I have imagined the reactions and thought processes of those people involved in the Good Friday and Easter narrative.
I hope that it will assist to meditate on these events with fresh thoughts.
God
has blessed me with so much wealth – yes, I was almost embarrassed by it. I
tried to give it away as fast as I could, through such actions as paying for
the sacrifices bought by widows, but the riches just kept going up not down.
I
was greatly affected when I heard the teaching of the great Rabbi, Jesus of
Nazareth, who said that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. I was greatly
troubled by this as I wanted to be as close to God as possible, so I approached
Jesus for advice.
His
response was that it was not to be a problem for me as I saw God as my Master
and money as my servant. In the light of His reply, I knew that I could not
take my material wealth into eternity, but I decided to invest in a brand-new
tomb outside of Jerusalem.
I
carried on following reports about this Promised One and was excited when He
decided to come to our city for the Passover feast. This excitement turned
quickly to horror as the chief priests and the other religious authorities
arrested Him, brought Him before Pilate on trumped up charges and had Him
executed.
I
decided to let the world know that I was not ashamed of being this Man’s
follower, so I stood with the other courageous people (being John, Nicodemus
and the heroic women) at the foot of His cross. I admit that the physical
manifestations – the sky turning black at midday, the earthquake and the report
of many dead coming out of their tombs – was impressive but I cannot forget
what happened on that tiny patch of land.
It
was His desire for His mother to be looked after by John, His triumphant cry
that His work had been completed and His final offering up of His spirit to God
the Father.
His
mother Mary was utterly and understandably distraught at the death of her
first-born son, so Nicodemus and I were determined that His body should not
remain on the cross during the Sabbath. He had already surreptitiously obtained
permission from Pilate for possession of Jesus’ body and we all agreed to place
the body in my new unused tomb.
However,
on the third day, the women, then Peter and John, had gone to the tomb to pay
their last respects and the body was not there – Jesus had risen!
I
got the feeling that I had served God by using the riches He had given to me,
so that the Son would borrow the tomb in the short time before He conquered
death.
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