Which Jesus Would You Choose?
The hidden detail in the Easter story that still challenges us today.
Welcome to Saturday’s reflection.
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Before I entered ministry, I worked in aviation.
It wasn’t the sort of job most people imagine when they hear that. Sadly, I wasn’t flying aeroplanes. My role was behind the scenes: helping rescue aircraft stranded around the world.
When an aircraft was grounded because it needed a part, every minute mattered. Airlines were losing money, passengers were delayed, crews were waiting, and the pressure to make the right decision was immense.
The budgets involved were eye-watering, the pace was relentless, and sometimes you had only a few minutes to decide how to solve a problem.
I loved it.
It was exciting, challenging and deeply satisfying. But it also taught me one lesson I’ve never forgotten.
The quickest solution to the immediate problem was rarely the best solution overall.
It was always tempting simply to move a desperately needed part from one aircraft to another. The stranded plane would fly again, and everyone would breathe a sigh of relief.
Except now that other aircraft risked becoming grounded for the same reason.
You had solved one crisis, but created another. The immediate problem disappeared, but the larger problem had simply moved somewhere else. In the moment, the decision always felt obvious and very tempting; only later could you see the bigger picture.
Life often works like that.
The solution that seems most obvious isn’t always the one that leads somewhere good. Sometimes what feels sensible or desirable in the moment is simply the easiest thing to understand.
And every time I think about that, I find myself returning to one extraordinary moment in the trial of Jesus.
Because I wonder if that’s exactly what happened there.
