Follow the Leader

They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him. (Mark 16:64-65 NIV)

Last night, I decided to stay up and watch Barack Obama give his acceptance speech. The crowd was electric in Chicago. And in New York. And Washington. One commentator noted that the atmosphere was like New Year's Day.

Barack came out to give his speech, poised and polished as always. The crowd hung on his every word.

And can you only imagine the security around him? The podium was noticeably bigger at this speech than others...maybe it was bullet-proof?

Well, the ironic part was that I was reading my Bible at the same time. And I don't know what that says about me...maybe streamlining a little much?

I was reading the part where Jesus, a great leader, is brought before a crowd. But on this night it was a tough crowd.

The members of the Sanhedrin were hanging on his every word, but with a very different motive. They were shuffling the laws in their minds and checking their made-up facts because they didn't want him causing any more trouble. In fact, they wanted them dead.

Jesus didn't say much to them, but what he did say-regarding his Messiahship/divine nature--they didn't want to here. And so they condemned him--beat him, spit on him, and sent him to death on a cross.

And Jesus didn't flinch. He humbled himself to the point of death as everyone abandoned him.

At his point of victory, there was not the roar of a crowd ringing in his ears. There were not people flashing photographs and chanting his name.

At the point of his victory, there were nails through his hands and ankles. There was blood on his brow, and there was the weight of the sin of the universe on his shoulders.

All this to say, the irony of last night reminded me that my true leader was not accepted in his time. He was slain on a cross, beaten, and abandoned by his best friends.

His acceptance speech was a gasp that still rings in my ears: It is finished.

Thank you Jesus for leading us unto salvation and a redeemed world.