Which Roman Are You?

I've mentioned before that I was a notary public for a few years when I held my job at a local law firm, and one of my responsibilities was to witness signatures. Once I had done so, I would take out my seal and press the signature page, where my design would imprint into the thick paper, creating an image that could be both seen with the eye and felt with the fingers.

A notary public is officially -- a trustworthy person, appointed by the state, who serves as an impartial witness to the legality of events. When he or she gives his or her seal of approval, that seal testifies to the fact of the documentation. It adds credence. It underlines truth -- very much like the taking of an oath enforces the validity of a narrative.

So John 8:12-30 discusses the validity of Jesus' testimony. At the beginning of this section, Jesus lays out the testimony itself. "I am the Light of the world," He says. "Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life." 

His audience, the Jews, connects with this statement. They remember their Israelite ancestors, who, under the guidance of Moses and Aaron, left hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt by following a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. Exodus 40:36-38 says: "In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out -- until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the Tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels." 

Every step the nation took was directed by this pillar of cloud/fire. It was the central point of the Israelite's focus; without that pillar, they were lost. The pillar was their light and the true way to reach their Promised Land.

Years later, Psalm 119:105 reminds the people: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Solomon instructs his son after that: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

Jesus, in one concise, succinct statement, wraps up the ancestral relationship of the Israelite people with the Lord Almighty: He is the Light. He lights the Way, He shows the true Path to the Father. His people, His followers, are the ones who walk in the Light.

But there's a big IF in His statement: "Whoever follows me..." 

This phrase makes it clear that this state of following is optional. It is not forced on anyone. No one is dragged, kicking and screaming, into the True Way. 

Jesus has dropped a bombshell. "Here's salvation, guys. Spoiler: it's Me." 

I just spent a lot more time on that one sentence than I thought I would. Moving on.

The Pharisees show up to challenge Him, per normal. "Here You are, appearing as Your own witness; Your testimony is not valid." In those days, they didn't need fancy notary seals and signature pages to validate anyone's legal statements. John 8:17 says: "In your own Law, it is written that the testimony of two men is valid." So the Pharisees accuse Jesus of having no back-up, and in His lack of back-up, making untrue claims.

Jesus points out two things: 

1.) He knows where He came from (as do most people), and He knows where He is going (as no one else does; He is the only One Who knows the future with 100% accuracy for all eternity). So that fact alone validates anything He says already, because He is Truth.

2.) He declares that He is not only one Person; He calls on the Father to validate His word. "I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me." He calls attention to the Pharisees' own law that the testimony of two creates validity, and then He calls His witness: "My other witness is the Father, Who sent me" (John 8:18).

Here we are, January 2, 2021. The headlines have been no joke for months, and it seems like they get more and more intense every day that passes. What's that word I've seen tossed around? "Doom-scrolling." I have begun to understand its meaning as I've glanced down through the world's news. Sometimes, it's difficult to relate my little relatively safe and semi-protected personal sphere to the upheaval happening on a larger scale, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things happening. My little bubble exists within a much wider ocean with currents and tides, and I have not much to do with those except that I am in them somewhere.

Now, bear with me for a second: I'm going to relate this to Jesus' ministry. He, too, has a small bubble to begin with (Nazareth in Galilee). Seemingly, the carpenter from up-country Israel wouldn't have much to do with the Roman Empire and the workings of the state, would He? Jesus never storms Rome. He never boards ships and sets sail for the capital. He never recruits thousands of soldiers and gears them up for a revolution. 

He is well-known among His people, true. He preaches and teaches and heals. He carries out His ministry effectively, amid discouragement and thorns-in-the-flesh in the shape of Pharisees and teachers of the law. He has very few brushes with Roman officials, and certainly never with Caesar himself.

But see a couple of the brushes He does have with them! Let's compare two stories of two Romans who meet Jesus face to face, and then let's look at the wide disparity of their endings.

Roman Citizen #1: Pilate. 

In John 18, after Jesus has been arrested, He is taken before Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate breezes into his palace, enters the room where Jesus is waiting, and gets right to the point: "Are you the King of the Jews?" he asks.

Jesus answers: "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place."

Aha! "You are a King then!" Pilate exclaims.

Jesus sighs. Pilate, bless him, is still missing the point. "You are right in saying I am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the Truth. Everyone on the side of Truth listens to Me."

And Pilate, rhetorically, he thinks, asks: "What is Truth?"

Jesus -- the Way, the Truth, and the Life -- is standing in front of Pilate, looking him in the eye. I like to think that maybe Pilate comes away from that encounter, but the encounter doesn't come away from him. I like to think that maybe that moment stays with the man for the rest of his life. And maybe, one day, the shoe drops, and Pilate realizes: Oh! I saw the Truth! I looked in His eyes, but I didn't recognize Him.

Roman Citizen #2: The Roman Centurion.

The other encounter Jesus has with a Roman I wanted to mention happens almost immediately after Jesus' discussion with Pilate. The cross is hard on Jesus' shredded back. The spikes through His wrists and feet are agonizing. His lungs are compressed; He can't breathe. To inhale, He must push upward to gain air, but the cramping of His legs and the pain of the nails hardly allow Him to do so, especially over a long period of time. Of all the agonizing deaths, crucifixion is one of the most torturous. 

There are a few people standing around, witnessing the death of the three men on the crosses. Some of Jesus' disciples watch from a distance, John, Mary, a few others. Roman soldiers sit at the base of the three crosses with the discarded clothing of the prisoners. Jesus' garment is a seamless one; the soldiers cast lots to see who gets it. Their ribald laughter pierces the ragged breathing and groans of the prisoners. At last, the one in the middle cries out in a loud voice: "Into Your hands, I commit My Spirit!"

He sags, limp and still.

One of the Roman guards -- a centurion -- thrusts his sword into Jesus' side. He's just doing his job -- he's got to make sure the Man is dead. Blood and water flow out, splattering onto the ground. The soldier jumps back to keep from being hit. 

Suddenly, the earth shakes. Clouds roll over the sun at 3:00 p.m. They're so thick, it's like night. Back in the city, the heavy veil that covers the Holy of Holies in the Temple rips all by itself from top to bottom. Tombs break open, and people known to be dead get up and walk out of their graves -- not in a creepy, zombie way, but actually alive! Days later, these guys show up in various places throughout the city to testify to the truth of what's happened.

What the centurion can see from his vantage point on the hill of Calvary is at least the earthquake, the darkness, and the Man on the cross who has just breathed His last. The centurion stares up at Jesus with awe. "Surely this Man was the Son of God!"

Jesus' testimony, His witness, has been primarily to the people He's met in His travels throughout Israel. He's had very little to do with the wider reaches of government, and He certainly has not staged a coup of the palace in Rome.

But in His relatively small sphere, He shows Himself to be the King of all kings. He shows Himself to be the Son of God.

Of the two Romans discussed, the centurion recognizes it. He is a witness to the Truth. He is a corroborator of Jesus' signature line -- a trusted official who seals his words with awe as he recognizes the Truth.

Which Roman are you? Do you walk away from Truth, having looked Him in the eye without recognition? Or do you point to the One you know is Truth and declare it with awe?