Read Zechariah 11:12-13 and Matthew 27:6-10
I closely follow the news about refugees, asylum seekers and other immigrants, people made in the image of God. I read about conflicts resulting in more than 70 million displaced people. I also experience first hand the lives of immigrants who have become friends. More specifically, I go from hearing about thousands of civilians being killed in Yemen to hearing stories from my Iranian friends, one who could not visit home after her parent’s death because she was afraid of not being able to come back to complete her degree program. I think we all play some role in the suffering of these people. Because of our actions and inaction, real lives are affected.
The verses in Matthew 27 are part of a bigger story of how different people responded to the guilt they bore for the blood of an innocent person, Jesus Christ. I’ve been mainly thinking about the role played by the chief priests. They were aware of their participation in the injustice; they justified the death of the innocent. It’s easy to think, “I have not killed anyone and I would not participate in the killing of an innocent person.” But showing contempt, insulting, gossiping, fostering hate, speaking poorly, and degrading the character of another person is equivalent to murder according to Jesus (Matthew 5:21-22). We become guilty of innocent blood. Jesus made it hard for all of us here.
I think the appropriate response to our actions and inaction when it comes to the suffering of innocent people is indicated by Paul in 2 Corinthians: to repent with godly sorrow. When we acknowledge the ways in which we are guilty of innocent blood and earnestly seek to do what is right, we reveal the true nature of God who first loved us and died for us when we were still sinners: Grace!
DIG DEEPER:
- In what ways are we participants in the difficult/unjust things going on in our community (actively or passively)?
- In what ways do we sell Jesus for our own gain or comfort?
written by Asher Imtiaz
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