The Bono Verdict
January 28th, 2024 (Week 54)
John 6: 25-59
Imagine the scene. The envelope slides quickly through your letterbox and lands silently on the floor. It’s not an invitation and there is no RSVP requirement. Instead, it’s a command instructing you to attend for Jury Service. Like it or not, you will be called upon to decide whether or not the accused is guilty.
Along with eleven other members of the general public you sit and listen to all the evidence presented by the prosecution, trying to weigh up fact from fiction. The wrong decision by you and your peers could wreak havoc, chaos, uproar, and unrest. But you are all divided in opinion.
The importance of evidence is stressed by all the lawyers. The accused fled from the scene of the crime, leaving behind evidence of his presence including some clothing. He was seen and identified by ten or eleven people before being spotted by hundreds more in a crowd.
Judge Bono steps back into the court having read the verdict of the jury and begins to read his own personal judgment:
“I don’t think you’re let off easily by saying he was a great thinker or philosopher because, actually he went around saying he was the Messiah. That’s why he was crucified, because he said he was the son of God. So he either was, in my view, the son of God or he was nuts. And I find it hard to accept that all the millions and millions of lives, half the earth for nearly two thousand years, have felt their lives touched and inspired by some nutter. I don’t believe it. I believe that Jesus was the son of God.” (Bono, U2)
We don’t often hear of A-list rock stars and celebrities speak openly about their faith in Jesus Christ but throughout history, the greatest, thinkers, scientists, and lawyers have all committed their lives to Jesus Christ having examined the evidence thoroughly. They include arguably one of the greatest names in the English legal profession, Lord Denning, Master of the Rolls, whose reputation for assessing evidence and law was second to none and whose bible was the most used book in his library. Similarly, a former Professor of Modern History at Oxford University said, “The resurrection (of Jesus) is the most attested fact in history”, and yet many still chose to ignore it.
The writer of The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
How important is it to you? If you have never considered it, perhaps you should before it’s too late to make a difference to your life, now and forever.
Prayer: Jesus, you call us to tell others about you. Please meet with whoever reads these words and bless them with the absolute assurance of your presence with them.
Neil Bromage, 28/01/2024