[Imagine yourself back in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, outside the Roman palace, the Praetorium. It is around the time of Passover, but even still the city is far more tumultuous than normal. The man from Nazareth called Jesus has just been arrested by the Jews and sent before Pilate to be judged. The chief priests are pushing for his execution – even calling for crucifixion, the worst of all deaths. Whether he is the true Messiah, a prophet, a rebel, or a lunatic, no one knows for sure. All we know is that he has caused quite a stir…]
“We have no king but Caesar!”
Can they really say that, I think to myself? I am merely a poor uneducated Jew, son of a poor uneducated farmer, so I ought not criticize my religious leaders. The men of the Sanhedrin have their quirks, to be sure, but they are the rich and powerful in our society; it would be folly to nitpick their word choices and question their theology. I’m still not even sure what I think of this Jesus of Nazareth…he certainly has stirred things up these past three years, and I think he’s made some accurate (and unsettling) observations about this world and especially us Jews – odd, considering he is a Jew himself. The carpenter’s son has some unconventional methods, to be sure, but if the rumors are true, he must indeed be a prophet…maybe something more. I dare not say that here though; this crowd has been so agitated and inflamed by the chief priests and elders that they have even called for the freeing of Barabbas the insurrectionist instead…and the crucifixion of this man Jesus! Crucifixion of a fellow Jew! Unthinkable!
…but it’s that whole “no king but Caesar” statement that unnerves me more than all of it.
No king?
What about YHWH? The ruler and creator of the universe who is so holy I cannot even speak his full name?! He is not our king?? Apparently they have forgotten what the Lord told his prophet Samuel so many years ago, “They have rejected me as their king,” and Samuel’s words to the people, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
We didn’t listen to our God then, and we still haven’t learned our lesson I guess. In my own eyes, these chief priests are traitors and blasphemers, pledging their allegiance to the flag of Caesar’s kingdom and forsaking the commands of God and the words of his prophets. One of the most significant aspects of our religious tradition is that one day the Lord will send a Messiah down to us who would be king of kings…even if the chief priests deny that Jesus is that king, how can they deny the prophecies of our forefathers?!
I am seeing more and more clearly that those men who are supposed to be leading us in the faith of our fathers and into the holy presence of God have rejected that calling. Instead they seek only self-preservation and the security of their positions of prominence, sacrificing their faith for the easy way out of trusting in the power of earthly nations…and in so doing are leading us down that same path of destruction. I see now it was out of envy they handed this man over to Pilate. Maybe Jesus was right about them. Maybe they are a brood of vipers, maybe they are whitewashed tombs. If so…what else was truth in Jesus’ words?
But what do I know. I’m just a poor uneducated farmer.
