The Protagonist Dies Before the Finale- A Reflection
“I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label on their forehead: ‘May be dangerous to your health.’” — Frank Herbert
We find ourselves in Holy Week, which in the Christian liturgical calendar is where we follow the last week of Jesus’s life. We are approaching Good Friday. Now—I would like to ask some questions, which I think will help reveal a greater truth- mostly pertaining to Jesus’s choices this week leading to “Good Friday”. I wanted to come to this story without having the end in mind. That if I read the whole bible from to start to finish and got to this point- What would I be expecting in this story? Should Jesus’s actions shock me? Apparently, no one else in the narrative saw this coming—many of them Jesus personally appointed to carry on his teaching after he died- So I think I should be.
I will start with comparison- let’s start with other major biblical characters. If I compare the last weeks of their lives and put those expectations on to the gospels- I’d expect this to be the epilogue for Jesus. As David passed his kingdom to his son Solomon in his last week, as Moses gave his final goodbye to the Hebrews and was buried before they entered the Promised Land—these men accomplished great things. David established his line and a kingdom. Moses established a nation, 613 laws, a story, a covenant. This Jesus—he taught beautiful things for three years. But nothing in comparison to these men. This Jesus is a bit different already.
I am twenty chapters into this movie, and I feel the story getting ready for its climax. If he is to be like others before- What should I expect? Should I expect Jesus to defeat the institutional oppressive power that is the Sadducees who hold control over the temple? Or to remove the foreign oppressors, such as the Romans? As Judah Macabee did with the Greeks? Or maybe to establish his Davidic line? Or- what if he got all the people repent and say, “Jesus, you are so right—let us repent and do what you say”? That would be accomplishing something the prophets never did. What bringing real reform for the lowly and the outsider? What if he were to travel the world and preach to all the gentiles? To be fair, there are four gospel accounts so maybe this is just the first 1/4th of his story.
Yet, he will not accomplish any of these things. We know he is going to die. Willingly. Even though so far in the narrative before Holy Week we’ve seen when he was trapped physically with men trying to stone him- he escaped. Demons obey him. He has the power to bring the dead to life. He can calm the winds and waves. He outwits any debate tactic. No one and nothing have power over him. Death has no power over him.
To come back to the now for a second- If he were in our current world, we’d have him speak at conferences, write books, do podcast appearances, make a documentary, sit as an executive on a large corporation, start his own podcast, maybe be elected to office to bring real change to our systems. And yet, this man did none of those things. He chose to die.
It appears that Jesus would rather die than do all those things.
“Jesus needn't have died. Presumably he could have followed the advice of friends like Peter and avoided the showdown. Instead, he chose to die because he believed that he had to if the world was to be saved.” — Frederick Buechner
The Bait and Switch
Okay, but what about in his first-century setting? Let’s enter the context of Pesach (Passover). People each year came to Jerusalem to celebrate their victory over Egypt. A superpower—no, THE superpower—is defeated by someone no one thought could win. But now the people enter this city reminded of their occupation by Rome. God defeated Egypt—what is Rome to him? He took the smallest of nations and defeated the breadbasket of the ancient world. We are set up to believe Jesus comes in to fulfill out expectations of victory. But Jesus expects and intends his death, subverting our expectations.
Why did Jesus choose this? Can I not imagine Jesus escaping the Sadducees and the Romans and living the rest of his life? Could he not preach and share the correct interpretations all his life—like Moses but better? Why not skip the death and just go to heaven as Elijah did? Moses spans Exodus through Deuteronomy—over a hundred chapters. We don’t even have that many of Jesus, and it’s the same story told four times! Why not travel the world and share himself everywhere with everyone? Why not have many generations of disciples?
Yet poof—he dies. He chooses to die. I don’t believe that it was to settle some score.
Jesus was betrayed, bruised, beaten, crucified, mocked, questioned, and killed. He did not fight back. He quoted Psalm 22 many times—a Psalm of death. I read and read and am ready to close the story—ready to close my Bible, ready to ponder what the whole point was—why did Jesus choose this? He is now dead.
Then much to my shock!
“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.’”- Mark 16:5-6
Yet this man was resurrected!
“Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”- Mark 16:8
I sympathize with the women here!
“My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself.” — C. S. Lewis
At the peak of his powers—Jesus didn’t take control of the nation or all nations. He didn’t give a new Torah. He didn’t destroy the temple. He just destroyed himself.
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,” - Philippians 2:8-9
Therefore. Therefore???
“ The gospel is bad news before it’s good news”- Frederick Buechner
It was not his wisdom Jesus had people imitate. It’s death. It’s not his knowledge of the Torah. But it was love. It was death and love.
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”- Matthew 16:25
Procession on a donkey. Silent like a lamb. Washing people’s feet. Begging in a garden to be saved. Sweating. Crying out. Weak.
Love
Now do we think this is just a sadistic religion- no. I think of Endō’s masterpiece Silence. Rodrigues intends on being a martyr and being like Jesus, only to truly become like Jesus when he dies to his martyrdom. There’s some reason for this death. Yet, Jesus does not explain his death! He does not explain his resurrection! He does not give a parable to explain it after he dies! He leaves it to his disciples to make sense of. My personal favorite is Mark—who sees this resurrection as shock and horror! That this is the perfect life—eternal life—that we should imitate! The horror!
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me “Teacher” and “Lord,” and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.’” — John 13:12–17
Not only that—he also chose to leave after his resurrection! He doesn’t even leverage his resurrection. He could’ve stayed for seventy years or stayed eternally. But God, in his grace or some cosmic joke, leaves the rest to us. Everything we need he gives us: his spirit. Somehow, we will do greater things than him! How? By love. By love and death.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” – John 15:9-17
Love is the why. What is death. Who is us. When is now.
To die to every expectation awakens us to the naked present. Jesus died so you could die too—and in dying, you live. There are many ways to die: to ego, to self, to insecurity, to fear; to lay down one’s life for others. Only in that surrender do we find true life. That life, that love, that death is open to billions of interpretations. Because each of us can do it. Each of us is different. Each of us can participate. Die to thinking that you were naked and need to be clothed with ego and accomplishments, for who told you that you were naked?
Every expectation we project onto Jesus he refused. He rejected the paths of David and Moses. He rejected being Caesar. He rejected being a king. He chose to be last. We each can choose this too.
I will not pretend to solve what all this means. Woe to me if I think I could. Much of it remains hidden in the kingdom. However- as our Lord said,
“Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”- Matthew 13:11
The knowledge of the kingdom’s secrets is already within YOUR reach. Anyone can love. Anyone can die themselves. Within you is the ability to imitate Christ—so imitate Christ.
Happy Holy Week. Long live Jesus.
