Jesus – the Outsider

Sunday, 30 March 2025 by

Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 30 March 2025

Jesus - the Outsider

Matthew has employed the super slo-mo camera in his account of the last two days of Jesus’ life. He has slowed all the events right down, so that we can grasp the details. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. The one who came to save the outsiders can only do this by becoming THE outsider. And we cannot miss how incredibly alone, and ‘outside’, Jesus is in these moments. He prays alone. He resists alone. He stands firm alone. All the disciples abandon him. All the religious authorities are arrayed against him. And, yet, his authority remains undiminished – all the events happen according to the word of God, and nothing happens without Jesus’ explicit approval. Jesus is the Son of Man, who is the outsider, so that the sinners who abandon him can proclaim him, and the sinners who kill him can be forgiven by him.

Scripture References: Matthew 26:36-56, Psalms 104:24-35, Hebrews 4:14-16

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