Let's go down the path of failure!
Let's go down the path of failure!
why the cross?
Jesus' life is very short. It's only 33 years old. Compared to the Buddha or Confucius, who had attained all heavenly qualities, he lived a very short life. In addition, Jesus' area of activity was very limited. He grew up in a town called Nazareth, northwest of Canaan. Not far to the northeast from there lies the Sea of Galilee. Jesus called his disciples from the shores of the Sea of Galilee and started the movement for the kingdom of God by teaching people in the neighboring Capernaum. Jesus gradually descended southward. He passed through Samaria and came to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. There he was arrested, tried and crucified.
We believe in the one who was crucified in this way as the Messiah, the Christ. We believe that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the way to salvation for mankind. Because his death on the cross is the only way for man to be forgiven of his sins. So far we are all familiar with this. Our question today is: Why was Jesus crucified? Is it the path you choose for yourself, or is it the path you have to follow? Some of you may be wondering, why do you ask such a question, and why not just believe it? Yes, those who just want to believe can do so. However, if you have an idea, it is good to ask a question. These questions do not undermine our faith, but take us far deeper.
Let's ask the question again. Did Jesus have to die on the cross to save mankind? Couldn't we have saved humanity in another way? For example, wouldn't salvation be achieved if we wiped out the evils of this world with great power? Did Jesus unconditionally follow the way of the cross that was given to him? Wouldn't he have thought of helping and teaching people by living a long life without being crucified? The New Testament does not directly answer these questions. This is because the biblical writers view the crucifixion of Jesus from the level of faith that is the light of resurrection. In very rare cases, you can find some traces of this, and today's text is one of them.
Pharisees and Herod
Jesus was traveling with his disciples from Galilee through Samaria to Jerusalem. According to verse 31 of today's text, some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Get out of here, Herod is trying to kill you.”
The Gospels generally portray the Pharisees as enemies of Jesus. However, today's text appears to be friendly. Just because we're Pharisees, we can't sell at wholesale prices. Some of them must have really wanted to protect Jesus. If not, maybe they were thinking of making the relationship between Jesus and Herod worse. With a little more imagination, they may have been the ones who had been instigated by Herod. For Herod, it was important to prevent events that would disrupt the community. He sent some of the Pharisees to Jesus and said, "It's no fun if you mess around!" Maybe he was trying to scare you in that way.
In fact, Herod was not the only one who wanted to kill Jesus. The same is true of the Pharisees who are now telling the truth. Jesus can't help but be annoyed at the violation of the law, which is more important than their own lives. So did the priests in the temple in Jerusalem. We could not wait to see more of Jesus who relativizes the temple, which is not only the spiritual leader of Israel, but also the core of all politics, economy, and society. So was Pilate. The writer of Luke records it as if Pilate was forced to sentence Jesus to death because of pressure from the surroundings, but Pilate, the highest-ranking politician in Rome, is not the one to leave a political stain under such pressure. He must have judged that the gospel of Jesus, the kingdom of God, was fundamentally hampered by the peace of the Roman Empire.
The people of Israel are no exception here. As can be seen from the Five Byeong-Eye incident, the people who once followed Jesus like a cloud were unable to follow Jesus to the end because they did not meet their expectations. They could not keep their attention to Jesus, who spoke of life from heaven, not the immediate tax reduction or the achievement of liberation from Rome. Jesus’ words, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58) is not just an emotional appeal, but rather refers to his concrete existence. Likewise, the disciples did not understand Jesus correctly. Jesus had to be conscious of death. He could not survive in Jerusalem's current religious and political system. In this crisis, Jesus had to make a choice. The Pharisees are asking for just that. It is a compulsion to choose whether to continue to 'fight' with the Jerusalem system, or to admit the reality and go into hiding.
have to go my way
Jesus answered: “Go to the fox and tell him, ‘Today and tomorrow I will cast out demons and heal diseases, and on the third day I will finish my work.’ Today, tomorrow, and the next day, I have to go my own way. Can a prophet die in a place other than Jerusalem?” (verses 32:33).
This statement is a bit complicated. Today, tomorrow, and the third day are symbolic expressions. There is also a slight contradiction between verses 32 and 33. According to verse 32, people will be healed today and tomorrow and all work will be finished on the third day. The former is expressed as the completion of Jesus' work, the latter as continuation. These two sentences are not contradictory, but complementary and congruent. Jesus' part as a human being is over, but it continues with God's intervention. God has paved the way for mankind's salvation from the crucifixion of Jesus on a whole new level, and it continues.
What is important here is the share that Jesus bore. Israel's political and religious system covered the life of Jesus like a dark cloud. The advice and threats of the Pharisees that Herod is trying to kill you are proof of that. Jesus said that he would cast out the devil and heal the sick “today and tomorrow.” The blessing and the disease are events that symbolically reveal the messianic nature of Jesus. In the kingdom of the Messiah, evil spirits will be cast out and all systems that have oppressed humans will be removed. These words of Jesus are an expression of his firm will to go his own way in the face of death threats.
If you look only at what the Bible superficially describes, it would seem that Jesus was willing to be crucified to save mankind. So many people think that Jesus came to this world as the Son of God, so he must have died on the cross to save mankind. Think a little deeper. Now we believe in the cross as the way of salvation, but the original cross was not at all. The one who was crucified was the one who suffered the most shameful death. The death penalty applies only to anti-Roman, anti-government and anti-social felons. Would Jesus have wanted it himself? It's not like that. On the evening of Jesus' arrest, he prayed and asked that this fate be avoided if possible. The next day, while hanging on the cross, he said, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” and screamed. If crucifixion was the only way to save mankind, why would Jesus pray and shout such a prayer?
It was not out of fear of death itself that Jesus offered such a prayer. There are not a few people who lay down their lives for the sake of their faith or the country. There is no way that Jesus could pray like that because he was afraid of death. Much more fundamental than that was his doubts and anxiety about what he had done. He taught the people, healed the sick, and cast out evil spirits, but they did not change. The world is always the way it is. Only your own incompetence is confirmed. What's more, it's only getting worse when you see strong rumors that you're going to have to get rid of him. Why didn't you think, for even a moment, that if you went forward unconditionally in this way, you would be killed? No, not for a moment, but for three years of his public life, would he not have continued to think like this?
Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
As expected, Jesus eventually died miserably. Both Jews and Greeks were crucified, a shame and shame. Jesus was helpless. There was nothing he could do. You could not stir up a revolution by inciting the people, enlighten them to bring about an inner change, and moreover, you could not persuade the religious leaders of Jerusalem. The temple leaders in Jerusalem who simply dealt with Jesus from the carpenter of Nazareth are the perfect victors.
What is difficult for us to understand is the fact that Jerusalem and the temple, which are the headquarters of those who serve Yahweh, were rather opposed to the Son of God. What darkness is hiding here? You would think that it happened because the Pharisees and priests were strange people, but it is not at all. Jerusalem is the most religious city. It is the holy land of Israel chosen by God. They were the most pious and faithful people. Yet they continued to do things that were contrary to God's will. According to verse 34, the city of the prophets persecutes the prophets. This is also human history. In the end, they murder the Son of God.