Good Friday: The Politics of the Cross

Wilt Thou Forgive?

Devotional

On the Friday of Holy Week, traditionally known as “Good Friday,” the great question is, “What do we do with this man?” Do we crucify him or let Him go? Will he anger Caesar or draw to himself members of our political party? Good Friday is replete with politics.

Throughout the Gospels, we often hear of the confusion and uncertainty about the nature of Jesus. But by this point, the leaders of the day have realized that Jesus is no ordinary man claiming to be the Messiah but also a kingly threat to the current establishment. After this realization, their tone change drastically. Their plans of execution and murder suddenly become quite concrete. This is the politics of Good Friday, as one author observes:

God enters His creation, and His creatures concentrate all their ingenuity, passion, piety, and power to destroy Him.

What is distinctive about the politics of Good Friday is not that Jesus despises power; after all, he will receive all power and authority in heaven and earth from the Father. Instead, the uniqueness of Good Friday is that power comes through death, where kingship does not appear in the splendor of a Roman coronation but in the horror of a tree.

When Pilate handed over Jesus to the Jews and mockingly stated, “Behold your King!” little did he know that the destruction of his own kingdom was now certain, and the genesis and emergence of an everlasting kingdom were already taking place.

Unlike Adam, Jesus did not fail to crush the Serpent. On a tree, Adam fell, but through a tree, a New Adam and a New Humanity are resurrected. Hail Good Friday! All glory, laud, and honor to the Redeemer King!