Skip to main content

Christ our Lord and our King

Matthew 27:11-54
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
    N. Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate, the governor, and the governor put to him this question:
    O. Are you the king of the Jews?
    N. Jesus replied,
    ✠ It is you who say it.
    N. But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him,
    O. Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?
    N. But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the charges.
    At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now there was at that time a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them,
    O. Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?
    N. For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message,
    O. Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.
    N. The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them,
    O. Which of the two do you want me to release for you?
    N. they said, 
    C. Barabbas.
    N. Pilate said to them:
    O. But in that case, what am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?
    N. They all said:
    C. Let him be crucified!
    N. Pilate asked:
    O. Why? What harm has he done?
    N. But they shouted all the louder, 
    C. Let him be crucified!
    N. Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said,
    O. I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.
    N. And the people, to a man, shouted back,
    C. His blood be on us and on our children!
    N. Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be crucified.
    The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying,
    C. Hail, king of the Jews!
    N. And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.
    On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross. When they had reached a place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall, which he tasted but refused to drink. When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by casting lots, and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him.
    Above his head was placed the charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ At the same time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
    The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,
    C. So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are God’s son, come down from the cross!
    N. The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way, saying:
    C. He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He puts his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the son of God.’
    N. Even the robbers who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
    From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
    ✠ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
    N. That is, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood there heard this, they said,
    C. The man is calling on Elijah.
    N. and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink. The rest of them said:
    C. Wait! See if Elijah will come to save him.
    N. But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
    Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
    N. At that, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to a number of people. Meanwhile the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said,
    C. In truth this was a son of God.

Reflection
Today christian around the world celebrate palm. What is the significance of palm sunday? Palm Sunday is the day we remember Christ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It is a day when he declare he is the Messiah and the king of the king of the kingdom of God. The people at that time however were confused for they thought he will save them from the Roman Today is a day we ask ourselves do we take Christ as our Lord and king?

Let us pray
Lord Jesus you are our Lord and king .May we open our hearts  so that we can see and feel your mighty wonders.

Amen



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Only God can transform our heart

Gospel Mark 7:14-23 It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean Jesus called the people to him and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’     When he had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and
Post a Comment
Read more

The Light of Christ

Gospel Matthew 2:1-12 The visit of the Magi After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.’ Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do
Post a Comment
Read more

Trust in Christ Grace

Gospel Mark 6:30-34 They were like sheep without a shepherd The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length. Reflection Peter the apostle called Jesus the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). Do you know the peace and security of a life freely submitted to Jesus, the Good Shepherd? In the person of the Lord Jesus we see the unceasing vigilance and patience of God's love. In our ba
Post a Comment
Read more