On Good Friday I watched The Passion and, apart from reality
of the extreme cruelty and pain Jesus willingly endured for us, the words that
He said to Pilate linger in my mind. In an attempt to get Jesus to say
something that would enable the ruler to release Him, Jesus looked Pilate in
the eye and said, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you
from above…” (John 19:11).
As that phrase rings in my mind over and over I reflect to
the number of times that I have heard a child pass blame for their actions to
another or a wife accuse her husband for her actions or a husband accuse his
wife for his attitude. It is our nature to release ourselves from the
responsibility of our actions and assign them to the one we have offended. Pilate
wanted no part in Jesus trial or punishment, but Jesus made it perfectly clear
that it was not a political leader, but indeed it was sin that was responsible
for His crucifixion. The blame didn’t belong to one action or one individual,
but in the fact that the people, created for connection with God and each other,
had hearts that had become selfish and hardened. The separation between God and
His people that began in Eden, must be repaired. There must be a sacrifice, and
this was God’s plan.
Perhaps, the next time we excuse our actions or our words or
our feelings, we need to consider that Jesus paid a significant price so that
we could rise above all of that. We have no power to control the actions of
that person who hurts or frustrates us, but the sacrifice of Jesus, in
obedience to the Heavenly plan, makes it possible for us to own our weakness,
and simultaneously be strong enough to follow God’s plan. His desire is not for
us to continue to live our life controlled by our circumstances, but to realize
that He has made a way for us to take up our cross and make the sacrifice of
pride, of being right, of being the victim, and allow it to die so that we can
live in the abundance of His love and grace and peace.
My prayer for you, and for me, is that we realize that the
supreme sacrifice was made so that we can live full and meaningful lives,
victorious over the sin that will never stop trying to drag us down. May we
realize that Jesus’ sacrifice is meaningless if we continue to cave to the
desires of the flesh to get even or prove our point or be angry and bitter … to
live as though others don’t matter to Jesus… to seek our own gain at the
expense of another. May we, rather, look at the cross and the blood and the
sacrifice that makes it possible to own our sin, our issues, and take them to
that place where they no longer have power over us.
There is great liberation and peace in the knowledge that
God will take the wheel … just as soon as we let go of it. He will show us the
way, if we will open our eyes. He will heal our relationships if we let go of
our pretense that we must fix or defeat our “opponent.” Refusing this offering
of a merciful Father is allowing His suffering to have been in vain.
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