THE PASSION
NARRATIVE (Matt 26:1-28:20)
We have on several
occasions spoken or the Gospels as passion narrative with an extended
introduction, implying that the real message of theme of the gospel
message is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
In this final narrative of the Gospel, we encounter the real theme or
purpose and theology of the Gospel, the suffering, death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus, or to put it in other words, the fulfillment of
God's plan of salvation for mankind. In this section we see the heilsgeschichte
of God brought to its climax and fulfillment.
Hagner's Introduction to this section is so cogent that we include parts
of it for easy reference:
"In the
story of the passion and resurrection of Jesus we come to the
climax of the Gospel and by far the longest consecutive narrative
in Matthew. Here the goal of Jesus'
mission is realized. The death of Jesus on the cross
is no surprise, not does it indicate the failure of Jesus'
mission. From the evangelist's point of view, it
is the fulfillment of scripture (26:54, 56), the fixed will
of God, and the deliberate choice of the obedient Son of
God. This, indeed, is the unique time
(kairos) of Jesus (26:18). Therefore,
the tone of the narrative is not one of tragedy or defeat but one
of accomplishment and victory even before we reach the triumph of
the resurrection in chap. 28....
The passion narrative is a literary masterpiece. It
contains gripping drama that cannot but move the reader, yet there
is nothing maudlin here. The crucifixion is snot
described but is referred to in the briefest way. Pervading
the narrative is a deep sense of irony. Though sinful men do
their best to thwart the mission of Jesus, they accomplish the
very purpose for which he came and thus fulfill God's will.
It is this that primarily accounts for the paradoxical tone of the
narrative. But the plot is full of lesser ironies. One
of the twelve betrays Jesus while the other disciples, who had
profusely insisted upon their loyalty to Jesus, abandon their
master in the moment of crisis. The hearings before the
members of the Sanhedrin and before Pilate are at best travesties
of justice that condemn on e who was truly innocent of
death. Yet it is the Roman prefect who knows Jesus'
innocence (27:23-24).... The final and
correct assessment of Jesus, which caps the crucifixion narrative,
comes not from the Jews but from a most unlikely source, a Roman centurion
and his soldiers, who conclude what the reader has been led to
conclude throughout, namely, that "this was truly the Son of
God" (27:54)." |
JESUS IN GETHSEMANE
(MATT 26:36-56)
The "Garden of
Gethsemane," as it is known from John's Gospel (Jn 18:1, 26)
"where there was a garden" was in reality an olive orchard on
the east side of the Kidron valley on the lowers slopes of the Mount of
Olives. Matthew calls it "a plot of ground" or "a
place" from the Greek word cwrion
- chorion "a place." This is the only occasion
that cwrion
occurs in Matthew. Gethsemane is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew gat
semane which means "oil press". It was a quiet place
of the regular beaten pathway, a place where Jesus could be alone in
prayer.
This poignant narrative stands as a monument to Jesus' agony and fear of
suffering and dying as a human, but as a monument also of his willingness
as a human to submit tot he will of his Father in heaven. Adding to
the tragedy of this occasion is that this is the last account of Jesus
spending time with his disciples before dying on the cross. At the
moment that he needed them most, they failed him miserably.
The realization of what faces him on the next day fills Jesus with dread
and anguish.
| 1. |
Perhaps it was the agony of suffering and death that filled him with
fear. he knew only too well the cruelty of Roman crucifixion.
|
| 2. |
Perhaps it was the
realization of the enormous responsibility he was to accept in
dying, the salvati0n of the world! |
| 3. |
Perhaps it was the fear
of God's rejection of sin that he was about to bear.
(However, IAF has problems with this theological deduction based
on Jesus' prayer on the cross in which he cries out the words of
Ps 22:1, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?" We will discuss this later at Matt 27:46.) |
| 4. |
I prefer a combination
of 1. and 2. against 3. (IAF) |
Perhaps we should see this narrative
is also a monument depicting human weakness in our commitment to Jesus,
and his determination to save us!
We fail him too often,
but he does not fail us!
As a human being Jesus
would pass up on the agony of crucifixion, but as the Son of Man he
submits to the will and purpose of his Father!
Jesus Prays in the
Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:36-46)
Jesus takes with him the three disciples with whom he obviously had the
closest relationship, namely, Peter, James, and John. As a human
being he needed the company of friends as he faced the most difficult time
of his life, and as he agonized in prayer.
Jesus shared with the three his great sorrow and trouble in heart.
what this includes remains a mystery to us, for we have no idea of the
depth of Jesus emotional feelings at this point. His distress,
however, was great! Hagner points out that the words used by
Jesus in communicating his sorrow and dread were expressed in Old
Testament language (Jonah 4:9, and Sir 37:2) that was linked to great
sorrow.
Twice he encouraged (perhaps begged) the three disciples to
"watch" with him, and once to pray with him. Grhgorew
- gregoreo - "watch" or "be alert" includes
"staying awake" with him. However, on both occasions they
failed him and fell asleep. Perhaps they were tired, but perhaps
also they did not understand the depth of his concern and
anguish. In his second encouragement to the three he warned
them not to fall into temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh
is weak, indicating his own struggles, but also his awareness of the
disciples' struggles.
Jesus' prayer that God would permit "this cup to pass from me"
and the cup that he was to drink were Hebrew metaphors that referred to
the suffering he was about to experience.
Jesus' comment that "the hour is at hand" was not simply an
indication that it was near, but rather that it was certain and so certain
that it was already breaking in on him. His comment that the Son of
man is betrayed indicates that the events were already under way.
"Is betrayed" is a translation of paradidotai-
paradidotai a present indicative passive form of the verb paradidwmi
- paradidomi. The present indicative passive indicates action
already underway or happening in the present.
Jesus instructs the three disciples that it is time for them to
leave. They did not know what Jesus knew, that the betrayer was
already in the action of leading the soldiers to arrest Jesus.
Judas Betrays Jesus
(Matt 26:47-56)
"While Jesus was
speaking" adds to the imminence of Judas' betrayal. Judas
arrives with a great crowd armed with swords and clubs as though Jesus was
a robber or insurrectionist! John informs us that there were
possibly temple guards and Roman soldiers in the crowd, "So
Judas, procuring a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief
priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and
weapons." (Jn 18:3) The crowd comes from the Chief Priests and
Elders, or the Sanhedrin.
By mentioning that Judas "was one of the twelve" Matthew adds
tot he tragedy of the occasion!
Judas, by agreement with the mob, kisses Jesus as a sign that Jesus was
the one they were seeking. The eastern "kiss" was a sign
of greeting. The word used by Matthew (katafilein
- kataphilein rather than philein - kiss) was an intensive
form of the regular kiss. Interestingly, philein derives from
phile - love! The intensive form of kiss implies that it was
the traditional sign of greeting. Judas adds the words "Hail,
Master!" "Hail" was the traditional word of
greeting. To this Judas normal greeting, adds the word Rabbi,
the Hebrew word for rabbi or teacher, indicating possibly that Judas had
already accepted the attitude of the Chief Priests and Elders in regard to
Jesus. Whatever way one sees this greeting, it is cynical and
degrading since Judas knows who Jesus is and knows that he has distanced
himself from the rabbinic tradition!
Jesus response, "Friend (comrade, companion) why are you here?"
can be interpreted as it is her as a question, or it can be interpreted as
a statement as in the NRSV, "Friend, do what
you are here to do." We prefer the translation of the
NRSV, indicating that Jesus knew what Judas was about and
"challenged" him to get on with his nefarious business!
One of Jesus' disciples (John informs us that it was Peter Jn18:10,11,26)
took a sword and cut off the ear of the chief priests slave. Only
Luke tells us that Jesus healed the slaves severed ear (Lk 22:51).
Jesus tells his disciples not to take up swords, for if that were
necessary, he could call down 12 legions of angels (72,000 angels) to
defend him! However, it was the will of God that he be taken and
that the prophetic scriptures had to be fulfilled.
Jesus rebuked the crowd for coming after him like a criminal since they
had opportunity to arrest him on many occasions as he taught, but they had
not. We know why they had not, for they had feared the crowds in the
past. Hagner adds of the crowds, "They are despicable
opportunists."
Matthew, in simple words and with great brevity and solemnity adds,
"Then all the disciples forsook him and fled."
Mark 14: 51,52 adds "A certain young man was following him, wearing
nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he
left the linen cloth and ran off naked." Some feel this young man was
Mark, and that this supports the Markan authorship of the Gospel of Mark.
JESUS IS TAKEN BEFORE
CAIAPHAS, THE HIGH PRIEST (MATT 26:57-68)
Caiaphas was the
high priest at that time. He was the son in law of Annas who previously
had been the high priest. Caiaphas had been appointed tot he
position by the Roman procurator, Valerius Gratus, the predecessor of
Pontius Pilate. Caiaphas hated Jesus and had been the main power
behind the rejection of Jesus and his arrest.
The Chief Priests, Scribes, and Elders, namely, the Sanhedrin, had
gathered in anticipation of Jesus' arrest. Jesus was brought before
Sanhedrin gathered at Caiaphas' palace.
The hypocrisy for
which Jesus had condemned the Scribes and Pharisees comes to the
fore in the "false testimony" the Sanhedrin sought against Jesus.
Several attempts to gather enough false testimony against Jesus to
condemn him to death, which was their purpose, they finally got two false
witnesses to come forward with statements that Jesus had claimed to be
able to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Obviously
they were taking several strands of Jesus' teachings and weaving them into
their ridiculous charges. When Jesus refused to answer the charges
of the High Priest, the High Priest placed Jesus under oath ("I
adjure you..." being the terminology for placing someone under oath
before God) and asked him whether he was the Christ, The Son of God.
Jesus' answer, "You have said so..." This is not an
evasive answer, but a direct answer in the affirmative, a Hebraism or
Hebrew euphemism for "yes". Mark 14:62 records that Jesus
said, "I am;..."
Jesus added "But
I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand
of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
This expression, drawn from Dan 7:13 and Ps
110:1 is so loaded with apocalyptic symbolism that the High Priest
immediately understands what Jesus is claiming. Jesus is claiming to
be the one seated at the right hand of God, and the one who will come in
eschatological judgment on them. The word "Power" is a
circumlocution for God and demonstrates Jesus' sensitivity to the
situation.
The High Priest charges Jesus with blasphemy and asks the Sanhedrin what
the sentence should be. "He deserves death" is their
immediate response.
Thos present in the Sanhedrin then begin to mock Jesus, spit on him and
strike him. Their evil biased scheming has come to fruition.
However, the Jews under Roman rule did not have the authority to carry out
their condemnation of death. Only the Romans could carry that
sentence out. After a brief paragraph in which Peter denies Jesus
three times, Jesus is led bound to Pilate, the Roman governor.
Hagner draws attention to the tendency of Christians to put the blame on
the hypocrisy of the Jews, especially the scribes, Pharisees, and
Sanhedrin for the death of Jesus. Christians should remember,
however, that Jesus died because of Christian's sins as well as because of
the Jewish leaders' sins.
PETER'S DENIAL OF JESUS
(MATT 26:69-75)
Peter we learn in Matt 26:58 had followed
the crowd that arrested Jesus, but at a distance.
Now in the courtyard of the High Priest's palace, he is confronted by a
maid who recognized him as a follower of Jesus.
Peter denied the charge "before them
all"!
He is then confronted by another maid who
made similar charges, recognizing him by his Galilean accent.
Again, but this time with an oath, Peter
denies the charge!
After a while the bystanders say to Peter, "Certainly you are also
one of them, for your accent betrays you."
Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do
not know the man."
Matthew records the sad words (matt 26:74-75):
|
"And immediately the cock crowed. 75 And Peter remembered
the saying of Jesus, "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three
times." And he went out and wept bitterly."
|
To go to the lesson on Matt
27, click here.
|