The Gospel of Matthew is chosen today by the Church to begin the Holy Week events leading to Jesus’ death and resurrection. I have been reading about the juxtaposition of personal episodes that happened to Jesus as witnessed by the apostles and are rooted in the words of the Old Testament and its prophets concerning the Messiah who would appear.
In the Palm Sunday experience, Matthew explains that Jesus, heading to Jerusalem, reached Bethphage and called for a donkey and colt in the village ahead of them. As he rode through the town, the crowds spread palm branches on the road and hailed him “Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
After Jesus’ death, the disciples remembered the amazing happening along the route and recalled the ancient Prophet saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
During the reading of Palm Sunday’s Passion narrative, Matthew includes in his Gospel several other incidents that happened the day before Jesus’ crucifixion. Later recalling them and realizing that these events were rooted in the prophets solidified forever that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah.
Pointing to his disciples dispersing and hiding in fear after the Last Supper, Jesus spoke of a prophecy matching their behavior: “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.’” No doubt due to fear, it was some time after the crucifixion that the disciples remembered the prophecy to which Jesus had referred.
After Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and thirty pieces of silver, Matthew writes that Judas repented but hanged himself. After conferring, the chief priests used the money to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the Prophet Jeremiah, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver… and gave them for the potter’s field.”
Gospel writers Mark, Luke and John also quoted Old Testament prophecies to validate that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. The written word of the Gospel, eyewitness accounts, the prophetic word of the Old Testament prophets and the fulfillment of the prophetic word give authenticity to Jesus as Messiah.
-Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ
Image: Unsplash/Brooke Lark