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“Friday: Is There Anything Good
About It?” |
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The week was pretty exciting – and scary –
all at the same time. On Sunday, Jesus staged a political demonstration by
riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. It was a kind of counter-parade to one the
Roman governor and the wealthy and the politically elite had on the other side
of the city. On Monday, Jesus went to the temple and created enough chaos to
temporarily shut down the temple. On Tuesday, Jesus returned to the temple,
preached and taught openly to the crowds, and in a confrontation, made the
temple rulers look pretty foolish. On Wednesday, the temple rulers decided that
they could not arrest Jesus because he was drawing sympathetic crowds and was so
popular that his arrest might start a riot. And then, that same day, Judas
volunteered to betray Jesus to them. On Thursday, Jesus celebrated the Passover
feast with the disciples, and he gave bread and wine a new meaning. He called
them his body and his blood. Sometime that night, Jesus was arrested. Friday, the day after Passover, everything changed. For us, it was the most solemn day in all of history. It was the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. We call it “Good Friday.” Good Friday. Isn’t that an odd name for the worst day in the history of the church? “Good Friday?” Is there anything good about “Good” Friday? Anything at all? Mark’s gospel tells the story of that day in three-hour segments, beginning with sunrise, or 6:00 in the morning. In the early morning were Jesus’ trial, the sentence by Pontius Pilate (the Roman governor) to crucifixion, and then Jesus’ torture by Roman soldiers. Barabbas, a symbol of violent revolution, was set free, and Jesus, a symbol of non-violent revolution, was led away to be executed. (Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, 2006, p. 144) In the late morning, Jesus, the non-violent revolutionary, was crucified at a place called Golgotha: “the place of the skull.” (Mark 15:24) He was executed between two “bandits.” The Greek word used to describe them was the term commonly used for guerilla fighters (or insurgents) against Rome. These two beside Jesus were rebels against Rome. (Borg and Crossan, p. 147) Mark did not include any details about crucifixion. His contemporaries were very familiar with the details of this method of execution. The Romans reserved this method of death for a particular group of prisoners. Only “runaway slaves or rebel insurgents who subverted Roman law and order” were killed this way. It was always done in a very public place where all could see – by city gates or along main roads. Those to be executed carried or dragged the cross’ crossbar to the site, and then a notice of the crime was attached to the upright of the cross. The victims were often crucified low to the ground so that not only carrion birds but also wild dogs could reach them. The bodies were left on the cross many days until little was left to bury. (Borg and Crossan, p. 146) Knowing all this, I ask it again: Is there anything good about “Good Friday”? Is there anything? Anything at all? In the afternoon, as Jesus was dying, a Roman soldier (of all people) witnessed that Jesus is “God’s Son,” a term reserved for the Roman emperor. (Borg and Crossan, p. 151) Women followers watched him from a short distance. Mark doesn’t mention the disciples. Why? Because they have all run away! They were in hiding! It just gets worse and worse, doesn’t it? Is there anything good about “Good Friday”? Anything? – Anything at all? At 6:00 in the evening, as the sun was going down, Joseph of Arimathea asked for Jesus’ body for burial. This was highly unusual because crucified bodies stayed on the cross until there was nothing left to bury. All the gospels agree: Pilate released Jesus’ body so that he could be buried. And so it was. And so the day ended in the death shroud – and in the terrible silence of a tomb. On that day, things were as bad as they could get. Jesus was tried and convicted by the Roman government. He was tortured and mocked. He was deserted by the disciples. He died and was buried. So - - - is there anything “good” about that Friday? Did Jesus have to die? Was this the will of God? I guess that’s those are the real questions for us, aren’t they? Did God require a punishment for our sin? Was Jesus the price? Was his pain and humiliation and crucifixion a divine plan, and everyone involved were actors playing out a divine script? The crucifixion was “the perfect storm.” Various human factors converged at one time and place. The temple authorities decided to get rid of Jesus permanently and pursued that decision fully. Judas decided to help them arrest Jesus. Pilate decided to crucify him. Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan, in their book, The Last Week (2006), say that any one of these factors could have changed the outcome – but they didn’t. “Human inevitability” caused Jesus’ crucifixion. (2006, p.161) Borg and Crossan say that it was “Jesus’ passion” that got him killed. Jesus willingly and knowingly confronted the oppression and corruption and collaboration of the political and economic system of his day – and that’s what got him killed. “According to the gospel of Mark, Jesus did not die for the sins of the world.” If anything, he died because of the sin of the world. (Borg and Crossan, p.162) “Was Jesus guilty of advocating violent revolution against the empire and its local collaborators? No! As Mark tells the story, was Jesus guilty of nonviolent resistance to imperial Roman oppression and local Jewish collaboration? Oh, yes!” (Borg and Crossan, p. 163) Many – probably most – Christians believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world. This assumes that in order for God to forgive us, a substitutionary sacrifice had to be given to God. Humans can’t be the sacrifice because we would be dying for our own sins (our just punishment). This belief suggests that only a sinless human would be an appropriate sacrifice for others. Jesus was the only one who could do it. This idea was not part of the belief system of the earliest Christians. This idea is not expressed in the gospel of Mark. In fact, the Church was nearly 1,000 years old before this belief became dominant among Christians. (See Borg and Crossan, pp. 138-139) So - - - is there anything “good” about Friday? What do you think? Clearly, “through this event, God has accomplished something of great value.” (Borg and Crossan, p. 160) If it weren’t so, we would not be here in this worship service thinking about it – and I certainly wouldn’t be talking about it. It is one thing to say that God needed something horrible to happen to make something “good.” It is quite another to say God made something good happen out of a horrible situation. I believe that “Good Friday” is the latter of the two: God made something good happen out of a horrible situation! The “good” of Good Friday is the fact that thirty-five years after the event, Mark wrote the first account of what happened on that day. Mark wrote it knowing the good that was going to come out of this horrible, despicable display of human evil. He knew what happened the day after the Sabbath – the first day of the week. He knew about the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of the Church. God made something “good” out of the horror, the treachery, the betrayal, and the tragedy of the day. We know that Jesus’ death is not the end. We know God still had something to say. And that’s the “good” of Good Friday. Let us pray. Lord, humanity did its very worst to your Son, Jesus. On that Friday, it appeared that the Romans and the temple rulers had the last say. Thank you, O God, for making sure that it wasn’t the end! Thank you for making something good out of what happened on that Friday so many years ago. In Jesus’ name we thank you. Amen. |