Beware The Ides of March
“Beware the Ides of March!” is a quote made famous by William Shakespeare in the second scene of his play Julius Caesar. In this scene, a soothsayer (or fortune teller), calls out for Caesar’s attention and yells: “Beware the Ides of March!” The soothsayer can supposedly see into the future that Julius Caesar would be murdered by those close to him at which time? You guessed it: The Ides of March.
To some degree or another everyone in the Roman period would “Beware the Ides of March” because that was the day on the Roman calendar when personal debts would be collected. Ironically, Caesar would pay his debt to his countryman with his very life because of his actions and behaviors as their ruler.
This is a good reason to think then of the cross, for it was on the cross that the sins of humanity were hoisted onto the shoulders of Jesus, to pay the debt to God that our sins created. We had no exemptions to get out from under our debt and no crafty accounting which allowed us to scoot around our debt.
All of what we owed was to be paid by Jesus it was not in installments and not in part, but in full. The Greeks had a way of marking their bills when they were completely satisfied: Tetelestai. Which means no more payment is necessary and the debt was finished.
What is it that we hear Jesus cry from the cross after his suffering right before His death? Tetelestai. “It is finished.” He proclaimed that our debt was paid in full.
Instead of being scared of what God thinks of us or that we have to do “good” and act “right” so that maybe our payments are good enough to cover our faults, take joy in knowing that your sin debt and mine is “paid in full” – it is “tetelestai.”
We don’t have to “Beware the Ides of March” how about instead we see the 15th of March as a positive challenge. Think about one person that doesn’t know that their debt is paid for, someone who does not know what Jesus has done for them and let them know that their debt is gone because Jesus paid it all.
I’m not afraid of that day, I’m looking forward to it – so maybe, just maybe – the Ides of March should be afraid of us! Let God’s peace reign this season.
Duane Williams
