Haven”t You Been There?

By Russel L. Jarvis

Haven”t you been there? You arrive assuming the meeting will be a time for discussion, the sharing of views, and working toward consensus. But you soon realize the decision has already been made. The meeting is merely a formality. The verdict was rendered long before the appointed hour arrived.

Haven”t you been there? You have seen good intentions supplanted by ulterior motives. You have watched openness go unappreciated by hidden agendas. However urgent or worthy the topic of discussion, it was lost as men and women vied for power.

“”˜If you are the Christ,” they said, “˜tell us.” Jesus answered, “˜If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer”” (Luke 22:67, 68).

HIS TRIAL IS ABOUT . . .

Christ”s trial is all about POWER””the craving after it, the protecting of it, the abusive use of it. Those who were regarded as rulers, shepherds, and judges in Israel stood poised to lord their authority over this troublesome rabbi. Unknown to them, Jesus was about to serve their greatest need.

It would be just another tragic miscarriage of justice, except that it was the defendant who set up this trial: “The Son of man must suffer . . . and be rejected . . . and . . . be killed” (see Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). Jesus knew the verdict had been in for quite some time. Any defense beyond clear and truthful statements would be a waste of breath.

Christ”s trial is all about SIN. The righteous Creator is once more and finally rejected by his creation. Even though the fig leaves of Eden are now priestly robes, the issue remains the same. The workers want the vineyard for themselves so they declare the Owner a trespasser. The teachers of the Law want to keep the people bound under their rules so they declare the Omniscient One a heretic. The power-sated love their places of authority so they declare the Most High a rebel without a cause.

Jesus” trial was nothing more than a formality. Even so, those who had trumped up charges against him would have been exposed had one thing been different. It was the people who sealed the deal. They went along with it. Even as Christ”s condemnation came through the mouth of the Roman governor, the people condemned themselves with their own mouths: “We have no king but Caesar!”

Christ”s trial is all about US. Haven”t you been there?

Jesus draws me toward doing good, and I say I don”t have time right now. “Let me first say good-bye to my family.”

Jesus opens my eyes to an injustice, and I say I can”t risk getting involved. “The man passed by on the other side.”

Jesus shows me a better way than the sinful indulgence I have allowed myself, and I dismiss him as interfering in my private life. “He went away sad for he was a man of great wealth.”

Jesus stands before me, and I know there is more to the Christian life than I ever dared to imagine. And still I postpone praying, reading my Bible, attending worship. “I don”t know the man.”

WHO IS ON TRIAL?

Who is it that is truly on trial here? The Scriptures warn me that it is possible to crucify the Son of God all over again and subject him to public disgrace (Hebrews 6:6). Every time I sell out like Judas, dissemble like Peter, or run away like the rest of the disciples, I render a verdict. I declare that Jesus is not worthy of the last ounce of my devotion. I declare that Jesus is someone who can be with me as long as he does not require me to change. I declare that he is no longer my first love. I declare that he is of less value to me than the passing pleasures of this world. I declare myself to be one to whom God should turn his back.

Good Friday is the day the creature crucified the Creator he should have worshiped. That which began in Eden and climaxed at Calvary, continues today.

It is impossible to appreciate the breakthrough won for us at the empty tomb if we don”t see Christ in the dock and ourselves as his prosecutor. It is here that we grasp, as Paul words it, “the utter sinfulness of sin.”

Haven”t you been there?

Russel Jarvis delivered this meditation several years ago at a Good Friday service in Greenfield, Indiana. He serves today as lead chaplain with the Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield.