In subtle ways Luke shows Jesus to be priest, prophet and king. At the Transfiguration Jesus spoke of his exodus which he would accomplish in Jerusalem. Jesus’ exodus echoes that of Moses the prophet and includes death, resurrection and ascension into glory.

Jesus instructed his disciples to say Peace to you whenever they entered a house. Here, Jesus, himself says it and echoes the beginning of the Gospel where his birth was announced with proclamations of peace.

At the last supper Jesus gave his disciples the Eucharist as a way of being present to his disciples. There he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and give it to them. Here the disciples recognise that they are in the presence of Jesus, that the guest has become the host.

It is the evening of Easter day and two of the disciples who heard the testimony of the women are walking away from Jerusalem disheartened. They meet Jesus, in his first appearance as the risen Christ, but they do not recognise him.

It is the women who have accompanied Jesus since Galilee (8:2-3) who are the first to witness Jesus’ resurrection. They see the empty tomb, they hear the message of the two men in dazzling apparel, they recall, and understand, the words of Jesus, and they go and tell the apostles.

Three people recognise and declare Jesus’ innocence in this section: Pilate, the repentant thief and the centurion. Pilate declares Jesus to be not guilty three times but in a reversal of Peter’s denial and repentance Pilate sends an innocent man to his death.

The greatest shall become the least. In the passion we see Jesus brought low stage by stage. At the Mount of Olives he prays and speaks in words which recall the Lord’s Prayer: to be led not into temptation and to that God’s will be done. Jesus is then betrayed by a sign of friendship. He sees one of the apostles, Peter, also brought low as Jesus is denied three times. Peter, however, begins his path of reconciliation.

Three times before in Luke has Jesus sent out his followers in pairs to prepare the way for him. Now he sends Peter and John to prepare the place where they will celebrate a meal. At the end of this section he will recall his instruction to the disciples to go out as he prepares the apostles to make their way in the world. But that is not yet.

Jesus tells the people that the temple will be destroyed, there will be persecutions, Jerusalem will be laid to waste and the Son of Man will come in glory. Jesus’ followers need to read the signs of the time and be ready.

In the Palm Sunday liturgy we hear the triumphal entry to Jerusalem and then we listen to the Passion narrative. In between Jesus is teaching in the temple. As often in Luke his audience is varied. There are the people who support him and his disciples, and then there are the scribes and the Sadducees who are seeking ways to catch Jesus out.