Clickbait & the Crucifixion
In todays world, blogs and new websites have to get viewers attention simply using the title. We end up with sensational titles that often do not match the content. The same thing can happen when we detach Jesus’s death and resurrection from the biblical account.
What do you notice when you read about Jesus’s crucifixion and his death? First there is an economy of words. Luke’s account “there they crucified him…” (23:33). Also note the way in which Luke speaks of Jesus’s death: “Jesus calls out with a loud voice and breathed his last” (24:46). In both instances there is surrounding context but the *major* events are told in a matter-of-fact manner.
There is good reason for this as the history of the church bears witness. There is a tendency to over sensationalise Jesus’s crucifixion and death. There is a temptation to go further and identify with Jesus’s act. As if that is the point of the accounts. Think about people carrying crosses or being unduly focused on the physicality of the event. The Gospel writers seem deliberately vague to prevent things like, The Passion of the Christ movie (a visceral film that focuses far too much on Jesus’s physical suffering at the expense of his work of atonement).
So what do we focus on then for Good Friday and Easter? We focus on what the Bible tells us to: the Word of God. Luke makes this explicit. First the angels gently rebuke the women and remind them of the Word of God. What did Jesus say? “Remember his words…” they tell them.
Luke continues with two accounts of the risen Lord Jesus interacting with his disciples. What does Jesus say? Twice Jesus teaches them the Word of God. Starting from Moses through the Prophets, he shows how all of it was about him (24:27, 44).
The simplicity of the Gospel accounts helps us see the spiritual significance. Jesus is, as the rest of the NT writers affirm, the propitiation for our sins. He is the final passover lamb. He is the perfect priest, final king, and last prophet. There is also a centrality of the Word. They do not dwell on sentimentality but upon God’s inerrant Word.
This is important because the crucifixion and resurrection are interesting historical events, but meaningless unless appropriated by faith alone! Just because Jesus died and rose has no bearing or meaning upon my life unless I believe in Jesus as my Saviour!
So this Easter and Good Friday let us focus on what Jesus accomplished, his great love for sinners, and let us plumb the depths of his Holy Word to grow in our love and devotion. He doesn’t call us re-enact his suffering or to unduly dwell on it, he calls us to be obedient servants, devoted to him, believing and proclaiming his message (his Word!).
