God is There on the Gallows

Intro: Polar Vortex over Texas! It could happen here too! Also, persecution can happen to any religion. So we must work to end all forms of religious hatred. It is troubling that the Christian Holy Week has been a time of religious persecution of Jews. I will focus on why Christians should not blame or persecute Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus. Rather, we are saved by grace through faith.

The Problem of Anti-Semitism:

1. The Holocaust happened and was beyond horrible. Some tried to justify it with religion.
2. Hate crimes against Jews and many religions still happen today, and must be rejected.
3. Conspiracy theories seem to have grown as feeble attempts to try to explain why suffering happens in our world today.

Reasons Not to Be Anti-Semitic:

1. Jesus, our Lord, was Jewish as were all of the early disciples. In the book, “The Christian Imagination and the Origins of Race” by William Jennings, the reader is reminded that Jesus came as a Jewish messiah for Jewish people. The whole project of salvation as a gift of Jesus came to be as a movement within Judaism and a broader Greco-Roman cultural milieu. Jews did not kill Jesus. That is just wrong. Jesus was Jewish, as were all of his disciples. 

The fact that Christians are allowed to participate in the salvation given by Jesus is a gift. We are allowed to participate in the wonderful story of salvation. Throughout history gentiles have been attracted to Judaism because of the compelling relationship with God Most High. 

A certain Jewish plumber is a local man some of you know who does great work. If you ever meet him you might have a very rewarding conversation. When I spoke with him we talked about Jesus a lot. He enjoyed sharing the fact that he believed in Jesus. I asked him where he went to church. He said he went to a Jewish Temple, or a synagogue. This is great! Jesus was Jewish, and we have more in common than we realize.

2. The term, “the Jews” in John’s gospel  and passion narrative could be interpreted as a geographical term, as in, “the people from Judah.” Jesus was from Galilee a different region than Judah. So there was a regional conflict that can be read into the narrative over and against a religious one.

Throughout the passion story for Jesus over and over again we hear the term, “the Jews.” Without knowing any better this sounds like a blaming of a specific religious group for Jesus’ death. But that’s not what it is! Everytime you read or hear the term, “the Jews” in the gospel of John, you can think about a tension and even conflict between Jews from Galilee and Jews from Judah, not to mention Samaria, and other areas. Many, though not all of the people from Jerusalem and the area of Judah would have been seen as different from the more country oriented group of disciples form Galilee. Keep in mind that most of their ministry was itinerant. They went a lot of different places. But it was in Judah where Jesus was arrested and crucified. When you know that this term has a geographical meaning, it helps to understand why it was written the way it was. 

3. The decision to crucify came from a Roman non-Jewish official named Pontius Pilate who convicted Jesus of not submitting to Cesar as king. Pilate, a non-Jew, had the power to release Jesus or to crucify him. For him to make a decision, and then “wash” his hands, is very cowardly. Pilate and the Roman officials crucified people all the time, and the most common reason was for people not paying homage to Cesar. In the years that would follow Jesus’ death many more Christians would be crucified and martyred in arenas all by the Roman Empire. The Gospel narrative certainly is a warning against the power of empire to squash out life in the name or “order.” Even today, people of faith and conscience continue to be persecuted by governments. 

Gospel:

Keep in mind all of these historical realities, especially the power of Rome to crucify anyone who wasn’t loyal to Cesar. Some people would say that Jesus died because he broke the law. But I say to you that Jesus died on the cross because we have all broken God’s laws. When we break God’s laws people and creation suffer. Jesus, God’s only son who was without sin, suffered and died on the cross because of all of our sins. 

The good news is that you are saved by Grace through Faith. You are not saved because you are a Christian. Being a good Christian does not save you. God’s grace saves you. We know God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for all of humanity. 

If you have read the book “Night” by Elie Wiesel you might remember a moment in that book when Mr. Wiesel and others were suffering terribly and the Gestapo were terrorizing people especially bad. One day they hung several people out of sheer hatred and malice, and made the people watch. One of the prisoners asked, “Where is God?” The answer to that question, was that God was up there, on the gallows, dying. That is the theology of cross articulated by a Jewish man, Elie Wiesel. God is there on the cross, dying, and suffering. Amen.