What About that Other Guy?

I'm reading this morning in Mark, chapter 15, of the Holy Bible. Mark is retelling the story of Jesus of Nazareth before Pontius Pilate, and the Pharisees, Chief Priests, Sanhedrin and other religious leaders are wanting Pilate to just kill.him.already! But Pilate is listening to this guy standing before him. He's asking questions of Him and wondering why He won't defend Himself. I can't help but think there must have been a peace that oozed from Jesus throughout His life. How can you be GOD sent to earth as MAN and not know tremendous peace (the kind that defies definition)?

So, imagine with me if you will....Palace court - lots of people because a) the Pharisees are delivering Jesus to Pilate,  and they want to see what's going to happen, but even moreso because b) this is the day that Pilate will release a prisoner from all charges. Really, it's a day of grace. Huh. How appropriate that the very One who offers grace to all would suffer the least amount of grace on this day......Selah (pause, let that sink in...)

The crowd is filled with people from all walks of life.

You have the Pharisees and religious leaders (those RELIGIOUS people we still grow frustrated with in their piety and self-righteous wisdom of what is "supposed" to be done according to the law.) These are men proud of their standing and the praises they receive simply because they are men of Scriptural Knowledge. (that should be said in your head with reverb and feedback to make it more dramatic) They pride themselves not on their humility before God, but on the wisdom people think they have and their superiority to all others.

Then you have those who are followers of those leaders. This guy who calls himself Jesus is actually starting to succeed at changing the world around them. The minions are starting to see the injustice and lack of equality stemming from the teachings of the Pharisees. The scriptures are held only by those who are "worthy" and this....Carpenter....is saying they're open to everyone?! I can almost hear them saying, "We follow you, oh Pharisee! You have the knowledge this simple man can certainly not ever attain! He's one of us! He sucks just like we do! He needs you...you don't need HIM!" So they follow and do whatever those sightless leaders say.

In another area you've got the family and friends (and fellow insurrectionists) of Barabbas, a prisoner, wondering if he will be set free. They're talking amongst themselves wondering if their family member has been behaving well enough to warrant Pilate's favor and release. They may or may not know this Jesus, but what they're all about is whether they'll be able to walk home with their felonous family intact. They're watching the crowd and seeing what's going on with this other guy, but they have one goal in mind.

Then you have Jesus's followers. Those who know and believe He truly is the Son of God come to earth as man. They believed in their hearts that He IS The Messiah Isaiah and the other prophets of old spoke of. Imagine being there...knowing Jesus and His beautiful, compassionate, loving of all people but refusing to tolerate sin heart...and wondering how it would ever be possible that Pontius Pilate would send Him to prison, let alone sentence Him to death!

And standing behind Pilate is the prisoner the people had requested the freedom of, Barabbas. Before him stands this simple carpenter with a peace about Him that makes no sense in the realm of what's going on and what He's being accused of. It is not one of defeat, but one of purpse and understanding. An acknowledgement in His Spirit that He is exactly where He needs to be to fulfill the plan of His Father. I believe Jesus had a tremendous sense of humor and laughed a lot in His 33 years, but I cannot fathom that He was joyful in this moment. Resolved is a word that comes to mind - in human terms it makes me think of a parent who resolves to do whatever needs to be done to save their child from a life of poor choices and ultimate ruin. There is a quiet strength that cannot be budged.

Pilate. It almost makes me laugh to think of what he must have been thinking. First of all..."WHO is this guy whose hands are obviously those of a common worker with callouses and blisters calling himself the KING??!!" Then, as he encounters Him more personally "defend yourself, MAN! I can see You're a true man of this God you speak of, and they're just jealous, but give me a reason to go against them!" He asks Jesus if He really is the King of the Jews and Jesus's response? "It is as you say." Pilate could not possibly have been expecting that answer! Maybe an "OF COURSE I AM YOU FOOL!" or maybe a "HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE IT?? DUH!"  But a humble and forthright, "It is as you say?" So then it's almost as if he tries again..."Do you not see all the charges against you? Why don't you answer?" (again "defend yourself, man!!! come ON!")

But Jesus.

But Jesus stood without defiance, without malice, without chagrine. Jesus stood firm in WHO. HE. IS.

...and Pilate was amazed.

Amazed. To stand in awe of. To lack comprehension of the magnitude of. To see and know this is bigger than one could imagine.

Oh, but don't forget that prisoner! Barabbas was his name. A murderer and insurrectionist. (I had to look this word up. I have a general understanding of someone standing up against government, but wanted to get the full story for the sake of understanding exactly who this guy was.) HE was an anarchist. He wanted no governmental authority ruling his life. He was a rebel and resisted the entirety of this man, Pontius Pilate, who held his future in his hand.

I have never thought about this before. Never thought about the enormity of what the choice going on here! Jesus wasn't up against some petty thief. He was up against a man who despised everything about Pontius Pilate and his court...his rule...his governing body. Do you really think Pilate is ready and willing to let this guy go? Do you really think Pilate was looking between Jesus and Barabbas and saying "yeah. this guy Jesus is obviously the most detrimental to my kingdom. Barabbas, ha! What's he gonna do if I let him go? Plot to kill me? Woop-de-doo! This guy Jesus is So. Much. Worse!" ???  I can't believe that. I would have to think Pontius Pilate is wanting like crazy to keep the crazy anarchist lunatic locked up where he can see him while he continues to rule the land.

Mark even points out that Pilate has seen through the smokescreen of the Pharisees and Sanhedrin. He sees Jesus is here only because they are jealous of him and are out for the purposes of their own selves.

Maybe the Chief Priests noticed the smirk on Pilate's face as he looked at them and asked, "Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?" and they freaked out a bit. So they did what they do best - they stirred the pot. They got the people stirred up and shouted "CRUCIFY HIM!"

Can you see Pilate's inner struggle? Sighing on the inside as he asks, "But WHY? What crime has He committed?"

The Pharisees could not care less. Literally. They have a care bucket where Jesus is concerned and it is E M P T Y....emmmmmm-p-teeeeee.

"CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!!!" They turn to the crowd and swing their arms up in a "louder! louder!" motion and yell "CRU-CI-FY HIM!"

Did Pilate look at Jesus then? Did he look to see if this King of the Jews was showing defeat and a willingness to fight for His life? I don't know and the Bible doesn't say anything more on that, but what it does say speaks volumes of the character of a person who is about themselves and their popularity more than justice and truth.

Mark says, speaking of Pilate, "Wanting to satisfy the crowd.................."

Doesn't that just make you sick to your stomach??? So many instances in today's world of the same injustices and we get all up in arms, rightly so, but this! THIS IS THE SON OF GOD!!!!! And JESUS CHRIST stood there......condemned to die because Pontius Pilate didn't want to be in the bad graces of the Sanhedrin, Pharisees, Chief Priests and other people like him.

Did you catch that? "...other people like him." Birds of a feather flock together. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, and all those other cheap cliche's that put my Savior to death.

So Barabbas went free.

And Jesus went to the blood-thirsty hounds called Pilate's henchmen.

And if this was all the story there was this would NOT be a Good Friday in the least.

The Pharisees and their cronies walked away self-satisfied and self-righteous.

The family of Barabbas cheered and hugged and went on their merry way.

The crowd of Jesus lovers wept and fell to their feet in disbelief.

THIS was NOT how it was supposed to happen!!

Just the Sunday before He experienced this:

Today, though. Today brings this:

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are My ways your ways." declares the Lord." -Isaiah 55:8

In our minds THIS is NOT how it was supposed to happen. 

I have one final question for you....

Do you think Barabbas was amazed by grace that day?

Hold Out Your Hand

The beginning of Mark 3 sets the scene with Jesus and the Pharisees in the meeting place. They had been walking together, and the Pharisees had been pointing out all that was incongruent with the law in what Jesus and his Disciples were doing. Jesus was refuting their puffs and harumphs with logic and truth, but they were no closer to believing - they simply wanted to catch Him doing something that would be judge-worthy. 2015 is a great remake of this story - so many watching and waiting for a Christian to mess up so they can point their fingers and go, 'HA! See!? You're not doing it right!" But I digress.....

Take a look at the passage, and pay close attention to the interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees.

Mark 3:1-6 NASB

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!"  And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

As I read this I tried to get a picture of what was going on. Picture this with me....

The Pharisees are huddled in a bunch (there's power in numbers, and knowing they've got the numbers gives them courage to be what they are....self-righteous zealots), watching and waiting to pounce on anything Jesus does that defies and/or breaks the law of the Sabbath. They are like a cat sitting in front of a mouse hole - waiting with tendons stretched and muscles tensed so they can "git him!"

Jesus stands in front of the man whose hand is crippled and probably unusable. He looks on him with tenderness, compassion and a desire to help. As they stand together and He asks the question, the stares of the Pharisees are clear - He knows they are waiting for Him to heal this man so they can call him a criminal - so He asks them a question. Isn't it great ? He doesn't just do it - He gets them *thinking* about what is right, what is wrong, and the dilemma inside each of us when faced with this question of what to do!

"Is it lawful to do GOOD, or to do HARM on the Sabbath? Huh? Should I save a life, or should I take a life?" and the unspoken...."what would you do? What would you have ME do?

Crickets.

No one says a thing. As the crowd of onlookers and Jesus' disciples wait to see what's going to happen (ever been in that place? standing and watching the tension between people and just waiting to see what's going to happen next?), the Pharisees probably shuffled their feet and refused to make eye contact. Or they may have defiantly stood with arms crossed as if to say, "I don't need to answer that question."

Jesus looks at them in anger. Imagine the thoughts going through the Son of God's mind as He who knows us better than we know ourselves looks at each Pharisee individually - and all He sees is hardened hearts. He knows then. He knows they won't change, and that they are a part of the enemy's plan to try to defeat the Kingdom of God.

I don't know about you, but as I read this I hear the pounding of a hammer on a nail as the very One Who could bring them everything in life they truly wanted - peace, wisdom, justice - is faced with the facts of human choice and the fallibility of the human race.

His heart grieved.

His anger stoked - at the hardened hearts, the plan of the enemy, the fallenness of this world - and He turns to the man and says, "stretch out your hand."

No healing words were needed, just obedience on the part of the man.

And the Pharisees rejoiced inside as they found their reason for bringing This Man Who claimed to be God to the judgement seat of Herod. They couldn't turn and run fast enough!

Which side would you have been on?

Would you have answered Him when He asked which was better?

When faced with the decision of what to do, what would you have done? Would you have followed
the letter of the law and maybe come back the next day to help? Or would you have seen the need and done something about it right then?

We can't answer that last question in light of our current culture. Put yourself back in that time - the time when the law MADE the land. Lawbreakers didn't get slaps on the wrist, they got thrown into prison and/or killed. What would you have done?

Take some time to dig into those questions and this passage. Dig into your heart with God and really examine your motives, your beliefs, your reasons for not helping those in need. (caveat: I am NOT saying go ahead and break the law if it seems like a good idea! In fact, if anything, I'm asking you to look at the law and examine your willingness to be obedient to it as a Christian. There are times, aren't there, when we need to take a stand for righteousness because God's ways are not the ways of man.)

My final question for you is this: What are you hiding behind in order to be safe from taking a stand for Jesus?

And one last thought...I read a great quote in an article a friend posted on Facebook today.  The article is an excellent commentary on why Christians should avoid the movie and book "Fifty Shades of Gray" (and those like it) and can be found here: HERE, but I just want to share this description of the Christian walk Carmen quoted from "Got Questions."

"One writer describes growing in the Christian faith as being “on a never-ending downward escalator. In order to grow we have to turn around and sprint up the escalator putting up with perturbed looks from everyone else who is gradually moving downward.” Christ never deluded anyone into thinking it would be easy to follow Him (see Matthew 10:34-39). It’s not easy, but the hardships help prevent boredom." 

Excellent, huh?

Let's grab hands and run up the down escalator at full speed. It'll be worth it!