向日葵视频

Jesus had set his face resolutely toward Jerusalem. He knew the authorities were out for him because they considered him a blasphemer. They accused him of making himself equivalent to God because he forgave sinners. It was a common understanding that if the leader of a sect would be done away with his followers would disperse. Jesus was aware of the plotting against him. So Jesus was making a courageous journey toward Jerusalem with his disciples. Shortly before reaching Jerusalem, he stops at the Mount of Olives which is a limestone ridge on the east side of the Kidron Valley. He would make the last part of the journey to fulfill the words of the prophet about him. As he was proceeding toward Jerusalem people recognized him and they escorted him into Jerusalem as a king. This must have convinced the authorities to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

Matthew 27:11-54

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, "Barabbas!"
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
鈥� which means Place of the Skull 鈥�,
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.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

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 on the Preface from the Mass:

For though innocent, he suffered willingly for sinners and accepted unjust condemnation to save the guilty. His death has washed away our sin and his resurrection has purchased our justification.

Suggestions for Reflection:

1. As you journey through Holy Week, are you willing to let Holy Week touch the deepest part of your heart and soul to strengthen your faith in the death/resurrection mystery? What will you do to help this happen?
2. The crowds are so inconsistent. On Palm Sunday they accompany Jesus into Jerusalem as a king and five days later they are calling for his crucifixion. What inconsistencies in your faith life need attention at this holy time?
3. Imagining you are part of the crowd accompanying Jesus, what do you think is going on in his heart and mind? What would you say to him?

Mark 15:1-39

As soon as morning came, 
the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, 
that is, the whole Sanhedrin held a council.
They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
Pilate questioned him,
鈥淎re you the king of the Jews?鈥�
He said to him in reply, 鈥淵ou say so.鈥�
The chief priests accused him of many things.
Again Pilate questioned him,
鈥淗ave you no answer?
See how many things they accuse you of.鈥�
Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them
one prisoner whom they requested.
A man called Barabbas was then in prison 
along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion.
The crowd came forward and began to ask him
to do for them as he was accustomed.
Pilate answered, 
鈥淒o you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?鈥�
For he knew that it was out of envy 
that the chief priests had handed him over.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd 
to have him release Barabbas for them instead.
Pilate again said to them in reply,
鈥淭hen what do you want me to do 
with the man you call the king of the Jews?鈥�
They shouted again, 鈥淐rucify him.鈥�
Pilate said to them, 鈥淲hy?  What evil has he done?鈥�
They only shouted the louder, 鈥淐rucify him.鈥�
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,
released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged,
handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace, 
that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.
They clothed him in purple and, 
weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.
They began to salute him with, 鈥淗ail, King of the Jews!鈥� 
and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him.
They knelt before him in homage.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the purple cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon,
a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country,
the father of Alexander and Rufus,
to carry his cross.

They brought him to the place of Golgotha
鈥攚hich is translated Place of the Skull 鈥�
They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,
but he did not take it.
Then they crucified him and divided his garments 
by casting lots for them to see what each should take.
It was nine o鈥檆lock in the morning when they crucified him.
The inscription of the charge against him read,
鈥淭he King of the Jews.鈥�
With him they crucified two revolutionaries, 
one on his right and one on his left.
Those passing by reviled him,
shaking their heads and saying,
鈥淎ha!  You who would destroy the temple
and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself by coming down from the cross.鈥�
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, 
mocked him among themselves and said, 
鈥淗e saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Christ, the King of Israel,
come down now from the cross
that we may see and believe.鈥�
Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And at three o鈥檆lock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 
鈥�Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?鈥�
which is translated,
鈥淢y God, my God, why have you forsaken me?鈥�
Some of the bystanders who heard it said, 
鈥淟ook, he is calling Elijah.鈥�
One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed 
and gave it to him to drink saying, 
鈥淲ait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.鈥�
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
When the centurion who stood facing him
saw how he breathed his last he said, 
鈥淭ruly this man was the Son of God!鈥�

Luke 23:1-49

The elders of the people, chief priests and scribes,
arose and brought Jesus before Pilate.
They brought charges against him, saying,
鈥淲e found this man misleading our people;
he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar
and maintains that he is the Christ, a king.鈥�
Pilate asked him, 鈥淎re you the king of the Jews?鈥�
He said to him in reply, 鈥淵ou say so.鈥�
Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds,
鈥淚 find this man not guilty.鈥�
But they were adamant and said,
鈥淗e is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Judea,
from Galilee where he began even to here.鈥�

On hearing this Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean;
and upon learning that he was under Herod鈥檚 jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time.
Herod was very glad to see Jesus;
he had been wanting to see him for a long time,
for he had heard about him
and had been hoping to see him perform some sign.
He questioned him at length,
but he gave him no answer.
The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile,
stood by accusing him harshly.
Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him,
and after clothing him in resplendent garb,
he sent him back to Pilate.
Herod and Pilate became friends that very day,
even though they had been enemies formerly.
Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people
and said to them, 鈥淵ou brought this man to me
and accused him of inciting the people to revolt.
I have conducted my investigation in your presence
and have not found this man guilty
of the charges you have brought against him,
nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us.
So no capital crime has been committed by him.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.鈥�

But all together they shouted out,
鈥淎way with this man!
Release Barabbas to us.鈥�
鈥� Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion
that had taken place in the city and for murder. 鈥�
Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus,
but they continued their shouting,
鈥淐rucify him!  Crucify him!鈥�
Pilate addressed them a third time,
鈥淲hat evil has this man done?
I found him guilty of no capital crime.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.鈥�
With loud shouts, however,
they persisted in calling for his crucifixion,
and their voices prevailed.
The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted.
So he released the man who had been imprisoned
for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked,
and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.

As they led him away
they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian,
who was coming in from the country;
and after laying the cross on him,
they made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large crowd of people followed Jesus,
including many women who mourned and lamented him.
Jesus turned to them and said,
鈥淒aughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me;
weep instead for yourselves and for your children
for indeed, the days are coming when people will say,
鈥楤lessed are the barren,
the wombs that never bore
and the breasts that never nursed.鈥�
At that time people will say to the mountains,
鈥楩all upon us!鈥�
and to the hills, 鈥楥over us!鈥�
for if these things are done when the wood is green
what will happen when it is dry?鈥�
Now two others, both criminals,
were led away with him to be executed.

When they came to the place called the Skull,
they crucified him and the criminals there,
one on his right, the other on his left.
Then Jesus said,
鈥淔ather, forgive them, they know not what they do.鈥�
They divided his garments by casting lots.
The people stood by and watched;
the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said,
鈥淗e saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.鈥�
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
鈥淚f you are King of the Jews, save yourself.鈥�
Above him there was an inscription that read,
鈥淭his is the King of the Jews.鈥�

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
鈥淎re you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.鈥�
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
鈥淗ave you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal.鈥�
Then he said,
鈥淛esus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.鈥�
He replied to him,
鈥淎men, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.鈥�

It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon
because of an eclipse of the sun.
Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
 鈥淔ather, into your hands I commend my spirit鈥�;
and when he had said this he breathed his last.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said,
鈥淭his man was innocent beyond doubt.鈥�
When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle
saw what had happened,
they returned home beating their breasts;
but all his acquaintances stood at a distance,
including the women who had followed him from Galilee
and saw these events.