The journey from the palms to the cross

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palms Sunday, He was met by crowds shouting “Halleluia, Hail to the Messiah.” Days later, that same crowd shouted to Pontius Pilate: “Crucify Jesus, release Barabbas.” How could people change in so short a time? The answer is in the gospels of Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John. There was a conspiracy to eliminate Jesus because He posed a grave danger to the powers-that-be. And the people were too easily manipulated by fake news, propaganda instigated by scribes and Pharisees, the ruling class who were threatened by Jesus.

Jesus was a threat because each day, His followers grew in numbers. He was a very effective preacher. More and more people followed Him in the villages where He spread the good news of salvation. More so, when He healed the sick, made the blind see, the lame walk, and lepers clean again. He gave hope to the poor and the victims of social injustice. He drove away demons and evil spirits and forgave the sins of prostitutes and tax collectors.

The enemies of Jesus bribed the apostle Judas Escariot with 30 pieces of silver and he gave the details of Jesus’ planned route. He even accompanied Jesus in the Gethsemane where the ambush arrest was to be executed. Judas had the temerity to attend the Last Supper but it was then and there that Jesus said one of them would betray Him. By the washing of the hands before the Last Supper, the other apostles came to know it was Judas Iscariot who would sell Jesus to Caiaphas, Annas, and the powers-that-be. Jesus already knew what would happen, and the rest is told in the gospel.

The journey from the joyful Palm Sunday to the sorrowful Good Friday was the most intensive episode of Jesus passion, death, and resurrection. It was a journey that started with the ecstasy of Palm Sunday and ended with the agony in Calvary. But the story of Jesus did not end on the cross.

The resurrection, which is the central and core essence of our Catholic faith, is the true climax of Jesus’ life. If the palms symbolized joy and hopes, and if Jesus’ death on the cross symbolized the deepest anguish of the believers, the resurrection represents the ultimate truth: That there indeed is life after death.

This is our essential faith; that we are not just bodies but spirit too, and that there shall be a resurrection of the dead and the communion of saints. Without the resurrection, we would have nothing to hold to, and Jesus’ death on the cross would have lost its meaning and purpose.