There is one word in this entire Gospel reading that jumps right off the page to me. It’s the word entrap. The Pharisees were plotting against Jesus so that they could… entrap him.

They weren’t trying to trip him up… to discredit him… to embarrass him. They wanted to entrap him.

Entrap suggests something much more vivid, much more vicious.

We all know that it worked… and this right here is the evidence (point to cross).

I’m glad I’m here with you today in this church because this cross is much, much different than the one across town, which is a beautiful hand carving and artistically quite impressive. But this one right here is… much more vivid, much more vicious.

Why did they want to do this to him? Why did they feel such a burning desire to entrap him? And maybe the biggest question of all is: why were they so threatened by him?

People in power want nothing more than to keep their power, and they will often resort to desperate measures in order to do so. Power is intoxicating, it’s like a drug, and any review of human history will demonstrate that fact quite clearly.

The Pharisees had power, in the form of influence, prestige, and position. No doubt, I’m sure there were some who thought they were just doing their jobs… making sure that this Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t spouting off ideas that could harm the faithful. But those ideas were mostly about things like: feeding the hungry, forgiveness, compassion, and concepts such as – the first shall be last and loving our enemies. That’s what Jesus was saying. Those were his ideas and his vision. His Sermon on the Mount had already happened by this point in the story and so they knew full well what his manifesto was and what exactly he stood for.

So why was that so threatening to them?

I’ve been thinking about this.

And this cross.

Do you recall the time when Jesus told his followers that in order to truly follow him, they would need to pick up their crosses in order to do so. I’m sure what came to mind for them… and what likely comes to mind for us as we think about this too… is the vivid, the vicious side of the cross.

But as Christians, we also look at it as a triumph, as conviction that no matter what happens to us in our lives, no matter what crosses we must face, we will win. We do get saved. We move beyond a place of suffering to someplace better.

When Jesus said that we all need to pick up our crosses to follow, perhaps the best way to think about that is that when we do so, we embrace the victory. And recognize that suffering is for but a time. For only a time.

This is easier said than done. Anyone who has ever experienced great pain, loss, betrayal, or abandonment understands this full well. But following Jesus means embracing the triumph. It’s saying that those in power, and any one or any thing that holds something over us… can only do so… for but a time.

And that their power is not the kind that is lasting. It actually isn’t power at all.

That is precisely what Jesus said to Pilate when he was being tried and sentenced to death.

They entrapped Jesus… but only for a time.

Which makes…

… this a cross worth picking up.

And Jesus a savior worth following.