Today in God's Word—August 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
August 16, Luke 23
To play politics, according to the dictionary, is “to act for political or personal gain rather than from principle.” It’s no compliment to say someone is playing politics. The lying shenanigans that surrounded the trial and execution of Jesus illustrate the unsavory side of politics.
The Jews despised the Romans who occupied their land. They wanted Messiah to free them from Rome’s tyranny. But the chief priests put their hatred on hold when they needed Rome’s authority to kill Jesus. They used phrases calculated to stir the governor’s interest in what he could have dismissed as an ethnic quarrel over religious customs. The charges were lies, but they knew how to get Pilate’s attention—” forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar... saying that he himself is Christ, a king... he stirs up the people.” The Romans wanted no impediment to the revenue stream, no rival to Caesar’s rule and no riots. The chief priests crafted the charges accordingly.
Pilate sent Jesus and his accusers across town to Herod when he heard Jesus was from Galilee. He handed off responsibility for hearing the charges against Jesus to the Idumean puppet king as a matter of jurisdiction. Herod found in Jesus nothing more than amusement— hoping for a miracle show, settling for contemptuous mockery. Their mutual distaste for dealing with Jesus became the basis for a new friendship between two politicians.
Pilate tried to appease the Jews by beating Jesus, torturing an innocent man for political gain. When that failed, he caved in to the shouting crowd, released Barabbas and ordered the crucifixion of Jesus to prevent open rebellion.
Not everyone who encountered Jesus that dark day was playing politics. The penitent thief defended Jesus from the insults of his fellow thief. Through the blood and humiliation, the thief saw a king who would come into his
kingdom when no one else, not even the closest disciples, imagined the kingdom was still on Jesus’ schedule. Jesus recognized his faith and promised he would be with him that day in Paradise.
The centurion who took in the whole spectacle praised God and proclaimed Jesus’ innocence. Joseph of Arimathea begged for Jesus’ body and gave him a decent burial. Like the donkey Jesus had ridden into the city earlier in the week, Joseph’s new tomb would only be borrowed for a little while and then returned. But Joseph didn’t know that when he showed sympathy and respect for Jesus.
So the politicians used Jesus to further their own agendas. That still goes on in the world today. But all the political posturing missed the point of who he was and what his death would mean. The broken-hearted disciples gathered spices to finish the task of burying Jesus after the Sabbath. Joseph’s tomb contained (at least for the moment) the body of a man who was a victim of ruthless politics. Jesus’ friends and foes alike thought it was all over. They were in for a big surprise.
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament, Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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