Friday 27 March 2009

Background

Religious festivals in Jerusalem under Roman rule and occupationwere tense occasions. Religious fervour mixed with nationalisticambition and a sense of injustice keenly felt by an occupiedpeople. All of this was focused at the centre of religious life -the Temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus, already a controversial figure, adds his voice to the mixand the temperature rises. You can feel the tension in the passage.People are attracted to the teaching of Jesus but confused aboutit.

It sounds familiar and yet has a sense of newness about it. Some ofthis is because it's offered to the people by a carpenter - not byspecially trained professional teachers, known as rabbis.

The people witness the impact Jesus makes. They are divided aboutwhether this is a man of God or a dangerous charlatan.

We can also sense the growing menace in the situation. It's thefeeling that this Galilean preacher is to be silenced -permanently.

To Ponder

How do you react when you see religious fervourportrayed in the news (eg demonstrations beginning in mosques, orthe oratory of television evangelists before a massed rally)?

Have you experience of feeling discomfort in thereactions of a crowd of which you were a part? Perhaps at asporting event, concert or mass rally?