Triumphal Entry (Matt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11 ; Lk 19:29-44)

• “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you, He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey. A colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9)
• “Say to the daughter of Zion, surely your salvation is coming, behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him” (Isa 62:11)

Betrayal by a friend (Matt 26:21, 47-50 ; Mk 14:43-46; Lk 22:47,48)

• “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Ps 41:9)

Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:14,15)

• “Then I said to them, If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain. So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver” (Zech 11:12)

Accused by false witnesses (Matt 26:59-61; Mk 14:55-59)

• “Fierce witnesses rise up; they ask me things that I do not know” (Ps 35:11)

The relationship between Jews and Samaritans was characterized by hatred and enmity, even until the point of death. The reason for this is rooted in the Jews' pride and arrogance towards the Samaritans, because the latter married from the Gentile pagans in the post exilic period. This led the Jews to sever all ties and contact with them. This enmity started at the time of Nehemiah and Ezra the priest who refused to let them help in rebuilding the temple or even in worshiping with them. This led the Samaritans to building another temple on Mount Gerizim in 409 BC.

During the time of Christ, the Samaritans refused to receive Christ in their city. (Luke 9:52-56) However, Christ planned to meet with them by way of His meeting with the Samaritan woman. Thus, He spent some days with them eating and drinking, talking with them and showing them His gentleness and compassion, which ultimately led them to believing in Him and bearing testimony that He is the Savior of the world.

His Holiness Pope Kyrillos the 6th wrote to one of his spiritual sons saying:

Because it is a fact of life that a man will go through different temptations and spiritual wars, God arranged Fasting to deal with temptation and spiritual wars. As God commanded his people in the Old Testament to fast, He also commanded us in the New Testament to fast as the Lord said, “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry” (Matt. 4:2) The faithful is a soldier in the spiritual wars, our weapon, we the Christians is prayer and fasting.

As a horse got a bridle, the body also has to overcome its lusts and pleasures. This is what the apostle says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if the Spirit leads you, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Gal. 5:16-24)