Explaining Christ's Apparent Passivity During Holy Week

Tod Worner speaks eloquently and beautifully of Christ's 'meekness':

In the wake of these events, the question in my mind arose again and again: Was Christ passive in his apprehension, Passion and Crucifixion? At any moment, the Lord God in the form of Jesus of Nazareth could put all of these arrogant human creatures in their place. One active move in the Garden to say “No” to the Call, to summon Legions of Angels to smite the Roman soldiers, to denounce the intrigues of the Sanhedrin and forcefully declare his innocence to Pilate could save the human life of Jesus Christ. And when I watch what happened to Jesus during Holy Week, my human impulse is want him to get out of this nightmare. If only he would assert himself, advocate for himself and show his tormentors who he really was, then he would be spared this unparalleled agony. If only he were active and instead he was passive. And the price of this passivity would be the Cross.

But, you see, that is the problem with my sad human mind. I am selfishly pre-occupied with saving myself, advocating for myself, getting out of trouble, getting out of pain. To do these things, in my mind, is to be active. All else is passive. Is it surprising that there is such a robust human proclivity for self-preservation? Perhaps not. The Biblical narrative constantly shows man (most often, sinfully) making himself God and orienting his life accordingly.

But God’s Way is different. Christ chose to teach man what it means to be truly active. In the name of selfless devotion to man’s salvation, Christ actively assented to drink the cup put before him. He actively resisted the temptation to lash out at soldiers, the Sandhedrin and the Roman Governor. He actively accepted the taunts, the thorns, the scourge and the nails while offering comfort to women on the Via Dolorosa, absolution to his tormenters and reassurance to his fellow death-mate on a nearby cross. The path Christ chose was not passive at all, but, in fact, the most active in all of human history. And this unparalleled “activity” is called obedience. And it was the most painful obedience the world has ever know. Obedience requires subordination of appetites, of self-interest, of easy-outs and end-runs. Obedience requires clear-eyed honesty and rock-ribbed devotion to a vision greater than my own – God’s vision. It is painful and soothing. It is confining yet liberating. And yet obedience gets a bad name in the modern world of “freedom” and “self-actualization”. But God’s Way is different. 

I urge you to read the whole thing... and to bookmark Mr. Worner.

He writes with wisdom.

Carry on.