Thought for the Month - May 2005

Michael Jackson Trial - By Pastor Ian Wilson

There was no shortage of enthusiastic prospective jurors in Santa Maria, California, for what promises to be the trial of the century. Michael Jackson dressed up for the occasion in virginal white to portray his innocence as he arrived at court with the media circus ready to roll into action.

It's a media spectacular with newspapers and magazines competing for the best pictures and juiciest sleaze. The Observer reports that the media have already paid $36,000 to rent office and parking space in Santa Maria. Lawyer Michael Clayton is charging $2,500 a day for six spaces on top of his roof, which can be used as vantage points for cameras, as well as $500 a day to park.

This type of trial is not new to America most of us will remember the trial of Orenthal James Simpson. The 1995 criminal trial of O. J. Simpson for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman has been called "A great trash novel come to life", no one can deny the pull it had on the American public.

The 133 days of televised courtroom testimony turned countless viewers into Simpson trial junkies. Even foreign leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Boris Yeltsin eagerly gossiped about the trial. When Yeltsin stepped off his plane to meet President Clinton, the first question he asked was, "Do you think O. J. did it?"

When, at 10 a.m. on October 3, The Judge’s clerk read the jury's verdict of "Not Guilty", 91% of all persons viewing television were glued to the unfolding scene in the Los Angeles courtroom. Many people feel in the case of O J Simpson that a guilty man walked free that day.

The greatest trial of all time was the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a mockery from the beginning.

Luke 23:4 "Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man"

It was obvious to Pilate that Christ was being set up. However Pilate giving into crowd pressure said, “Let him be crucified.”

An innocent man was found guilty. Why did Christ allow himself to be tried and then crucified? Let the Bible speak for itself.

Isaiah 53:5-6 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all"

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!