Thought for the Week

by the Rev Dr Roberta Topham, Christchurch, Ilkley

MOTIVE is often important in a good detective story. We have had several very good detective stories on the TV recently. The series Shetland, in particular, has stood out for me, with its tale of a miscarriage of justice, and believable characters, whose ordinary relationships lead them to act in violent ways which they keep hidden from their wider community. While the fabulous setting in Shetland gives these programmes a soothing beauty, the content is a reminder of some of the bleaker aspects of community life.

March 30th is Good Friday, and motive is one of the aspects of this day that Christians think about when we contemplate the execution of Jesus Christ in Palestine, nearly 2,000 years ago. The death of Jesus on a cross is verified independently of the followers of Jesus by the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing about sixty years after the event, around CE 90, Josephus reported that Jesus was condemned by Pilate (the Roman governor) because of suggestions or accusations made to Pilate by leading men of the day. Josephus also commented on the persistence to his own time of what he calls “the tribe” named after Jesus Christ, namely, Christians.

More interesting and important than “who did it” in this instance, is the question of why Jesus put himself in the way of such a terrible end. The Bible suggests that he knew that the religious leaders were against him and that trouble was brewing in Roman Judaea’s main city of Jerusalem. Yet, he opted to go up to Jerusalem and to keep on preaching about God’s love and forgiveness. Many of us believe that in Jesus’ life we see a message direct from God which is that we are loved and valued and can have a fresh start even when we have done bleak things. Jesus knew that this was an essential message for people to hear and that he had to proclaim it come what may. And so even though he had done nothing wrong according to the law, he was captured, tortured and put to death.

People have not stopped talking about it since. Those who followed him, encountered him in a new life-giving way after his death on the cross. That is why we celebrate Easter. Its more of a mystery story than a whodunnit, but best of all it has a very happy ending.