Bible Study, Prayer, and Homily Resources
by Fr. Tommy Lane
The accounts of Jesus’ passion take up two chapters in each of the four Gospels. They describe the time from the Last Supper on Thursday evening to Jesus’ death on Friday afternoon. They take up a disproportionately large space in the Gospels compared to the remainder of Jesus’ life. The disproportionate large amount of space given by each evangelist to Jesus’ passion and death reflects our devotion to meditating on Jesus’ passion and death. With love for Jesus, we read the accounts of Jesus’ passion and death because they are accounts of Jesus’ love for us, giving himself as a sacrifice to save us.
We read John’s account of Jesus’ passion on Good Friday every year. Today, Palm Sunday every year, in turn we read the account by Matthew, Mark, or Luke so that once every three years we hear each of their accounts of Jesus’ passion. This year we listened to Luke. Each evangelist gives us details of Jesus’ passion that we do not get in the others, so it is good that we have four Gospels.
Luke emphasizes Jesus’ innocence. Three times Pilate declared Jesus to be innocent. Herod also found Jesus innocent as Pilate said. The good thief, as we call him, on the cross said Jesus was innocent. Finally, the centurion standing near the cross said Jesus was innocent. Six times, four people declared Jesus innocent during Luke’s account of Jesus’ passion and death. It was obvious to everyone that Jesus was innocent.
Indeed Jesus was innocent. In the so-called trial before the Sanhedrin, Luke does not report any formal charge against Jesus nor witnesses (unlike Matthew and Mark) against Jesus. But nevertheless they wanted to “get rid of” Jesus. The Sanhedrin, often simply called “the council” in the Gospels, had been given some civil powers by the Roman occupiers of Palestine. For example, the Sanhedrin had its own police force which arrested Jesus in Gethsemane. But capital punishment and execution could not be carried out by the Sanhedrin. For that, they needed to get Jesus condemned by the Romans, by Pilate. But in the trial before Pilate, the charges were false, and the witnesses were false. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent but caved in under pressure. So innocent Jesus was sent for extreme torture and crucifixion on false charges.
Jesus’ passion brought healing. Luke tells us that Jesus healed the ear of the high priest’s servant in Gethsemane (22:51). Pilate and Herod did not have a good relationship but Luke reports that Pilate and Herod became friends that very day (23:12). In a mysterious way, the enmity between Pilate and Herod was healed by Jesus that day. That is just a tiny part of the healing that Jesus’ passion and death effected. Jesus’ passion and death brought us healing from the just rewards for our sins. Jesus’ passion and death healing us is evident again as he was being crucified. Only Luke reports Jesus’ prayer as he was being crucified: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (23:34) We can see Jesus praying this prayer to the Father for all of us as he was being crucified. Father in heaven, forgive us that Jesus was crucified for our sins. Father in heaven, forgive us that you had to send Jesus to be crucified to make expiation for our sins. Father in heaven, forgive us that you had to send Jesus to be crucified to make atonement for our sins.
Only Luke reports that as Jesus died, he uttered a beautiful prayer of trust in his Father, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (23:46) What a beautiful way to die. Jesus’ death, giving himself trustfully into the hands of his Father as he died, is a model for how all Christians are to die, trustfully surrendering ourselves into the hands of our Father. It reminds me of that beautiful prayer many of us learned as children:
Jesus, Mary and
Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph
assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe
forth my soul in peace with you. Amen
The evangelists wrote the Gospels for our benefit. During the week ahead, the most important week of the year, it would be good to read each of the accounts of Jesus’ passion in a slow and meditative way, reflecting on them, soaking up all they have to say to us, and using them to help us pray (Matt 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19). Out of love for us, Jesus died for us. We can love Jesus back by meditating on his passion, death, and resurrection for us.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2025
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for Passion (Palm) Sunday
Jesus’ faithful love 2024
Meditating on Jesus’ Passion 2021
The Passion of Jesus speaks to us 2015
The characters in the Passion represent us 2009
The Passion of Jesus shows us up as sinners and heals us
Related Homilies: Jesus’ “Abba” Prayer in Gethsemane 2020
Jesus’ Sufferings Revealed by the Turin Shroud
Second Reading: All Should Bend the Knee at the Name of Jesus 2020
First Reading: Jesus took our sins on himself 2018