When we began our Palm Sunday procession, we heard this passage from the gospel of Matthew: “And when (Jesus) entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” Who is Jesus? This is the most important question for us this Holy Week. Everything revolves around it: “Who is this?” We will hear many answers to this question during Holy Week. What answer will we give? God is waiting.
The crowd following Jesus into Jerusalem gave this answer: “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Why would they refer to Jesus as a prophet. The prophet Isaiah just gave us a list of the most prominent characteristics of a prophet. He speaks on behalf of God and interprets what God wants. He suffers for his prophetic mission, but he will not be deterred. This is what many saw in Jesus. He spoke with a well-trained tongue to rouse us from our torpor. He did not turn back or rebel against divine providence, even under persecution. Jesus’ determination is like a rock when it comes to completing his mission. The crowd could see these characteristics in Jesus. But eventually they could see that he was more than a prophet. He was the mysterious Servant of the Lord, the origin of all prophets. They have all been stamped with his image. No wonder the whole city was shaken.
The early Church recorded its own answer in the Letter to the Philippians: Jesus is fully a man, but he is also equal to God. The hymn points to this identity: “Although he was in the form of God…” Bue even more, he shows his divinity by his willingness to empty himself of all the honors of God because of his love for his Father’s plan: “… (he) did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.” Here we are immersed in the depths of the Holy Trinity. Jesus voluntarily unites our human nature with his divinity in perfect harmony with his Father’s will. He will overcome our revolt against the God by his obedience, something we could not do on our own. The Holy Spirit effects this emptying by bringing about the conception of Jesus in the womb of his virgin mother. He prepares a body in which Jesus can carry out the Father’s work, taking upon himself our guilt and removing it by his obedience. That is why God so highly exalted him.
Finally, the gospel provides another answer to the all-important question of who Jesus is: He is a man like us with all the human emotions and affections that we feel but without sin. The scene in the garden of Gethsemane reveals this clearly. Jesus trembles at his approaching death. He longs for human companionship and support. In his deepest moments of anguish, he asks his three disciples to remain alert and watch with him, imploring their support as his friends. But they fall asleep. He bore this human disappointment, not once but three times, urging his friends to rouse themselves. He needed their love and support at this hour. This loss of human, and even paternal support, was crushing. In the end with human resignation, all he can say is, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”
As we continue our journey through Holy Week, we will hear more answers to the question “Who is this?” Who is this prophet, this emptied one, this man whose heart felt the bitter disappointment of friends who could not watch with him one hour? The Church invites us to ponder all this today and give our answer to the question, “Who is this?” answer the question for ourselves. It is the most important question we face in life.
