Jesus stood before the governor, Pontius Pilate, who questioned him, “Are
you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” And when he was accused by
the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do
you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?” But he did not
answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release
to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a
notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want
me to release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?” For he knew that it
was out of envy that they had handed him over.
While he was still seated on the
bench, his wife sent him a message, “Have nothing to do with that righteous
man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.” The chief priests and
the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus. The
governor said to them in reply, “Which of the two do you want me to release to
you?”They answered, ABarabbas!” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with
Jesus called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”
But he said, “Why?
What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!” When
Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his
hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look
to it yourselves.” And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us
and upon our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had
Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and
gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a
scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in
his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King
of the Jews!” They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the
head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him
in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they
pressed into service to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha — which
means Place of the Skull —, they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But
when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. After they had crucified him, they
divided his garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over
him there. And they placed over his head the written charge against him: This
is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the
other on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and
saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save
yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the cross!” Likewise
the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, “He saved
others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down
from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusted in God; let him
deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The
revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same
way.
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,
lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some
of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” Immediately
one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a
reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, ‘Wait, let us see if Elijah
comes to save him.” But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his
spirit.
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many
saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs
after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The
centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly
when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A famous man once
said: “Victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan.” This probably would
explain the scenario of our Palm Sunday gospel. By virtue of His miraculous
deeds Jesus gained many followers. But as He was being persecuted by the Jewish
authorities the followers slowly evaporated from His sight.
This basically is
how many people still follow Jesus today, it is loyalty based on what He can do
for us. If He can’t do anymore miracles in our lives we slowly leave Him for
the Gods of this world. Such as the God called greed, the God called lust, the God
called power and many more false and fleeting Gods that this temporary world
offers us.
Jesus becomes a God
of convenience for many of us. If it’s convenient to follow the Lord we follow
if it’s not we don’t follow. This is primarily the reason why many of us fall
into the many temptations of this world. For example, if there’s a temptation
to cheat on the marriage covenant. Many purposely dump the Lord to grab the
temptation of Satan to cheat on their
marriage notwithstanding the misery that will befall them
afterwards.
When Jesus was
entering Jerusalem riding an ass He was at the height of His popularity that’s
why hundreds of people were rejoicing, crying and shouting, hosanna to the son
of David.
Then after He was
betrayed by Judas and subsequently caught by the Jewish authorities and
tortured by the roman soldiers the followers started to walk away from Him.
We find in the Life
of Jesus the paradox of human loyalty. That it is mainly based on what a person
can do to us. If this person can give us what we want from him we would
continue to follow. But the moment this person becomes powerless our loyalty
evaporates as well.
It happened to
Jesus, the very people who were shouting hosanna to the son of David upon His
entry to Jerusalem. Were the very same people who shouted before Pilate:
crucify him, crucify him!
As we journey this
Holy Week quarantined in our respective homes because of the Covid-19 virus. We
will once again go through the passion of Jesus and His death on the cross.
Let us reflect on
the loyalty that we give to the Lord and let us ask ourselves this question: Is
my loyalty to Jesus based on my own convenience only? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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