Station 3

Questions:

Does this arrest, trial, and sentencing feel fair? Why or why not?

Charges against Jesus are brought up by the religious leaders. What was their concern?

How would you feel witnessing these events transpire?

Meditation:

Have you ever pondered at how many Biblical characters spent time in jail in the Bible?

Paul and Silas, Jeremiah, Joseph, John the Baptist, the Apostles, and Daniel to name a few.

And what were the reasons for being arrested? Were these imprisonments justified? Were these cut throat criminals? Or were they pushing up against something else… something with power… that felt threatened by their message?

No matter how much we want to believe that our justice system is just, we’ve all heard stories of how it’s failed. False witnesses. Tampered evidence. Biased conclusions. We’ve all seen the stories of someone let out of jail decades later because of new DNA evidence that proved they didn’t do it. We’ve all seen the political fugitive emerge half a life later because the political power they spoke against has changed hands. We all know that in even in our best attempts at justice, their can emerge an unjust sentencing.

Jesus partook in the consequences of injustice.

He was condemned in an unjust system.

He was put on trial by a religious establishment that felt threatened by his message.

He had false witnesses testify against him.

Even when they brought Him to Pontius Pilate and asked for Him to be executed, Pilate asked “What has he done?”

You know... when they shouted “crucify him!”... that meant in a few hours they all got to watch him die right in front of them.

Not on screens.

Not from stadium stands.

Just on the side of the road as they ran some errands.

I believe in our capacity for kindness and goodness. But I also know that hiding in the shadows is our immense capacity for cold bloody murder.

Here’s a quick summary of some of Jesus’ crimes:

Restoring justice.

Expanding human dignity.

Disarming oneself.

An upheaval of status quo.

A reshuffling of resources.

Expansive belovedness.

These are just a few things that compel humans to destroy the Gift of God.

“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” John 19:11