Matthew 28:11-15
This is all most inconvenient, not to mention dangerous! I don’t know what the Romans will make of all this. They only put me in power as High Priest to keep the country in order and to stop things like this happening.
If that Jesus had kept to carpentry none of this would have happened. But he started preaching and teaching. The crowds loved him, at one time five thousand people flocked from miles around, leaving their own work and daily lives, just to hear him teach all day. He had some special magnetism. What was worse he spoke with authority as if he knew what he was talking about. When he talked about God, it was as if he had some sort of special relationship with him. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had kept to those who understood the law and who were trained in theology and Scripture, but he went out to all the riff-raff of society and gave them ideas above their station. He even spoke to sinners, tax-collectors and prostitutes.
Then there were the miracles. Bringing of sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, people who were sick were restored to health, even the dead were brought back to life. They excited the stupid crowds and seemed to give authority and lend support to what he was saying.
The things he said were so preposterous and dangerous. He claimed that the scriptures were all about him and that the prophets spoke about him. He had the audacity to state that he was the only way to God. Not that he knew the way, but that he WAS the way. He claimed that no-one could come to God except through him! What an insult to us sons of Aaron, the priests of God! He even claimed to have existed before our father, Abraham was born!
He went around telling the dregs of society that their sins were forgiven. The very dregs of society! Instead of leaving them to face the judgement of God as they deserved, he called them to repentance.
He was, of course, full of warnings about the judgement of God, but he didn’t just aim them at the scum who deserved them, but at us righteous people. He even dared to state that if a person’s righteousness did not exceed that of the teachers of the Law, they would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He even aimed it at us priests, the sons of Aaron, as well. His message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”
His message was that all who acknowledged their sins and believed in him could be forgiven, but those who did not would be exposed to the wrath of God. Including priests and leaders of the people.
He talked constantly about the kingdom of heaven and himself coming in glory. That risked stirring up a revolt against the Romans, and of course, if that happened, it would have been the end of me as High Priest.
The crunch came on the first day of the week leading up to Passover. He rode into the city on a donkey, deliberately trying to fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah, who talked of the King of Jerusalem coming into the city on a donkey foal. The crowd, mainly Galilean yokels went mad, cheering, weaving branches, throwing their cloaks onto the road in front of him and generally causing a disturbance. It was then I knew for definite that he had to go. He was just too dangerous. He was a danger to the nation, and, more importantly, was a danger to me, and the other priests.
I discussed with the other priests, and we decided to join forces with our rivals, the Pharisees. They were as keen to get rid of him as we were. He seemed to have it in for them; I must admit that I enjoyed hearing how he had put them down at times!
We began to look for things that we could use against him. But could find nothing. He seemed to have done nothing wrong and to have broken no laws. We tried to trap him with questions, but he always turned the tails on us. We tried to get him to say that it was wrong to pay taxes to the Romans, then we could have got them to do the work for us, but he didn’t fall for it.
The other factor was the mob who followed him about. We knew that we couldn’t arrest him in front of them or else there would be a riot. And the Governor would have my head on a block for causing it. So it would have to be somewhere in private. But where did he go in the evenings? Then, at last, a breakthrough. One of his closest disciples came and haggled for money to lead us to him. We eagerly took him up on his offer. So he took us to a garden where Jesus was with his other disciples. We arrested him. Strangely he did not put up a fight like we expected, indeed when one of the more hot-headed of his disciples cut off my servants ear, he healed it and put it back on! He even performed a miracle when he was being arrested!
We had him in custody, but how could we persuade the Governor to put him to death? We weren’t allowed to sentence anyone to the death penalty, only the Romans could do that, and they wouldn’t be interested in religious matters. So we bribed some riff-raff to come and tell lies about him. But it was too much of a rush job, and their stories did not fit together. In the end I asked him if he were the Messiah, he said that he was and that was it, we could tell the Governor that he was claiming to be a King, and he would have to crucify him as a rebel against Rome. It couldn’t fail.
But it nearly did. For some reason Pilate, the Roman Governor, seemed to want to spare the nuisance. He sent him to Herod to try and get out of making a decision himself, but Herod just sent him back, saying he could find nothing wrong with him. Even Pilate’s wife interfered, telling her husband that Jesus was a good man. We realised that Pilate would only do what we wanted if he was fearful for his own life and career. So we got the crowd to tell the Governor that he was not the Emperor’s friend if he let Jesus go. He took the hint and ordered him to be crucified.
There he died in agony. I was expecting a few choice Galilean insults and curses, but instead all he did was pray that those who crucified him would be forgiven! Most discomforting!
He died quickly for a crucifixion, and it seemed that Joseph, a treacherous member of the council who was really one of his disciples, gave his own tomb for him to buried in.
Once he was dead and buried, someone remembered that while he was still alive he stated that he would be crucified, but then rise again from the dead. We couldn’t risk that happening. So we put a guard over his tomb.
But it seems it all went wrong. His body has gone. The guards came back with a story about an earthquake and an angel, and the dead man coming out of the tomb. We bribed the guards to say that his disciples came in the night and stole his body. I hope that his persuades some, but I know that that won’t really hold water with anyone who investigates the issue. The disciples had run away and gone into hiding. They seemed scared stiff.
It seems that he has really risen from the dead. It seems that all that he said about repentant sinners being forgiven, that there is no way to God except through him, that the wrath of God is on people who do not believe in him, that he is the Messiah, the Son of God are all true.
I wish we had never had him killed. He has more power now than ever. I might lose my position and power over this!
This is all most inconvenient, not to mention dangerous!
