Although Christ was crucified in his thirties, the story of his death started when he was sent by his Father to be a man like us, except that he was without sin: “And the Word was made flesh; he had his tent pitched among us, and we have seen his Glory, the Glory of the only Son coming from the Father, full of truth and loving kindness.”
The Son of God was sent to be one of us because God found it necessary to save mankind from humanity’s sinfulness and forgetfulness and from themselves. Jesus preached the Good News and affirmed what the prophets had said. Jesus showed what God’s goodness could do through him.
These reminders, instead of bringing back God into the lives of people, apparently fueled the envy and resentment of those whose life-styles and authority were threatened. The leaders of the Jews incited the people who did not seem to know any better. Upon the prodding of the leaders and before the hated Roman Procurator, Jesus, God’s messenger, was sent to his death on the cross.
We also “look on whom they have pierced.” To the extent that we fail to weave Jesus’ teaching and love in our lives, we also participate in the continued rejection of God by mankind. When we choose to be faithful to Jesus’ life and teachings we show that his death for us and all mankind was not in vain; we will have saved ourselves from ourselves. Our hope is that our faith in the Jesus who saves us will color the way we live and love in our lives and the way we relate with people, especially with those who do not have much.
