Good Friday has always been especially fulfilling to me as a follower of Jesus. It is during the
events of this day that we get to see the fullness of Jesus start to unfold. When one reads
through the scriptures, it does not take long to see that this is a day full of action, shock, and
sorrow. This day is one where we see a vulnerable Jesus, and most important a complete
Jesus.
When I look at good Friday, I see several things that come to my attention. But in this message,
I want to focus on Jesus, the approved sacrifice
Considering this, Pilot is often viewed as a bad guy in the events of Good Friday because he
ultimately sends Jesus to the cross. But if we look deeper we see a broader picture unfold.
First, when Jesus is brought before Pilate, he is presented as blasphemous. And Pilate sees no
reason for Jesus to be before him. But given the agenda of the Pharisees, Pilate becomes a tool
to move God's plan forward.
Pilate is the only authority to condemn one to death. But if we step back from our traditional
teachings of Pilot as the villain and look at the broader picture of Jewish faith requirements for a
sacrifice, we see Pilot in a different light. We see him as an agent of God fulfilling the role of a
priest in part of his encounter with Jesus. Remember, the Pharisees wanted a death sentence.
God needed a pure sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin But in order to meet the qualifications of
a sacrifice, Jesus had to be deemed, without blemish he had to be "inspected".
And in this situation what better connection could exist?
In this scenario, Pilate, the highest Roman authority in the region, ultimately states he finds no
faults in Jesus, basically, stating Jesus is without blemish. This ruling would be the same as a
priest approving an animal for sacrifice at the temple. In this action the sacrifice for God is
deemed worthy by the world, Pilate, and worthy of sacrifice for the world. God knew Jesus was
his son, but the world had to be told of his faultlessness.
Too often I think we get wrapped up in perfecting the story of Jesus and ourselves as Christians
that we fail to see God at work in the Story. There are many occasions where God did not use a
Christian to further his plan, Pilot is not alone.
Primarily the best example is, Jesus. The Christian church claims him, and feels it is their duty
to offer him to the Jewish community and the world. But too often it forgets Jesus was not a
Christian, he was a Jewish man, sent as a savior to the nation of Israel, and offered to the world
as means to try to bring the Nation of Israel to an acceptance of him.
So in our lives today, has the Christian church become so closed that it only believes God will
act through or even worse, have you become so closed that you believe God will act only
through your interpretation of scripture to move his plan forward?

Or has the time come to accept that God's ways are not our ways, and we need to step back to
see the bigger God represented by Jesus the Christ thru his life, death, and yes,his
resurrection?
Amen