Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews
10:1 – 25; John 18:1 – 19:37
This is a homily by Fr. Gene Tucker,
given at St. John’s Church, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Friday, March 25,
2016.
“THE EVENTS
OF GOOD FRIDAY: NOT ALL THAT UNUSUAL (FOR THE MOST PART)”
For most Christians,
Good Friday is an extremely important holy day. Many will observe[1]
this day, remembering the events that took place in Jerusalem those many years
ago.
But for all the
importance that is attached to this day, many of the events that took place
aren’t all that unusual, most likely. For if we look at the record of the
Gospel accounts, and if we look at contemporary non-biblical accounts, we can
see that many of the events were fairly commonplace.
So let’s look at the
things that happened that were an unfortunate part of life in the Holy Land
2,000 years ago. And then we can look at what makes this day so different, and
so important to our Christian hope.
The commonplace events
might include these:
Crucifixion:
Alas, my suspicion is that executing people by crucifixion was a fairly
frequent event. Perhaps Pontius Pilate had a favorite day for carrying out this
cruel method of killing people. We don’t know for sure, but we do know from the
historical record that he was a cruel man who ruled through fear of violence.
The Romans didn’t invent crucifixion. Most historians think it was the ancient
Assyrians who did, but the Romans made efficient use of it. Essentially, this
very public form of execution was state-sponsored terrorism, an object lesson
for anyone who would dare to step out-of-line or who would dare to challenge
the power of the state. This was the reason for the sign which was affixed
above Jesus’ head, which read “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. The
sign told everyone who looked on the condemned just what it was deed(s) they
had done that had landed them on a cross. I suspect that empty crosses dotted
the landscape (one recent movie about Jesus’ passion depicts just such a scene
as Joseph, Mary and Jesus are travelling, and they come upon a cross at a road
intersection), a grim reminder of the power of Rome. Crosses were also a grim
reminder that the Jewish people were a conquered and enslaved people, for a
Roman citizen could not be killed by crucifixion.
Innocent
victims: Nor was it an unusual event for
people who were innocent of any wrongdoing to find themselves being nailed to a
cross. The Gospel accounts make it clear that Jesus was innocent, and that
Pilate himself thought that was so. But the Romans were efficient killers whose
main concern, especially in ruling contentious peoples like the Jews, was to
keep the lid on any turbulence that might erupt. The Gospels themselves mention
(briefly) some of the revolutions that had taken place in the countryside.[2]
So the Romans would rather get rid of anyone who was suspected of being a
rabble-rouser, rather than risk letting things get out-of-hand. For Pilate
himself, keeping things under control was a major concern, for his own employment
as Governor of Judea depended directly on his ability to be in charge.[3]
A
question of who’s in charge: We mentioned a moment ago that the
Romans ruled with harshness and with the use of fear and violence. But a
different aspect of the relationship between the governed and the governing
emerges in Jesus’ trial: The power of the mob was significantly displayed, as
the Chief Priests whip the crowd into demanding that Jesus be killed and that
Barabbas be freed. Moreover, Pilate is out-maneuvered by the Chief Priests, who
insist that, if he lets Jesus go, that he is “no friend of Caesar”. Pilate
would not have been able to understand the nature of the religious charges made
against Jesus, but he was very able to understand the charge that Jesus had claimed
to be a king. The Chief Priests make use of Pilate’s ability to understand in
outwitting and outmaneuvering him. Here, again, the need to keep a lid on the
fires of discontent and rebellion come into view. For all of the outward power
of Rome that was manifest in Pilate, in actuality a lot of power was in the
hands of the mob.
Bucking
the system: A major factor in Jesus’ arrest,
trial and execution was the fact that He was bucking the power relationships
which existed between the Jewish leadership, the puppet king Herod, and the
Roman governor, Pilate. Normally, these three operated each in their own
spheres (In Luke’s Gospel account, for example, we learn that Herod and Pilate
weren’t especially friendly with one another, until Jesus’ trial comes about.)
In general terms, anyone who dared to confront the Chief Priests and the Temple
ruling class, King Herod, or Pilate, ran the risk of getting into trouble. Of
course, the exact nature of the resulting trouble was always an unknown.
Sometimes, a severe beating, such as was administered to Jesus by Pilate, was
one solution. At other times, a quick and sudden death at the hands of soldiers
was the solution. And in still other cases, death by crucifixion was the
result. The one constant was the reality that going up against those in power
was a risky undertaking.
With all of these
realities in view, we should ask ourselves, “Then what makes the events of this
day so different from the commonplace realities of the world in that day and
time?”
I’ll venture to
provide some answers:
Having
power, but refusing to use it: One aspect of Jesus’
passion was the fact that He had the power to crush the ruling elite, the Chief
Priests and the ruling council, the Sanhedrin, King Herod, and Pilate. In
Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus tells His disciples that, if He had asked the
Father for them, twelve legions of angels would be made available for Him to
fight against the powers that were arrayed against Him. Yet Jesus does not
summon those 72,000 angels.[4]
As Jesus stands in front of Pilate, He tells Pilate that His “kingdom is not of
this world,” adding that, “if (my) kingdom were of this world, then (my)
followers would fight” to bring that kingdom into being. Jesus steadfastly
refuses to use the powers available to Him. If we consider another aspect of
Jesus’ powers, recall with me that He had recently raised Lazarus from the dead
(see John, chapter eleven). Jesus had demonstrated His power over death itself.
The implications - from a military point-of-view - are enormous, for if Jesus
had raised Lazarus back to life, then Jesus could also raise fallen soldiers
back to duty and to the fight.
The fact that Jesus
possesses immense power, but willingly sets those powers aside to allow Himself
to be vulnerable, magnifies the sense of complete surrender we see in Him.
The
depths of utter helplessness: Contrasted with the power and
resources that Jesus had available to Him, and his refusal to call upon those
powers, stands the reality of death on a cross, for such a death was the lowest
point a person could reach. In the estimation of the Jews, anyone who found
themselves hung on a tree was an especially cursed person.[5]
(In this connection, it’s worth noting that, as the Gospel message went out
into the world, the fact that Jesus had died a common criminal’s death, and an
especially cursed form of death, was a stumbling block to the Jews, as St. Paul
tells us in I Corinthians 1:23. The method of Jesus’ death was also folly to
Gentiles, as St. Paul adds in the same verse.) A person who was nailed to a
cross lost everything they had previously had:
Their dignity (they were nailed naked to the cross), their possessions
(notice that Jesus’ clothing is parceled out to the Roman soldiers, who cast
lots for them), their family and their friends. They died alone, scorned,
forsaken, in pain and in despair. The spectacle of their passing took a lot of
time, usually, so there was plenty of time for the condemned to experience the
alienation, the pain, the insults (remember that Jesus was reviled by the Chief
Priests, who, standing beneath the cross, say to Him, “He saved others, Himself
he cannot save.”) of those who’d come to watch the show. St. Paul, writing in
Philippians 2:5 – 11, brilliantly describes the reality that the cross represents,
for Paul says this: “(Jesus) humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8) And even after the ordeal
of the slow death (by asphyxiation, the inability to continue to breathe) was
over, there was – for most victims of crucifixion – no grave to be buried in.
It is a very strong
temptation to “fast forward” from the events of Good Friday into the events of
Easter Sunday. Indeed, the two days’ events are inextricably connected one to
the other: One does not get to Easter Sunday without going through Good Friday.
But we would do well to stay here, at the foot of the cross, for a good, long
while, taking time to ponder just what it is that makes this day so different
from all other days in which these sorts of things took place.
AMEN.
[1] Using the word “celebrate” might be the wrong
word to describe our gatherings held on this day.
[2] Later Jewish history records two major
revolts against Rome: The Jewish-Roman War, which lasted from 66 – 70 AD, and
the Bar Kochba revolt, which took place about the year 135 AD.
[3] Pilate’s tenure in Judea lasted from 26 – 36
AD.
[4] A Roman army legion was made up of 6,000
soldiers.
[5] See Deuteronomy 21:23.
