I am writing this on Wednesday, December 7th, the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. They also attacked six other island nations on this same date in a massive Pacific campaign. This was a point that President Roosevelt made clear when he made his famous speech calling December 7th 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.”
FDR could not have chosen a better word to describe these events. “Infamy” is of Latin origin meaning “ill-fame.” The dictionary says it means “a disgrace, a dishonor, a great wickedness; a loss of character, outrageous.” The Japanese culture has always put such emphasis on dignity and honor, yet on that day they did something grim and contemptable: “infamous.”
The High Priest Caiaphas, and his Pharisee friends, conducted a massive campaign against God’s anointed with disgraceful actions and wickedness. They cried “Crucify,” knowing he was innocent of their charges. Even Pilate recognized that they “handed Him over because of envy” (Mk. 15:10). They had Jesus executed on the cross on the 15th of Nisan of the Jewish calendar; a date of infamy that exceeds all others.
-Dennis Doughty