New Thoughts (02/23/13-03/02/13)
Feast day == Sabbath? (02/24/13)
As much as I tire of the subject, it seems impossible to avoid as one works through the accounts of the Crucifixion. Is it a Sabbath (i.e. a Saturday), or is it the Passover? There is much about the description of the day that gives one pause. There is Matthew’s odd style of reference here, where he speaks of it only as the day after the day of preparation, which just seems awkward. Then, there are references from the coverage of Joseph of Arimathea which speak of it having been the day of preparation for the Sabbath, where John 19:14 speaks of it specifically as the day of preparation for the Passover. But, then, in John 19:31 he also talks about how that business with breaking the legs was to avoid having the bodies still on the cross on the Sabbath. And this comes with the added note, “for that Sabbath was a high day.”
This may well provide us with the answer to all the confusion, that being that the Sabbath being referred to is actually the Passover itself. It should be possible for the Passover to coincide with the regular Sabbath. I recall that special provisions were made to account for years when the Passover and the Sabbath were on consecutive days. A certain amount of work must be allowed at that point, and this is thought to possibly explain how Judas could have been out ‘purchasing supplies’ after sundown without it being an obvious violation of the Sabbath. What shop would then be open? Were it otherwise, the supposition goes, the remaining disciples would have to be idiots not to have recognized this explanation wouldn’t hold water.
The memory’s a bit hazy at this remove, but I seem to recall a fairly similar occurrence when my old church was sharing facilities with the synagogue whose property we were buying. They were a relatively conservative assembly, and I recall a weekend or two where we had to have our services elsewhere due to one of the high holy days. We were quite used to the strictures against being around the building during the regular Sabbath, measured from an hour before sundown in Jerusalem Friday to an hour after the same on Saturday, just to be safe. But, these occasions were beyond the regular Sabbath.
I am trying to recall whether it was from that source or elsewhere that I learned of the idea that these high days were also referred to as Sabbaths. Be that as it may, we must either infer a leap of one or more days between John 19:14 and John 19:31, or accept that John is teaching us this very point: that the feast days were also considered Sabbaths. Certainly, the Law governing those occasions was quite similar. The layout of the Feast of Unleavened Bread speaks of the first and last days as holy convocations, days when no work is to be done. Certainly, then, they have this much in common with the Sabbath.
This does nothing to resolve other questions of timing, for example, whether the twelve were celebrating a Paschal meal the day before, and if so, why. Likewise, the question as to why, if this were the case, the temple was open and serving in the capacity of sacrificing lambs a day early becomes something to consider. But, I believe I have gnawed this whole conundrum quite sufficiently over the last several months. I have not arrived at an answer that completely satisfies, nor do I see signs of arriving at such an answer today. So be it. It might perhaps be best to accept that the meal they shared was not the Paschal meal at all, but merely a dinner together. Admittedly, that seems to lose a lot of symbolism. But, could not that same symbolism be retained, even if it may have been lost on the immediate participants at the time? That does, in the end, seem a reasonable supposition. And, there I think I shall leave the topic.
Pilate’s Likely Response (02/24/13)
Now, then: This passage marks the final mention of Pilate in the Gospels, and as such will occasion a lengthier look at the man later. But, right here, as I consider the passage at hand, I think we must at least take into account how the governor was likely to be reacting as this latest contingent from the temple arrived. In pursuit of that goal, let’s consider just briefly the sort of history this governor had with the denizens of Jerusalem. In fact, start with this: Why is he here? Why is Herod here? Are they vacationing? It’s not, after all, the center of government so far as Rome is concerned. No, that’s up in Caesarea, where Pilate’s palace is. As for Herod, his proper realm of operations is up in Galilee. But, the record of these high feast periods was one of riotous uprisings. Best, then, that Rome be present in might and on the scene to squash any such thing. I would note, in this regard, that Pilate, according to the encyclopedias, had a much larger military contingent that would be typical for so small a territory.
So, how had he interacted with this people before? We have the record of what was, I believe, one of his first visits to Jerusalem as governor, in which his legions came with their legionary standards, as was their wont. Those standards, of course, bore the usual icons of emperor worship, and the natives rose up in loud opposition. The locals took offense and it became necessary for Pilate to have the standards removed, lest there be that worst of failures for a Roman governor, a riot.
Later, he sought to do some good for the city, arranging construction of an aqueduct to improve the water supply. Of course, such a large project required funding. Unfortunately for Pilate, he figured to have the locals contribute, and sought to enforce the idea by drawing upon the temple’s corban funds. End result? Not just riots, but violent demonstrations that required him to move against the populace in force to restore order. Bloody mess, that.
Then, there was the time he had set up shields on the interior walls of his own palace, and of all things, they figured they could make their demands on him in that regard, too! Oh! Oh! There’s those images of Caesar again, right here in the holy city! Take them away! He had rejected this demand, but they went around him to the Syrian legate. He was forced to accede to their wishes, losing face with those he was supposed to govern, and quite probably losing a degree of favor towards his own career. But, not enough to get him out of this territory.
So, now, come to this Passover. The priests, the same crew that have been plaguing him over all these issues, come with their demands to have Jesus arrested. They come early in the morning demanding ‘justice’. Let there be no doubt about it, Pilate was savvy enough to know that their desired justice was nothing more than political machination. Why have you brought him? Oh! He’s a trouble maker, trust us! You know, even in that initial encounter, you can sense that Pilate is not at all keen to help these guys. He’ll do what he must, but he seeks throughout to uphold his and Rome’s authority. We don’t just hand out death sentences by request, guys. You’ll have to do better than that. So, they start lobbing charges. Yet, here in his custody he has Barabbas, a man caught in acts very much like those they claim for Jesus, and were they bringing that one to him? Hardly! He was a hero to them, sticking it to the Romans.
So, they come demanding justice. Then, when their threats have effectively forced his hand and he gives them the execution they desire, they’re back in his office. They don’t like the sentence he passed. No, no. He’s not king of the Jews, just claimed he was. Fix the sign! This, he refuses. They have already pushed him too far, and he’s not about to have them dictating his official records now. So, on this count, he sends them packing. But, they come back again! Now, they’re requesting that he speed the process up because the Sabbath, you know. Did they not know that this morning? If they were so concerned for their Sabbath, why did they not wait for Sunday to bother him? It’s like this was another setup. Force him to execute, and then force him to shorten the execution. See who’s really in charge here? But, he still had to be concerned about rioting, so he lets it go. It no doubt rankles him, but power in Rome is a precarious business, and these guys, he knows from experience, are quite adept at the game of toppling rulers.
Is it any wonder Joseph needed to screw up his courage a bit to go see Pilate about the body? I don’t know which he was more concerned about, the Sanhedrin’s opinion of him, or Pilate’s likely reaction to yet another Jewish aristocrat come seeking to bend his will. Maybe a bit of both.
At any rate, he’s at least had the night to himself. But now, next day, they’re back again. What happened to that Sabbath they were so concerned about? Sheesh! Yesterday, they wouldn’t even step on the Pavement for fear of being defiled by Roman cooties. Today, they’re in his office! Ooh! Ooh! We need some soldiers to guard the grave. Really? Oh, yes! His disciples, you know, those ones who ran away yesterday? They might try and steal His body away and claim He has risen from the dead. He did say He would do that, after all. And, right about then, I wonder if Pilate’s thoughts clicked to the fact that these guys had fabricated every charge. Perhaps not. He may not have been terribly well versed in the local religious practices.
But, there is this much: If he has heard about that business with Lazarus, and given his interview with Jesus, he might just be suspicious that Jesus would follow through on that claim. And, were that the case, two considerations might cross his mind. First, wouldn’t it be a hoot to see these pests caught out by such an act? Oh, what marvelous irony that would be! Second, if this Man really is capable of returning from the dead, does Pilate (who, after all, was as superstitious as the next man) really want to show himself any more involved than he is already? If that One has the power to come back to life, what other power might He have, and is He really likely to treat His persecutors kindly? Either conclusion would seem unlikely to lead Pilate to set his own forces under a Jewish command.
Now, let us suppose he has not heard about Lazarus, unlikely though that would seem. If that’s the case, then these guys with their oh-so-superior religion would appear to be even more superstitious than him. Really? You think I should give you an armed guard to protect a dead body in a cave? To what end? Oh, they might spread rumors? Well, what have you been doing? They might elevate him as some sort of hero and start a rebellion? I’ve seen that group. They couldn’t fight their way out of the market square, let alone present any problem to a Roman legion.
All in all, I find it so unlikely that Pilate would have granted these chief priests any such favor. There’s too much that argues against it. There’s his need to reassert authority, there’s the weakness of the reason for the request, there’s the unlikely nature of any Roman governor putting his men under the command of the very people that they have to subjugate. Finally, there’s the way we are told Pilate responds. “You have a guard. Go, and make it as secure as you know how.” That does not strike me as communicating that he agrees to their demands yet again. It sounds far more like a dismissive way of rejecting the demand. And, with that, I see I have progressed into the next topic, so I’ll save further discussion for that. My point in this section has simply been to attempt to establish the mindset of this beleaguered governor.
I cannot imagine him being terribly receptive to any demand by this point. He’s been pushed and maneuvered, and he knows it very well. He’s lost face on all fronts, and he knows he must act to reestablish his authority or lose it entirely. And, he’s had several reasons to be fearful. He’s had his wife’s dream. He’s had the very charges these men leveled, “He claims to be the Son of God!” He’s had that odd interview with the Man, who told him how His kingdom was ‘not of this realm’. He’s possibly even heard the assessment of the centurion, although that seems a bit of a longshot. At any rate, one suspects he had a rather restless night. The conflicted nature of his ruling likely left him conflicted as he sought sleep. Just as likely, he arose this morning still conflicted and not terribly well rested.
Whose guard? Roman or Temple? (02/25/13)
So, then, I’ve been all over the map on this. It makes a great deal of sense to me, particularly given the nature of Pilate’s governorship, that he is effectively sending the chief priests packing this time. That response of his does read rather like he is telling them to deal with it themselves. But, against this must be weighed the discussion those priests and guards have after the tomb has been opened and found empty. The priests tell them to lie about it, claim they fell asleep on duty, and then add this bit: “If the governor hears of it, we’ll speak to him and keep you out of trouble” (Mt 28:14). Well, if they were temple guard, what concern would they have about the governor?
And yet, I find I am not alone in this question. The HCSB notes the question in a footnote, declaring it uncertain whether these men were temple police or Roman soldiers. The Living Bible (admittedly, not the strongest of sources for translation issues) tends to hear Pilate as I have been suggesting. It offers Matthew 27:65 as, “‘Use your own Temple police,’ Pilate told them. ‘They can guard it safely enough.’” On the other hand, the NCV takes the other tack. “Pilate said, ‘Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.’” The NET also seems to lean towards this view, although they at least note that what is translated as “Take” is more literally, “You have”.
And therein, it seems to me, lies another argument for supposing it is temple police who are left at the tomb. We are dealing with a Present Indicative, and in the Active Voice. First off, the Indicative Mood is used to indicate an assertion of fact. Were this a command such as “take some soldiers”, I would expect the Imperative. Second, the Active Voice bespeaks the subject, you, performing the action, have. If Pilate were giving them the soldiers to use, would it not be a Passive, or at least Middle Voice activity?
To other sources. Barnes indicates that these were likely Roman soldiers, who had potentially been under direction of the chief priests even during the Crucifixion itself. I must say that this would at least explain the syntax. They’re already under your direction. Just assign them this new task. The Geneva Study Notes maintain a similar view, that this was a garrison appointed to temple duty already. The IVP notes the question, but sees the same implications in Matthew 28:14.
Matthew Henry arrives at a rather interesting take on the matter. Yes, these guards are from the Antonia contingent, and set under management of the chief priests, but largely as an attempt by Pilate to keep his fingerprints off the whole event. Further, it is suggested that Pilate was as bemused by Joseph’s honoring the body as by the priests’ concerns about this dead man. He would play both sides, granting each their desire. Yet, one can wonder if he didn’t find both a bit ridiculous, each giving such attention to what was, after all, a corpse. He concurs with my sense that Pilate is belittling the fears of the priests after a fashion with that final comment of, “make it as secure as you can!” But, he notes that this might be scorn as to their concern, along the lines of, “By all means, let’s make sure the corpse doesn’t escape!” Or, it might be a comment on the futility of their efforts, given some nascent suspicion on Pilate’s part as to just who it was in that tomb. “Do your worst. I’m sure your God will be impressed and change course!” If, indeed, those are right who suppose Pilate a Christian at least, as Tertullian suggests, in conscience, it’s not entirely improbable that he might have had some idea what was coming. I have to say, though, that it seems a stretch.
So, where are we? I think, at the end of it all, I shall retire to the position that, as strange as it seems to me that Roman soldiers are set under Jewish command, this may well have been the case after all. If, as has been suggested, this was a fairly usual circumstance, then it satisfies the syntactical questions regarding that, “You have” clause. And, indeed, the suggestion from Matthew Henry succeeds in casting a somewhat different light on the interview. My inclination, as to Pilate’s intent with that last remark, however, is to hear it scornful, but with the limited perspective of unbelief. Why the fuss over a dead body and a bunch of yokels from the north? But, why not? Go ahead and post your guard. They would have been watching over the cross anyway, were it not for the early death, so it’s no great hardship for them to do this duty. Have at!
Fear and Duplicity (02/25/13-02/26/13)
There is another aspect of what Matthew records of this meeting which bears commenting. Notice the reason these priests come before Pilate with. “We remember that He said He would be resurrected after three days” (v63). Now, there’s two things we might want to consider in light of that. First, think about how this might hit Pilate’s ears. Had they not just told him yesterday that this one who had them so concerned even in death had claimed to be the Son of God? Regardless of his expressed disdain in replying to their latest demands, that had to register somewhere in his conscience. First his wife, then that final admission of theirs as to what great crime this one had committed, and now, this concern that his body might not stay in the grave.
And, let’s be clear: The priests were not in earnest in claiming their concern was about the disciples, that poor disheartened band, coming to steal the body. Their concern was that they knew full well what they had done, and feared that He had the power to make good on His word. Pilate was no more put off the real situation by their misdirection here than he had been at the trial earlier. Their earlier charges had been so transparently contrived as to fool nobody. He had been given the opportunity to speak with this Jesus that had them so distraught, and had sensed something in the Man. Was he converted in this moment? Who can know? But, in spite of his actions, it’s not hard to accept that he may have recognized some hint of God in that one.
The second, and more interesting point from this new note of concern from the priests is what it says of their earlier trial. This, Pilate would not be aware of, but we are, thanks to the Evangelists. What had been the very first charge they sought to levy against Jesus? That He had threatened to destroy the temple. We, of course, know full well that those charges were trumped up in the extreme. We hear the charge made in Matthew 26:61. “This man claimed He could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.” And we can readily refer back to the actual statement from John 2:19, where we find Jesus saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Now, it’s worth reading a bit further in that account. John tells us that the Jews were incredulous at hearing this claim, noting how the temple took forty six years to complete. The claim that Jesus would rebuild that structure in three was preposterous!
Now, John does not indicate that Jesus gave any further explanation on that occasion, only noting that after the Resurrection, His disciples finally caught on that He was speaking about His own body, not that edifice. John concludes by noting that the Apostles believed, upon this realization. Well, here’s the thing. The priests believed Him, too. Indeed, what this discussion with Pilate reveals is that they fully understood what He was really claiming. Whether they had misunderstood a few years ago, but had thought of His words often during the intervening time to arrive at this understanding, or whether they had fully understood right then when He spoke, but deliberately misconstrued His words in hopes of making Him look ridiculous, they clearly knew what He meant now.
Well, consider: It wasn’t all that long ago that Lazarus had been brought out alive from his grave by this Jesus. And, that had transpired more than three days after that man had been interred. By their best understanding, Lazarus was good and truly dead and beyond recovery or recall by then. And yet, there he was, still out on the streets of Jerusalem, and everyone in the city knew full well what had happened and by Whose hand! If they hadn’t caught His meaning before, then having their noses rubbed in Lazarus resurrected would serve to explain it, wouldn’t it? But, by now they were so far gone in their hatred and in their panic over their own livelihood that they could not change course. They were committed. Perhaps we could even go so far as to suppose they recognized full well that they were rebelling against God, but even realizing this, they figured themselves too far gone to be saved, so decided they may as well proceed. Who can fathom their thinking? Who can arrive at a satisfactory explanation for why the leading lights of religion seem so often to wind up blinding themselves to the Truth?
Leave it at this, though: They knew. Certainly, in the hands of Matthew, this serves as a confession. Bearing in mind that he is writing for a primarily Jewish audience, how critical to make this point. The priests, those leaders of Jewish piety, knew full well what they had just done. They knew, even if they wouldn’t admit it, that they had just arranged the murder of God. They knew exactly what Jesus had been saying back there about the temple, and they knew exactly what He had been saying about their own actions. They even knew that what they had just achieved fulfilled what He had taught about the servants in the vineyard! These were not stupid men, merely deluded and evil.
In light of the depths of duplicity they have mined in order to bring this One to His present condition, isn’t it interesting how carefully they seek to set forth the proofs of His being dead? One or the other of the commentaries had noted how these men who sought to destroy Jesus and discredit Him wound up serving to validate the truth of His being by their actions, how they sealed the tomb and set guard about it, proving beyond doubt that there had been no tampering by the disciples, even though this is the tale they spread. Well, any such proof must be in the eye of the beholder, certainly. They have subverted the testimony of the guard, and we are given no statement as to what became of the seal in all this. Presumably, though, the stone being rolled away, the seal is good and truly broken. So, that line of thought seems a bit off course.
But, there is this, and perhaps one other lesson we might draw from their actions: There is no length to which fallen man will not go in his efforts to avoid the Truth. If one will not accept the Truth of Christ, one must fabricate an alternative. In this case, we see the priests, who clearly understood what Jesus was claiming, and had incontrovertible evidence as to His ability to deliver. Yet, they go about as men fully convinced that no way can He get Himself out of this one! If there is a risk, they tell themselves, it is that His disciples will seek to fake His resurrection. Why should they? What would they gain from it beyond the scant possibility of some momentary notoriety. Frankly, I think what we have here is a bit of self-delusion. Were they given to reason in this moment, they would know their true fear. But, the mind, or the heart as Scripture so often refers to it, is deceitfully wicked.
I am put in mind of something I read yesterday, regarding the scientific evidence that mankind can, indeed, trace itself back to a singular mother and father. And yes, the scientific community will even refer to these two in semi-Biblical terms, nominating them Eve and Adam. But, they are careful to declare their unbelief, applying nifty scientific prefixes to the names. And, they will declare that Eve’s time was some thousands of years before Adams, and they will explain the situation by some natural cataclysm so reducing the numbers of humanity as to concentrate the gene pool on this one individual or that. One supposes they have their evidences for such things, and for setting their timestamps. But, is it really, in the end, just another fantastic construct created to avoid having to acknowledge the Scriptural account?
Or, we could go to the whole pursuit of how the universe was created. Even having arrived at a point where they can only surmise that it somehow popped out of nothingness, they refuse to find the Creator, preferring any number of far more outrageous and imaginative explanations. Oh, aliens seeded us. Or, maybe we’ll just express a sudden lack of curiosity. We’ve gone far enough back finding this moment when nothing burst into everythingness. We don’t really need to bother ourselves with how that could be. What about this excitement with the Higgs-Boson stuff? The universe, they tell us now, exists in this state that is hanging on the hairy edge of self-destruct. All it would take is a bubble of vacuum in the wrong place, and Voom! Universal slate wiped clean in the blink of a cosmic eye. But, rather than marvel at the intricate, finely balanced nature of this universe and seeing the One Who maintains it, they see nothing more exciting than a random number generator. So far we will go to deny there is a God. So far!
Why is this? Well, I could go back to that lesson Jesus gave Nicodemus. “Men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (Jn 3:19). If we admit to God, then we must admit to our dire situation. If we admit to a holy God, we must admit to our unholiness. If we admit to an all-powerful God, we must also admit that we are doomed by our rebellion against Him. We are as ants on the sidewalk, under the heel of retribution! But, in our darkened and evil state, all we can see is a God after our own image. Were it we who had the power and thee who rebelled, we know full well how we would handle it. You would be paste! And so, we can only perceive a God who, seeing our rebellion against Him, will destroy us. This, the mind cannot accept, so the mind, rather than seeking to make peace with this threatening God, decides to pretend He doesn’t exist at all. If there is no such being, there is no such problem, and off we go. Or, if we are forced to hear that He might exist, we posit that we are already too far gone for the likes of even Him to rescue us. Why should He? And therefore, we might just as well go on doing what we’re doing. It’s too late to make a difference anyway.
Well, such an assessment is correct in one regard. There is no good reason why He should rescue us, certainly nothing we’ll find in ourselves. But, there is one good reason: God. He is not responding to irresistible stimuli in seeking out and saving His lost creatures. He is pursuing His own agenda, demonstrating His own compassion, establishing His own magnificence. It is nothing in us and everything in Him which moves Him to pull away the blinders, expose us to His marvelous Light, and then proclaim to us His infinite mercy in forgiveness. While we were yet His enemies He rescued us! This is so contrary to human nature as to defy our capacity to comprehend it, yet it is Truth! What Jesus told Nicodemus that night is the absolute crux of the matter. There’s a reason why that verse is so universally well known. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16) That’s it! That’s what it’s all about!
What I arrive at in reading of this request from the Pharisees is that they knew all along. All of that apparent failure to comprehend, all of that missing of the point when Jesus spoke, it was an act. They were sharper than that. They got what He was saying. But they insisted on rejecting His words anyway. They were determined to make Him seem the fool, and in so doing showed themselves foolish. It may have taken time. It may have seemed to them that they had triumphed, at least in the short term. But, what sort of triumph could it be for these men? If they understood His message about the temple of His body, and if they knew full well that He had risen as promised, would that not be the time to give up the game and bow down? As the centurion said, “Truly, this is the Son of God!” They had wanted signs, and they now had the single most amazing of signs. Yet, even as He had said of them, they would not believe, even if one were to rise from the dead and warn them.
Today, of course, the desire to find cause to reject God’s claims continues. The world at large still prefers its darkness, however clearly the Light is proclaimed. I am struck by that phrase so commonly heard by proponents of one conspiracy theory or another: The truth is out there. Well, yes. It is. But, the Truth has little or nothing to do with any of these theories. The Truth has to do with the fact that man is fallen, that man in his fallen state prefers to remain in the dark and will go to the uttermost lengths to avoid having to admit to the Truth. The great majority of our fellow human beings are part of this particular conspiracy to deny their Maker, and to deny their own sinfulness.
It is taught in our schools, trained by our society. Even those of us who have sought to raise our children in the ways of godly living too often face the impact. I look at my own daughter, raised in the church, yet turning from it to worldly compromise. Oh, she’ll still call herself a Christian, at least when it serves her purposes. But, the multi-cultural training of the educational system has managed to infiltrate her thinking, and she has a mindset that she can pick and choose aspects of all manner of religions to form her ‘belief system’. But, it’s not a system of belief. It’s a system of self-delusion. It’s a drawing close the darkness lest the Light of Truth penetrate and force a bit of self-examination.
Somehow, to her thinking, your personal sin is sufficient to prevent your speaking of that sin in others. How dare you point that out? You did it yourself! Well, yes. And, as you can tell by your knowledge of that fact, I’ve admitted it. I’ve brought it to God and sought His forgiveness, as you well know. But, none of that has magically transformed that sin into something righteous in itself. Neither has it removed my capacity to recognize sin’s dark stain, either in myself or in the world at large. No. My having fallen into sin does not in any way preclude me from pointing out the sinfulness of that very same sin, nor of warning the world at large of the sad fallout of said sin. If anything, it gives me greater purchase in speaking. I do not speak from ignorance or privilege. I speak from experience.
Reflection (02/26/13)
I feel much the same way looking at these chief priests, these Pharisees. If I can look upon their self-deception in judgment, it is only because I know their situation all too well from my own experience. I have known what it is to deny a very obvious Truth of God. I have known what it is to labor hard against Him, against having to acknowledge Him. I have known denial and self-delusion. It is something of a constant state for humanity. Even now, even having experienced His forgiveness, even having grown in love for His Word and for His people, I know myself to be plagued by these very things.
All it takes is a moment’s honest review. I know just how swiftly I can move to justify my own particular sins. Well, now, that’s no sin. Can’t find it in the Decalogue can you? You won’t find Jesus denouncing it. I can be just like that rich young man Jesus encountered. Why, Good Sir! I’ve kept all those rules from my youth! Never killed anyone, never slept with another’s wife, you know, all those serious sins. Or, as I can very easily recall saying it to my bride to be. “I’m a good man. What do I need God for?” Now, there’s the height of delusion! Good? Compared to what? Maybe compared to somebody else on the scale of my own judgment. Of course, personal assessments being what they are, I might well discover that this one I think myself better to feels just the same way about me!
But, we are not each other’s standards. We are not the arbiters of what is good and what is evil. We have been playing that game since the first moment of the Fall! Isn’t that pretty much exactly what the serpent promised Eve? Why, you’ll be just like God, deciding what’s good and what is evil. And we’ve been deciding that the evil was good ever since! It takes constant attention. It takes constant input from the Holy Spirit, these calls to reconsider our true condition, to counter the prevailing winds of the heart.
For my part, I know my first reaction whenever I meet the likes of these religious leaders in the pages of Scripture. It’s to rise up in righteous indignation and say, “How could they!” But, there is a second response that follows very close upon the first. “How could I?” For, as the Light shines, I must confess to God and self that I, too, am a Pharisee. I, too, am quite proud of my externals, and yet leave the internals in a state of dangerous neglect.
Take this present case. I look at these men who, only a day ago would not even set foot on the Pavement lest they be seen to be defiled and unfit to serve on the Sabbath. Yes, there was the grander matter of the Paschal meal. But, we know full well that provision already existed for such situations. They would hardly have been excluded from the blessings of Israel for having to switch to the alternate schedule. This was not about righteousness but the appearance thereof. But, here we are, on the Sabbath itself, when no work was to be done, and where are they? They’re here in the very palace of Pilate, and let there be no doubt about it, they are working! If they weren’t working in making their demands of Pilate, then they certainly were in marching their contingent of guards out to the grave, assigning duties, applying their seals. You know, if Jesus was found to be working when He spit on the ground and made a bit of mud, surely this effort of melting wax and pressing one’s ring into it would count!
How swiftly, then, they set aside their scruple as to the fine points of the Law! And for what? We can’t even say it’s in pursuit of death, in this case, for the death has already been accomplished. It’s for vanity and wind, truth be told, but in their minds, this is an important matter. And, why is it important? Because it’s their prestige and power which is perceived at risk. Note well, my soul! It is their reputation that matters more to them, not God’s. These same men who had condemned Jesus for attending to the preservation of life on the Sabbath find nothing odd in their own attending to the preservation of death.
The irony is rich indeed! Yet, it does not give me room to gloat. Can I judge their actions? Indeed, I can, for their actions are clearly wrong. But, I cannot do so without casting an eye over my own estate. I must necessarily consider which cause would more quickly move me to set aside the Law? Let us take the nearest example: For what cause would I skip church? I could look at events so close as last Sunday. Was it preservation of life and limb that led me to call off my attendance? Granted it was snowing, and granted the forecast suggested something much worse than what appeared. But, was this my overarching concern, or was it simply that I would need to compress my usual morning routine from its standard two to two and a half hours down to fifteen minutes? Was it godly concern, or selfishness? That is the question. And do you know, it’s near to impossible to get a straight answer out of myself on that. Oh, it was sufficient excuse. Nobody would fault me for staying home. One couldn’t know how that storm would play out.
But, there is this which nags: I would have given no thought at all to driving through the same or worse to go to work, were such an action necessary. As it happens, I currently have no need to test that theory, given that I’m working out of the same room in which I do these studies. But, I know from my own history that I would not allow this or even weather far worse to stop me in that case.
Now, I will confess a mix of factors leading to my decision Sunday, and honestly, I think the time factor had far more to do with it than the snow. I awoke groggy after a poor night’s sleep, and faced a schedule heavily accelerated, if I were to meet my obligations. It’s seven and I’m to be there at eight. Oh, it can be done. I’ve done it once or twice when necessary. But, the rushing! The rushing on slushy, half-plowed roads! That just can’t be good! And, if I do this, I’ll have to pull out across an unshoveled driveway. That’ll mean chiseling the ice off later. And what about my beloved wife? Left here to fend for herself when it comes to getting out of the driveway. That can’t be right, can it? You know, in retrospect I can marshal all manner of reasons, and some of them sound good and reasonable, don’t they? But, I am mindful that my decision was actually made within moments of being awake. See the clock. See the snow. No. And what does this say of my spiritual condition? Am I really so far removed from these Pharisees and their surface righteousness? Not nearly so far as I could wish!
How thankful I must be, then, that this God I serve is He Who caused it to be written that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! I daren’t push that too far, nor can I ever accept that as excusing my failures. It does not. And, to push it would merely demonstrate that I am not, despite my protestations to the contrary, in Christ Jesus! Yet, there is forgiveness in Him, my High Priest who is intimately familiar with the temptations and trials I face, even those of my own making. Yes, He has been there, done that. Yet, without sin. Amazing! And, He it is who has chosen me! He it is who has taken up His abode in so poor a temple as myself. And, somehow, He makes it good. Somehow, He is making me good. It doesn’t always feel that way to me. It isn’t always visible to me, for I am acquainted with my sin (at least a goodly portion of it). But, it is Truth. He is Life, and He has shone His Light within me, so that I might see His Truth both about myself and, far more importantly, about Himself.
And, all praise be to my God, my Rock, my Redeemer, that His Truth reigns! Praise be that His Truth proclaims that there is a hope made certain for all whom the Father has drawn to His Son, Whom the Son has accepted as a gift from the Father, and Whose Hand is able to keep them and even perfect them for that day when He returns!
