And He begins to teach them that the Son of Mankind must be suffering much and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and after three days rise.
Marks Account 8: 31, Concordant New Testament
Unless you've had your head buried in the sand over the past few years, you know well the name Donald Trump. The much maligned and persecuted former president is once again making his way for another bid a the white house. Now, depending on which side of the aisle you identify with, you either love the Donald or you hate him passionately. As I thought of this this week I thought of how closely it resembled the trial of Jesus of Nazareth back in the day. Wait, Donald Trump and Jesus? Yes, but hear me out. See, both men had their legions of followers as well as those who despised them. Each was despised by the rulers of their time. Jesus was indeed despised and ridiculed by the scribes and Pharisees of his day. Of course, Jesus continually would criticize these so called rulers of his day for their supposed religious practices {Matthews Account 12:34, 15:7-9}. Many Christians refer to the famous words of Jesus in His "Woe to the Pharisees" rant we see in Matthew 23 {Matthews Account 23:13-39}. For anyone familiar with the scriptures, it's clear that Jesus was not a fan of the practices of the rulers of His day. Likewise, Donald Trump has made known his disdain for more than a few of our public leaders as well. Granted, the ONLY similarities between Donald Trump and Jesus which I illustrate is the fact that both received and are receiving a rather public trial. Indeed, Jesus was paraded in front of the masses as He was led around during His so called prosecution. If ever there was a kangaroo court, this was it. In fact, the verdict was already decided even before Jesus was hauled in to answer before Pilate. Jesus must die! What were the charges against Him that He would be put to death? Telling the truth. Jesus proclaimed that He and the Father were one. Of course, this flew in the face of the religious system of His day. So it was that for proclaiming His identity Jesus was nailed to a cross.
And straightway, in the morning, the chief priests with the elders and the scribes and the whole Sanhedrin hold a consultation. Binding Jesus, they carry Him away and hand Him over to Pilate. And Pilate inquires of Him, "You are the King of the Jews?" Now He, answering Him, is saying, "You are saying it." And the chief priests accused Him of many things. Now Pilate again inquires of Him, saying, "You are not answering anything? Lo! of how much are they accusing you!" Yet Jesus no longer answered anything, so that Pilate is marveling.
Marks Account 15: 1-5, Concordant New Testament
It's easy to see who it was that sent Jesus to the cross from reading scripture. As He stood in front of Pilate, Pilate himself struggled with the fact of convicting this man. I am quite sure that he was aware of how passionate those who were accusing Jesus were. Yet Pilate did not see the guilt in Him. Indeed, this Roman ruler marveled at Jesus as he spoke with Him. Yet, in the end the religious authorities of the day had their way and had their greatest enemy condemned to die. In their minds, Jesus was finished. They could now go about with their traditions and practices without criticism from that dude from Galilee. Of course, that all changed three days later with the rising of our Lord and Saviour. The shackles of men could not contain Jesus. Death could not contain Him {Paul To The Romans 6:9}. Now, for the sake of the discussion, what does the trial of Jesus have in common with the public persecution of Donald Trump? Well, to date the charges which have been leveled at Trump have not stuck (In fact, I'll soon be getting a free dinner because of this). Let us not lose the point of this discussion, which is that Jesus was indeed being critical of the religious SYSTEM of His day. And make no mistake, this is the same religious system we see today in our institutional church. In fact, the same religious system which today publicly celebrates Jesus is also the same system which advocated for His death. Imagine that. I've often been asked what church Jesus would go to were He alive today (He IS alive!). Well, I can say with all honesty that I'm sure that Jesus would be far less concerned with the church building and system and more concerned with those IN the building. I would also like to point out to all those Donald Trump haters out there...I believe that he is also a Christian.
~Scott~
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