Any crowd of people in a state of excitement is alarming to the authorities, and Jesuss actions do little to reassure them. He smashes the stalls of the traders in the courtyard of the Temple, and prophesies the imminent destruction of this most holy building. It seems inevitable that he will be arrested and punished. Indeed in Christian terms it is essential that he should be - for he has come, his followers later believe, to make the ultimate sacrifice of his own life, which will somehow redeem the sins of mankind. Jesus has a last supper with his disciples. The implication is that it is the Jewish ritual meal of Pesach or Passover. He breaks bread for them, offers them wine, and specifically - in the Gospel account - associates these with his body and blood, soon to be spilt in his sacrifice. The Eucharist, the central sacrament of the Christian church, is established (see Sacraments). After supper Jesus goes to pray in the garden of Gethsemane, where Judas Iscariot - the traitor among the disciples - brings his enemies to arrest him. The Temple priests charge him with blasphemy and demand that the Romans, the civil authorities, put him to death. With some reluctance, Pontius Pilate condemns him to crucifixion - a barbarous form of Roman execution reserved for agitators, pirates and slaves. With the details of the Resurrection - the empty tomb, the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene in the garden and to the disciples on the road to Emmaus - the Gospel account of Jesus becomes the story of the Christians.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 03:04:11 +0000
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