Good Friday #2 - by Don Neuendorf
I'm writing this just before our noon hour service. It was at noon that Mark says the sun was darkened. It remained dark until 3pm.
Jesus was brought to Pilate at about 6am. The crowds filled the courtyard while Pilate examined Jesus. You're familiar with the scene. Pilate's attempts to release Jesus - his strategy for escaping the issue by sending Jesus to Herod - his effort to substitute Barabbas - and the final trap in which he found himself, crucify Jesus or face a riot and a possible delegation to Rome to call for his removal. Pilate surrendered Jesus, who was beaten severely and then marched to the cross...
...By the time this procession began Jesus' own followers might have just begun to gather. They were in time to see him, already covered in blood, stagger his way to the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Would you have followed?
If not, where would you go? The Temple? Your home? To your work? While Jesus was being nailed to the cross, and as he hung there through the hours of the morning, slowly dying, you would not want to stand there helplessly watching. But what would you do?