One of the key aspects that Luke is, I think, trying to bring out in today’s reading is that Pilate. a Roman, could find no fault in Jesus when he tried Him, and wanted to release Him, but that it was the rabble, gathered by the Jewish leaders, who sought his destruction. This has caused a lot of trouble between Christians and Jews over the centuries, and I don’t want to add to it. What reaches out to me here is not simply the fact that the Jews were mis-guided, Pilate was closer to the truth, or even really any of the key narrative elements of the story. The most important thing is that the event happened, just as it was meant to. It could have been any group of people who misunderstood Jesus. The disciples did, His family did, the people of His home town had Him down as the carpenter’s son. No-one “got” who Jesus was. This event was just another in a long series of misunderstandings. As I said though, the beauty of it is that Jesus, through it all, didn’t have one of His “don’t you know who I am yet” moments. No, He was reconciled to carrying through the task that had been set before Him.
All over the world today, people are being hunted down and killed for their faith in this man. In Iraq, in China, in various places that aren’t reported in the news but are equally important. These are terrible situations.. Sat in my office in England I have no real sense of empathy with any of their situations. My biggest sense of persecution at the moment is when people look at me oddly in a shopping centre because I’m wearing a dog collar. My life could be worse. I’m supported financially so that I can live to talk about this man, who was persecuted more unfairly than anyone else in history ever has been, so that He could win, give life and hope to all, and be the only one worth living for today. If that doesn’t inspire us to stop being so entitled and start living lives of service nothing will.