From Triumph to Trial

One of the greatest days in the Church calendar in addition to Christmas and Easter is Palm Sunday. This is the day we celebrate Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. There were crowds of cheering people and he was accompanied by his admiring disciples. Christ's popularity was never higher. He had just raised Lazarus from the dead and there were many people in Jerusalem from Galilee who had seen the miracles and heard him teach. However, by Friday, things had radically changed. Jesus was betrayed by Judas, deserted by his followers, experienced the mockery of a trial, jeered by a crowd and finally put to death on a cross between two criminals. What happened--what went wrong to change things? Who was responsible for this reversal and why did it turn out this way?

We have already recounted the events of two thousand years ago. Let us look at the various people involved and then lastly, explain why this happened. Considering the possibilities of who was responsible for things going from triumph to trial, let us examine the biblical account in Matthew 26. Someone might suggest as is often the case when a leader falls from grace that he did something to cause this. This was not the reality with Jesus Christ. We might ask if one of his staff of followers did something. Judas to be sure played a major role by going to the Jewish authorities and offering to betray Christ for money. The Jewish religious leaders--the establishment--also played a major part. Apparently, their problem with Jesus was fueled by their jealousy and suspicion of him because of his popularity with the people. They were clearly threatened by this and were also at variance with him on his teaching. Jesus frequently corrected what had been corrupted by man down through the centuries on such things as the Sabbath. He emphasized "the spirit" and not "the letter" of the law, which is legalism.

Additionally, there were the two trumped-up charges that involved the temple and his messiahship and divinity. On the first point, Jesus had said, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days" (John 2:19). The context of this quote reveals that Jesus was speaking about his body and the resurrection and not the temple which was the focal point of Judaism. When he was asked if he were the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say" (Matthew 26:63-64). A key issue that still separates Jews and Christians is not so much whether Jesus is the Messiah but that Christ could be human and divine. The prophecy in Isaiah 9 indicates that this indeed is true. (See v. 6-7).

Looking for other people who also bear some responsibility, we would have to point out the crowds who were led to call out, "Crucify him!" when given the opportunity to choose between Jesus and Barabbas. The rulers at the time also deserve mention. Pilate, the Governor, and Herod, the Tetrarch over Galilee, could have seen that he received justice but each did not. Jesus was crucified by Roman soldiers because only the Romans had authority to execute someone. No doubt the soldiers would say that they were "just carrying out orders."

All of the above played a part in Jesus' death. But according to the New Testament, the real reason that Jesus went to the cross was to make atonement for the sins of the world (See Acts 2:23, 1 John 2:2 & Romans 3:25). This means that your sins and my sins put Jesus on the cross. He gave his live to be our Saviour. This is ultimately the reason that things happened as they did during Holy Week.

Praying as Jesus Taught Us

In this column we will follow two strands of thought: namely, the Kingdom of God and prayer. Our text will be the familiar but always inspiring words of Jesus on prayer from the Sermon on the Mount. In the first couple verses, Jesus offers some introductory comments to guide our thinking and practice on prayer. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8). If we take this instruction to heart it will help us not to “pray” the wrong way and to approach the throne of God properly which will result in effective and powerful prayer.

Next Jesus offered an example of prayer, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one’” (Matthew 6:9-13). This prayer is popularly known as “the Lord’s Prayer.” It can be prayed as such, although we should be careful to pray with meaning and not just recite it. Properly understood, I believe what the Lord taught us was a pattern of prayer. If prayed this way you can pray the Lord’s Prayer in minutes or hours.

Note that Jesus taught us to begin with the salutation “Our Father.” God is the Father of all who have become His children through faith in His Son (see John 1:12). We cannot really pray this with confidence until we know for certain that He is our Heavenly Father. Do you know Him? Analyzing the body of the prayer, we see that it evenly divides into two sections. Part one deals with God’s concerns and Part two involves our needs. When we pray we should remember this order and put God’s things first and ourselves second (too often it is the opposite). We are to pray for God’s Name to be sacred. His Kingdom to come (presently and future), and His will to be done (in our lives and others). We can ask for our daily sustenance, forgiveness from sins and relief from temptation.

Lastly, do not overlook the important matter of forgiveness that Jesus repeated and elaborated upon. The reason that forgiveness is so critical is that if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven—which means our prayers will go unanswered.