Are You the King of the Jews?

 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

- Luke 23:1-12

It is Holy Week in Jerusalem, the week of Passover.  Jesus has had the Last Supper with His disciples, in which He instituted the Eucharist, taught them about  leadership among them,  and warned them of things to come.   He was betrayed by Judas and arrested.  He was also denied by Peter after His arrest.  In yesterday's reading, we were told that the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

  Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  My study bible tells us that these false accusations seek to label Jesus a political Messiah and a threat to Roman rule.

Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  A note reads, "The Greek behind it is as you say can also be translated 'you say so,' as an ambiguous answer.  Jesus is the King of the Jews, but not in a political sense.  Pilate's response shows he does not take the political charge seriously."  "You say" is literally what Jesus says in the Greek.  Perhaps it could be translated also as "That's what you say."  Clearly, Jesus hasn't ever sought to be a worldly king; indeed when people sought to make Him king, He avoided them.  In John's Gospel, He says, "My kingdom is not of this world."  My study bible points out what is obvious by Pilate's answer.  He's at once extremely suspicious of what he's being told.  The real motive behind the charge is clear in the words of the leadership, that Jesus "stirs up the people."  The people are stirred by Jesus' ministry in ways that displease the religious leadership, which they consider a threat to their power.  It is something they wish to suppress by ridding themselves of Jesus.

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.   My study bible says, "Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, as a way of either gaining favor or getting rid of an unwanted case."

Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  This is very interesting, because it's consistent with the character of Herod about which we've read elsewhere.  He also exhibited the same curiosity about John the Baptist.  It's almost a childish curiosity, a primitive response or understanding of Christ's holiness:  "he hoped to see some miracle done by Him."

Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.   Jesus fails to comply with the request for a miracle, and is treated with contempt.  In all ways, we understand Jesus not to "cast His pearls before swine."  He has refused to answer in a "court" that would not fairly hear Him (in yesterday's reading).  He will not perform a miracle for the merely curious, even if it is to save His own life.

That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  My study bible tells us, "The two cruel and cunning enemies reconcile by sharing in the mistreatment of the innocent Jesus, a tragic footnote on human sinfulness."  It's a great large and glaring footnote:  the whole of the Gospel, our Cross itself, is a teaching about scapegoating, reversing the process of a common worldly practice in many cultures, and in our own individual psychology -- and teaching us about truth and justice and innocence.

It's interesting to think of the Cross in terms of scapegoating.  In John's Gospel, Caiaphas (the high priest that year) says that "it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish."  Caiaphas' idea is that this death will bring all the people together.  In psychology the word "projection" is used when one either fails to see one's own problems and therefore "projects" them onto others, seeing in other what we fail to see in ourselves, or when we, too, decide we will somehow exclude or harm someone else instead of paying attention and taking responsibility for our real problems.  This is often the root of the phenomenon of bullying.    Earlier in Luke's Gospel, Jesus has told His followers, "How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye."  We could think of the Cross itself as two great "planks" telling us about our own failure to look to our own responsibilities, our inner lives, check our motivations and take responsibility for who we are before our Creator.  This is the great message of the Cross, and of Jesus' death on the Cross.  Even a corrupt man like Pilate can see that Jesus is innocent of the charges that are brought against Him.  But everyone's got their own motive:  the leadership wants to cling to its own power, Herod Antipas like an infantile spoiled child wants miracles to be performed on demand, Pilate's ultimate concern is his power or position in the Roman hierarchy.  Ultimately the failures of each of these people comes down to a failure to put God first; when we are face to face with God, we must come to terms with our own failings and how we can be doing better.  Like the publican in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, we're at our best when we're face to face with God and honestly seeking whatever is pleasing in God's sight, even if that's merely to be aware of our failures and where we're going to try to improve.  Otherwise we run the great, tremendous risk of the catastrophe of our blindness, acted out in harming the innocent, enmeshing us in a deeper and more tragic sin, with greater consequences.  Let us note that the parable also teaches us that it doesn't matter whether we are in name and appearances a pious person or not!  A material-minded perspective, one that cannot truly recognize the benefits of humility before God, that does not take into account our own capacity to become "God-like" as part of this great mission of Jesus, cannot appreciate His ministry.    Like the Sanhedrin that didn't want to hear what Jesus had to say and would not allow Him a proper defense, like Pilate who sends Christ to Herod, like Herod who merely wants to be shown a display of power, the totally materially-minded perspective is in all events self-centered.  A God-centered perspective means we take into account so much more, and ultimately that we understand that we ourselves are capable of so much more.  Let us remember the Cross and the plank in our own eye!  In all ways, Jesus' life -- and death -- are a gift to us.  Let us take the gift and distribute it well!  Let us also remember when we are victims of such practice, that Christ's truth is not in appearances, but also in our relationship to God.  Awareness of projection also means we don't wait to solve all our problems by dependence upon changing others.  Like Christ, we may be asked for acceptance of the things we cannot change in others, and the grace to go through it as God asks.

It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.

Therefore Jesus no longer walked only among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

- John 11:45-54

In recent readings, we have read the story of the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel, and that is the raising of Lazarus. On Wednesday, we read that Jesus was beyond the Jordan, in the place where John was first baptizing. This was because by now the authorities in the temple at Jerusalem seek to put Him to death for blasphemy. But He hears news from His good friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The sisters send to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, He whom you love is sick." They live in Bethany, about two miles east of Jerusalem. Jesus proposes that He go there, but His disciples question Him because of the threat from the temple leadership. Jesus told them, "If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." He said that Lazarus' illness was for the glory of God. Speaking of his death, Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." On Thursday we read of Martha greeting Him as He approached: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." He told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." Then He sent for Mary, Martha's sister, who came quickly to Him. In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus was still at the place where Martha met Him, outside Bethany, when Mary came to Him. There were many who had come from Jerusalem and Judea, who were the followers of the leadership at the temple, to mourn with Martha and Mary. The mourners, weeping with her, followed Mary to Jesus, thinking she was going to the tomb. She said to Jesus the same words of her sister, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus was troubled and agitated and asked where they had laid Lazarus. "Lord, come and see," they said, and Jesus had tears on His face. The mourners from Jerusalem said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Lazarus was laid in a cave with a stone shutting it, and Jesus told them to take away the stone. Martha warned Him that Lazarus was dead for four days, and there would be a stench. Jesus told her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. The term "the Jews" is used in John's Gospel to denote the leadership in the temple at Jerusalem and their followers, who by now are determined to put Jesus to death -- even before the raising of Lazarus. This was decided for blasphemy, because Jesus had called Himself the Son of God.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." My study bible says, "The Jewish leaders acknowledge Jesus' signs and are concerned that the Romans will intervene militarily if a popular movement around Jesus gained momentum and threatens the established order." We know already they are concerned about His popularity, but now we get a flavor of a different situation, and that is the political one in which they find themselves. They are leaders under certain conditions of Roman political rule; they have authority over their own people, but it is under the colonial rule of Rome. A reasonable question under such circumstances also might arise to their minds that should Jesus prove to be a popular leader, the Romans might then turn to Him. At any rate, His popularity undermines their authority.

And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. My study bible notes, "Caiaphas, being high priest of Israel, is given through his office the authority to speak prophetically. Caiaphas means only that the death of Jesus would spare the nation from Roman intervention. But the greater prophetic meaning of his words is that the death of Jesus will be for the salvation of the Jewish people and many others throughout the world."

Therefore Jesus no longer walked only among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. Jesus will avoid the leadership and Jerusalem until it is His time, His hour. His death is in His own hands, as He has repeatedly said.

There's a very interesting book written by a man who began developing his theories as a professor of French literature, named Rene Girard. He wrote about scapegoating, comparing its use in pagan cultures and also through the Bible. There's a very interesting crux going on here in this scene, where Caiaphas, the high priest, speaking in his prophetic capacity, treats Jesus' death in the same way that we would popularly think of a sort of scapegoat: as one who will die or be sacrificed for the nation or the people. But in Caiaphas' view, Jesus is a criminal or an outsider who is shaking up the order of things, and threatening the established order which he seeks to preserve. This is a scapegoat mechanism of the type that Professor Girard would have observed at work in history. But the irony is in the transformation of this perspective through Christ -- as my study bible's note points out to us. Yes, Jesus will die for the people, for the whole world, for those of other folds He will gather into one flock. But it will not be in sin, as a criminal, regardless of the human point of view that may see Him that way. This sacrifice is a triumph upon the Cross, a triumph for all of us, for whom He is raised as a sign of God's love for the world. Jesus' death will be a sign, and continues to be a sign, not of violence and death, but of life, of Resurrection and hope. His is a sacrifice of salvation for the world, and it will be the death of the old order, of those who merely wish to preserve their own places. In the story of Lazarus, Jesus confronts death and wins victorious. So will His death on the Cross be a sign of His victory over death, and it is a victory for all of us - not for those who would use His death as a means of keeping their places. It's like a two-edged sword, a way of seeing life, of choices: how are we going to perceive what life gives us? How do we view Jesus' death upon the Cross? It will forever be a sign of hope, that whatever we think we see in this world, it doesn't mean that our limited perspective is the end of the story. Jesus has told His disciples - and we who follow - that we will have tribulation in the world, but to be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. Every time we face a defeat by any form of death, of grief, of violence, of manipulation, of scapegoating, in any form a lie may come to us, we have something in which to believe which has triumphed over all forms of such machinations, and that is the Cross of Christ. He will share His spirit with all of us, and in that is the Resurrection and the Life. Let us remember to seek His way, His point of view, His life, in all that we do.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This man is calling for Elijah!" Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save him." And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

- Matthew 27:45-54

In yesterday's reading (THIS IS JESUS - KING OF THE JEWS), we read of Jesus' Crucifixion, and the many elements prefigured in scripture. Today we continue with this picture of Crucifixion, and Jesus' death on the Cross.

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. My study bible has a note which applies to today's entire reading, as follows: "The details of his Crucifixion were written in the Old Testament, 'It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord--neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light' (Zech. 14:6,7; see also Amos 8:9)." The sixth hour corresponds to noon, so the sixth to the ninth hour is a period of darkness from noon until three o'clock in the afternoon.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This man is calling for Elijah!" Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save him." My study bible notes here on verse 46: "Jesus repeats a passage from Psalm 22, which corresponds exactly to the Crucifixion. Taken by itself, without any consideration of what follows, his cry of My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? could be interpreted as an expression of despair. Since he appropriated our nature, Jesus experiences true separation from God in his humanity, knowing suffering and distress, and yet he does not despair. He speaks these words in the name of humanity, to put an end to the alienation of man from God. For as God He is never forsaken by the Father. With this cry humanity is accepted and saved." As we noted in yesterday's reading and commentary, much of what happens in this scene of Jesus' Crucifixion is prefigured in Psalm 22. The quotation in yesterday's reading ("They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots") is from Psalm 22:18. And the mocking words of the temple leadership and others is also from Psalm 22 (v. 8): "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" Let us understand this picture of what is to take place here, repeated from the Psalm, and that Jesus prays the Psalm, knowing and understanding his truth, and what is happening to him - and feeling all in his human nature. I encourage a full reading of the Psalm, to understand the fullness of the picture in prophesy contained there.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. My study bible says that, "Yielded up his spirit shows his death was a voluntary separation of the soul from the body, yet both remain in a binding relationship with his divine nature."

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split . . . My study bible notes here: "The veil or curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man. Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for all people. Because his flesh, the true veil (Heb. 10:20), is dishonored, the figurative veil of the temple is torn in two. The rocks were split, because he is the spiritual Rock' (1 Cor. 10:4)."

. . . and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. My study bible notes, "The completeness and scope of the salvation won by Christ are signified in the resurrection of the saints, the righteous of the Old Testament. Considering this, no one ever need wonder whether the Old Testament saints are also saved. The holy city (v. 53) where the saints appeared is an icon of the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 11:10; 12:22-23; 13:14; Rev. 3:12; 21:2-22:5)." We are getting pictures upon pictures, reflection upon reflection. Jesus prays the Psalm which prefigures his Crucifixion and all the events that we read about in this picture of what is happening; and at the same time, his death and its immediate aftermath gives us a picture of what is and what is to come, an icon of the heavenly city.

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" A note in my study bible reads, "The centurion, a Gentile, realizes Jesus has dominion over nature, and therefore acknowledge He is the Son of God -- something the Jews were unwilling to do. Tradition knows this soldier as St. Longinos." Who is saved, and who is not? Tradition has it that this centurion became a saint of the early church.

The aftermath of this scene of the Cross is powerful in its immediate effects, and its transformational nature in us. Reality overlaps in this scene central to our understanding not only of faith, but which will also split history (literally, in the dating of years, before and after). All is central here, and immediately begins to create and build the effects of this life of Jesus lived in the world. Who was he really? How does the Crucifixion shape our understanding of life and of the world, and of the spiritual reality we receive and enter into when we pray? Here in this scene of man and God, earthly and divine, we really have it all: the prophecy of the Old Testament, and its saints risen, Jerusalem transformed into an icon of the eternal heavenly Jerusalem, and the power of the new life of Spirit that will transform the world, the centurion changed and transformed. All of it is there. It's as if this central picture becomes the focal point for all of history, and indeed for all of a spiritual understanding that would shape the way we see the Old Scriptures as well. He endured the worst of the worst, the gravest injustice our world offers. And yet, we are told, even among those who were most instrumental in acting it out would be his followers (the centurion). This single, transforming act has, in my opinion, done much to shape history ever since: not simply the history of belief, of faith and the church, and notions of spiritual reality, but of our entire systems of justice, our understanding of how the world can penalize the innocent, an awareness that what seems to be on the surface "the facts," may not be the truth at all. Before this transforming act, this voluntary death, the scapegoat was a figure that deserved the injustice it received at the hands of men. (See the works of Rene Girard for more on this subject.) But most of all, perhaps, we have this great transformational figure of God and man on the Cross. We know that whatever we go through, He has been there, and He has a way for us to walk through it. He offers us his choice, always. We reach to Him in prayer, to find His Way for us. It is there for each one, and this will never change.

THIS IS JESUS - THE KING OF THE JEWS

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him, and divided his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

"They divided my garments among them,

And for my clothing they cast lots."

Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him:

THIS IS JESUS

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver him now if He will have him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing.

- Matthew 27:32-44

In yesterday's reading, we read of many choices; of Pilate's choice to try to wash his hands of the decision, of the crowd's choice to try to take Jesus' blood upon their hands and their children's, of the soldiers who gathered the whole garrison to humiliate Jesus before crucifixion. And today, we read of the crucifixion itself.

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him, and divided his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." As written in Mark's gospel, Simon of Cyrene will come to be known as the father of two sons who will later be members of the early church, Rufus and Alexander. At the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, his covenant, he told his disciples, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." He is true to his word; he does not drink the wine offered to him. The quotation ("They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots") is from Psalm 22:18.

Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him: THIS IS JESUS - KING OF THE JEWS. For Jesus, the mockery and humiliation are complete. He is derided, degraded. He is the model of a scapegoat, in earthly terms.

My study bible has a note on our entire reading for today, which I will insert here: "Jesus endures the weakness of our body in his own body on the Cross to take upon himself our sufferings. This he does by the reality of the union of his divine nature and human nature in the One Son of God. His humanity is indeed our very humanity. He endures pain, is struck, tortured and crucified: He is wounded on account of our sins (Is. 53:5). And though he has no sin, he himself was made to be sin for us, that through his flesh he might condemn sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:9)."

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver him now if He will have him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. This scene reflects much in scripture of the "Man of Sorrows" (see the icon from yesterday's commentary). We can read in Psalm 22, verse 8: "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" Even Jesus' mockery is prefigured in scripture. And we will see in tomorrow's reading, how Psalm 22 reflects so much of what is happening here. Isaiah 53:9 & 12 is also reflected, here and in the readings that will follow. Jesus is utterly despised. We are told that even the robbers crucified with him look down on him and revile him. He is the lowest of the low, in earthly terms.

So, once again, as in the past few readings, we must ask ourselves, what are we looking upon here? What is this picture we see before us in this reading? The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is mocked, spat upon, the lowest of the low. He is crucified in a pitiless, helpless way as the whole world seems to look on and look down upon this scene. What do we do with this awful, unbearable picture of truth upside down? In this hour of crucifixion, what should we see? What do we think about?

One thing we know for certain is the truth of the words of Isaiah 53:9: "Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth." Jesus has been truthful, true to himself, to his word, to his teachings and his identity all throughout this trial and crucifixion. That is one thing we can see. But what else is true about this scene? Contempt for Christ is something we all have to face at some point, if you ask me. His weakness, his lack of earthly power, what does it all mean here? We must face within ourselves the reality of the world that would create this scene. It may be hidden well in our lives. It may not ever appear in some stark and clear way. But there is a place in the world where it comes up, in contempt for truth, in contempt for the weak and powerless, in contempt for those upon whom we can falsely place somebody else's (or perhaps our own) guilt. In its contempt for anything beyond the worldly, for spiritual truth of the heart, that takes spiritual eyes and ears to see. This scene teaches us about something we have to guard against, and understand in order to know how we must make choices, and what we sometime must take a stand against in our own lives.

What do you see in the world that is upside down? That can bring terrible cruelty to those who don't deserve it? Let us ask ourselves for whom did Jesus die? Why is he on that cross? We know that it is for you and me. How does he teach us to be like him here? Can we share his burden, as did Simon?