Editing Blog:"Get behind me, Satan!" (section)

== Transfer of authority ==
It's not in any sense ironic that forty years later the Romans ended up destroying Jerusalem, killing hundreds of thousands of people through starvation, warfare, and, again, no irony, crucifixion of thousands.<ref>Stopped only when the Romans ran out of wood.</ref> It's not ironic because it's not related to Jesus and the unbelieving Pharisees.     

The Roman destruction was preceded by Roman imperial provocation which was intended to punish continued Jewish resistance to the occupation but that instead provoked outright rebellion<ref>There is a certain irony in that Arch of Titus, built to commemorate the conquest of Jerusalem and to deify its conqueror, marks transfer of Christ's revolutionary focus from Jerusalem to Rome.</ref>. And it's not ironic because the Jews expected that God would once again save his chosen people: he brought them from Egypt; he saved them from the Babylonians and Assyrians; and he gave them victory over the Seleucids (Greeks) who, as the Romans were now doing, had profaned the Temple.       
[[File:Titian_-_Christ_and_the_Good_Thief_-_WGA22832.jpg|thumb|<small>Christ and the Good Thief by Titian (Wikicommons)</small>]]
Along with the element of thanksgiving, the Jewish system of sacrifice was for expiation of the sins of Israel and the ongoing restoration of its kingdom, so for the Jews, the lesson was always that God punishes infidelity and rewards faith, lessons that backfired horrifically when God wasn't there for them in 70 AD.<ref>We'll work on this idea in the future, but it is my view that God didn't bring the Romans down upon Jerusalem, but instead withheld his protection.</ref> It's a failure of what's called "normalcy bias" -- expecting things to be the same, just because it's always been that way. Instead, reason failed them when, for example, seeing plain miracles of Christ they saw misdemeanor Sabbath violations instead. 

By refusing to listen to God's son, they missed the entire point. The only person in the Gospel not guided by the Holy Spirit and who realizes before Jesus' death what was actually going on was the "good thief," who after mocking Jesus for not saving himself, repents, just before dying himself, telling Jesus,<blockquote>
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/23:42 Lk 23:42]</ref> (</blockquote>[[File:Unidentified_artist,_Flemish,_17th_century_-_The_Taking_of_Christ_-_1979.154_-_Museum_of_Fine_Arts.jpg|left|thumb|<small>The Taking of Christ (unidentified, Flemish, 17th century; wiki commons). Peter slashing the guard's ear is depicted to the lower right.</small>]]There you go: had Jesus not died, which Peter tried to stop, there would be no divine coronation. It was at his own death and upon watching Jesus die that the good thief was able to see what the rest of his countrymen could not, and that Jesus had been saying so plainly all along: the Messiah will restore not the temporal throne of Israel, but lead her people -- and the rest of the nations, as God had promised Abraham -- to the Kingdom of God.  

Indeed, one of my favorite lines from Jesus comes after Peter slashes at the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus. After the famous "live by the sword, die by the sword" comment, Jesus tells Peter, <blockquote>
“Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/26?53 Mt 26:53]</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, Jesus also tells Pilate,<blockquote>“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”<ref>[https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/18?36 Jn 18:36]</ref></blockquote>That's precisely what the pharisees and the disciples and all the Jews wanted from their Messiah: that Jesus order his "attendants" or call down "twelve legions of angels" and throw the Romans out of Palestine. They wanted him to climb down from the Cross, crack open a bottle of champaign, and say, "Just kidding! Let's kick some Roman butt now!"

But that's how men think, not God.<ref>There is a sublime lesson here: God could command human outcomes at any time. He doesn't. He wants us to choose. Amazing.</ref>