Passing the Buck Continues...

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (Matthew 27)
Even after His death and burial, the religious leaders refused to take responsibility for their actions.  Rather than hang around a grave, and make themselves ceremonially unclean, they wanted Pilate and his Roman guards to do so. Claiming some possible commotion by an empty tomb, they convinced him to take responsiblity.  These soldiers must have thought: "What an easy assignment."  I could end up being a deadly one if their prisoner escaped. Here's the thinkg about rejecting responsibility: once we do so, it can become addictive.  Don't start a bad practice today. Or maybe, don't start the habit. 

Truly Faithful Friends

55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. 57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. (Matthew 27)
We've been talking about responsibility, and how we all have a tendency to make excuses and avoid responsiblity. It is seen in how everyone abandoned Jesus on His way to and through the cross.  But there were a small group of truly faithful friends. This women had followed, and even sponsored the ministry of Jesus, always being there to serve in any way they could. They are there all the way to the tomb. These two "secret" followers of Jesus are also there to do what no one else would do - bury the dead, defiling themselves for the holy day.  Am I the kind of person who will be there in the toughest of times? Will I do what no one else will do, taking on the responsibility nobody really wants?

Everyone and Everything Doing Their Part

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27)
At Christ's death the whole world seemed to cry: "Can I get a witness?! Will anyone, will anything testify to Who this Man was?" The curtain, the earth, the tombs, and even dead bodies carried out their responsibilities, as did those who were entrusted to verify that the crucified were dead. They all did their part and did it well.  May we join in the chorus, both in proclaiming that Chrsit is the Son of God, and whatever He may call on us to do or say today. 

"Responsible" Bystanding

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (Matthew 27)
To this point in the Passion narrative, Matthew has shown us how most did not carry out their God-given responsibilities in the string of events. The disciples abandoned Him; one even betrayed Him.  The justice system failed Him, and the soldiers were excessive in abusing Him.  Then there were the bystanders, those who saw it as their responsibility to gawk at the sight of the crucifixion, to witness the death of "criminals".  They were watching, listening, and one even got involved. They were like spectators at a game, looking for entertainment. That describes most in our society today, often even us. Life, and death, are one big game, which we watch, and occasionally do a small part. We miss what is important, and often misinterpret what goes on, thinking we are in some sense in control of how things play out - that if we were not there, it would not go on. Bystanding, in reality, is not responsible. It's just wanting to say: "I was there", as if it makes all the difference.  What makes a difference is that He was there, on the cross, for me. 

Carrying Out Their "Responsibility"?

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27)
Roman soldiers had a rough life. They were underpaid, spent most of their time away from home, and were greatly disliked by people. They got no respect. That, however, does not excuse the great disrespect shown from some of them here toward Jesus. To be sure, they probably had great disdain for the self-rightousness of some of the Jews they had met, so being in this position of control over one of them may have given them great pleasure.  But they went "above and beyond" their responsibility in punishing this prisoner. But lest we go to far in accusing them, we also can assume a place as "judge, jury and executioner" towards others we really do not know. Many times we feel it is our job to "punish" others for what they have done, especially toward us. In then end, we too hurt Jesus - not physically, but where it really matters.  So let us be very responsible, and respectful, in whatever we are called to do today. 

No Soap Is Strong Enough...

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. (Matthew 27) 
Taking Responsibility.  Sometimes responsibility is dumped in our lap when we really do not want it.  Such was the case with Pilate here: he wanted nothing to do with this case.  Even when he thought he had a sure solution when giving the crowd a choice between Jesus and Barrabas, the decision ended up in his hands. He tried by this act to "wash himself of all responsibility," but the bottom line is that he chose to pronounce the death sentence on Jesus. He could still be washing his hands today and yet never have gotten the blood of Jesus off them. Daily we face all kinds of choices involving responsibility. Many of these are ones we may not want, but we must decide. Sometimes even ignoring them and doing nothing is making a choice - to do nothing and claim no responsibility. But we do have responsiblity. Let us step up to it, and, by God's grace, handle it well. 

Making Irresponsibility Look Nice

15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27)
The Jewish leaders were bent on getting rid of Jesus, but reluctanct to accept any responsibility for doing so; so they tried to make it Pilate's problem. In a sense, this backfired, because Pilate dumps it back in their laps: "You choose." He was trying to look like a nice guy, and they were trying to look like nice, forgiving, generous people, willing to forgive barbaric Barabbas. All the nice gestures in the world cannot override the evil intents in our hearts, or our own tendency to deny responsibility. We need to call it what it is: "selfish sin." Take responsibility, but don't stop there; repent and make it right. 

A Man of No Excuses

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. (Matthew 27)
Greatly amazed... Pilate was almost speechless - as speechless as a politician can get. Jesus did not stand there and blame everyone else or a series of bad circumstances for His being there.  When the religious leaders blasted Him with all the lies and twisted truths they could think of, He did not retaliate or expose their evil hearts He could read. He made no excuses or self-defense. He truly let the Lord, His Father, be His defender.  He had no reason for excuses, because He was truly innocent.  That, of course, is why we often do make excuses - because we are "guilty as charged." He was not. Therefore, there was no need for him to come up with any excuses. May we have no reason to make excuses for our words and actions, but if (and when) we do today, may we not make them; may we admit the true, ask for forgiveness, and follow the Faultless One. 

Passing the Buck... or in this case, Silver

3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.” (Matthew 27)
Judas wanted to "get out of the deal", to try to buy Jesus back, or at least to buy back his innocence.  We do have to this to say for him - he was willing to admit he had been wrong. That is a first step many of us find hard to take.  The chief priests also had a decision to make at that point. They could have said "oops, we made a mistake too," and dropped the charges. But they had washed their hands of all responsibility, and did all they could to separate themselves from the situation - from Judas, from the money, and from Jesus. What extent are we willing to go to in order to excuse ourselves from responsibility?

Passing the Blame...

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. (Matthew 27)
As we move into this chapter of Matthew's Gospel, one overriding principle of each section seems to be how we tend to pass the blame on to others. In this first paragraph, the religious leaders want Jesus dead. But they cannot, and in a sense do not want to be the "responsible party." They need and want the Roman authorities to do their dastardly deed for them, so they can later point the finger at them, becuase they know people like Jesus, and they know they will be criticized for any harm brought to Him.  Before we get on their case, let us also examine ourselves for any way we try to avoid responsibility and blame others.

Being Proven Wrong

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus had promised it. Peter had denied it.  Jesus was right. Peter had seen the whole chain of events unfold - the disturbances in the upper room, the letting down of Jesus in the garden, the betrayal, and now this: his own ultimate failure.  It's devastating, yet as John will show, faith-building.  Failure - even being proven wrong - reinforces the truth of the lessons we are taught by God. We need Him. He is always right; we are not.  Humbling, yes. Hard, yes. Essential? Only in a fallen world where we need to be drawn closer to Him.  Yes. 

No Justice

57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
(Matthew 26)
Having been abandoned by all (except for Peter hiding on the fringe...) Jesus faced trial at the hands of His accusers.  It was all they could do to find two people whose lies agreed, and their testimonies were sketchy at best. There was no justice.  In our society we have become accustomed to expecting justice to be "blind", so that no predisposed prejudices come into play. It didnt happen that day. Jesus, Son of the Just Judge received no justice.  As we shake our heads in disbelief, it is almost hard to believe that we often do the same. We jump on the bandwagon of people "beating up" on others with our negative comments and pointing fingers.  Let us not self-righteously think we would have been exempt from their contempt, and let us consider how we treat others today: Do we know all the facts?  Are we skewed in our view? Are we being just in our words and motives?  

...and then we find more...

47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled. (Matthew 26)
Yesterday, I noted that in his Passion account Matthew seems to focus on all the ways the disciples failed Jesus on that eve before the Crucifixion: Judas went out to betray Him, Peter promised to never abandon Him, and all were sleeping on the job to pray for Him.  Matthew now notes that in the critical hour they all reacted badly - either acting in a non-Jesus-like manner of violence, or running like cowards. Jesus stood alone.  Here was all of their best Friend, and not one stayed to support Him.  Mind you, none of us would do any differently, save for the presence of the Holy Spirit to see us through. It shows us yet another way we can "let Jesus down". Thankfully, Jesus does not need us like we need Him. But He does want us to stand with Him, follow Him, and stay close to Him. To be sure, we need Him to keep an eye on us...