John 19:31
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
We know from the other gospel accounts that there was more to it than this. Darkness enveloped the day as Jesus died and all who were there stood there in awe and wonder and fear. And there was an earthquake too. What was the response of the Pharisees? Well, they doubled-down on their religious pretensions. The Sabbath was coming and there was no way they were going to leave those men hanging there, gasping for breath, their legs involuntarily pushing them up so that they could breath. What a horrible spectacle to watch a man die in such a fashion! But they hurried to Pilate to make sure this was done – the legs were broken in one more cruel act of barbarity – so that they would be able to maintain their religious appearances. This was their concern – not justice, not mercy, not truth.
We are right to read this and wonder about the utter insanity of it all. Weren’t these men at all discouraged from their evil intentions when they saw the events unfold? When Jesus answered their savagery not with contempt and vitriol but with compassion – “Father, forgive them…they know not what they do.” Didn’t the darkness and the earthquake cause them to shudder with fear that perhaps they’d made a mistake? Ah, but this is the pride that Scripture warns us about and it is why it’s so very deadly. It’s the pride that is so super self-confident that a man or woman cannot conceive of personal error. Thus they can see contrary signs all around them, facts flying in their proud face, striking them at every turn, and they are not deterred.
This is the state of the man who is convinced that he’s okay. The Jews on that day, despite the miraculous happenings around them, convinced themselves that they were in the right most probably because they were not on the cross and Jesus was. This is the danger of not squaring ourselves with Scripture and instead looking at the outward things, the temporary states. Job’s friends made the self-same error. When all is going well for me, when my health and my finances are singing my praises, then that must mean I am doing well and have no reason to fear. But take care, Christian. David fell into sin when he was king but Joseph fled adultery when he was a slave. And here, Jesus hangs dead and his enemies mock and rejoice, not knowing that God’s kindness and forbearance are meant to lead them to repentance. This is their chance. God is being merciful, sending warning after warning. How many warnings has He sent you? How many mercies has He extended, not judging your intransigence and sin as He should because He is loving and merciful? The Preacher says that because the sentence against an evil deed isn’t executed immediately that men and women are convinced they are in the right – and that they’ve gotten away with it.
The power of God in the gospel comes in meekness and humility now. Someday it will come in power and then it will be too late to repent and seek mercy. How awful that day will be for those that stand before God and say to Him, in effect, that He was a liar and that there was no need to repent of their sin. Modern man has no stomach for this truth and, frankly, no man ever really has, but the reckoning is coming. The proof of it is here at the cross. God will judge sin. God hates sin. His holiness demands that the account is paid, the debt is balanced. We can pay it only by going to Christ and laying our sin and rebellion there at His feet. To do otherwise is madness…just madness.
The arrogance of the Pharisees mirrors the arrogance of all men. They were convinced that their status and wealth and political pull meant that they were doing things right. Then, behold, this dirt poor preacher comes out of the slums of Nazareth, with no formal training, no standing in the world, and tells them to repent. He accompanies His message with an amazing diversity of signs and wonders. But these proud men will not come down off of their high estimation of themselves. Indeed, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet forfeits his very soul?
This arrogance is our own whenever we find ourselves obsessed by the sins of others and we do well to remember that Christ is the end of the law for us. He is our righteousness. Everything that’s wrong with this world has its root in sinful pride and it has its answer here on the cross. Thus, if our thinking, if our political solutions, our personal goals, all of it – if they don’t come to the cross then they’re nothing at all, just vanity and pride and God will one day wash it all away in wrath and truth. Nothing will save us or fix us but the grace of God and we must make this decision now while there is time. This is the day of grace still. The cross is where history goes. All of it. No man can pass Golgotha; he must tread up the hill either to kneel before Christ there or to call God a liar. This is the road that your history and mine are on. All roads lead to Calvary.
So, take it. Take hold of it today, right now. Christ has died for you and in love stretches forth his hand. He says, “My child, repent, for I have paid your penalty. I have suffered what you deserve and traded my perfection for your sin. It all there for you now, my child, but you must repent. There is no other way, no scheme, no technicality through which you can avail. Death will call you someday and on that day all that matters is this decision right now. Repent.”
Will you be like that poor thief next to him that knew his condemnation was just and pleaded that Jesus remember him in His Kingdom? Or will you remain in your pride, incessantly trying to quiet the rumblings of your soul, fighting back thoughts of death and judgment, and instead stand among the Pharisees? If you do, you’ll look strong today, perhaps. God has given you this day of blessing and will you use it to spit in His face as He dies for you? Will you stand among the mockers and scoffers, your belly full, your house warm, and laugh at this offer on the cross? Is it foolishness to you? If so, then you must understand that there’s no way out. Death will come. Jesus gave up His life for your sake. No one took it from Him. He gave it up in love. You and me, however, have no such power and you will, in rejecting Christ, go to your Judge rather than your Savior. What you decide today echoes in eternity.
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