This is a powerful night, however, if we look at it more closely, we can see something great. Notice what is happening. The Apostles seem quite content with Jesus as they look forward to their future with the Messiah. They have it all figured out and now it seems once Jesus formally establishes his Kingdom all will be well. Little do they know that this is far from the truth.
Within a short while, they will have watched Jesus betrayed by one of their own. They will themselves reveal their own weaknesses. They will watch him carried away in chains as they stand in shock and terror over what is about to happen. Everything they figured out that was going to go well is now fallen apart and their whole life has changed drastically.
Just a few hours earlier everything was fine and now it is horrible. Further, their messiah is in chains about to be interrogated by the Sanhedrin and finally by the Governor of the Empire.
How did this come to be?
But let’s look more closely at all this.
Notice how human the Apostles are.
I am reminded of the Rock Opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It was not until many years later that I learned that the point of the story is that it is written through the eyes of Judas. There his own words and his understanding of the apostles reflect their intense humanness.
They are not superior, if anything compared to their more political counterparts they are quite inferior. They were just fishermen. They could not certainly become political leaders. Now that truth is revealed. They are just too human to accomplish anything in the face of the Roman Empire. Judas understands this and Peter is too self-focused to get it.
Jesus now gets carried off and he will die and all will be lost.
Of course, we know now that this is not true. However, what is true.
The whole drama illustrates to us an important message.
They are not great politicians, they are simple fishermen called to be Jesus’ apostles.
They reflect an important message. You see they represent humanity. Even if we say its weakest chain. Certainly, they show no match for the status, majesty, and more of the representative of the Roman Empire. You would stand terrified in his presence and many did.
Certainly, they are no match for the pious practices of the Sanhedrin.
They are just fishermen.
Jesus uses them to show us who we are and how much we need a savior.
Pilate has no clue what Jesus is about and voices it as Truth what is Truth. The Sanhedrin determined to see Jesus silenced to keep the Emperor’s anger at bay does not understand his mission nor do they want to understand it.
They have the power. The apostles do not but the apostles show more so the reality of the need of the human race to be saved.
We need a savior, we cannot save ourselves.
As I was writing this I was reflecting on the foibles of our own world.
If you ever saw images of Vladimir Putin, you would see a man who reflected the power of the Russian Federation. Joe Biden reflects the power of the free world.
Now both are them are leaving everyone else to question the future of our own world. They are not acting in ways that give many people confidence. Should not in a perfect world these two be a lot different.
This is not a perfect world and no human being can save us.
If you want to see proof of God’s existence look at what happens in our world when we reject him as what is common in our world now.
Look what happens when we turn from him and say we do not need a savior anymore that is all the realm of the unevolved.
Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin who has the unique distinction of being considered a heretic in both Catholic and Scientific circles explained that religion was not the realm of the savage but the beginning of the human because only humans can reflect.
We are always in a search for truth but that truth is found when we seek the messiah to save us. We cannot save our own if even if we felt we could we would find that we were no more human than Judas, Peter and the rest.
Check out our podcast/radio program at catholicaudiomedia.com