"Rejection of The Christ"

As we approach the Passion of Christ our thoughts will be on the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with thorns, the carrying of his cross and being nailed to it.  But that isn’t all.  The obvious events with much suffering began centuries before his birth.  Let us look at the historical beginning.

“Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; I looked for compassion, but there was none, for comforters, but found none.  Instead they put gall in my food; for my thirst they gave me vinegar. (Ps. 69: 21 -22).  

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.”  (Zec. 12: 10).

“But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.  Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth;  Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth.  Oppressed and condemned he was taken away and who would have thought any more of his destiny.”  (Is. 53: 5 -8).

Old Testament prophecies that the Scribes and Pharisees would have been very familiar with.  Were their hearts so obstinate that they couldn’t understand that these scriptures predicted the coming of the Messiah, or were they so proud that the message of Jesus was too much for them?   

After the Resurrection of Christ the new Testament was written.  Perhaps the most profound work is found in the Gospel of John; “He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.”  (Jn. 1: 10-11).

“He came to Nazareth where he had grown up, and went into the Synagogue on the sabbath day.  He stood up to read and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  After reading the passage the people asked, “isn’t this the son of Joseph?  Continuing Jesus said “no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”  (cf Lk. 4: 16 - 17, 22 - 23).

“Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute.  He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see.  All the crowd was astounded, and said, “could this perhaps be the Son of David?”  But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “this man drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”   (Mt. 12: 22 - 24).  

“As he passed by he saw a man blind form birth.”   After questioning the man who was healed the Pharisees said, “this man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.”  (cf Jn. 9:1, 16).  Many heallngs Jesus performed were on the sabbath which infuriated the Pharisees. 

Jesus knew what the Scribes and Pharisees should have known, but refused to adhere and see the Messiah was standing before them.  As Jesus said to his disciples;  “Now is the time of judgement on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.  And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”  (Jn. 12: 31 -32). 

“As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace but now it is hidden from your eyes.   For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.  They will smash you to the ground and your children within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”  (Lk. 19: 41 - 44). 

It is obvious to anyone reading Sacred Scripture that everything therein points to God’s Plan to redeem humanity.  With that in mind, the birth, life, and death of Jesus can be seen from the creation accounts through the Incarnation.  The culmination of his plan takes place in three years of Jesus’ public ministry to his Resurrection and Ascension.  Suffering had become the most essential element of completing the role of the Son of God for one specific result.  God’s forgiveness to his creatures.  

His suffering was predicted hundreds of  years before his birth, and it all came to fruition before and during his Passion. 

Ralph B. Hathaway, The Passion of Christ 2020