Imagine an Easter story where Judas is the hero.
Did that get your attention? It sure got mine the first time I read about it.
It’s the version chronicled in the book, Peace Child, by Don Richardson. In 1962 he and his wife Carol risked their lives to go and live with the Sawi people of Irian Jaya on the island of New Guinea. To these headhunting cannibals, heroes were the men who befriended their unsuspecting victims in elaborate ploys of camaraderie before turning on them.
Try and tell this tribe the Easter story and suddenly you have unwittingly raised Judas to hero status; his kiss an intimate act of brilliant betrayal.
Where deception is celebrated and trust impossible, there can be no peace.
Unless . . .
Out of the crowd a young man comes running. Feet pounding, chest heaving, his six-month-old-son clutched in his arms. And behind him the wails of a new mother rise into the sky, startling birds and alerting the family that the unthinkable has happened. A parent has offered his son in a last desperate bid for peace. The only kind of peace treaty respected by the warring tribes: a living child.
A life for a life, a child for a child, from one tribe to another. And as long as the children live safe in the arms of their enemies, a lasting peace is possible.
Because to harm a peace child is to harm your own child. It is the one unthinkable act of betrayal.
And suddenly in my mind’s eye I can see the Father-God diving toward earth, only Son clutched in His arms, desperately handing him over into the fragile flesh of humanity and entrusting him to the people He ached to give a lasting peace.
Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, God-with-Us.
And Judas betrayed him with a kiss. A kiss.
If anyone even breathed on one of my children with malicious intent I believe I would be capable of doing terrifying things in return. If they harmed them under cover of a kiss, the world might stand still.
But in a garden 2,000 years ago, our Peace Child and His Father kept walking inexorably forward. They followed through on every detail of the contract for peace. And when we did the unthinkable, when we killed the cornerstone of the contract, His Father raised Him up again so He could declare all the terms fulfilled.
In Sawi tradition, the only hope for mercy when faced with certain death was to “plead the Peace Child.” And although an ocean of time, distance and culture might separate us, I stand alongside the Sawis in their shared, awed discovery that there might be hope for a permanent peace beyond the lifespan of our children. So that we might stand around a table of bread and wine and plead the once-and-for-all Peace Child together.
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Wow. Total awesomeness. Your perspective into the history lesson AND HIS STORY is breathtaking. May we never lose awe over our Father “raising Him up again so He could declare all the terms fulfilled.”
Happy, Happy Easter to you, sweet girl. So thankful for you and your gifts!
I have that book and haven’t read it in a while. I will definitely be picking it up again. Thank you for the reminder of God’s amazing love for us.
wow that was amazing. thanks for sharing that. i physically bristled at the thought of someone hurting my children and nodded as i read the words “capable of doing terrifying things in return.”
I am glad He finished it for you and for me!
Beautifully written, Lisa-Jo.
i love the way you tied such a poignant missions story in with the wonder of Good Friday.
thanking Him for the peace offering of His Son…
So good, Lisa-Jo, thank you.
This broke me.
Broke. me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Incredible. Beautiful. What a picture of His grace!
Great post! I read this book recently after Don Richardson spoke one evening at our Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class. Excellent.
Oh, this twists me into tangled knots… Even though I only have a miniscule amount of understanding, He willingly gave His Son for me. I cannot even comprehend that magnitude.
Thank you for this beautiful Rendition of the Easter story. God bless and Happy Easter. I so want the Savior to return and take us to heaven; so we can all have peace in our troubled lives and troubled world.
Incredible. Such moving words, amazing love.
He gave it all, did it all. Is all.
xoxo
All day all I can think about is a Father and His Son and how this must have seemed like the longest day in history to them. It’s a privilege to share it with you ladies!
@Kristen: Can I just say how much I love anticipating your comments? I know that you will always be there to join me when I write and it is so profoundly comforting!
@SouthernGal: It’s the most amazing read, isn’t it? The copy I grew up reading currently sits on my father’s bookshelf in South Africa. I definitely need to invest in a copy to keep with me in the States.
@Jeannett: I can never get over the courage of the Father – how terrible it must have been to watch your Son suffer in that way. It defies the imagination. I am humbled by it now as a parent more than I ever was before I had kids.
@Marsha: Amen, friend. Amen.
@Alece: Yes, someone had written on my blog, “What if no one told me the story?” And it made my heart stand still and think; what if I didn’t know? What if I didn’t KNOW? So appreciate those who go and share the good news! {that means YOU!}
@Amber: Thank you. Really. That means so much to me, since the story of Easter almost defies being put into words.
@Ann Voskamp: Me too, Ann. Me too. All day today, no matter what we are doing, all I can think about is the Father and his Son and what they endured for this 24 hour period. It makes my chest tight and my throat close. How did they do it? And for me?
@Kate: Thank you. So much.
@Jenni: I can NOT believe you got to hear Don Richardson in person! Wow – just wow
@Darlene: Me too, friend. Me too. My heart aches at the knowledge of what they did for me.
@Glenda: Yes, what a true word. And what a true hope we have that it will come to be!
@ToThink: I am living the Friday today, Ari. Can’t wait to share the Sunday with you. Waiting is always the hardest, darkest part.
That is such a sweet pic, and what an awesome perspective.
Ginger
Powerful story.
Covenant love.
Humbled heart…
Thank you for writing.
I read this book years ago and have never forgotten the likeness of the giving of the peace child to the giving of Christ. What a beautiful story.
God’s love, beyond comprehension, takes my breath away. As do your beautiful words. Thank you.
My word, you have brought to light how God’s Word and His plan is for every tongue, tribe, and nation. God speaks all of our languages. I am utterly blessed by this post. Thank you.
THD