Mt. 21:1-11; Is. 50:4-7; Phil. 2:6-11; Mt. 26:14-27:66
The Gospel of the Passion begins with triumph—Jesus entering Jerusalem with palm branches waving, the people shouting “Hosanna!” It looks like a celebration, a victory parade, a moment when all creation sings the arrival of the Messiah.
Yet the Church intentionally places this joybeside the long and painful narrative of Christ’s suffering and death. The same crowd that welcomed Him will cry out later, “Crucify Him!” The transition is shocking but real, because the same human heart can celebrate good today and reject it tomorrow. The triumphal procession becomes the path to Calvary. The Messiah who comes in humility, riding on a donkey as the prophet Zechariah foretold, is the Messiah who is rejected precisely because His goodness exposes human darkness.As we listen to the Passion, there is one line that pierces the heart: “He deserves death.” The words were spoken by the religious authorities who brought false accusations against Jesus. What had He done to deserve death? They knew He had healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, forgiven the sinful, fed the hungry, shown compassion to the broken, and proclaimed a new law of love. But love is threatening to those who cling to power. Mercy is disturbing to those who profit from fear. Truth is intolerable to those who live in deceit. Their judgment—“He deserves death”—is not a verdict on His actions but a revelation of their hearts.
Jesus “deserves death” for healing the sick. How strange that the One who made the paralytic walk, who cleansed the leper, who restored the dignity of those considered untouchable, now stands condemned. In Mark 3, when Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the Pharisees were outraged. Instead of rejoicing, they began to plot His destruction. The reaction seems irrational until we understand that goodness which liberates people threatens structures that rely on control. A man healed is a man free. A woman restored is a woman empowered. The sick being cured disrupted the systems of dependency and fear. So the Healer must be stopped. And so, they say, “He deserves death.”
Jesus “deserves death” for forgiving sinners. How often in the Gospels the mercy of Jesus becomes a scandal. When He forgave the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, the Pharisees grumbled. When He told the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” they accused Him of blasphemy. When He ate with tax collectors and sinners, they questioned His holiness. Mercy, in the eyes of the self-righteous, is an affront because it removes the ladder by which they climb above others. By forgiving sinners, Jesus dismantled a social structure built on distinction, exclusion, and shame. He reached out to those labeled irredeemable, rejected by society, and declared them beloved in the eyes of God. For such mercy, they believed He “deserved death.”
Jesus “deserves death” for consoling the brokenhearted. He touched people’s wounds, listened to the grieving, wept with the sorrowful, and offered hope to those living in despair. His compassion called Him to stand with the marginalized, the forgotten, the insignificant. In doing so, He exposed the indifference of those who preferred systems over souls. Even His tears at Lazarus’s tomb unsettled His opponents because they revealed a God whose heart beats for humanity. A God who suffers with us is not easily controlled by religious institutions. A God who consoles the broken does not fit into the cold structures of rigid legalism. For giving comfort to those the powerful preferred to ignore, they judged He “deserved death.”
Jesus “deserves death” for feeding the hungry. In a world marked by scarcity, food is power. When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish, the crowd wanted to make Him king. But His critics saw a dangerous sign: a leader who could give people what they needed without exploiting them. This threatened political and religious authorities. A Messiah who feeds the hungry challenges those who use hunger as a tool of control. A Savior who satisfies human needs exposes the emptiness of leaders who pretend to care. To a world where the few hold power because the many lack necessities, a man who feeds freely is dangerous. So again, “He deserves death.”
Jesus “deserves death” for establishing a new law of love that replaces revenge. In the Sermon on the Mount He said, “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye,’ but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you.” This was not a gentle suggestion but a revolution of the human heart. It undermined the cycle of violence that sustained social and political order. A society built on retaliation feels threatened when forgiveness becomes the norm. Jesus dismantled the old logic of vengeance and introduced a kingdom where love, mercy, justice, and peace reign. But peace is dangerous to those who live on conflict. Love is dangerous to those who thrive on hate. Forgiveness is dangerous to those who wield fear as a weapon. So they cry out, “He deserves death.”
Throughout history, many have suffered the same fate as Jesus—condemned not for evil but for good. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who resisted Hitler, was executed for speaking truth. Nurse Edith Cavell, during World War I, was killed for helping wounded soldiers from both sides, simply because compassion was labeled treason. In India, Graham Staines, an Australian missionary, was burned alive with his children because he cared for lepers. Goodness continues to be seen as a threat when it disrupts hatred, challenges power or affirms the dignity of the forgotten.
The story of Antoine from Rwanda reminds us that goodness still provokes violence. But his story also reveals a deeper truth: love that is willing to suffer becomes a force no hatred can overcome. So it was with Jesus. On the cross He does not curse His enemies; He prays for them. He does not retaliate; He forgives. He does not protect Himself; He entrusts Himself to the Father. He transforms the accusation “He deserves death” into a revelation of God’s love. He dies not as a criminal but as a Savior.
Passion Sunday invites us to see the contrast between the world’s judgment and God’s truth. The world says the innocent deserve death. God says their suffering becomes redemptive. The world says goodness is weakness. God shows that goodness is divine strength. The world mocks humility. God exalts it. The world rejects love. God reveals that love alone remains.
We live today in a world marked by division, war, and unrest. Nations rise against nations. Communities are torn apart by hatred. People speak of peace but prepare for conflict. Social media multiplies anger. Families break under pressure. The poor suffer while the powerful seek more power. In such a world, the message of Passion Sunday is not simply to admire Jesus from a distance but to internalize His way of love. The cross is not only an event to remember; it is a path to follow.
We are invited to stand with Christ in a world that still condemns goodness. When you speak truth with love, some may mock you. When you refuse to hate, others may accuse you of being weak. When you show compassion to strangers, some may label you naïve. When you forgive, others may think you are foolish. When you reach out to the poor, some may call you impractical. In many ways, the world still says of Christ’s followers, “They deserve rejection for doing good.” But this is the path of discipleship. “Take up your cross and follow Me,” Jesus says.
The message for us today is clear: if we truly walk with Christ, we must be willing to embrace the cost of love. Love that does not cost anything has no depth. Love that avoids sacrifice can never transform the world. Jesus shows us that love is stronger than hatred, forgiveness is stronger than revenge, compassion is stronger than cruelty, and goodness is stronger than evil, even when the world tries to crucify it.
In the midst of chaos and division, let us become people who heal rather than wound, who forgive rather than condemn, who feed rather than exploit, who console rather than ignore, who love rather than hate. Let us be signs of the Kingdom Jesus came to establish—a kingdom not of power but of service, not of violence but of peace, not of revenge but of reconciliation.
Today, as we hold our palms, we remember both the triumphal entry and the road to Calvary. The palms are symbols of victory, but they become meaningful only when we follow Jesus to the cross. May we walk with Him not only in the moments of joy but in the moments of sacrifice. And may the world’s accusation— “He deserves death”—never frighten us from doing good but inspire us to live with the courage and love of the One who died to give us life.
Amen.
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