Photo by: Alistair Knock
An ABC news site says today that lawyers for Sirhan Sirhan, the convicted killer of Robert Kennedy, will present new evidence at a parole hearing that Sirhan did not act alone and was hypnotized to commit an act that he now cannot remember. They will also argue that ten independent witnesses all say that Sirhan was always in front of Kennedy even though medical examiners confirmed that the former Attorney General was shot behind the ear by a gun at close range. (Link to ABC Article)
I read this article while continuing to think about that historic dinner meeting we talked about in our last post. At that meeting, according to the Gospel of John, Mary poured out a bottle of expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, to show the depth of her love for the Teacher who had raised her brother Lazarus from the dead (John 12:1-8).
Lazarus was in the room and at the table (John 12:2). According to John, the miracle of his resurrection was creating a public commotion in Bethany as many people came to see not only Jesus but the man he had raised from the dead (12:9).
But here’s where my mind starts to lock up, like it does when I read about “the new evidence” that Sirhan did not act alone, and that he was hypnotized to kill and then forget the details.
Judas was also at that table. Events like this weren’t new to him. He had traveled with Jesus for three years. He was such a trusted follower that he was entrusted with the disciple’s money (12:6).
But that doesn’t mean that Judas isn’t once again stunned by a miracle that was so astounding and so public that it helped to generate not only the dinner meeting but also, on the very next day, the Palm Sunday crowds that would welcome Jesus into Jerusalem (12:12-13).
Yet how can we make sense of the fact that it is this same Judas who, a short time later accepts 30 pieces of silver, to betray Jesus, before going out and killing himself for doing such an insane thing?
There’s a lot we don’t know about the facts both in our day, and in the days of Jesus. But one thing is clear. Whether we are talking about contested evidence around the death of Robert Kennedy, or the bizarre betrayal of Jesus, we cannot afford to underestimate the power of evil, to fuel the fears that prompt desperate people to kill—in futile efforts to remain in control of their own destiny and to cover their own tracks and secrets.
Someone has said that history moves not by love but by fear. That’s an insight that may help us explain some of the seemingly irrational acts of a “Judas”… and ourselves.
But thankfully fear does not win in the end. The greater story is of the One who moves history forward by his love—a motive powerful enough to explain (as we’ve already talked about) Mary’s “crazy ” act of love (12:3).
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