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Divine Irony
Apr 02, 2007 09:24:25
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Petersen Posted on: Apr 02, 2007 09:24:25 |
Palm Sunday April 1, 2007 A+D St. Matthew 21:1-9 & 26:1-27:66 In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Suffering and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ is full of irony. God's power is hidden in weakness. He is betrayed by a kiss. Most ironic are the remarks of Caiaphas, the crowd, and Pilate. In was with hatred, with intent to violence, that Caiaphas said, "It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." And it was true. He meant it for evil. He was pretending that he meant that they had to kill Jesus lest He incite a rebellion among the people and Rome come and destroy Judah because of it. He pretended that he meant to sacrifice this one Man, commit this single evil deed, for the good of the many, for the preservation of the nation. But it wasn't true. Pilate wasn't threatened by Jesus. Rome was tolerant of religious teachings. Caiaphas was a hypocrite. He wanted to kill Jesus because he was jealous, because he feared losing his position as high priest. It was expedient for him that an innocent man die rather than he change. Nonetheless, God meant it for good. It was good. It was good beyond political survival, beyond the petty machinations of a mad priest. And it remains to this day good, expedient for us, that one Man has died in our place and that on account of His death we have been spared. Nothing in the long history of our planet has ever been so expedient, so good for us, as the death of Jesus Christ. That is ironic. So also when Pilate protested that Jesus was an innocent man and that he would not have His Blood upon his hands, the people said, "His Blood be upon us and our children." They were pretending that they would risk God's vengeance by putting Jesus to death, that they had nothing to fear and no shame at His execution, that they were, in fact, proud of it, counting it as a good work, as an act of justice, service to God. By "Let His Blood be upon us and our children" they meant to say that had fear of God because the death of Jesus was a just act. But they were liars. Not even Pilate thought Jesus was guilty. They were overcome with an evil lust for blood, choosing a murderer over a Rabbi, over a man they expected was innocent. They were unafraid of God. Unafraid to be stained with innocent blood. But God worked this for good. They really didn't have anything to fear. Jesus laid down His life of His own accord. He did it to cleanse and redeem them. His blood marks them not as the murderers of an innocent man, but as saints declared righteous by God. They did not steal it. He gave it. And by it: all their works are good, all their acts are just, and there is nothing to fear. God used it for the greatest good. Please, O Lord, let the blood of Jesus be also upon us and our children. That that would come to be a pious prayer is ironic. And when Pilate ordered the charge "King of the Jews" to be placed on the cross he meant it to mock the idea that the Jews could have a king other than Caesar. His goal was to demonstrate to any would-be Jewish king, that there was no hope, that Caesar had the power to put to death, and would tolerate no other rule. But Jesus was, and Jesus is, the King of the Jews, the Son of David, the Ruler of the Universe. It was the truest charge ever laid at the feet of a man. No other man has ever worn any title with such right. And if the punishment for being the King of the Jews was death, and it was, then He deserved it. Pilate's placard has become a witness to all the world of the Truth. No one calls Tiberius "Caesar" anymore. He is long dead. But angels and saints in heaven and on earth still call Jesus the King of the Jews. That is ironic. In every case, what they meant for evil God meant and God used for good. It is expedient. His Blood is upon us And He is the King of the Jews. Thus He was received in Jerusalem on the Sunday before He was betrayed as a King. Even as the Pharisees were plotting His death. It was a kingly reception, unfit for a mere rabbi or even a prophet. But it was not very deep. It was not gold and silver and precious jewels, the heads of state. It was palm branches and children. If it took place today it would be mardi gras beads, plastic trinkets, air-brushed T-shirts. They wanted a king to give them bread, not life, a king who would entertain them, not cleanse them. He heard "Hosanna's" and "Blessed is He." But mostly those who cried did not understand what they asked, what they said. Nonetheless, He would meet their cries to save them by His death. He would give them what they asked by dying. He rode that Day to shouts of Son of David as an unrecognized King, to be the Stone the builders rejected, to be lifted up from the earth, to fall to the ground and die for He would not abide be alone, He would save them. The city of Peace would soon echo with cries of "Crucify" and He would give Himself to them without complaint. The blood-lust of a mob would turn to His sorrow for amusement. And He would give it to them without malice or regret. He returned the worst in man: violence, deception, cowardice, hatred, and envy, with perfect, steadfast, forgiving love. They cried Hosanna with little understanding and with a barely hidden penchant for violence, but He answered the plea anyway. He loved them to the end. That is the height of irony. That final week of Our Lord's humiliation God worked all things to good, even the disturbing dream of Pilate's wife, even the shame and fear that felt like death to Peter, even bureaucrats afraid for their jobs, even women who do not know why they are crying. God turned it all around. He even surprised the dead. In a hugely significant, but seldom remarked upon event, Jesus surprised, even confused the dead. When He died, they got up out of their graves. They thought it was the end. Creation was being recreated, restored, the harvest was eager for reaping. So also He closed the mouths of the Temple guard on Sunday as though they were dead. He gaves back the borrowed tomb, as good as new, like it was never used, but would never be needed again, because Jesus, whom you crucified, lives. Jesus lives. He is still the King of the Jews. It is expedient. His Blood is upon us. He is the Son of David, King of the Jews, Our Life and Salvation, Our Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Forgive our many sins. Shower us in Your love. Surprise us. And bring us home. In +Jesus' Name. Amen. |
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