Imagine your hero, whom you have looked up to for years as a pillar in the faith, a person who always does the right thing at the right time. This is how the disciples saw Jesus. It’s recorded in the Bible that some of them even professed that He was the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world.
Now imagine that He is persecuted every time he goes out in public. He speaks the truth in love and kindness at every turn. Imagine how the powers that be hate him to the point of planning His death.
And, imagine that He is arrested on trumped-up charges and taken into custody. A hasty mockery of a trial ensues in secret, and your hero is sentenced to death – tomorrow! You are following the events closely. If you align yourself with your hero, you might get the same fate. So you keep quiet. Then a neighbor recognizes that you were a close follower and points you out in public. You quickly downplay your involvement out of fear.
Now imagine your hero carrying the electric chair through a well-traveled place for the purpose of humiliating Him – He is bruised and beaten, but struggles to carry the weight. He falters, and a stranger steps in to help Him with the burden, while you watch from the crowd with your hoodie on.
Finally, your hero is strapped into the chair, and the electricity is connected. You wait, expecting them to put the hood over His face, but they don’t. His enemies want the world to see clearly the suffering on HIs face and body. You ponder how the world you know could kill such an amazing and innocent person so brutally and publicly.
The switch is thrown, and you watch as your hero dies the most horrible death. You see His face as the electricity surges through His body. How can this be? He had such strong faith, He lived by the Bible and followed all the right things. But now He is clearly dead and your hero has fallen.
What would you do now?