Prepared by:

Richard G. Pazcoguin
UST nstitute of Religion
As he drove away the money changers and
vendors at the tempIe courtyard, Jesus
angered, not onIy the peopIe that he
dispersed, but even the reIigious authorities,
since Jesus' action was an insuIt to their
indifference towards the desecration of the
tempIe of JerusaIem.
Since then, Jesus became a WANTED man,
and this tempIe incident Iaunched a "hate
campaign" against him.
It must be cIear, however, that the Jews in
generaI did not hate Jesus, but the infIuentiaI
ones worked out his eventuaI execution.
W e put primacy on the human being and human
Iife over and against the accepted Iaw and
tradition.
W e was a non-conformist. In the eyes of the
Jewish institution, he was a heretic, an apostate.
W e criticized uncompromisingIy the vaIue-system
or the ideoIogy of Judaism during his time.
W e was biased towards the poor, and whiIe not
harsh, he was stern towards the rich.
W e censured the aristocracy and said strong
words against those in power.
W e staged an assauIt, in speech and feat, against
the most massive institution- the tempIe.
W Jesus performed signs which earned
him many foIIowers. The Jewish
authorities feared that this might anger
the Roman Empire, which may Iead to
the destruction of the tempIe and of the
nation.
W There were rumors that Jesus was
perverting the nation and forbidding the
peopIe to pay taxes to the emperor, and
that he cIaimed to be king.
The reIigious Ieaders of the Jews were not
pIeased with the spontaneous triumphaI
weIcome given to Jesus by the peopIe.
The Jewish Ieaders considered this as an
instigation of a rebeIIion against Rome, and
feared that Rome wouId do much harm to the
nation shouId this kingIy accIamation to Christ
go on.
This made them decide to have Jesus arrested
and sentenced to death. They carefuIIy pIanned
the charges that wouId guarantee capitaI
punishment for Christ according to the
provisions of the Roman Iaw.
W e wouId enter JerusaIem riding an ass (Zech. 9:9)
W e wiII be soId for thirty pieces of siIver (Zech. 11:12-13)
W e wiII be betrayed by one who ate at the same tabIe with him
(Ps. 40:10)
W is discipIes wiII forsake him at the time of his passion (Zech. 13:7)
W e wiII be mocked (Ps. 21:17)
W e wiII be beaten and spit upon (Isa. 50:6)
W e wiII be scourged (Ps. 72:14)
W e wiII be crowned with thorns (Cant 3:11)
W e wiII be given vinegar and wine to drink (Ps. 68:22)
W Lots were to be cast for his garments (Ps. 21:19)
W is feet and hands were to be pierced with naiIs (Ps 21:17)
W e wiII die between two eviI-doers (Isa. 53:9)
W e wiII be patient Iike a Iamb (Isa. 53:7)
W e wiII pray for his enemies as he suffers (Isa. 53:12)
W e wiII be buried among the rich (Isa. 53:9)
irst Passion Prediction
The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by
the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be
killed, and rise after three days. Mark 8:31
Second Passion Prediction:
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they
will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.
Mark 9:31
Third Passion Prediction:
ehold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of
Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the
scribes, and they will condemn him, and hand him over
to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him,
scourge him, and put him to death, but after three
days, he will rise. Mark 10:33-34
The prophecies of Jesus regarding his suffering
and death caused his discipIes to be upset for
their concept of Messiah is far from a Ioser who
wiII just be kiIIed by his enemies.
The speciaI experience of Peter, James, and
John at Mt. Tabor heIped them to understand
who Jesus was: Moses and EIijah testifies to the
fact that Jesus was indeed the fuIfiIIment of the
Iaw and the prophets. The voice form heaven
affirmed that the Messiah is indeed God's Son.
The Transfiguration was a foresight of future
gIory. It is true that Christ wiII suffer and die, but
he wiII be gIorified in his resurrection.
TEORIES ON TE
DEAT O JESUS:
W VICARIOUS
SATISACTION
W PENAL
SUBSTITUTION
W RANSOM TEORY
VICARIOUS SATISACTION:
St. AnseIm of Canterbury
W The gravity of an offense is
measured against the dignity of
the offended party
W God is eternal, therefore sin is an
eternal offense
W Man, because of his mortal
nature, is incapable of making up
for this eternal offense
W nly an Eternal Person can make
satisfaction for sin on behalf of
humanity
CRITICISM ON TE TEORY O
VICARIOUS SATISACTION:
nselm's treatment of the theme raised the discussion to a
much higher plane than it had occupied in previous
discussions. Most agree, however, that the demonstration is
not conclusive. n the end nselm makes God too much like a
king whose dignity has been affronted. He overlooked the fact
that a sovereign may be clement and forgiving without doing
harm to his kingdom. further defect in his view is that nselm
found no necessary connection between Christ's death and the
salvation of sinners. Christ merited a great reward because he
died when he had no need to (for he had no sin). ut he could
not receive a reward, for he had everything. To whom then
could he more fittingly assign his reward then to those for
whom he had died? This makes it more or less a matter of
chance that sinners be saved. Not very many these days are
prepared to go along with nselm. ut at least he took a very
serious view of sin, and it is agreed that without this there will
be no satisfactory view.
A NEW LOOK AT TE
SATISACTION
TEORY:
God will be satisfied, when we, by
following Jesus, the perfect image of
God, with the strength of the Holy Spirit
(grace), fulfill the deep exigency of our
being open to God, and thus comply
with his will.
PENAL SUBSTITUTION:
Advocated by Reformers
W Sin is an offense against God's
law and therefore requires
punishment
W Christ's saving work consisted in
taking the sinner's place
W n having borne the punishment
due to sinners, Christ appeased
the wrath of God
CRITICISM ON TE TEORY O
PENAL SUBSTITUTION:
t is pointed out that sin is not an external matter to be
transferred easily from one person to another and that,
while some forms of penalty are transferable (the
payment of a fine), others are not (imprisonment, capital
punishment). t is urged that this theory sets Christ in
opposition to the Father so that it maximizes the love of
Christ and minimizes that of the Father. esides, a
guiltless sufferrer suggests an unjust God. There can be
little reasonable encouragement in the example of one
who suffered so bitterly without deserving anything.
Such a spectacle, instead of shedding light, hope and
patience on the sorrows of believers, could only deepen
the darkness and anguish; for it could only suggest
difficulties concerning the justice and benevolence of
God, and raise the torturing doubt.
A NEW LOOK AT TE
PENAL TEORY:
God wants the deep conversion of a
person up to the surrender to God
without restrictions, and in this sense,
he wants the sacrifices that this
surrender entails. Jesus totally
surrendered his entire being by his
sacrifice which culminated on the cross.
RANSOM TEORY:
W hen humanity sinned, they became a
hostage of Satan
W To redeem man, God must pay a ransom
W Satan demands the death of Christ, so God let
his Son die in order to ransom humanity
CRITICISM ON TE TEORY O
RANSOM:
This theory renders God powerless against Satan
for we have here a God that subjects himself to
Satan's terms. esides, this theory can lead men to
complacency about doing good, since Christ has
already paid the price, then there is no need to
exert any human effort for salvation.
A NEW LOOK AT
TE RANSOM
TEORY:
Jesus freely and voluntarily suffered
and paid with his death the price of
freedom. He calls us with the
strength of His Spirit to this freedom
in Christ, even when we have to pay
the price of death for it.
W DEAT was a sign of the ather's Iove for the
humankind and of Christ's Iove for the peopIe.
W If in the finaI anaIysis, sin is the absence of
Iove, then it is not the suffering of Christ that
redeemed man but his Iove for humanity. is
death was the uItimate expression of this
Iove.
W The ather did not directIy wiII the death of
Jesus, rather he wiIIed the saIvation and
happiness of his peopIe.
W Jesus died for our sins to wash away so
much fiIth, corruption, injustice, and vioIence
in the worId.
May this body (of Christ) and this blood sacrificed for
humanity nourish us also, so that we may give our body
and blood to suffering and to pain like Christ, not for
self, but to bring about justice and peace for our people.
From the Homily of Archbishop Romero moments before
he was shot dead by an assassin's bullet.
Carlos H. besamis
A TIRD LOOK AT JESUS
Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2000
Fr. Luc Colla, CCM
TE AMAZING STORY O JESUS O NAZARET
aguio City: St. Louis University, 1984
Fr. Felix Moracho, SJ
CRISTIANS TODAY
Makati: St. Paul Publications, 1982