THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN

Things will never be the same again.

We had so many successes.  Everything went according to plan.  Even when that fool Pilate tried to release him we were able to get the mob to call out for the criminal, Barabbas.  Barabbas was a problem for us but better him than the carpenter’s son.  We got the crowd riled up and on the verge of a riot before Pilate gave in. 

Things will never be the same again.

A lot of us decided to make the hike out to Golgotha to celebrate our victory.  We had been working so long for this result that we didn’t want to miss the culmination of our efforts.  The Galilean was in such bad shape that they made some poor pilgrim carry his cross.  Some of us weren’t sure he would even make it to the place of crucifixion.

Things will never be the same again.

When the centurion and his soldiers finally had him nailed to the cross there was a real sense of relief.  We weren’t happy about the “King of the Jews” sign they hung over his head but I thought it was better to fight the battles we could win.  Some of us were practically giddy.  They were shouting things at him and mocking him.  Things like, “Hey, Son of God, come down off the cross!”  “You promised to save people but you couldn’t even save yourself!”  “If you come down we will believe in you!”  They were practically elbowing each other in the ribs in laughter.

Things will never be the same again.

That’s when it happened.  All of a sudden, around noon, the sun just disappeared.  It was blacker than night and I have to admit, I had chills running up and down my spine.  It was eerie.  I had a feeling like I never had before.  The darkness wouldn’t go away.  It lasted for hours.  There was something supernatural about it.

Things will never be the same again.

The rabbi called out for Elijah and then it looked like he just…died!  The ground beneath our feet started to rumble and shake violently.  I never felt anything like it in my life.  The rocks were tearing apart.  The very ground upon which I lived my entire life seemed to come alive in anger.

Things will never be the same again.

That’s when I noticed the centurion.  He was kind of a scary-looking guy.  Grizzled.  Tough.  Battle-hardened.  I had tried to stay out of his way all day.  But there he was, standing at the foot of the cross with a look of wonder on his face.  It was like everything around him had disappeared and he was transfixed.  I was close enough to hear him say, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Things will never be the same again.

Finally the sun came out again and we all hurried home to get ready for Sabbath.  The next couple of days were discomforting.  I wasn’t myself.  It was like there was a thought in the back of my head that wouldn’t reveal itself.  On the first day of the week I was with the chief priests when the guards who had been out at the tomb came rushing in.  They were terrified.  They had been at the tomb when the second earthquake hit this morning.  All they could remember was the appearance of a bright and glorious person.  When they woke up the tomb was open and the dead man was gone.  We bribed the soldiers to lie about what happened.  I went home feeling sick.  My heart was pounding and my head ached.  All I could think about were the words of the centurion, “Truly this was the Son of God.”  I drank some wine and lay down but nothing helped.

Things will never be the same again.