A crowd had gathered, a substantial crowd, a crowd that was large enough to cause a riot that the Roman garrison stationed in Jerusalem would not have been able to easily contain. This crowd was looking increasingly nasty. They had already chosen the release of a notorious criminal and condemned an innocent man in his place. But what perplexes me is where this crowd came from.
Tag: Jesus
Matthew’s Passion: The trial of the two Christs
Matthew's Passion: The trial of the two Christs 40 blogs of Lent: 30 Matthew 27:15-23 I am visiting this passage a second time because last time the relationship I looked at was the crowd. This time I am looking at the relationship between Jesus and Barabbas. Barabbas was a notorious criminal, but he was more …
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Matthew’s Passion: The cross is justice
Matthew's Passion: Barabbas 40 Blogs of Lent: 27 Matthew 27:15-23 Matthew's Pasion is told through a series of encounters between people. Enter a new character, Barabbas. But the real encounter here is a stand off between Pilate, the Roman governor, and the plotters against Jesus, who are From the Sanhedrin, the religious and political local …
Matthew’s Passion: Blood money and the suicide of Satan
Matthew's Passion: Blood money and the suicide of Satan 40 Blogs of Lent: 26 Matthew 27:3-10 Poor Judas. He has been duped by the high priest and his cronies, whatever Judas thought would happen after Jesus was handed over is not clear, but it is clear he wasn't expecting Jesus to be executed. Who can …
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Matthew’s Passion: Jesus and Pilate
Matthew's Passion: Jesus and Pilate 40 Blogs of Lent: 25 Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14 I have heard it said that you should never mix politics and religion. But what we have here is political in the extreme. The plotters which included the high priest have struggled to get the Jewish court, the Sanhedrin, to condemn Jesus, …
Matthew’s Passion: How do you recover from denying Jesus?
Matthew's Passion: Denial 40 blogs of Lent: 24 Matthew 26:69-75 Denial is engraved in our society. Insurance companies will tell you not to accept responsibility in an accident, even if you know you were at fault. You may be in breach of your insurance conditions if you do. In extreme conditions they may ask you …
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Coverings
Coverings and technology problems Holy Trinity Church Huddersfield, Sunday 31 March 2019 40 Blogs of Lent: 23 A good day for walking to church. The sun was out and the initial morning chill was wearing off, the clocks went forward last night so it felt early, it looked like was going to be a great …
Matthew’s Passion: The cross is atonement
Matthew's Passion: Staying silent 40 blogs of Lent: 21 Matthew 26:57-68 Caiaphas was high priest. He did not know it, but he was about to do his job far more effectively than any high priest before him. Not even Aaron, the first high priest, had so fully fulfilled that role. The whole reason for there …
Matthew’s Passion: Living by the sword
Matthew's Passion: Living by the sword 40 blog gas of Lent: 20 Matthew 26:47-56 Matthew's Gospel tells the story of Jesus' trial, crucifixion and ascension not as a complete narrative but as a series of encounters between people. What matters to Matthew are the relationships between people, especially between Jesus and the other people. It …
Matthew’s Passion: Sleeping in Gethsemane
Matthew's Passion: Sleeping in Gethsemane 40 Blogs of Lent: 19 Matthew 26:36-46 From a private place to a private garden. Gethsemane was a place where there was a wine press, so was probably attached to a vineyard. Jesus separates himself from first the eleven disciples, Judas had already gone elsewhere, and then from the inner …
Making an ass of myself 