Editorial: Do we still deny knowing Jesus?

Saint Peter’s Denial,” by French painter Le Nain, 17th century, (Musée du Louvre)

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Easter never arrives early enough. Not because of new clothes and colored eggs. Not because of warmer weather and longer days. Not even because of budding, blooming springtime plants.

Easter can’t arrive soon enough because we need hope. Easter is hope’s truest harbinger. Amidst war, financial uncertainty, violence and divorce. Amidst loneliness, job loss, illness and estrangement. Amidst every disquieting, dispiriting, disappointing event. Easter delivers hope.

knox newEditor Marv KnoxEaster proves God loves us enough to suffer with us and for us. In Jesus, God took on the consequences of our sin and experienced abandonment in our place, so we can be reconciled. Jesus succumbed to death so we can enjoy life. And in Jesus, God defeated death’s grip, vanquished evil, and tamed time and eternity.

That’s good news, and not just in the sweet bye-and-bye. Since God’s love is so pervasive and powerful, it’s also good news in the here-and-now. It means God’s kingdom is present, and we are citizens. We are not alone, and our troubles and afflictions are not the sum of reality. God works in us and through us to redeem and transform our broken world.

In December, people sing, “We need a little Christmas.” But forever and always, “We need a lot of Easter.” We need hope.

Walk through the week

But even though we need Easter, we short-circuit the story and short-change its meaning if we gloss over Holy Week and ruminate only on Resurrection Sunday. As Jesus’ followers now, we must remember how his followers then responded to mounting pressure.

On Palm Sunday, practically everybody except the Jewish hierarchy and the Roman authorities claimed to love Jesus. When he rode a donkey from Bethany to Jerusalem, folks flocked to cheer him. They lined the road and threw down palm branches and even their coats to cushion his ride.

Later in the week, when Jesus chose a steep and treacherous personal path, that crowd evaporated.


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By Thursday evening, even his three best friends couldn’t stay awake to pray for him. That night, one of his inner circle betrayed him. His adversaries teamed up with thugs and caught him. And, saddest of all, “then all the disciples deserted him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).

A few hours later, his brashest follower claimed never to have known him. And finally, by the next day, only a handful of women and young apostle John stayed anywhere close to him, grieving as he suffered and died on the cross.

Hard, but vital, questions

As we progress through Holy Week and look toward Easter, let’s ask ourselves: Are we different from Jesus’ original disciples? Do we stand with Jesus through hard times? Or do we cut and run when adversaries or circumstances challenge our faith? Do we abandon Jesus?

Of course, the obvious answer is easy: No way. We never publicly deny knowing Jesus. We don’t keep our church membership secret. Shoot, we proudly proclaim we’re a Christian, and we belong to Such-and-Such Church.

Another kind of denial

But do we deny Jesus much more subtly—but no less thoroughly—by the way we live? Are our lives different than the culture? Does that mean we’ve denied Jesus? Does it mean we’ve “deserted him and fled”?

Don’t let all the culture-war answers distract you. Too many folks deconstruct the definition of “Christian” down to a few moral ideals, attitudes about entertainment and media, opinions about the size and role of government, and voting preferences. Those are important, but they’re political camouflage, disguising Jesus.

Do we deny Jesus by denying the people Jesus loved and cared for? It’s easy, you know. Plenty of people who loudly and proudly wave the Christian banner deny him. They ignore those on whom Jesus focused.

Identification with Jesus

Jesus told his hometown church he came “to preach good news to the poor … to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

Jesus said we can tell how we treat him by examining how we treat the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick and prisoners (Matthew 25:31-46).

Jesus explained we are his friends—we identify with him—if we do what he commands: “Love one another” (John 15:14-17).

Jesus left his followers with a parting charge: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Time to take stock

Holy Week and Easter provide the perfect occasion to evaluate our lives in light of Jesus’ priorities. Certainly, we revel in the glory of the resurrection and the hope of eternal life. But Jesus commanded us to fulfill the kingdom. Here. Now. I fail every day. How about you? Have we denied him like Peter and abandoned him like the apostles? Or do we identify with him by embracing his priorities?

We can live as he taught us. In the resurrection power of his Spirit, we can continue the transformation he initiated. His kingdom come. His will be done. On earth.

 


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