Jesus cried aloud!                "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last... and the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God." Mark 15: 37 & 39 On Good Friday, we remember how Jesus sacrificed his life for us. But often we forget the fact that it is Jesus who voluntarily gave up his life. Because in our narration, we say often - "Judas betrayed Jesus," "the religious leaders condemned Jesus falsely," "the Roman's crucified him," "they killed him!" etc. Though they describe the reality of what happened on that day, they are not accurate portrayal of the biblical truth. It is true that different people were involved in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. But ultimately, it was Jesus who gave up his life on the cross.  Mark describes this succinctly when he says, "with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last" (Mk 15: 37). While other evangelists r...

By Pietro Lorenzetti - Source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3944840   “ See, your king comes to you... riding on a donkey. ” Zechariah 9: 9 In ancient days after winning a war, the victorious king would often take a procession in the capital city of the defeated nation. This is to proclaim that the incumbent king is defeated and a new king has arrived to rule. Looking at the jubilant and formidable procession, people would know that this is their new king.  This custom is practiced when a prince succeeds his father as the next king. King David while making his son, Solomon, king over Israel, tells the priest, “ have Solomon my son, mount my own mule, and take him down to Gihon... [and] anoint him king over Israel ” (1 Kings 1: 33 & 34). A procession on the royal mule surrounded by the priest, prophet and other trusted aides of the king, was a sign to the people that it was king David who made his heir, Solomon, the new king.  We see t...