March 24, 2002 -- SUNDAY OF THE PASSION -- Palm Sunday
Title: “The Passion Narrative”
According to Matthew 26: 14-27: 66
This can be read at the service. The commentary, based on solid exegesis, avoids scholarly detail. The questions after each scene or station, sixteen of them, attempt to apply the revealed text to the personal lives of Christians.
The longer text is treated, but it can easily be shortened, as time permits. It can be further shortened in that not every scene needs to be commented upon. The preacher is free to adapt. The pages are presented to facilitate that approach.
This text can also be used as a scriptural alternative to the traditional Stations of the Cross. Each scene or station is distinct.
Finally, this text can be used in a class to teach the salient features and the applied meaning of the Passion Narrative according to Matthew.
Matthew 26: 14-16: JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS
14.Then, one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15. and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
16. and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Judas had a higher opinion of money than did Jesus. In fact, in John, we are told Judas used to help himself to the community funds. He was a closet thief.
For a paltry sum he would betray a friend.
Loyalty is the “price,” of friendship, but it was too high a price to pay when a better offer is made. Judas went to the highest bidder.
Is money more important to me than friendship?
Have I sold my values to buy money or what money buys?
Matthew 26: 17-19 JESUS COMMANDS THE PASSOVER TO BE PREPARED
17. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?
18. He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, “The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”
19. The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
The Feast attracted so many people that Jesus had to book reservations for dinner in advance. Jesus had friends besides the disciples who would bend over backwards to help him. The disciples were willing to do menial tasks to aid in accomplishing Jesus’ purposes.
Am I willing to bend over backwards, to suspend my plans, to help those in need?
Am I willing to engage in menial tasks, like helping to prepare for a family celebration, to work behind the scenes, to do my part to make the important events in life come off smoothly?
Am I willing to let Jesus be in charge and assign me tasks, large and small?
Matthew 26: 20-25 JESUS FORETELLS HIS BETRAYAL
20. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve.
21. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
22. Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?’
23. He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.
24. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.
25. Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’ He answered, “You have said so.”
The constant study and application of Scripture to real life makes one more astute about what is really going on. Jesus sensed betrayal long before it happened and was not duped by Judas’ denials or coy attempt at cover-up.
Of course, God knows ahead of time what any human will do, but that does not exonerate the person from responsibility and accountability.
God is in charge at all times, but humans are still responsible for their free-will actions.
Calling Jesus “Rabbi,” a title only Jesus’ enemies used in Matthew, gave him away. Judas was not a real friend of Jesus.
Do I realize that God’s love for me includes his knowing that I will betray his trust even while I am professing, especially in prayer, what a trustworthy and faithful friend I am?
Can I imitate that love when it comes to others who may only disappoint me, let alone betray me?
Do I realize that I cannot fool God?
Matthew 26: 26-29 JESUS INSTITUTES THE EUCHARIST
26. When they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat, this is my body.”
27. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
28. for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.
29. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.
The old Passover anticipated entrance into the Promised Land, celebrated well in advance of the actual fact and repeatedly celebrated long after the actual fact.
The Eucharist was an anticipation of the actual fact of Jesus’ death. It was celebrated the day before actual Passover. Since the lambs were not slaughtered until the next day, Friday, Jesus substituted bread as the main staple of the meal and as a sign that he was substituting himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of others. Jesus identifies the bread with himself, his whole person in all its corporeal reality, vulnerability and mortality. He identifies the blood with his life, which he shares with his people and disciples and church, establishing a community of life by his poured out blood. In the old covenant blood was sprinkled on the people; in the new it is poured into them.
The old Passover was not merely an anticipation of freedom, but the beginning of it and participation in it, even though it had not fully and finally happened. So, too, the Eucharist is not merely an anticipation of final freedom in heaven, but the beginning of it and participation in it. It is one’s personal participation in the effects of Jesus’ death and in the community of life, divine life and human, brought about by Jesus’ death. The old Passover brought into being Israel; the new Passover, the Eucharist, brings into being the new Israel, the Church.
The Eucharist links the Jesus of history with the Christ of glory. It is the way Jesus will remain present to, with, and within the community he established until it reaches fullness in the fullness of time.
If the Eucharist is my personal experience of and with the sacrificial death of Jesus, do I enter into this experience with full mind and open heart?
Have I let it become routine? Not often enough? Without thought or preparation? Without attention? Have I really confessed all of my sins and received absolution from the Pastor?
In the offering of Jesus’ body and blood, do I unite my own body and blood, my own life and self?
In the reception of the Eucharistic Lord do I concentrate on incorporating him into my self and my life? Do I digest and put his strength to good and effective use? Do I savor his abiding presence? Do I look forward to enjoying his full and immediate presence in eternity?
Do I recall the Lord’s presence within me during the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life? Do I experience my own moments of living and suffering in the light of his? Do I unite with him?
Matthew 26: 30-35 JESUS FORETELLS THE DEFECTION OF PETER AND THE OTHER DISCIPLES
30. Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
31. The Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’;
32. but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.
33. Peter said to him in reply, “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be.”
34. Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”
35. Peter said to him, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples spoke likewise.
The hymn-singing disciples, who have just experienced the Eucharist, a communal, yet personal union, a flesh and blood union, with Jesus, now return to the everyday world. Jesus knows and they are soon to learn that the effects of the Eucharist, of their union with his atoning, sacrificial death, is not automatic, and is not much easier for them as the decision to die for them is for Jesus. They will have lapses, serious and minor, in fidelity to the Lord, as they walk the way of his cross, all their protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.
As Jesus knew ahead of time that Judas would betray him, he knew all his disciples would fail in fidelity to him. Yet, he gave them, and us, the Eucharist anyway, knowing also that, in the end, after the lapses and straying, they would become what they not yet were. He knew in advance that when their world, mostly a world of their own construction, an imaging of a savior of their own making and preferences, fell apart, they would falsely conclude that God was not in charge of his world after all. They would fail to grasp that God as Christ, their shepherd, was not in charge of their world, the world of their making or wishing, and they would be “blown away,” scatter, cut and run in fear.
These disciples anticipate for all subsequent followers of Jesus our common experience of boasting before the Lord, especially in prayer, how faithful we shall be, how strong our faith is, and how wrong we are. Yet, the Lord loves us anyway, so much that he gives his life for us all anyway. The Lord knows that this, our lives on this planet, is the middle of the story, not its end. He knows how difficult it is to penetrate the mystery of the cross as it sheds light on our own person stories and suffering. He knows that when the light dawns, the resurrection comes, and we are lifted high enough to see past the suffering and death into the light and life of eternity. So, he stays with us, despite our vanity and high-sounding piety, a mask for arrogance.
When I leave the comfort of the Eucharist do I quickly forget what I experienced and return to interpreting the world and my life by the world’s standards? Do I revert to form? Do I have a secular or biblical word view?
Do I keep the full picture, the eternal perspective, ever before me so that I can endure suffering without losing hope?
Is my faith shaken when things do not happen as I would wish them to or expect them to?
Do I catch myself boasting, overrating myself and my faith, especially in prayer?
Matthew 26: 36-46 JESUS PRAYS IN GETHSEMANE
36. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
37. He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress.
38. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.
39. He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”
40. When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?
41. Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42. Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!”
43. Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open.
44. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.
45. Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.
46. Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”
This scene spans the teaching found in Matthew, beginning with the temptation scene chapter 4 verses one to eleven, where Jesus accepts his humanity on God’s terms and does his will despite personal disadvantage. It captures the Lord’s prayer, with its “thy will be done,” and “pray that you may not undergo the test,” that is, not led into temptation yourself. It recalls the Transfiguration scene with Peter, James and John seeing the divine glory in Jesus as a result of his prayerful union with his Father. It incorporates Jesus eschatological teaching chapters twenty-four and twenty-five, about being watchful of and prepared for the unexpected End.
It is a model scene with a dual focus. It focuses on Jesus who must be sure that this is indeed the time of his end. Once he is certain that this is the way and time the Father wants it done, he accepts it. The rest of his Passion is simply to living out of the details consequent on that decision. He adopts God’s attitude, but not without difficulty. He must return to that attitude, namely, not my will but yours be done, three times. It is so important and so big a deal that one session of prayer will not do it. He repeats and repeats in order to reinforce his own will with God’s. This is a lesson in prayer for all Christians, what Jesus means by “persistence.” It is not pestering God to change his mind and give the petitioner what he or she wants. It is looking at a situation in the light of eternity and then behaving “in time,” accordingly.
The second focus is on the disciples. Later, they would sin, but now they are simply sleeping, a metaphor for being unconscious of God’s presence. Those disciples, even though they had an otherwise intimate relationship with Jesus, could still fail in fidelity to him without actually sinning. Because they did not listen to his exhortations to be watchful and pray, what he taught in chapters twenty-four and twenty-five, they would be unprepared, like the foolish virgins, for the fast-moving unfolding events in the immediate future. They would live out firsthand in the next few hours the consequences Jesus predicted would prevail at the End Time. They would fail because they were unprepared, a preparation that comes only through constant, sustained prayer- when not in a crisis. They lost the sense of urgency, maybe they had too much wine at dinner, that Jesus spoke of so much and failed to join him, to companion with him, in prayer, preparation for the future no matter what it holds. While it was still relatively quiet, Jesus used the opportunity, he saw everything as “opportunity,” what he called “the appointed time, “ Greek kairos to prepare for the future by uniting consciously with his Father to obtain his version of the upcoming events. Jesus passed the test once again. His disciples failed and we know the rest.
Both the praying Jesus and the sleeping disciples are examples for all Christians as to how and how not to behave- at all times, crisis or not.
Do I pray even when there is no crisis in my life?
Do I pray with and for others, or is prayer always about me?
Do I realize that I can offend the Lord by sinning, but that I can also disappoint him by being impervious to his presence and his pleas?
Do I pray persistently to have the eternal vision of myself, my life, and the events I experience in the world?
Matthew 26: 47-56 JESUS IS ARRESTED
47. While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48. His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.”
49. Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50. Jesus answered him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” The stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
51. And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.
52. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
53. Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?
54. But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?”
55. At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me.
56. But all this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all his disciples left him and fled.
Jesus behaves one way, according to his principles, and the disciples behave another way, the opposite. The disciples did not watch and pray like Jesus did and so they are unprepared to apply Jesus’ principles to the crisis. One of them resorts to violence, Jesus eschews it. They run away, fearful of imprisonment, maybe even death; he goes fearlessly and willingly to his death. The world, represented by the religious authorities and their minions, engage in “overkill,” something offensive to Jesus and unnecessary to accomplish their unjust purpose. Jesus always seizes the opportunity, a crisis for the unprepared disciples, an opportunity for him, to teach. His disciples are not to match their response to the world’s challenge, not to return violence with violence. They are to treat their enemies better than they deserve to be treated and better than they are treated by their enemies. Even when a supposed or phony friend offers a kiss, or a handshake, that person is not to be scorned, once the disciple realizes that God’s plan is involved. Such people will suffer the consequences of their injustice and deceit, but not right away. The “vengeance” is to left to the Lord.
Do I reject violence in all its forms- physical, verbal, emotional, armed- as a solution to anything?
Do I react or respond to threats of violence with love and understanding?
Do I believe in the principles of Jesus, but only to a point? When the heat is on, do I revert to the world’s methods?
Do I use physical expressions of love and intimacy- kisses, embraces, handshakes, intimate touching- inauthentically, for my own selfish purposes?
Matthew 26: 57-68 THE JEWISH SANHEDRIN TRIAL
57. Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
58. Peter was following him at a distance as far as the high priest’s courtyard, and going inside sat down with the servants to see the outcome.
59. The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death,
60. but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.. Finally two came forward
61. who stated, “This man said, “I can destroy the temple of God and within three days rebuild it.’”
62. The high priest rose and addressed him, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?
63. But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64. Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’ ”
65. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy;
66. what is your opinion? They said in reply, “He deserves to die!”
67. Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him,
68. saying, “Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you?’
This is a kangaroo court, a trumped up trial, a sham trial, a travesty of justice, not the first in human, or inhuman, history, certainly not the last. Jewish law required the testimony of at least two witnesses. After the usual false testifiers, they finally found two credible ones. They do not quote Jesus exactly, but it is close enough to his teaching, at least, in John, that he would destroy the temple, he meant his own body, life would be destroyed, but would raise it up, rebuild it in three days, exactly what happened. But blasphemy? No. Technically, Jesus had not committed blasphemy, the misuse of the divine name. In fact, when he spoke to the high priest, finally, he studiously avoided the divine name and used “Power,” instead. All that was immaterial. The religious authorities had made up their minds regardless of the facts. It mattered little to them what the charge was. Jesus had to die.
Violence now takes one of its most hurtful forms- mockery. They turn childish and ridicule Jesus and all that is holy, especially their prophets, and taunt him to perform for their amusement. Being a country occupied by a foreign power, Rome, really Satan, they cannot inflict the death penalty. They will have to convince Pilate, Rome’s representative and their governor, of that.
Jesus is innocent, but offers no defense. He knows that his accusers think of Messiah in political terms and he would have none of that.
Do I have to ignore facts in order to maintain my position, especially regarding the guilt or innocence of another?
Do I make up my mind first and then need to twist the truth to fit my opinion?
Am I aware how much such a stance contributes to evil?
Do I dress up my prejudices in religious language and hide them behind high-sounding principles?
Do I use my “office,” to get my own way, even at the expense of others?
And do I invoke the name of God to justify injustice?
Matthew 26: 69-75 PETER DENIES AND REPENTS
69. Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70. But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!”
71. As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.”
72. Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!”
73. A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.”
74. At that he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed.
75. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.
Matthew 26:58 tells us that Peter, after cutting and running, still followed Jesus’ path “at a distance.” We presume it is a “safe distance.” Pete represents any disciple who has blanched, blinked, or shrunk in the face of the challenges fidelity to Jesus entail. He did not sin like Judas. It was not premeditated betrayal. It was fear and shrinkage. Yet, Peter still wanted to follow Jesus. He would keep his distance, see how things turn out, and maybe, if the cost were not so high later, he would rejoin Jesus. All disciples find themselves “at a distance,” from Jesus when it comes to measuring up to his challenges. We have not sinned, so much as shriveled, and we are not prepared to cut all ties. However, the story of Peter shows just how dangerous that approach is. He eventually does sin. His accent, a northerner now in the south, gives him away. We might say there is a “Christian,” tone to his speech. Ironically, though, as he is denying even knowing Christ, three times, like the three chances Jesus gave him to prepare for just such an eventuality, test, temptation, by joining him in prayer at Gethsemane, Jesus is confessing his Messiahship before a much more hostile group. His lie gets progressively worse as he tries to “distance,” himself from Jesus. He lies, then swears an oath something forbidden by Jesus in Matthew chapter five, verses thirty-three to thirty-seven, and, finally, curses.
To his credit and with God’s grace Peter immediately repents, “weeps bitterly.” Thus, compared to Jesus, Peter fares ill, but, compared to Judas, he is a model to be imitated.
What do I do when I shrink from Jesus’ challenges and expectations?
Do I realize when I keep my distance from Jesus, no matter how “safe,” I may think I am, that I am in danger of more serious sin?
Do I recognize the pattern of a “slippery slope,” in my own case, as is the case with Peter?
Do I think that if I keep a safe distance from Jesus, but still in contact with him, he will not demand or expect so much of me?
Matthew 27: 3-10 JUDAS’ FATE
3. Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4. saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? Look to it yourself.”
5. Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself.
6. The chief priests gathered up the money, but said, “It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood.”
7. After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.
8. That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.
9. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites,
10. and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me.”
When Judas regretted what he had done, not the same thing as “repented,” as in the case of Peter, he returned the blood money in a vain attempt to undo what he already had done and he confessed Jesus’ innocence. That should have earned Jesus a new trial, but the religious authorities were after Jesus not justice. So they used the “tainted money” in their own vain attempt to cover-up what they had done and buy a burial field “plot,” is a good translations since it conveys both the meaning “field,” and “conspiracy,” for the poor, supposedly doing something good with something bad. Apparently, just as they liked their prophets better when they were dead, so they liked their poor dead better than they liked them alive.
Judas becomes a model for disciples as to what happens to people who plot evil towards others, who testify falsely regarding innocent people. As the Psalm says, they fall into the very pit they dig as a trap for others. Jesus would be hung on a tree, and so be considered “cursed,” according to Deut 21:23, but Judas would “curse,” himself, be doubly cursed because he took “a bribe to slay an innocent person Deut 27:25.” Truly, the “wages of sin is death according to Romans 6:23.” Had Judas left his own fate in the hands of Jesus, his destiny might have been different, but because he took matters of life and death into his own hands, he died as he lived, by his own hand, just as Jesus said of the sword-wielders at his arrest, an arrest abetted by Judas 26: 52.
Judas, being a Zealot himself, would have believed in violence as a solution, totally opposite from Jesus. Any form of violence inflicted upon another has within itself the potential to boomerang and return to the perpetrator. Be it the violence of false accusations and gossip, be it the violence of abortion, be it the violence of bullying, or the more obvious forms of armed violence, the result is the same. Sooner or later the perpetrator reaps the harvest of his or her, knowing, sowing. Judas was no exception.
Do I realize that I reap what I sow?
Do I realize that, if I wait, my enemies and, if they are also, the enemies of Christ will be their own undoing?
Do I realize that trying to control the outcome of things only leads to death? Do I realize that I cannot undo the harm I have done and, so, should not do harm in the first place?
Do I know the difference between merely regretting and really repenting? Between sorrow for the harm I cause myself and the harm I cause others?
Between sorrow for being caught and sorrow for doing wrong?
Matthew 27: 11-26 THE GENTILE ROMAN TRIAL
11. Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.”
12. And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer.
13. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you hear how many things they are testifying against you?”
14. But he did not answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed..
15. Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished.
16. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called [Jesus] Barabbas.
17. So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release to you, [Jesus] Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?”
18. For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over.
19. While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.”
20. The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.
21. The governor said to them in reply, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They answered, “Barabbas!”
22. Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”
23. But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
24. When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.”
25. And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.”
26. Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
The sham Jewish trial of Jesus is repeated in the sham Gentile trial. The Jewish leaders cannot execute Jesus and blasphemy is not a good enough charge to have him put to death by Roman standards. So, they charge him with claiming to be the “Messiah,” the king of the Jews, not only a pretender to the Jewish throne but a seditious threat to the Emperor’s power. If found guilty, the punishment would be death. Ironically, Pilate does not find him guilty. Both he and his wife recognize his innocence, but Pilate is too weak and cowardly to oppose the Jewish leaders. They had already reported him to the Emperor for failure to do his duty and he fears they might do it again or a riot might ensue and he would lose his job. To keep his job he condemns to death an innocent man. In a vain attempt to compromise he made the Jews an offer he thought they could not refuse. As a gesture of good will during the feast he presented two “criminals,” giving the people the choice as to which one would be freed.
Jesus Barabbas was truly a false messiah, a rebel committed to the overthrow of Rome, Mark calls him, a murderer, making promises of political liberation he could never deliver on. Jesus’ enemies, the religious authorities, had cleverly inflated Jesus’ reluctant and qualified admission that he was the Messiah into a formula of maximum innuendo. As is typical of enemies out to get someone at all costs, they had leveled a bevy of charges against Jesus, hoping some would stick. Pilate bought none of them, but sold out nonetheless. The whole people gladly accepted the responsibility for Jesus’ death, which Pilate washed his hands of. Ironically, their children’s generation would witness the destruction of their Temple, predicted by Jesus, the charge he was convicted of in Jewish court. It would come true, only it would never be rebuilt, even to this day. The curse the people called upon themselves will cause Israel to cease as a nation and the Church Jesus founded by his death to take her place as the people of God.
How much will I compromise on principles of truth and fairness in order to keep my job, position or title?
What and how much of myself am I willing to sell in order to buy “peace at any price?”
How easily do I crack under pressure?
Do I try to wash my hands of things I am responsible for?
Matthew 27: 27-32 THE SOLDIERS MOCK JESUS
27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him.
28. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet cloak around him.
29. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
30. They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head.
31. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
32. As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.
The Gentile soldiers repeat the abuse the Jewish authorities had subjected Jesus to (26: 67-68). These details are not meant to concentrate on the gory details of Jesus’ suffering, but to encourage his followers who would endure similar humiliation at the hands of both Jewish and Gentile authorities, to remain faithful and not let the humiliation get them. Jesus got through it, so could they. They dress up Jesus as a clown-king, mimicking Caesar with crown and scepter, greeting him with, “Hail, Caesar” or “Hail, king of the Jews. It was total humiliation, endured with total dignity and restraint. Ironically, he was, is, their king, and everybody else’s king.
While it was customary for an on-looker or passerby to be conscripted into service by the soldiers to help with the burden of carrying the cross, since a criminal would have been weakened by the scourging designed to hasten death, Simon the Cyrenian, who would become a disciple, walks the extra mile (of 5:41) and models Christians who help Jesus carry the world’s cross.
Do I recognize mockery and ridicule as forms of violence? Even if they be only jokes- against other races, nationalities, the disabled, the retarded, etc.?
Do I recognize mockery and ridicule as revelations of personal cowardice?
Do I exploit others in situations of powerlessness?
Matthew 27: 33-37 JESUS IS CRUCIFIED
33. And when they came to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull),
34. they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
35. After they had crucified him, they divided his garnets by casting lots;
36. then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
37. And they placed over his head the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
All the evangelists play down the horror of this awesome scene. They play up the fact that just about everything that happened was predicted in the scriptures. Even the drugged wine was mentioned in Psalm 69:21. Jesus would not artificially alter his consciousness in order to get through this ordeal, no drugs to ease the pain for him. This form of execution, originally Persian, was adopted by the Romans, but used only for non-Romans, slaves, it was so horrible, as an example to others to toe the line. Only Romans guilty of treason were liable to such a horrible death. For all that, the gory details are passed over. The theology of it all is more important than the psychology or physiology.
The Gentile guards, witnesses from the beginning, will soon confess Jesus to be the Son of God, the first ones to do so after he dies.
Do I use drugs or other forms of manufactured escape to ease the pains of life in illegitimate or inappropriate ways?
Do I trust more in drugs than in God?
Do I care more about who gets my things after I die than in sharing them while I live?
Do I exaggerate the pain in my life in order to get sympathy or as an excuse for not meeting my responsibilities?
Matthew 27: 38-44 JESUS’ REJECTION BY HIS OWN PEOPLE IS COMPLETE
38. Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.
39. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads,
40. and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the cross!”
41. Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and the elders mocked him and said,
42. “He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.
43. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, “I am the Son of God.”
44. The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.
There is something perverse in many human beings that makes them pile on when someone is down. Every element of Jewish society, even the criminal element, joins in chorus in mocking and rejecting Jesus, seemingly the one thing this very contentious and sectarian society can agree on. The scene reeks with irony. Jesus does not, in fact, come down from the cross, precisely because he is saving others. He resists again the persistent temptation to make things easy for himself or to show off his power in some spectacular way in order to accomplish his mission. His own people reject him. They go out of their way to humiliate him and he takes it in order to save the very people who are mocking him.
Do I fear rejection so much that I will refrain from standing on principle?
Do I allow people to talk me or taunt me into anything in order to be accepted by them?
Do I try to meet the world’s requirements for being OK more than try to keep God’s commandments?
When others are being “diced,” do I join in out of fear that I will “be diced” if I do not?
Matthew 27: 45-50 JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
45. From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
46. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
47. Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.”
48. Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink.
49. But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50. But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.
Whatever physical explanation there might be for the darkness at noon, it is its symbolic meaning which is important here. The mockers got their sign, but not the one they wanted. The darkness is really a sign that God’s judgment has come upon humans’ sins.
The first, last, and only words of Jesus from the time he answered Pilate, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” have been variously interpreted down through the ages. When we realize that Luck and John record different “last words,” we become aware that these are either not Jesus’ only “last word,” or, more likely, they have been inserted by the evangelist to make a specific point.
This particular quote comes from the opening line of Psalm 22 and indicates that Jesus was praying. It is a psalm that begins in despair but ends in hope and trust. We should be slow to interpret these words psychologically as expressing the inner feelings of Jesus, as despair and abandonment. As much as we would like to do that so as to be able to say Jesus experienced despair just as we do, that would be reading into the text more than it says. Jesus is identifying with the sacred writer of Psalm 22, expressing some loss in his usual apprehension of God and at the same time not despairing, keeping faith with God.
Even the bystanders were confused by what Jesus was saying or praying. Some thought he was invoking Elijah. Given the unusual darkness it is not surprising that people heard strange things, like a call to Elijah, and did strange things, like try to give Jesus drink he earlier refused. Was that more mockery or compassion?
None of the evangelists uses the ordinary word for “dying.” Matthew says, “He let go the spirit.” After all was said and done it was peaceful, an act of Jesus’ will. Jesus died as he lived- with God in his heart and mind and on his lips.
Can I see past the ugliness and darkness of Jesus’ crucifixion to the beauty and light of God’s love?
Can I see through the ugliness of anything and find the beauty of God’s presence?
Can I rise above my feelings of rejection, despair and abandonment and cling to hope?
Can I endure humiliation with the dignity of Jesus?
Matthew 27: 51-54 THE APOCALYPTIC EVENTS AT THE DEATH OF JESUS
51. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split,
52. tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
53. And coming forth from their tombs after the resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
It is impossible to tell for sure whether the evangelist intends to tell us that these strange events actually occurred or that he is interpreting the meaning of Jesus’ death for us by using standard apocalyptic stage props. On the one hand, verses fifty-one to fifty-three, are recounted in the passive voice, making them suspect of actually occurring, a writer’s way of transmitting legend. On the other hand, the earthquake is recounted in a way that it may well be factual. That specifically got the guards to believe in and confess Jesus as the Son of God, although, it did not seem to convince anyone else.
Let us say they could have happened as they are told, but more importantly, it is the meaning they intend to convey which is paramount. The torn curtain of the Temple signifies both God’s displeasure and the end of the old ways of approaching God. There will no longer be a barrier between God’s presence and ours. Our worship of God will be on a new basis and a new way, a new covenant.
“After his resurrection, ” verse fifty-three, lets us know for sure that not all these events actually occurred at the time of the crucifixion. Some effects would become clear later. This particular scenario, the raising of the dead, based on Ezek 37: 1-14, the vision of the dry bones returning to life, is a theological perspective tying the resurrection of the saints to that of Jesus. This is a scenario anticipating both the resurrection of Jesus and the fullness of general resurrection at the End Time.
Another major difference- another “before and after”- is the use of Son of God. Before, by the Jews, it was term of opprobrium and mockery. Now, after, it is a term, used by Gentiles, restored to its rightful place of honor, signifying who Jesus really is.
These Romans, Gentiles, proleptically fulfill the mandate at the end of Matthew chapter twenty-eight verses sixteen to twenty, to make disciples of all nations. In a matter of minutes they went from mocking him, crucifying him, dividing his garments, to confessing him as Son of God, with the Easter confession of faith. All the while, the Jews stew in their own juices. The death of Jesus is life-giving, but only to those who accept him on his terms, the Son of God, God himself.
Am I humble and honest enough to change? To change my opinions in the face of facts or new facts? To change my behavior in the face of a new reality?
Or do I cling to old prejudices out of pride?
Do I care what people think if I change more than I care about truth?
Do I cover-up my sins, deny reality, rather than honestly admit I was wrong?
Do I put faith in a power outside myself to save me, knowing full well that I cannot save myself?
Do I believe that I will live forever with God, Jesus, and all saints?
Matthew 27: 55-66 WITNESSES, BURIAL, GUARDS
55. There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.
57. Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus.
58. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.
59. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen
60. and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed.
61. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
62. The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate
63. and said, “Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, “After three days I will be raised up.”
64. Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, He has been raised from the dead.” This last imposture would be worse than the first.”
65. Pilate said tot hem, “The guard is yours; go secure it as best you can.”
66. So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard.
These verses are less a continuation of the narrative of the death of Jesus and more a preparation for the resurrection narratives of chapter twenty-eight.
The women have been witnesses from the beginning to the end, the only ones who remained faithful to Jesus through thick, in Galilee, during the halcyon days of Jesus’ popular ministry, and thin, these last days in Jerusalem where Jesus was most unpopular. They witness firsthand his death, his burial (27: 61), the empty tomb (28: 1), and, finally, his risen self (28: 8-10). There can be no possibility of a mistake. Jesus really died and subsequently was raised from the dead, all seen by the very same people.
Jesus received a respectful and proper burial, according to Jewish customs, thanks to Joseph, an underground disciple. All of a sudden, the Jewish religious leaders remember that Jesus did not predict that he would destroy and rebuild the Jerusalem temple but that he was referring to himself. The trumped up charge all of a sudden it’s forgotten about and they remember that Jesus predicted his resurrection. Now they fear, they always fear something, that after killing Jesus his disciples will steal the body and claim he was raised. So, they set guards to make sure it does not happen. Ironically, what they thought would prevent theft becomes a basis for believing in the resurrection, for the guards are witnesses, along with the women, that nobody stole the body, yet the tomb was empty! The enemies of Jesus just cannot win. They cannot even get a break. But, they will not give up either.
This bad and sad story turns out to be good news after all! Amen.
