Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Devotion - Wednesday, April 13

One of the mistaken notions this season of the Church year ought to debunk is the thought that Jesus died by accident. I don't mean that those who hung him on the cross thought the result would be anything other than death. That part was no accident - they knew what they were doing and they were not going to fail.

The suggestion of an "accident" enters when we start to say things like, "If they had really known who Jesus was, they would not have condemned him to die." Or, "If Pilot had understood Jesus was talking about religion he would have left him alone."

Jesus' death is no accident.

The players in the story knew what he was saying. They understood who he was telling them he was. They merely wanted no part of it.

The religious establishment knew that Jesus was concerned about faith and conviction - not with building temples. The Roman authorities could see that Jesus was asking for a pledge of allegiance to God, not to some flag or national identity. The people realized (after he enters Jerusalem) that he was not going to allow them to come out to hear a great sermon, be healed of their disease, only to return to their homes and go back to living life as they wanted.

Jesus' death is no accident.

John 10:18 reads: "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."

Jesus' death is no accident. He dies because no one wanted to hear his constant reminder that most of the time we hold onto life and treat it as our private possession while living fully means offering that life to God, and to God's purpose, and to God's children. It is (according to Jesus anyway) in laying down our life that we take up the life God hopes for us.

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