Easter transformation of a tragedy
An American friend sent me a historical insight from the Pastor of his Church, Don Aycock. Don said: “Menelik II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until 1913. News of a successful new means of dispatching criminals reached him. The news was about a device known as an electric chair. The Emperor eagerly ordered one for his country. Unfortunately, no one bothered to warn him that it would never work because Ethiopia at that time had no electricity. Menelik was determined that his new purchase should not go to waste. He converted the electric chair into a throne.”
“There was another occasion when an instrument of death became a throne. On a Palestinian hillside about twenty centuries ago a cross became a throne for one named Jesus of Nazareth. To this day that ancient instrument of torture and death is converted into a powerful symbol of life, hope, and resurrection.”
“Millions of people around the world see the cross as God’s way of indicating His refusal to let death and destruction have the final word.”
I have confirmed the historicity of that story, and it makes a beautiful point. On the last Friday of His life, Jesus was faced with a heavy choice: the decision to continue and fulfill His mission or to abort it and save His life.
Late on Thursday night Jesus had been with His disciples in Jerusalem for a meal in celebration of the Passover. He changed portions of that meal and reminded the twelve that they would never participate in it again without remembering Him. The hours to come would be the climax of all He had been about during His entire life.
The arrest and the “trials” are full of ironies, illegalities, contradictions, and tragedies. The results seemed like failure because the crucifixion appeared so permanent. Jesus died and was genuinely dead. That He would offer Himself that way is amazing and incomprehensible.
But suffering goes hand-in-hand with all genuine transformation. On Easter Sunday, Christ broke out of the permanence of death. That breakthrough was a sign of what lies in store for any who will come to Christ as a follower.
It was a sign of the ability of God to break through every form of barrier, hindrance, and grave that stands in his way. This happens in our lives when we accept Him. God takes the instruments of death and turns them into the symbols of life.
Rev The Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.