Sermon Tone Analysis

Theme: God wins

Let us pray.

Most holy, Lord God, we gather on this day to remember: to remember what great love you have for us, love so great that your son willingly went to his own death for us; may we never forget such sacrificial love and may it be a sign for us of how to love each other, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I had something of a surreal experience during the Holy Land trip I took last January.

We went to a convent called Homo Ecce.

The name didn’t register with me at first.

This was the eighth or ninth day of the trip.

Jerusalem was somewhat overwhelming.

And I think I was getting numb to seeing all the biblical sites we saw, which were certainly not all of them to see.

I knew that on this day we were going to walk the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross.

In case you don’t know, homo ecce is Latin for “behold the man.”

Those were the words Pilate said when Jesus was presented to the people before his crucifixion.

This convent was built on that site – the Praetorium.

We had a Eucharist there at the convent – the most moving Eucharist I attended for quite some time.

Of course the theme of the Eucharist was a Good Friday theme.

We then walked downstairs.

We stood on a slab of what looked like limestone.

We were told that this was recently excavated.

It is the Stone Pavement, Gabbatha.

Here Jesus was tried in public before the crowd who call for his crucifixion.

We were standing on it.

We were standing on the very stone Jesus stood on.

This was the first station of the cross in Jerusalem.

We were told that we were to walk the stations in silence and take no pictures.

We went outside and there it was – a typical Old City Jerusalem street sign, Via Dolorosa.

We went up the street, station to station, past street vendors, and eventually to an Orthodox church where stations nine and ten are.

We came out the other end to the courtyard before entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the final four stations – the last station being Jesus’ tomb.

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we had thirty minutes of free time between stations twelve and thirteen – Jesus’ crucifixion and the anointing of his body.

It was all a moving experience.

The church was also a very busy place – crowded and noisy.

That’s our story for this day, today.

The whole route of the stations in Jerusalem are not all that long.

The four stations in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are close to each other.

It is a short story, too.

Jesus is tried, found guilty, walks to the site of his execution, and dies.

It is a sad story.

What John and the other gospel writers do is make a sad story significant.

The Romans crucified people by the hundreds.

Why was this particular crucifixion so special?

John tells us why.

John gives us a different take on the passion story.

Judas fades into the background as being irrelevant.

John gives more emphasis on Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate.

Jesus’ trial is powerful.

It is powerful in its telling.

It is powerful because the Son of God is on trial.

It is powerful because the judge, jury, and executioner represent the most powerful man in the world and the most powerful empire in the world.

It is powerful because it is a contest between God and humankind, even God and the god of Rome in human flesh, the emperor.

We have another story of a contest between God and state gods.

It is the contest between the God of Israel and the gods of Egypt and more specifically, Pharaoh, the living god of the Egyptians.

God wins.

Pharaoh loses.

The people leave Egypt for the Promised Land.

Our contest for this day is different.

Jesus is arrested.

Jesus is tried by the religious authorities.

But those who seek Jesus’ life are in a quandary.

They lack the power to execute Jesus.

So they bring Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

When Pilate expresses a distaste for dealing with a Jewish religious dispute, he asks the religious authorities to deal with Jesus themselves.

They reply that they are “not permitted to put anyone to death.”

John gives us the impression that Pilate wants to do what is right.

But Pilate’s view of what is right revolves exclusively around what is best for the empire.

Pilate does not see Jesus as a threat to the state.

Pilate begins his questioning of Jesus with the key question that matters to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

In other words, are you assuming a ruling authority in a province of the Roman Empire?

Again Jesus typically replies the way he usually does by answering a question with a question.

In effect Jesus is asking, “Are you really concerned that I am a threat to Rome, or has someone else put you up to this?” Jesus suggests that Pilate is being manipulated into investigating a charge for which he has no evidence.

John is telling us that Jesus is in control of the situation.

If Jesus is to be executed it is only with his consent, even if someone else gives the order.

In John 10:17-18 Jesus says, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.

I have received this command from my Father.”

Pilate objects to Jesus’ question by saying that he is not a Jew and that it was Jesus’ own people who turned him over to Rome.

Jesus then answers Pilate’s question, “If I were the kind of king that you have in mind, my followers would be revolting in the land and trying to effect my release.”

Pilate’s political antenna perks up – so he thinks himself a king!

Jesus then tells Pilate that it is Pilate who says Jesus is a king.

Now, we too say Jesus is a king.

What does that mean for us?

I think it means that Jesus is over and above any earthly government or authority.

We may claim to be citizens of the United States, but that pales in comparison to our citizenship in heaven.

If our government or any government commands or compels us to do what we believe violates our faith, then the government is in the wrong and must not be obeyed.

Of course, there are consequences to this.

That is why many Christians were killed for their faith and continue to die for their faith.

We belong to Christ.

We live in the United States.

Fortunately, for us we have an amendment to the Constitution that guarantees that we may express our faith freely.

Jesus’ place in the world begins to dawn on Pilate, but events are spiraling out his control.

Jesus must die.

In the end, Pilate declares Jesus as king of the Jews and his execution is ordered.

Pilate never grasped what we know – Jesus is king of the universe.

Jesus is king of a place where he cannot stay dead, because Sunday is a comin’.

Jesus is lifted on the cross.

Only John has the scene of his mother and the beloved disciple.

A new community is born in this scene.

New lines of kinship are formed that no longer requires a blood relationship.

This is a larger family that cares for each other.

A beloved son dies and a new community is formed.