At noon this Good Friday in Peach Place a group of volunteers from Wokingham churches will stage a dramatized presentation of the last days of Jesus’ life.
They will tell the story once again of his agonising death at the hands of the Roman Empire – on any measure an outrageously unjust act.
Why do people around the world, and right here in Wokingham, still tell this story?
Well, firstly, because it’s true. Despite what some dodgy algorithm may tell you, Jesus is no mythological figure or fantasy superhero. He was a real person, in a real place, at an attested moment in time. And his death at the hands of the Romans is one of the best-attested facts about him.
But beyond that, the reason his story is still told is because of the sheer impact it has had on humanity ever since.
In books and podcasts the historian Tom Holland argues for the profound influence that Jesus’ teaching and example have had on the world over the past 2,000 years.
Jesus’ message and example of the power of forgiveness, the way of peace, and the beauty of sacrificial love have been transformational, influencing our laws and our values so deeply we are barely conscious of it. For instance, the whole human rights movement arguably wouldn’t exist without the teachings and example of this man, seen supremely in his sacrificial dying on the cross.
Jesus said that when he was lifted up from the earth he would draw all people to him.
And as the Roman soldiers, using wood and ropes, hammer and nails, lifted him up on the cross and killed him there, that insightful word came true. All around the world, people are still drawn to him today, two millennia later.
I hope you find some way to be reminded of this good, true story this Good Friday – come to Peach Place if you can. And may you find yourself drawn to the risen and living Lord Jesus this Easter.
The Revd Nick Hudson, Wokingham Baptist Church, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
