Pontius Pilate orders the killing of many Galileans who were sympathizers of the Zealot movement, which was waging armed struggle against the Romans.

 

Pontius Pilate orders the killing of many Galileans who were sympathizers of the Zealot movement, which was waging armed struggle against the Romans. Pilate was bloodthirsty, a friend of power, a man incapable of taking a definitive step for the truth. The Zealots, sons of Judaism, more precisely one of the Jewish sects, who preached a political messianism that was hostile to Rome, and fought for the elimination of the Romans from Israel. It can be said that they were fanatical enemies of Rome. Faced with the crime presented here to Jesus, other groups of Jews believed that the reason for so many deaths was due to their sin. Because they were sinners, they deserved the punishment of death. In this case, another type of fanaticism is shown: the so-called "saints", "pure", impeccable, "friends" of themselves, men who think that they will not suffer the same fate as the Galileans because they do not deserve such punishment, as if they were more important, full of privileges and arrogance. In this mentality, crime serves as an indicator of the misfortune deserved by the sinner; and, what is more, they create an imperial religious form. For Jesus, this is terrible, it is a true deformation of intelligence and religion. While they think this way, they fail to perceive the damage caused by the injustices of those who govern, the power game, the massacre of innocents and, in a certain way, the favoring of the culture of death. One must, therefore, fight for life at all costs.

2. Salvation is not a personal choice at all. No one is saved by complying with the established laws, all the rites and everything that is required to be done. All of this is important, but many do all of this thinking about themselves: to have honors, to be respected, applauded, to show themselves as saints, immaculate, perfect, among other things. Salvation is, above all, God's initiative, His choice, His decision. Only later is it man's response. Salvation depends, therefore, on God's first action and on the human being's response. It does not happen by simply following the rules, but by the person’s total conversion to God. To be converted is to change one’s mentality, to abandon the logic of the world and completely embrace the logic of God, to be of God, turned toward Him, to love Him deeply, recognizing oneself as a sinner, imperfect, but capable of overcoming everything with His grace. The converted man does not cling to honors, but to a deep life of intimacy with God. Only then will such a man bear fruit. 3. The disciple must be prepared for the decisive moment. His life on earth is not eternal. Changing his life is the right path, renouncing evil and seeking to fulfill the will of the Lord, loving Him with all his heart. When he least expects it, he will leave this world. Jesus expects us to be converted immediately. Now is the time to change our mentality, to abandon the inhuman way of thinking of the world and embrace the reality envisioned by Jesus himself. The fig tree, Israel, was cut down in the 70s AD because it did not produce the expected fruit. And are we bearing fruit? 4. The time of the fig tree corresponds to the years of Jesus’ preaching. The fact that he still insists on the fig tree indicates God’s total desire for salvation, which reaches the absurdity of waiting for something humanly impossible, which is a barren fig tree to bear fruit. Even though it may seem absurd, Jesus believes in changing people’s lives. He shows solidarity with everyone and accepts the intervention of that farmer (who could be any of his saints), thus marking the great novelty in the work of salvation, also with the participation of everyone. God “needs” humans to save humans. The big question that remains is this: And did the fig tree begin to bear fruit? When will we have the answer? Certainly the answer can be found in our daily lives.