The drama plays out with three groups, i.e., Jesus, the leaders and the crowd. Jesus was the same throughout the events; he was resolute from the moment he entered Jerusalem. His message, demeanor and confidence never changed. The leadership never changed either. The priests had worked for quite a while to stop Jesus; now they pulled in Pilate out of necessity to achieve their goal. The crowd changed by the minute. On Thursday they shouted "hosanna" but on Friday they shouted "crucify".
Jesus lived for a higher goal and was controlled by a heart that put the Shema into practice. The leaders lived for their personal goals and were controlled by the Shema when it was convenient. The crowd had no goals and were controlled by others.
So which one am I? As a good North American middle-class boomer, of course I have goals. Boomers hate to be part of the crowd; we were weaned on the book "The Pursuit of Excellence". So most days find me pursuing something. But for whom and how? Honestly reading Jesus' encounters with the leaders always makes me nervous because they acted in the name of their beliefs. Many of them were just misguided; some were manipulative but others surely were honest. That is what terrifies me, i.e., I have been honest and earnest and dead wrong before. How do I avoid falling into that category again? It seems to me that both the priests and Jesus claimed to act in the name of God. The difference was who lived out the Shema. Who acted like God acts towards others? At any given moment, who looked like they were embodying the first and second commandments?
For that reason, being right is not nearly as important to me as it used to be. For I have been right doctrinally and violated the second commandment at the same time. Ultimately, there is no way that combination can truly be "right". Only if my neighbor (friend, enemy, student, etc) feels my love for him at the same time that I hold to "truth" can I be truly "right".
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