THE DEATH OF THE JUST

THE DEATH OF THE JUST
(Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 26 and 27: collected points)

IS JESUS MISSION UNSUCCESSFUL?
- All the words his spoken and the miraculous deeds he has done seem to be in vain: it is because the Preacher (Prophet and Prophecy), and the Miracle worker (Sanctifier and the Healer) of God’s Kingdom is now forgotten.
- His death on the Cross just like any other criminal of the time has raised the question of whether is he really a Messiah.
- Even the people who were waiting for the Savior and in fact seen him in the person of Jesus themselves are thinking that God has abandoned him to die alone on the cross.
- Now He has become victim of insults and blasphemies and not any more the bringer of good news and thus his fame has vanished.
- All these incidents show that the mission of Jesus has become meaningless and successful.
THE FATE/DESTINY OF THE PERSECUTED JUST:
- Keep away your sword and in this way the scriptures should be fulfilled (26:52-56).
- Therefore Jesus fulfills not only the glorious things told about him but also other prophecies.
What are they?
A. The suffering just of the Old Testament in the figure of Joseph sold (Gen 37-50)
B. The prayers of the suffering just prefigured in the Psalms: “Lord how many are my oppressors” (3); “Lord, save me and liberate me from the one who persecutes me” (7) and various others.
C. The suffering just in the figure of prophet Jeremiah: “like a lamb to the slaughtering house” (Jer 11:18-23; 17:14-18); “they fight against me but do not prevail” (Jer 15: 15-21)
D. The suffering just who appears also in the books of Daniel and the Wisdom.
E. Finally New Testament predicts that of the suffering servant of Isaiah (52:13-53:12).
JESUS DELIVERS HIMSELF INTO THE HANDS OF DEATH
- Many have betrayed him: not only Judah (26:14-16), but also all his disciples (26:56); the Pharisees and Sadducees for their jealousy (27:18); knowing this Pilot delivers him into the hands of the soldiers just for the political reasons (27:26) and finally he is also delivered into the hands of his friends to be buried (27:58).
- This is all possible only when he wills it and when he allows it to happen. Therefore, he has delivered himself to the death (Jn 10:17-18).
THE INNOCENT BLOOD:
- The innocent blood is sold for thirty dinars just like that of Joseph ( Gen 37:28) and that of Zachariah (11:11-13).
- The penitence of Judah Iscariot (27:4: I have sinned and I have sold innocent blood) and it is called justly: the price of blood and the place of blood.
THE SILENCE OF JESUS:
- He has not responded not even a single word (27:12-13), as prophesized by Isaiah (53:7).

THE JUST REJECTED BY THE JEWISH AUTHORITY AND RECOGNIZED THE STRANGERS:
- Jews have refused and rejected him (Mt 26:67)
- But the ordinary people and people outside religious system recognized him as the just man and the Messiah (Mt 27:54).

At the end of the drama of this Just Man persecuted and put to death there is the Hope of Redemption and the Reality of Resurrection. God, who seems to have abandoned him till the death on the cross, now begins to redeem his people with the same suffering, blood and innocent death of His Son. Jesus is born, died and has risen! Alleluia!