Five characters around the cross that Kenyans should be wary of

It is Easter, the season when those who believe in the biblical Jesus reflect on his suffering, death, and triumphant resurrection. The “reason for the season” is clear to those who believe, it is the power of forgiveness, the power of a man who paid a debt He did not owe, so that He could rescue those who owed a debt they could not pay. 

My reflections this Easter weekend however are not so much on the man Jesus but on the characters around the Easter weekend; to use words of Reverend Tom Houston in his famous book, the “characters around the cross”.

During the passion week, the week around Christ’s crucifixion we encounter some notable characters that still hold enduring lessons for humanity centuries later.

The first character is the crowd. We see a crowd that reacts in very different ways to Christ within a very short time. When Christ entered Jerusalem, the week before His crucifixion, he was celebrated as the Messiah, with crowds placing palms on the road for him to ride on, shouting with fervor “Hossana to the Highest”. A few days later, the same crowd was screaming “Crucify Him”.

Crowds have always been fickle as many, especially politicians, painfully learn. Any leader who thrives on the adoration and adulation of crowds must always know their exaltation can take a 180 degree turn in a moment. Beware believing in crowds.

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The second character around the cross is the infamous Judas. This fellow had been with Christ for years, had benefited from His care and teaching and watched Him perform miracles. But instead of focusing on the value of Christ to humanity, he saw the opportunity for monetisation for private gain. People like that abound in our society.

The very root of graft and corruption is the grabbing of public benefit for private good. Judas ended badly, distraught and alone. Those who betray the common cause for private gain stand warned.

The third character around the cross is Peter. We all know the man who betrayed his best friend out of fear, in the first instance of a “servant girl”. There is a Peter in most of us. Loyal and faithful, until danger threatens.

Unlike Judas, our motivation for betrayal is not money or power, but pure dread. We know what truth is, but we are not willing to pay the price to stand by it. Fortunately for Peter he came to his senses and stood fearless on later occasions, with history recording his martyrdom for the same Christ he had betrayed.

May Peter be an inspiration, there is always a second chance. The fourth character is Pontius Pilate. This Roman governor played a minor but important role in Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. The Bible records that he had been urged by his wife to do right and to free Jesus, which he had the power to do. But his desire for fame and popularity moved him to ignore good counsel and take steps that have earned him revulsion over the ages. His “washing off” a decision he made is a great failure of leadership.

Leadership is never about looking right for popularity’s sake, but doing right. Leadership that focuses on being accepted rather than doing the right thing, is underserving of the honour.

The last character, Mary Magdalene, is the most redeeming. She, like Peter was a loyal friend who had known the power of Christ’s love and forgiveness. Unlike Peter however, she stood strong and loyal, staying with Christ until He died.

She was the first person to encounter Him after His resurrection, having risked and stayed by His tomb to the end. In a society that demeaned women, it is gratifying that the redeeming characters around His cross are women, for I include Pilate’s wife in this narration.

In difficult and risky moments, they sought to do what more powerful men could not accomplish. There is a lesson here for humankind, a society is incomplete and ineffectual if it downplays the role of women and other marginalised groups.

On many occasions, the marginalised, especially women, play a redemptive role for society, filling its inadequacies and redeeming its potential. Kenya will rise higher when we recognise this truth. Have a blessed Easter.

The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya