Standing in the Crowd: Choosing the Way of Jesus

Jesus is not led to green pastures in this moment. He's led to Golgotha. He's not lying down beside still waters. He's being whipped and mocked and executed. And this is not because he's failed, it's because he's faithful. So this challenges the logic of what we call the prosperity gospel. It challenges the idea that faithfulness leads to ease. [00:50:52] (29 seconds)  #FaithOverProsperity

We live in the hope that suffering and death are not simply the end of the story. Resurrection doesn't erase the pain of Good Friday. It transforms it. It declares that love is stronger than violence and that life is stronger than death. But here's the important part. Resurrection does not bypass the cross. It comes root, which means that our calling is not to avoid suffering at all cost, but to remain faithful within it. [00:58:37] (33 seconds)  #FaithfulInSuffering

The whipping, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the cross carried through the streets, these were not incidental details. They were all intentional. They were meant to send a message to the crowd. This is what happens when you resist. This is what happens when you refuse to play by the rules. And this is what happens when you imagine another way. And the crowd was watching. Some shouted along, swept up in the movement, others stayed silent and afraid. Some wept, others simply turned away, and some just pretended not to notice at all. [00:45:15] (38 seconds)  #CostOfResistance

And then when the moment comes, to take one step forward, not because we're fearless, but because we trust the one who walks with us. Friends, there will always be a crowd, but there will always also be a choice. And may we have the courage by the grace of God to step out of the crown and into the way of Jesus, the way of love, the way of peace, the way of the cross. [00:59:40] (31 seconds)  #StepOutInFaith

So what keeps us on the ground? Why do we stay there? Why do we watch each other's go through pain without stepping in? At the heart of it is something deeply human. It's fear. And the rolling cross was designed to produce fear, and it worked really, really well. Fear of losing status, fear of losing security, fear of standing out, fear of being misunderstood, fear of suffering, and fear still shapes us today. [00:49:21] (35 seconds)  #FearHoldsUsBack

Now public executions in the Roman world weren't merely a form of of punishment, but they were basically in the form of theater. They were a spectacle. They were looking at a pirate called peacekeeping. Rome didn't crucify Jesus because of who he was. Rome crucified Jesus because of what he represented, a different kind of kingdom, one that did not rely on dominance or violence of fear. And so the empire responded the only way they knew how by making an example of him. [00:44:42] (34 seconds)  #EmpireVsKingdom

Now in an anabaptist tradition, we often speak about following Jesus in the way of peace, of nonviolence, and of costly discipleship. But if we're honest, we also feel the tension or the dissonance between what we believe and how we actually live. We say we follow the prince of peace, yet we live in a world that rewards power and control. We say we love our enemies, and yet we often avoid even small discomforts. [00:49:55] (31 seconds)  #CostlyDiscipleship

These are the ones who cry out, crucify. They're the loud, certain convinced. Maybe they believe that they are protecting something, protecting tradition, order, security. Maybe they're afraid of what Jesus represents. We like to think we would never be among these people. But how often do we participate in systems or conversations that dehumanize others? How often do we join in even subtly when someone is being pushed to the margins? [00:46:22] (33 seconds)  #StopDehumanizing