A few years ago I witnessed a head on collision between two cars. The car about 300 metres in front of me collided head-on with a vehicle overtaking a truck in the opposite direction. I had a clear, unobstructed view of the incident. The cars collided head-on but off-centre. So they rotated when they hit, which reduced the frontal impact.
I was first on the scene. I comforted the older lady whilst others helped the fellow in the other car. The ambulances soon arrived and then the police interviewed me and took a statement.
I was rather surprised when the police said lets put the two people back in the car, find the truck and replay the crash. Then we can see for ourselves what actually happened. Well, no, they didn't do that. The police assumed that my evidence was sufficient and there was no need to replay the accident.
It's not necessary to see an event first hand to get the truth. None of us were gazing at he cross. We weren't standing and watching three men being nailed to a wooden cross and hung out to dry. We weren't watching Jesus endure the pain. We weren't there to read the sign above his head, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews'. We missed the soldiers dividing up his clothes.
We never saw Jesus' mother and auntie standing at the foot of the cross. That was another time—another place. We didn't hear Jesus say to his mum, 'Dear women, here is your son'. We misssed the exchange of eyes and the agony only a mother can feel.
The three hours of darkness over the whole land would have taken us by surprise. But we weren't there. We missed the occasion. We didn't hear those last words, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me'? Nor did we see Jesus breathe his last or the soldier thrust his spear into his side. We were speared this gory sight.
We missed this moment in history. But we can turn to eyewitness accounts. We can LISTEN to their story. We can read their testimonies. We can reply upon them to take us back to the event. We can feel their emotion as the story is retold.
Lots of people saw Jesus crucified. It was a public event, as was the countless other crucifixions which took place the first century. In the final stages of a war in 70 A.D., the Romans were crucifying 500 Jews a day outside Jerusalem's walls. It was a terrible place and a terrible time. According to Josephus, a first century historian, there were so many crucifixions that there were 'no more spaces for crosses, nor crosses for bodies'.
So at one level what happened to Jesus was unremarkable. From the Jewish point of view it was the death a deluded man—from the Roman point of view is was simply another day, another execution. Since both Jews and Romans got their way. There was NO need to distort the public record for the man was dead.
Yet people walked away from the crucifixion of Christ with an incredible story to tell. One modern day historian writes, 'When you consider the meaning Jesus attached to his cross and the impact it has had on countless millions of lives throughout history, there is a sense in which his is a most extraordinary death'. John DICKSON goes onto say, 'What for Pilate was a minor administrative matter, soon forgotten, was for the first Christians the centre—the crux—of God's mercy for the world' (Life of Jesus, Dickson, 102).
So was Jesus' death no more than a minor administrative matter? Or is Dickson right? Is the death of Jesus an outpouring of God's mercy for the world? We weren't there. But the crowds were there—the Roman soldiers were there—and John, the beloved disciple, was there. We must turn to those who witnessed the cross and discover what they saw.
Let's start with the crowds who reflected broader public opinion (slide). I remember when I was a boy, LBJ visited Australia (1966). Linden Baines Johnson was the US President. Dad and mum took us into town. There were placards and people running everywhere to get a glimpse of the President. 'All the way with LBJ'.
A few days before Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds went out to meet him. They had their own way of saying, 'All the way with LBJ'. The Gospel records tell us, 'They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”' (John 12:13).
They welcomed Jesus as the king who will rescue them from Roman rule. And I can assure you, the Jews did not like Roman rule. They wanted their land back and they were eagerly searching for their conquering King. They were looking for miracle —for a sign their mighty King was coming. And as Jesus neared Jerusalem, word got around that he had raised Lazarus from the dead. The hysteria was mounting. So the crowd went to meet Jesus as he approached Jerusalem. Thy were bubbling with excitement and expectation (John 12:17–18).
When I was at school there was a teacher who was constantly cranky and mean. But when I grew up I learnt of his tragic life and my picture of him changed. My frame of reference changed. I learnt to appreciate him for who he was and not what I wanted him to be.
The crowds misunderstood Jesus. They had the wrong frame of reference. Jesus never intended to blast the Romans out of the water. Not once did he say he would do such a thing. Though he did refer time and time again to his death. The Son of Man came into the world as a lamb led to the slaughter.
It doesn't take long for the crowd to get a whiff that something is wrong. Jesus begins to talk himself 'up', but the 'UP' he means, is the 'UP' of being lifted 'UP' onto the cross (John 12:32). Not an 'UPRISING' of the army variety. So the tide begins to turn. The momentum quickly changes.
So when Judas went to arrest Jesus, 'with him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders' (Mark 14:43). Now now the whole thing gets away. 'The chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate realise Barabbas instead. [So] wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them' (Mark 15:11, 15).
The crowds think that Jesus is a fake who deserves death.
Even these days the crowds still do not like Jesus. The 'Department of Irreligion' at the ABC always finds something anti-Jesus to screen at Easter time. The crowds flock to the Royal Easter show instead of church. The newspapers print another religious scandal. The retail sector reduce Easter to shopping bargains, hot cross buns and brightly coloured and over-priced chocolate Easter eggs.
There are a lot of people who really hate Jesus. They hate the whole Christian thing and they hate the Bible and everything wrong with the world is because of religion. Although some parts of the crowd like little bit of religion because they see some light shining through the cracks of an ancient tale and it feels good.
The crowds teach us not to consider Jesus from the wrong perspective—from the wrong frame of reference. Let Jesus come to you on his terms. Don't force Jesus into your little box and then complain that he's too offensive and too small. Break free from the crowd, let Jesus speak for himself, consider the evidence.
The Roman soldiers were involved every step of the way (slide). They arrested Jesus and brought him before the Jewish authorities. They were there when Pilate questioned him. It was the soldiers who 'twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews”' (John 19:2–3).
The soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross. 'When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did' (John 19:23–24).
The soldiers were under the supervision of a centurion. He was the one who had enough brains to control the rabble. And on that day the centurion saw the most remarkable of things. Mark tells us that as soon as Jesus died there was a violent earthquake and tombs shook and 'many holy people who had died were raised to life' (Matt 27: 52–53). Because that's the effect of Jesus' death, raising holy people to life.
The centurion didn't close his eyes and pretend it didn't happen. He looked around and what he saw astounded him. He responded by saying, 'Surely he was the Son of God'! (Matt 27:54).
'If only Jesus appeared right now and levitated this table, then I would believe'. The science fiction writer, Carl Sagan , wishes that God had encoded undeniable science into the Bible. Then we would know, then we would have the evidence. Friends, I can tell you right now, that even if these things happened, people still wouldn't believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
And I can tell you why.
Time and time again the crowds saw Jesus do miracles. They saw him turn water into wine. They saw him deed four thousand people with a few loaves and a fish. They saw him heal sick people and raise Lazarus from the dead. Time and time again they heard his amazing words. The crowds watched the soldiers nail Jesus to the cross. They watched Jesus take his last breathe. But still they did not believe, because they did not want to believe. They did not believe because the problem is fundamentally one of the heart. The problem is pride—that I have the right to live my life my way and 'blow' the testimony of eyewitnesses.
But the centurion, who was there and saw it all, declared, 'Surely he was the Son of God'! (Matt 27:54)
There's one more account to consider—the testimony of John, the beloved disciple (slide). He was at the cross and he heard Jesus speak his last words, '“It is finished”. With that, Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit' (John 19:30).
Jesus' life was finished. It was the finish of a controversial life. And the disciples thought it was the finish of them. But it was also the finish of the most incredible outpouring of love this world has ever seen.
Earlier in his book, John records Jesus saying these words, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him' (John 3:16-17).
It's unfortunate that the Christian message has become so confused. But when we allow Jesus to speak to us on his terms, it's really not so complicated. With the help of eyewitnesses we can reconstruct the meaning of Easter.
The Bible rarely speaks about this world using favourable language. For example, Isaiah 53 says, 'All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way' (Isaiah 53:6). And herein lies our problem. Each one of us has turned to his own way. Is this not true? Do we not have a world filled with people running around wanting things done their way? And we treat God this way too.
When we are wronged we want justice to be done. Our courts are overflowing with people seeking justice. It's an incredible sight at Penrith Courthouse. The corridor is filled with people waiting to attend their hearing. There are lawyers buzzing around all over the place.
God is also a God of justice. We break his laws and his punishment for sin is death. Do the crime—do the time. The punishment for rejecting God is an eternity without him. The wages of sin is death. Do the crime—do the time.
But God so loved the world that he thought of another way. He thought of a way of satisfying his justice which allows him to forgive the guilty party and set them free. Imagine you're in court for a speeding fine—hypothetical, of course. You walk into the court and you see that the judge is your father-in-law. You expect to be let off with a caution.
To your surprise you're found guilty and the magistrate fines you $1,500. It's not the greatest day in your life and you never really liked your father-in-law. But then the Judge says, 'wait a minute'. He excuses himself from the courtroom and a few minutes later he comes back with an envelope and he gives it to you. In the envelope is $1,500.
In his mercy, the Judge paid the fine and you are set free.
This helps us understand Easter. Each of us are guilty of breaking God's laws and the punishment is death. Instead of handing us an envelope, the Judge hands us the blood of his precious Son. The fine is paid and we are set free. According to Easter Sunday, we are set free for a glorious new life with him. Our judge becomes our Father and our friend.
Good Friday draws out attention to the way God pays our fine. His precious Son who died for you and who died for me. But we are not forced to accept God's free offer of life. Only those people who believe in the Son have the promise of sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life.
You must TAKE the envelope of life that God offers you. Don't be like the crowd and totally misunderstand the job that Jesus came to do. Instead, look at the evidence. The centurion saw it all and he declared that Jesus is the Son of God. And John tells us what we must do, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16).
