Palm Sunday: Behold the man

Ecce Homo - Ciseri

Behold the man!  (John 19:5)  Christ, God-made-man, who was beaten, whipped, and condemned to death, is presented to those who wanted his death.  He is presented to us.  For the first time all Lent, it is today, Palm Sunday, that we hear why we have been fasting, doing penances, and dying to ourselves.  And while we always "know it," for the first time, we know what is coming.  Christ's passion and death come to the forefront of our minds.  It is clear that in the coming days, we will walk with Christ.  We will suffer and die with Him.  We know this.  And He knows it.  Christ, as He rides the donkey into Jerusalem, knows what is coming.  He knows that He will suffer greatly, have his closest friends abandon Him, carry His cross to the top of a hill, and eventually be nailed to a piece of wood.  So if He knows all this suffering is coming, we have to ask "Why?"  Why does Christ continue?  Why does He never defend Himself before Pilate, before the Sanhedrin, before His accusers?  Why does He let the soldiers treat Him like a hardened criminal?  And the only answer is that Christ has His eyes on the prize.  He knows why He is going to suffer.  He knows why He will be nailed to the cross.  Christ willingly suffers and dies for us.  For all of us.  He desires us so much that He is willing to give everything, even His very self, so that we can be with Him forever.  God is madly in love with us.  He wants us.  And He is willing to completely humiliate Himself, completely put aside ALL of the glory and honor that God deserves, just so that He could die for us.  THAT IS ABSURD.  Every human heart should be constantly be giving praise and honor to God.  Yet, here He is, standing before the people who want His death, without anything to His name.  He has been beaten, mocked, scourged, and crowned with thorns.  And when we sin, we stand in the place of the Roman soldiers doing this to Him.  If we claim Christ as our King, why on earth would we ever subject Him to that kind of pain and punishment?  We are weak and broken individuals, in need of redemption.  We are in need of a king who will save us, who will not condemn us, but draw us to himself out of pure love.  And that king can only be Christ.  But we look upon the image of Christ, being presented to the crowds who want Him dead, and we don't see an image of a king.  But it is in this moment that we must realize that Christ's Kingship is different from anything anyone anticipated, even the apostles.  People thought that the Messiah's Kingdom would be one of power, glory, and fame.  The King would rule from a golden throne and subject all to his rule.  But Christ established a Kingdom that is the exact opposite.  It is a Kingdom in which humility, lowliness, and self-gift are the most important virtues.  It is a Kingdom where the King rules from the cross and draws all to share in that act of redemption.  That is why we claim Christ as our king.  That is why we sing hymns of praise to Him this day, Palm Sunday.  Christ, God made Man, completely accepted the Father's will and fully embraced the cross.  He knew His mission, and He did it.  Christ fulfills His mission out of love for us.  He gives Himself because He desires to be with us.  And it is because of this great love that we sing hymns of praise to God and recount the glorious act of our salvation this day.

Palm Sunday Hymn - All Glory, Laud, and Honor