Day 36- Wednesday, April 5
Jesus is Condemned by the Sanhedrin
Scripture: Luke 22:66-71
When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

Poetry:
"The Evil Days"
by Boris Pasternak
When, in that final week,
He was entering Jerusalem
They thundered Hosannas,
And greeted Him with branches.

Now the days are ominous and grim,
Hearts are no longer stirred by love,
Eyebrows are knit in contempt.
And now the epilogue, the end.

With all their leaden weight
The heavens lay on the courtyards.
Pharisees looked for proof against Him,
Yet wheedled Him like foxes.

And the dark forces of the Temple
Gave Him to rogues for judgement,
And as fervently as they had praised
They cursed him now.

The rabble from the neighborhood
Was peering through the gates,
They jostled, in wait for the outcome,
And bustled about, back and forth.

And a whisper crept round there,
As did rumors from every side.
He recalled the flight to Egypt
And His childhood, but now as in a dream.

CONDEMNING JESUS AS ONLY THE FOUND CAN DO

He told them who he was. They had seen his signs and wonders. They had witnessed his miracles. They believed him.  He was the Messiah.  He was the one they had been waiting for, but shockingly he was nothing like what they had declared he would be or do and so he was a threat.  He was a threat…the Messiah was a threat.   In their minds, he was not a threat to the natural order of things.  He was not a threat to the forces of darkness.  He was a threat to them.  Their power. Their position.  Their authority.  Their credibility.  He broke their religious traditions. He upended their carefully prescribed social norms. He challenged their legalistic system. And yet, they believed him.  He was the one.

How often do I find myself where the Sanhedrin was that day, standing in judgment of the one who I have been waiting for.  The one who had come to save me from myself, but whom I could not fully accept. You see, I want to make God in my own image. I want to be the one who dictates what the Savior looks like, sounds like, where he is from, and what he will do to bring justice.  My justice.  I stand there, mumbling along with others like me.  Not ones who are lost in their sin, but even worse, the ones who are lost in their found-ness. And so I condemn him.  Not because he is wrong, but because he is right and because intellectually, I believe him.

I condemn him because it’s easier to accept that position than the call to follow him. His call requires me to lay down my power, my position, and my autonomy. His call requires me to think and act in a whole new way. I sacrifice my credibility with others whom I have also condemned but who have found in Him all they need and desire. Notorious sinners who should not recognize him for who he is because of who they are and yet they seem to get him more than I do. That is why I condemn him. And why does he spend more time with them? Why does he prefer their company more than the company of his good and holy people--people who are doggedly preserving the faith?

I believe him and that is the very thing that condemns me.  As I wait in the mystery of the now and the not yet, I get caught in the trap that I am the authority on who, what, and where he is and how he will make himself known to me. I am lost in my own found-ness, but long to be as one who is so desperate for true salvation that I take him just as he is because he sees me just as I am.  Father, forgive me, for I know exactly what I am doing by denying who you are because you challenge who I am.  You confront me in my comfortable religious life. Somehow let me be with the notorious ones who are drawn to you and know they need you now more than anything or anyone they have ever needed before or will need again.  I want to believe with my entire being that you are who you say you are. Let that be confirmation of my salvation and not of my own condemnation.

PRAYER
Lord God, Help me to no longer make You in my own image--the image of one who feels superior to those who act differently, believe differently, live differently. Help me remove my garments of self-righteousness and badge of found-ness. Empower me to put on the garments of humility, love, grace, and mercy. Release me from legalism and help me to embrace the true Gospel that You alone provide. Upend my comfortable status quo.
Amen.

Joy E. A. Qualls
Chair, Department of Communication Studies
Associate Professor, Communication Studies