For the last 5 or 6 years, I have had the privilege of participating in a 3-hour Good Friday service hosted by my home church, First Congregational of Middleboro, MA, on the campus of which our main Charis office is located. I will be one of seven speakers, both clergy and laypeople, who will deliver short “homilies” related to the crucifixion story.
One year we each were assigned one of the seven last words of Christ. Another year, we were to view the trial of Jesus and the crucifixion through the eyes of a particular character, mine being Pontius Pilate. This year, we will be focusing on Luke 23.
My particular passage is verses 13-16, and has been entitled, “The Innocence of Christ.” By the way, the 3 hours includes more than just seven speakers pontificating (that would be a cross to bear in and of itself!). We are limited to about 7 to 10 minutes each.
In between our short homilies, there are periods audible prayer, silence and singing of hymns. The periods of silence may actually be the most profound. Living in a world with constant auditory and visual distractions, it takes some discipline to sit even for 10 minutes at a stretch and silently read, pray and meditate. However, many who have attended, including myself, have commented in the past about how such times of quiet have allowed them to contemplate deeply about the significance of Christ’s sacrifice.
Preparing my short talk each year is challenging because of the time limitation involved. I am sure this is true for my pastoral colleagues, who preach 30 -40 minutes every week. The trick is to narrow our remarks down to one main point. I will attempt to focus on the nature and meaning of Jesus’ innocence, and how it was necessary for our redemption and salvation.
One interesting side note that I came across during my preparation is this: Besides Pilate, there were four other characters mentioned in the various Gospel accounts who were also convinced of Jesus’ innocence. And, only one of them had any prior relationship with Jesus. Who were they? Judas had been, of course, a disciple of Jesus for the previous 3 years, so that even though he betrayed Jesus, he had plenty of grounds for eventually realizing that he had betrayed an innocent man. The other three, however, had no personal connection to Jesus – Pilate’s own wife, one of the criminals hanging next to Jesus, and the centurion at the foot of the Cross.
How do you think each of them became so firmly convinced that Jesus was an innocent, righteous Man, without any prior knowledge of Him?
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!