Christ on Trial

A Lenten Service Series

Good Friday

 "Closing Arguments"

Prosecutor: Tonight we conclude our trial of Jesus, called the Christ. We would first like to thank the jury for their dedication and patience. We know that this has been a long and somewhat complicated process, because of the many claims made by and about the accused.

The charge brought against Jesus is that He claimed to be the Son of God, Savior of humankind and Lord of our lives.

Some might wonder why the claims of a man who lived 2000 years ago should be of concern to the court, but as we know, His teachings have lived on. Thus He continues to cause trouble. His claim to be Son of God interferes with our most human need to feel that we are gods, that we are the most important beings in the universe. Having one who is Son of God undermines our pride, eats away at our self-sufficiency and diminishes our sense of being all-perfect.

Jesus' claim to be Savior of humankind is an even greater offense. Having undermined our sense of godliness, this Jesus goes on to take from us even the belief that we can by our own efforts save ourselves. He would have us believe that by His death on the cross our sins are forgiven. This goes against every normal human instinct. Instead of believing that it is our obedience to the Law and our good works that make us right with God, Jesus would have us need only to believe that He has won a place in God's favor for us.

Members of the jury, you know this cannot be. You hear that voice within you saying, "I must do something to be saved." Just remember, if you vote for acquittal, you are giving up your right to save yourself. You are admitting that you cannot by your own reason or strength come to God. You cannot lay claim on your own little place in eternity based on your own merits.

And then we have the most troublesome claim of all. Jesus wants to be Lord of your life. You see how insidious Jesus' claims are. First He undermines your pride and self-sufficiency. Then He takes from you the right to earn your place in God's kingdom. Finally, with His third claim He wants to be a part of everything you experience or do. He wants to be with you when you're sick or well, working or playing, happy or sad. He wants to be in your consciousness when you are practicing your religion, when you are doing the most mundane activities and even when you are doing things you'd rather not have God knowing about. He wants to be your best friend. He wants to heal your hurts. He wants to feed and to nourish you. He wants to forgive you. He wants to be your lover. He wants to be with you always. How in the world can we be our own gods, see ourselves as most important and powerful, be masters of our own lives in grand isolation, if we accept the claims this Jesus makes for Himself?

But, lest you think these were just trumped-up charges, fantasies of ours, meant to persecute a poor carpenter turned itinerant rabbi, we brought before you witnesses to Jesus' own words and actions.

First, we interrogated Matthew, a tax collector turned disciples of Jesus. We wanted to see for ourselves just what kind of people Jesus hung out with and called to be His followers. Matthew, a man who consorted with the Roman government to gouge from his own people their hard-earned money, had the nerve to invite Jesus to dinner at his home. And who shared the table with Jesus? The religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, the good law-upholding people? NO, not on your life. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners like Matthew, with prostitutes, peasants--people that no good church (they called them synagogues then) would allow in their doors.

Furthermore, He actually enjoyed their company, loved them, and affirmed them instead of bringing the Law down on them as He should have. Worst of all, Jesus turned on the good people--the Pharisees--who tried to set Jesus straight. He claimed all people are burdened by sin and should join together at His table. Matthew even tried in his testimony to convince the good people of the jury that they were sinners in need of a Savior. Now, how could you sit in judgment of someone if you believed you were as great a sinner as the accused? Don't worry, we are considering bringing charges of heresy, blasphemy and slander against Matthew.

Next, we heard from a woman crippled for 18 years--a pitiful case--whom Jesus healed. We remind the jury that they are to judge only the facts of this case. Please do not let yourselves be swayed either by pity for this woman's past sufferings or by the inspiration of her tale of healing. The hard facts are that Jesus violated the Sabbath law. Healing work was done on the Sabbath in direct contradiction of God's Law.

Now, I know that this witness was very impressive. She talked of being freed not only from her crippling condition, but also freed from traditions which stifled her joy of worship. But a truly holy man respects customs, traditions and certainly the Law. We all know that those are far more important than what we feel in our hearts. How crazy would worship become if we abandoned a "by-the-book" attitude and began worshiping from the heart?

The third witness presented truly scandalous testimony--though I guess that's what you'd expect from one who brought scandal to her family. The woman was caught in adultery. The Pharisees were taking her to court where you can be assured she would have been found guilty and properly executed.

Since the rabbi had been impressing so many with His wisdom, the Pharisees stopped to get His affirmation of what they were about to do. But, does Jesus uphold the moral standards of our community? No! He makes the religious leaders--and all of us--feel like fools by challenging our righteous judgment with the challenge, "Let he who has no sin cast the first stone." And then, we're told, he forgives the woman! Furthermore, there was an implication that we might be wrong when we judge others.

Our next witness produced the most bizarre testimony of all. The Apostle John was subpoenaed because the court had heard that some kind of cannibalistic cult had developed in which cult members eat Jesus' flesh and drink His blood at some special meal they called "The Lord's Supper." They believe that in this manner they can be nurtured in their faith and have Jesus with them always. They base this on a claim of Jesus to be the living Bread from Heaven. We all know that such mystery religions can't stand up to the cold light of reason and logic. And Jesus should be condemned for deluding people into thinking they can receive forgiveness and new life this way.

Our next witness, Mary of Magdala, had to be excused partway through her testimony when she became overly excited and delusional--no doubt a relapse to her demon possession which Jesus was supposed to have cured. What we heard from her, though, was adequate to prove that Jesus did in fact die. And certainly no God or Son of God would have allowed Himself to be crucified as Jesus was. Poor Mary! I heard that she's still upset about being dismissed and is trying to clear her friend's name--even threatening to petition the court to be heard.

Our final witness was the Apostle named Simon Peter. He gave us an eye-witness account of the events in the upper room--the setting in which Jesus held his final meeting with his closest followers. And what a scandalous meeting it was! Here Jesus showed his true colors as the worst sort of social anarchist! Hardly a single one of our most cherished social norms or mor-es was left standing in His destructive wake.

Masters, in His mind's eye, become servants. Basest slaves usurp the power of their higher-ups. A reign of "love" replaces long-held Laws. And even our oldest traditions of all--including the very Passover feast, instituted a dozen centuries before by Moses--were altered and turned on their ear. It is clear that this Jesus intends nothing less than a complete re-ordering of our entire society ... which can only lead to utter destruction of everything we hold dear.

Well, that is our case, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. By a preponderance of the evidence, I'm sure you will find Jesus guilty as charged. It's ironic that on this very night 2000 years ago the accused lay dead in a borrowed tomb. But that is just one more imponderable in the life of a man who claimed to be the Christ, the Son of God.

We are sure that you can see how strong our case is against Jesus and could render your verdict now. But since the hour is late and we want you to have time to reflect, court will be adjourned for the night. Take the rest of the evening to consider the case. It seems like a Good Friday for you to decide whether Jesus can lay claim to be your Savior and the Lord of your life. We will, of course, take the Sabbath off, meeting again as early as possible on Sunday morning--say, daybreak?

Court is adjourned.

By Elsa L. Clark with additional material by Peter Mead, Arden Mead and Mark Zimmermann. Art by Sally Beck. © 2007 by Creative Communications for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr. , Fenton , MO 63026 . 1-800-325-9414. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA . www.creativecommunications.com.