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.
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