The Crucifixion Revolution: Sermon John19

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

Two things that I have always heard should not be mixed are religion and politics. In fact, I have heard that these two topics should never be mentioned in polite social conversation. Well I have never been one for social rules or constraints so I am going to talk about religious themes and political themes this morning and hopefully we’ll all still be friends when I get done.

We are coming closer and closer towards Easter. That beautiful Sunday morning when we dress a little nicer, maybe buy a new dress or a new tie, and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. However, before we can come to the joy of Sunday morning, we must, like Jesus did, pass through the horror of Friday afternoon. And so as we go toward the cross of Calvary let us look at some of the ramifications of the cross, specifically today the political ramifications then and now. Now you might be surprised to hear that the cross has anything to do with politics, but let’s not think of politics as the mudslinging, sign waving madness we see every four years. Instead let us think of it in the sense that the cross of Christ permeates all aspects of human life and we will examine the effects politically in the past when it happened and in the present for today’s world.

Before we can talk about the political ramifications of the cross we must look at the political landscape of the time leading up to that fateful day. Jerusalem and all of what was once the kingdom of Israel was under the occupation of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was in the midst of what history as called the Pax Romana, which is Latin for “Roman peace” and it was a time of about 100 years of peace throughout the realm that was controlled by the Empire. This might sound like a good thing, but this so called peace was created by years of military conquest and it was maintained by the strict control of the government and the threat of military reprisals and public execution for those who dared threaten the peace. So the city of Jerusalem, which was notorious for upheavals and riots, was an important symbol of the Roman occupation and was ordered to be held peaceful at all costs, any trouble was not tolerated.

The Roman Empire was of course ruled over by the Emperor; at the time of Jesus was Tiberius Caesar. The first emperor of the Roman Empire was Julius Caesar and during his reign he allowed a statue of himself to be erected with the inscription Deo Invicto which is Latin for “unconquered god”, he though a little highly of himself. When we died his nephew, who succeeded him, Augustus Caesar deified Julius naming him “divi filius” or “son of a god”, sound familiar. This created a precedent; every succeeding emperor would deify the one before him and so began a worship of the Roman imperial line. So you can see how a man claiming to be the Son of God might be problematic to the powers that be.

So the first Scripture reading came from the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (I know it’s a week early). The entire scene is a political statement, both to the Jewish and Roman authorities. First Jesus is greeted with shouts of “Hosanna” “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord- the King of Israel”. This is definitely proclamation against the Roman occupation. Jesus then mounts a donkey and rides into the East Gate of Jerusalem with the crowd following him in all of which is predicted in the Hebrew Scripture which were know by most of the Jews in the city. Also Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on the week of the Passover festival which celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from the captivity of an empire, specifically the Egyptian empire. So tensions were already high and Jesus intentionally adds to this tension by his actions.

So we have set the scene. We know a little about the background of the political situation that Jesus found himself. So let’s turn towards Calvary, towards the Cross. I want to look at the Cross from the Roman side of things and then from Jesus’ side of things. First the cross was the worst thing Roman Empire gave to the world. It was a mode of execution unlike anything we can fathom today. It was long, painful, and public. Crucifixion was not the most time effective mode of execution, I mean if you just wanted to kill someone there are many other methods to use and the Romans used them. The Romans saved the crucifixion for two specific types of criminals, runaway slaves and insurrectionists. The former because slavery was important to the economy of the empire, the threat of such a horrid death kept some control over them and the later for the same reason. The Cross was more a demonstration than an execution, the point wasn’t just about killing someone, but instead to send a warning against any others that might dare defy the Empire. When Pilate nailed that sign to the cross of Jesus that said King of the Jews, it wasn’t out of respect for Jesus, but a warning to any other trouble maker that might be in crowd. It was saying this is what the Roman Empire does to so called “kings”, this is how the Romans kept their Pax Romana.

So we see how the cross and crucifixion was used as a tool of social control, but how does Jesus change this notion and create a new revolution from this horrible death. First let us look at the conversation that Jesus has with Pilate. Jesus tells him that his kingdom is not of this world and if it was of this world his followers would fight, just as the legions of the Roman Army would fight for their kingdom and leader. Here Jesus makes a small statement, but it is the beginning of the revolution. Those crowds on Palm Sunday were rooting for a king to come in with sword and shield to kick the Romans out and restore the kingdom of Israel and when it turned out that this was not going to happen, when they thought Jesus was just another disappointment they yelled “Crucify Him!” Jesus did not conquer the world with sword and shield, but by humble submission. That is the revolution. The peace that the Roman government provided was fought with armies and battles and conquests and it was maintained by the threat of violence and the torture of crucifixion, the peace of Christ was founded on a cross.

Unfortunately for the Roman army their Pax Romana only lasted about 100 years and eventually the Empire itself fell apart. The peace that Jesus still offers was not won in battle, but in the submission to the very tool of Roman oppression. Jesus did not fight the Roman Empire with sword and shield, but with two pieces of bloodstained wood and three nails. Peace, complete peace, the kind of peace that lasts forever was achieved by submission and obedience to the will of God. The cross tells us that true peace is brought about not by war, but by love. Love that was strong enough to be nailed to the cross.

What does that tell us today? How can we attain this peace? We attain it by following the same path as Jesus did, maybe not to a physical crucifixion, maybe not to physical nails and wood, but to the same mentality of Christ. When we have a choice to gain by force or by peaceful means, take the revolutionary path, the path of Christ. When people attack us on all fronts, instead of acting in rage, retaliation, and revenge we cry out in this same way Jesus does, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” We attain this peace when we humble ourselves enough that we all can cry “Forgive me Father, for I know not what I do.” We must lay down our sword and shield, live peaceable with one another and with ourselves.

This is not the end of the story. God’s will was done in the cross, but not completed because three days later God demonstrated what a shock and awe campaign was all about. God’s power lifted Christ from the veil of death and showed that the peaceful way is rewarded, maybe not immediately, remember Christ lay for three days, but God does and will conquer all, not in a military way but through grace and love. These are weapons of mass destruction that destroy not flesh and bone, but hatred, anger, war, racism, sexism, poverty, and injustice wherever it might be found. Let us not be like the Romans who sought to conquer the world with sword and shield. But take the path of Jesus; lay down our sword and shield down by the riverside and study war no more.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

That what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

And that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.