Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion—C
April 13, 2025 11am
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton
Luke’s Passion
Each of the four gospels tells the story of Jesus’ Passion.
There is a basic consistency in all four accounts. Still, each of them is a bit different.
Each gospel writer highlights something that the others do not and speaks to us in a different way. This morning, I want to point out three of the special features of Luke’s account of the Passion that we just heard.
1. Innocence
First, Luke’s telling of the Passion carefully emphasizes Jesus’ innocence.
Only in Luke – not in Matthew, Mark or John – only in Luke does Pilate three times declare Jesus as innocent. Only in Luke does Herod also pronounce Jesus as innocent.
Only Luke carefully recalls the words of the one man being crucified with Jesus: “We have been condemned justly, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Only Luke recalls the Roman centurion saying right after Jesus dies: “This man was innocent beyond doubt.”
So, Luke is showing us how unfair, how unjust all of this is. He may want us to recall a time when we ourselves were treated unfairly and recall how we responded to that.
2. Forgiveness
Facing such great injustice and suffering, Jesus is still forgiving.
Only Luke recalls Jesus, on the cross, praying “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” So, forgiveness is clearly in Jesus’ heart.
And yet, one commentator points out that Jesus prays to the Father to forgive. Jesus himself must have been forgiving, but in asking the Father to forgive, he may be teaching us something.
Maybe there will be a time when we know we should forgive but are struggling with it. And in that moment, we too can pray to God and ask him to forgive and help us forgive and, in this way, we place it in God’s hands.
3. Trust
Finally, only Luke’s account of the Passion recalls Jesus’ words as he is dying, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Luke shows Jesus in great darkness. Matthew’s and Mark’s account of the Passion even recall Jesus’ words from Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But instead of recalling those words, Luke shows that Jesus moved through the darkness and into trust. He dies trusting in his life with the Father.
Luke wants us, today’s readers of the Passion, to stay in prayerful communion with God right now, each day of our life, and to make this central. And then, with that trust in the Father and in Jesus, we will be more able in the darkness of life and the darkness of death to trust in God and say, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
