One of his own betrayed him. Thursday evening, Jesus had finished the Passover meal with his disciples and had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.
While there, Judas, the group's treasurer, arrived with soldiers, greeted Jesus with the traditional kiss from a disciple to his rabbi, and Jesus was arrested.
Jesus was taken before a kangaroo court and found guilty of blasphemy and sedition.
The punishment for such crimes? Death on a cross — perhaps the most cruel form of torture that humanity devised. He was nailed to a cross and left to die while countless people jeered and cursed him, and a few mourned him.
When Jesus succumbed to torture of the cross and died, the religious leaders were satisfied. The Roman leaders were satisfied. The religious zealots were satisfied.
Do you remember why Jesus irked them so much?
On Palm Sunday, we reflected on when Jesus entered Jerusalem. The people were thrilled. They had heard about this miracle-worker and were ready to make him their king.
The religious leaders were not happy because Jesus spent the previous three years challenging their theology and religious practices. That people were enthralled with this troublemaker sat in their craw.
In addition, the Roman government was not happy with the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem with the crowd shouting, “Hosanna,” which means “Save now!”
They saw Jesus as one who would disrupt the social stability by bringing about rebellion against Rome.
And the way Jesus entered Jerusalem sent the wrong message — as did his teachings. Jesus rode into the city on a donkey instead of a horse. The donkey symbolized Jesus was arriving in peace. If he had arrived on a horse, the message would have been that he was coming to conquer.
The religious leaders, the Roman leaders, the religious zealots each plotted ways to remove Jesus from the face of the earth.
That was then.
Now, less than a week later, this fraud, this rabble-rouser, this phony messiah was dead and sealed in a tomb.
As far as they were concerned, another troublemaker was disposed of.
But God had other plans.
What people intended for harm, God turned to good. Three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus left the tomb, to his disciples' utter surprise and bewilderment. Once the confusion died away, there was great rejoicing among his people.
Jesus is not dead — even these 2,000 years later. This is the message of the Christian faith that is different from any other religion in the world.
The tomb of Confucius: occupied.
The tomb of Buddha: occupied.
The tomb of Muhammad: occupied.
The tomb of Jesus: empty. (I have been to his tomb and have witnessed it for myself. He is not there! He is risen!)
Yes, Jesus died to make available the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life with God. That Jesus overcame the power of death proved once and for all death is not the final answer.
In him, there is life in this world and the world to come.
Happy Easter, my friends. Enjoy the love that he has expressed to you in a way that no one else ever could.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview's pastor.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: God turned people's harm into good