Good Friday: Judgement

Human beings do so much judging.

I found myself wondering last night, did anyone think to offer him food or drink, or something warm to wear ? What happened when he needed to go to the toilet ? Even today in civilised countries, it can be a bit tricky even for someone, 'helping with enquiries' to have space or privacy for urgent personal need.

Through all this time, Jesus referred to himself as 'The Son of Man'. The law, the way of the world persisted in judging him from it's own point of view even where individuals were perhaps more suited to make these judgements - and who was, really, qualified to judge? From the law's point of view the judgement was perfectly right. Whatever Jesus was really saying, it is a fact that his words, his personality, his very being was stirring up people. It was endangering the fragile peace in the middle east - oh - do these words sound familiar ?

Think of Him as a man. The Son of Man.
What has he gone through ?
An intense meal, with deep, intimate prayers, connections with his friends.
The agony of fear, and the agony of affectionate betrayal..
Then up all night : dragged from one court of law to another, stood before the Sanhedrin, Before Pilate, Before Herod and back to Pilate again.

And then scourging. Even a light scourging could and did kill.
Mockery and complete lack of dignity.
A sceptre of reed and a crown of thorns. More appropriate than we could believe possible.
A purple robe.
And indeed, that reed sceptre. The papyrus made from reeds would carry these words, these events through time and space.

We have, each of us, power over others, in the way we treat them we express our worth. Our real worth, value as we are in ourselves. The way we judge others reveals us.

Oddly enough I don't seem to be able to find in the records a verdict of guilty - except on the grounds of blasphemy. Herod was curious and irritable. Pilate was inclined to want to talk more, almost to enjoy Jesus company.. and the people were angry. Their man was being revolutionary rather than a rebel. He took nothing from the Law, but by entering the heart of the Law, and doing it and being it, he transformed it into something that many people just couldn't take. Died perhaps so that the law could live on as it had always been and still is - as a tool of judgement, and not of insight.

When you think about it, the first man Jesus died for was Barabbas. Literally died in his place. And there is another odd thing about that. Bar-Abbas was also called Jesus. Translate Jesus Bar-Abbas name, and you find that he is Jesus, Son-of-the-Father.

What am I getting at here ?
Just thinking of a man, any man. No one deserves to be treated as Jesus was treated. For we are all Jesus BarAbbas. Isaiah uses the word Jeshua to mean 'well of salvation'. Each of us has it in us to be the well of compassion, the child of the Father.

Okay, the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory made their judgement, and exist still today.
So does our choice, doesn't it ? For until we begin to walk in utter trust ourselves, none of us is really qualified to judge others. Our very Father in Heaven sends rain to the just and the unjust. One thing is very clear, however. So long as our sensible judgement protects itself, we're not going to be big enough to enter the kingdom. So long as this Judgement is a matter of how wrong Pilate was, or the Jews, or the woman next door, and not, how have we ourselves treated the 'other' child of our Father, we really aren't going to be small enough to enter the door, or big enough to inhabit the weight of the Kingdom.