Roll Credits!

A Message of Hope for Holy Week

I just love watching heist movies, like “Oceans Eleven”, “the Italian Job”, and the old classic, “The Sting”.  The plots essentially follow the same flow:  the good guys have been humiliated by the bad guys in some way, and the good guys are determined to rob the bad guys using an elaborate scheme, carried out by experts in the fields of IT, sleight of hand, acrobatics, etc.  Of course, all throughout the movie the good guys’ plans seem to disintegrate, while the bad guys always appear to have the upper hand—that’s how the director keeps you on the edge of your seat.  Heart palpitating.  Palms sweating.  Muscles tense.    

But things are not what they seem, because the good guys have a few ingenious tricks up their sleeves.  In the end, everything works out:  the bad guys are humiliated; the good guys prevail; and we are satisfied.  Roll credits!

As you read the events of Holy Week in the Gospels, you might notice some similarities to a heist movie.  For example, it repeatedly seems like the bad guys have the upper hand.  One of Jesus’ own disciples betrays him for 30 pieces of silver.  Jesus is lynched by a company of soldiers in the middle of the night.  He is tried by a kangaroo court of jealous religious leaders.  The spineless Roman governor Pontius Pilate declares him innocent but still condemns him to keep the peace (and his job).  Jesus is sentenced to the torturous execution reserved for violent criminals. 

Imagine how Satan and his demons must have felt at this point.  It reminds me of my favorite Easter hymn as a kid:  “He’s Risen, He’s Risen.”  Verse two says,

The foe was triumphant when on Calvary

The Lord of creation was nailed to the tree.

In Satan’s domain did the hosts shout and jeer,

For Jesus was slain, whom the evil ones fear.” 

Jesus is crucified; the bad guys are winning; all hope is lost. 

But remember:  this is a heist movie, and things are not as they seem.  We should have paid more attention at the beginning of the movie.  When Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem, he sends two disciples to a village to find a colt tied up in the street.  He prophesies that someone will let them “borrow” the colt simply because they say, “The Lord needs it.”  I don’t know about you, but if I caught someone stealing my Mazda and they told me, “the Lord needs it,” I would call the police.  It all happens just as Jesus says, and the disciples return with the colt (Mark 10:1-10). 

The whole week is like that.  At the Passover meal, Jesus reveals that Judas will betray him and then sends him off, like Christ is the MC dismissing an act.  As a company of soldiers approaches Jesus, he asks them whom they are seeking.  When they answer “Jesus of Nazareth,” he replies, “I am he,” and they topple like bowling pins.  When Peter draws his sword and lops off the ear of a servant in the mob, Jesus rebukes him and heals the man.  Later, Pontius Pilate is terrified to realize that it is really he who is on trial, not Jesus; and he can’t get rid of Jesus fast enough.  On the cross, Jesus prays that the Father would forgive his enemies like he is directing the film; he promises heaven to a repentant criminal as if he’s Heaven’s Authority; he yells out “It is finished,” (nearly impossible in his state) then bows his head and gives up his spirit—which is another way of saying that he decides when it is time to die.  The moment of his passing, there is an earthquake; the un-rippable temple curtain is ripped in two; and several dead believers resuscitate and wander into Jerusalem.  Dozens of prophesies made over thousands of years are fulfilled in a single day. 

My favorite Easter hymn continues:

But short was their triumph; the Savior arose,

And death, hell, and Satan He vanquished, His foes.

The conquering Lord lifts His banner on high;

He lives, yes, He lives, and will nevermore die.

O, where is your sting, death? We fear you no more;

Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden’s door. 

For all our transgressions His blood does atone;

Redeemed and forgiven, we now are His own.

The bad guys are conquered; the good guy prevails.  Roll credits! 

Do you see what this means?  You may wonder about this whole salvation thing.  You may be carrying a Whirlpool fridge of shame on your shoulders.  You may be snared in some kind of addiction.   You may struggle to believe you can be forgiven and loved by God. 

Will you be ruined and destroyed?  Is true peace a pipedream?  Is it possible God could produce anything good out of your foolishness?  You’ve heard you are forgiven, but will you ever feel forgiven?  Will you ever be rid of this crippling shame?  Maybe there is no happily-ever-after for you.  Maybe the credits of your life will roll to a lifeless dirge. 

Corey Ten Boom said famously, “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed.  If you look within, you'll be depressed.  If you look at God you'll be at rest.”  Stop focusing on what the bad guys are up to, whether the bad guys out there or the bad guy within.  Look at the good guy.  As you contemplate the passion story again this week, look for hints that the good guy is working the plan he and his Father concocted in eternity.  That Savior rides into Jerusalem on a colt; he orchestrates his own arrest and the Kangaroo court; he arranges to be arraigned before Pilate so he can be executed on a Roman cross according to a thousand-year-old prophecy.  He endures the rejection of his Father as he suffers for the crimes of the world.  And he bursts out of an air-tight tomb three days later.   

All this elaborate scheme so you can be saved, and you could be 100% certain of it.  No matter how guilty or ashamed, you are forgiven and cleansed.  You are declared innocent in Jesus.  You are at peace with God.  You are loved now and forever.  Roll Credits!