Mark 15:6-15 New International Version (NIV)
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Friday - April 2
Palm Sunday is the way things should be. Jesus should be praised and worshiped all the time, but we know that he is not. And that is not only true of “non-Christians.” Everyday we reject Jesus by trusting in ourselves more than him. We do not follow the command of Jesus to forgive others seventy times seven (all the time! - Matt. 18:22) or love our enemies as ourselves, like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). We act out in anger, envy, and jealousy. Families are destroyed by divisions, lust and sexual immorality. Everyday we “crucify” Jesus by rejecting him as king of our hearts and lives. Everyday we turn away from him and go our own way. The good news is that everyday Jesus forgives us and pours out his grace upon us. As the Prophet Jeremiah declared: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23). He is merciful everyday.