15 Apr What Will We Do With the Body?

What will we do with the body?

It’s not a point of discussion from a murder mystery.

It’s not a conversation in a horror movie.

It is a question we all must answer this Good Friday.

When Jesus of Nazareth stood before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Israel, Pilate had a choice:

What will we do with the body?

Free Jesus and allow him to be who he really is (as Pilate’s wife advised), or allow him to be held hostage by the public?

He was stuck, indecisive.

So he asked the crowd in Mark 15:

12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.

14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

What was true of Pilate can be true of us if we are not careful.

By wanting to satisfy the crowds around us when it comes to who Jesus is, we can mishandle Jesus.

And when we mishandle Jesus, the body of Christ suffers.

How can we do better? How can we handle Jesus better?

We can do three things Pilate couldn’t, or wouldn’t.

1.) Don’t listen to the crowd.

Crowds are rarely good barometers to learn what must be done. They’re helpful to avoid unpopularity; less helpful for handling Jesus well.

2.) Don’t ask for a Barabbas.

We often blame others, the other side, or the other political party for what is truly, deeply wrong with the world. In this way, we are like the ones who called for Barabbas’ (a murderer) release: we look to something evil to satisfy our hearts when we feel lost, confused.

I had a conversation recently with someone all about how confused he felt regarding faith, church, God, Jesus. “Who should I trust,” he said? “Who should I look to? Who should I blame for the state of the world?”

We have all lived through disorienting times. But looking to a Barabbas to help us to assuage our guilt or anxiety, instead of looking to Jesus, who calls us to look deeply into our hearts and at ourselves rather than looking to blame others, will never free us.

3.) Do ask the question.

Pilate’s insightful question was this: “What crime has he committed?”

He sensed Jesus was righteous, was blameless, was a holy person, innocent of wrongdoing.

What if we had the courage, unlike Pilate, to follow what answering this honestly would mean?

This might mean we hand over our crowns, our titles, our money, our position, and we follow Jesus, no matter what.

What will we do with the body?

Will we hand it over, listening to the crowds? Or this Good Friday, will we embrace Jesus’ body?

I’ll see you at our Good Friday services at 6 or 7:30, both online and in person.

And again on Sunday, for three in-person and online Easter Sunday services, at 9 am, 11 am and 1 pm.

Morgan

P.S. Again, if you could at all consider attending the 1 pm for Easter Sunday, that would help us create space for guests and visitors. Regardless, we will see you either Friday, Sunday, or both.