Read Acts 5:27-33
27 Then they brought the apostles before the high council,where the high priest confronted them. 28 “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead,you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him,and you want to make us responsible for his death!”
29 But Peter and the apostles replied,”We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. 31 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. 32 We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit,who is given by God to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this,the high council was furious and decided to kill them. (NLT)
We understandably shrink in horror from the details of the crucifixion of Jesus. We shake our heads in sad wonderment at how people could treat such a man. We might even take refuge in recognising that these were evil people living in primitive times. Thankfully,we have made some progress since then.
But this will not do. For one thing,look around the world and all we can see is rather patchy ‘progress’ when it comes to how we treat those who challenge us. For another thing,Jesus was crucified by people who are very much alive and kicking today.
He was accused by a corrupt religious establishment,executed by a timid crowd-pleasing politician who was stirred up by a fickle crowd led by professional agitators. Recognise such people today? It makes us speculate as to what would happen to Jesus today. Perhaps not crucifixion,but most definitely rejection and ridicule and maybe even judicial punishment. With all the labyrinth of laws around us now it is fairly sure he would break some of them as he spoke out against evil.
Jesus was hounded to death by people not a million miles away from people like us. And of course he went to the cross because of people just like us: those who turned from God and needed help to turn back again. In that sense,we were certainly there when they crucified our Lord.
Blessings
David Reay
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