Justice and peace, and whose kingdom resides not in display of military power and ammunitions, but in every human heart and soul. He says, “the kingdom of God is within you,” – Luke 17:21. Pilate the Chief Justice who must bring truth to light in this trial, is himself astounded at the sound of the word Truth, perhaps the word has never crossed his mind before. He asks, “What is Truth?” Can anyone expect true justice from such naivety? What is Truth? Truth is God Himself. And if God is lacking or missing in politics, how can we expect fair trials and good results.
Without God politics becomes so dark and is not even ashamed of its lies and naivety, just like Pilate was not ashamed to display his idea of innocence – After he scourges Jesus and puts a crown of thorns on his head, he brings Him out saying; “Look…I find no guilt in Him.” Behold the man! Is this what human justice calls innocence? But Pilate’s picture of innocence which he sets before the whole world bears marks of violence on it, and there is a crown of thorns! A contradiction to the truth of innocence. See how divinity exposes human limitations and weaknesses! Truth sheds its light upon us, and when we draw near to God, we come to know who we are, the truth and beauty of human life. Only God can make us truly human.
So, Pilate, unable to make up his mind, dances to the tunes of the mob, washes his hands of his cowardice and throws the ball into the hands of the mob. And in the end, we come back to the evening twilight of Good Friday, what a dramatic scene we have witnessed! We have succeeded in slaughtering the lamb of God, “Let His blood be on us and on our Children”, for, “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin,” – Hebrews 9:22.
Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the life of the world, O come let us adore. And with Ross McCullough, Poet and Professor of Theology, we say;
Save us, O Holy Cross,
Signpost of the times,
Timer of the age,
Hatchets of Creation,
Save us, O Holy Cross,
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