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 he is a kingly threat to the current establishment. After this realization, their tone changes drastically. Their plans of execution and murder suddenly become quite concrete. This is the politics of Good Friday, as one author observes:
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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 lies in the fact 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 Jesus over to the Jews and mockingly stated, “Behold your King!” little did he know that the destruction of his own kingdom was now inevitable, and the genesis and emergence of an everlasting kingdom were already underway.
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!
Notations
While I disagree with the way Douglas Murray carelessly articulates his ideology of expertise-ism, I think he is essentially right about the inescapability of expertise. Konstantin Kisin offers the most sensical response to their debate on Joe Rogan when he concludes:
Almost everything you believe is based on an argument from authority. Light bulbs, for example, are a fairly unsophisticated and omnipresent part of our lives. Yet the number of people reading this article who are capable of explaining how they work without resorting to arguments from authority will be vanishingly small. I am not just talking about the fact that most people couldn’t explain how electricity works, I am talking about the fact that almost everyone who can will only be able to do so by quoting the work of other people, rather than experiments and research they themselves have conducted.
While Rogan seems to side with Smith in this exchange, it is highly unlikely he would adopt this same approach to his own areas of expertise. When it comes to mixed martial arts, his interview guests are the best of the best—the dazzling array of UFC champions, top MMA coaches, respected trainers and other experts does not appear to include comedian Dave Smith. There is a popular clip on the JRE Youtube channel in which Smith “breaks down” why Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. I was unable to find one of him breaking down BJJ moves, despite Smith possessing a similar level of expertise on both subjects.
Good Friday Confession of Sin
God of all mercy, we confess that we have sinned against you, opposing your will in our lives. We have denied your goodness in each other, in ourselves, and in the world you have created. We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf. Forgive, restore, and strengthen us through our Savior Jesus Christ, that we may abide in your love and serve only your will. Amen.
Almighty God, have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life, Amen!
