Second Week of Lent :: Before Pilate

Second Week of Lent

Before Pilate

As Jesus finished praying with His disciples at Gethsemane, they were met with a hostel mob “armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.” (Matthew 26:47)  Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by one of His closest companions, Judas. (Matthew 26:49-50)  Almost all the disciples fled in fear as Jesus was taken before the Jewish high priest where He was interrogated with a series of accusing questions. Finally, wanting to put an end to Jesus’ life, his enemies proposed a plan that they hoped would prove successful in pressuring the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, to execute Him.

This week, we will observe Jesus as He was brought before Pontius Pilate who played a key role in the sentencing process of His crucifixion.  We will reflect on how these interactions can apply to our own lives and the world in which we live

Even so, with the meekest of gestures,
has the war for the world been engaged
with a kiss. And the kiss has a tooth.
And the snake that struck the Lord
has a back of fire and a body of human opinion.[i]
~Walter Wangerin

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[i] Walter Wangerin, Reliving the Passion: meditations on the suffering, death, and resurrection, 70.