Gospel: Passion Sunday
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week which commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where the Jews were waving palms and branches, shouting, Hosanna! Hosanna! But we all know how this momentous event will lead to a tragic death that will result to our redemption.
Palm Sunday is also called Passion Sunday because the Gospel reading recounts the final moments of Jesus, beginning with the Lord's Supper and ends in His crucifixion, or what we call as the Lord's Passion. The reading was lifted from the Gospel according to St Matthew.
Perhaps this is the well known passage in the Bible so I will recount what charges were brought before Him in the Sanhendrin (the Jewish judicial body) instead. Jesus was brought to be tried for the following offenses: (1) Violating the Sabbath Law (by healing on the Sabbath), (2) Threatening to destroy the Jewish Temple, (3) Sorcery, (4) Exorcising people through the power of demons, and (5) Claiming to be both Messiah and Son of God. But because blasphemy is not punishable in the Roman Law, the Pharisees invented an offense: Jesus claiming as the King of the Jews.
Because rebellion is punishable by crucifixion, and because of its gravity, Pontius Pilate was hesitant to crucify Jesus. And he tried everything in his power to prevent it. Because Pilate knew the politics in the Jewish Temple, he turned to the people to make his appeal. But because the people were blind followers of their authorities, every attempt by Pilate failed. It even came to the point that the Pharisees mentioned Ceasar (who was the Roman Emperor at that time) and threatened him that there is no king but Caesar, and anyone who is friends with the king of the Jews is not a friend of Caesar. Pontius Pilate also feared for himself so he hand him over Jesus to them to be crucified.
Sometimes, we are faced with very tough decisions in life that made us fear for our security or for our tenure or for our jobs. This fear eats up our rational minds, and sometimes it leads us to decisions we might regret later. Fear also blinds us to the truth, and because of it we become blind followers to feel secure about our person. It is because of it that we sometimes do not know what we are doing.
x----x
Picture from Pixabay.
Palm Sunday is also called Passion Sunday because the Gospel reading recounts the final moments of Jesus, beginning with the Lord's Supper and ends in His crucifixion, or what we call as the Lord's Passion. The reading was lifted from the Gospel according to St Matthew.
Perhaps this is the well known passage in the Bible so I will recount what charges were brought before Him in the Sanhendrin (the Jewish judicial body) instead. Jesus was brought to be tried for the following offenses: (1) Violating the Sabbath Law (by healing on the Sabbath), (2) Threatening to destroy the Jewish Temple, (3) Sorcery, (4) Exorcising people through the power of demons, and (5) Claiming to be both Messiah and Son of God. But because blasphemy is not punishable in the Roman Law, the Pharisees invented an offense: Jesus claiming as the King of the Jews.
Because rebellion is punishable by crucifixion, and because of its gravity, Pontius Pilate was hesitant to crucify Jesus. And he tried everything in his power to prevent it. Because Pilate knew the politics in the Jewish Temple, he turned to the people to make his appeal. But because the people were blind followers of their authorities, every attempt by Pilate failed. It even came to the point that the Pharisees mentioned Ceasar (who was the Roman Emperor at that time) and threatened him that there is no king but Caesar, and anyone who is friends with the king of the Jews is not a friend of Caesar. Pontius Pilate also feared for himself so he hand him over Jesus to them to be crucified.
Sometimes, we are faced with very tough decisions in life that made us fear for our security or for our tenure or for our jobs. This fear eats up our rational minds, and sometimes it leads us to decisions we might regret later. Fear also blinds us to the truth, and because of it we become blind followers to feel secure about our person. It is because of it that we sometimes do not know what we are doing.
x----x
Picture from Pixabay.
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