11202021 – Christ the King
Its been hard to “miss” or to “ignore” that there have been a couple of trials going on – of late.
One, almost right in our own back yard, just a hop and a skip away, down the road in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The facts of that case have never been up for debate – Kyle Rittenhouse killed two men and injured a third.
Instead, the jury had to “work out,” WHY HE DID IT.
He was being “chased” by a group of people when he fired the “fatal shots.”
Was he acting in “self-defence” or was he a “dangerous vigilante” provoking an already “volatile situation” in a city he did not belong to?
The “other trial” is a little bit further away. The trial for the three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery is still underway in Glynn County, Georgia.
It took a national outcry and a video of the attack for charges to be brought in the case, 74 days AFTER Arbery was shot and killed in February of 2020.
Arbery was Black and the three men charged with his murder are White.
As you might imagine, “the left” and “the right” are all over these cases. And very vocal.
Prosecutors say Arbery was out for a jog when “the suspects” chased after him through the neighborhood, cornered him with their pickup trucks and shot him. The “defendants” say they thought he was “a bur-glary suspect,” and that THEY acted in “self-defense.”
TODAY, everybody feels the need to scrutinize these trials,weigh in, and they become so politicized that a nation already divided becomes divided once again, if THAT is even possible.
But there is another trial WORTHY of our attention that also needs to be scrutinized and looked at.
THIS ONE was also divisive, politicized, and heavily scrutinized and HAS BEEN throughout the ages.
THIS ONE, would be the trial of one Jesus of Nazareth – taking place in Jerusalem of Judea, even though, Jesus, himself was from Galilee.
What we have NOT BEEN TOLD at this point in the proceedings is that…The first place they took Jesus to was to the house of Annas.
Annas is the father-in-law of Caiaphas (the high priest) and a FORMER high priest himself. Many have suggested that he WAS responsible, pulling all the strings and manipulating all the events from behind the scenes.
Inside the house, Annas questions Jesus about HIS DISCIPLES and about the things he HAS TAUGHT.
NEXT, the soldiers take Jesus to see Caiaphas (the current reigning High Priest) and from there, they take him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the province of Judea.
It is his job (and HIS ALONE) to determine AN “APPROPRIATE SENTENCE” for Jesus.
SO, two hasty trials in the middle of the night and then, at the break of dawn, they are off to see Pilate…and a third trial AWAITS.
To the best of our knowledge, Jesus is not offered any legal consul. There are no sidebars. No jury pool. No voir dire. And, no court reporter. Charges are simply brought. Pre-trial court appearances take place. Plea Bargaining is almost non-existent, opening statements are made and heard, evidence submitted, and that is followed by DIRECT EXAMINATION of the PRISONER.
Pilate tells Jesus that he could care less what the Jews have to say. He isn’t a Jew. He is a CITIZEN of ROME!
But, if Jesus’s own people TURNED HIM IN, he must have done SOMETHING TERRIBLE. Something pretty BIG.
“What is it?” Pilate asks?
Jesus answers that HIS KINGDOM is not from this world. If it were, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. Oh, SO YOU ARE A KING? Pilate asks. Now we’re getting somewhere…
Jesus tells him he was born to tell “THE TRUTH.”
Jesus’ll swear to that, if he is asked to, on a stack of Bibles. “What IS truth?” Pilate asks, but unfortunately we never get to hear any answer…even though we all lean in – to listen in and overhear.
AGAIN, Pilate goes outside and tells the “religious authorities and the Jerusalem elite” that he can’t FIGURE OUT what Jesus has done wrong, if ANYTHING.
And, it just so happens that PILATE was feeling “particularly generous on that day,” so how about if he’ll release “ONE PRISONER?”
What do you think about, say, of Jesus of Nazareth, the Galilean? “NO WAY,” the Judeans shout!
The religious authorities immediately shout that they want “a thief” named Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus. So much for keeping dangerous criminals off the streets!
And the rest, as they say, is HISTORY!
Trials. Divisive. Politicized. Scrutinized. And they continue on…
And no doubt will into the future, you can bank on it. Amen.