Through much of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is surrounded by multitudes who marvel at His teaching and works (5:1; 7:28; 9:8; 12:23; 13:2; etc.). They marvel all the way up to His battles in the temple (21:46; 22:33). The last time He teaches a multitude is in chapter 23 (v. 1).
After that, Jesus is progressively isolated. First one, then all the disciples leave Him. And Matthew begins using the word “multitude” not to describe the adoring throngs but for the mob that comes with clubs to arrest Jesus and then for the crowds whipped up to demand His crucifixion (cf. 26:47, 55; 27:15, 20, 24).
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Rome and the Church in the United States
Archbishop Michael J. Curley of Baltimore, who confirmed my father, was a pugnacious Irishman with a taste…
Marriage Annulment and False Mercy
Pope Leo XIV recently told participants in a juridical-pastoral formation course of the Roman Rota that the…
Undercover in Canada’s Lawless Abortion Industry
On November 27, 2023, thirty-six-year-old Alissa Golob walked through the doors of the Cabbagetown Women’s Clinic in…
