The Gospel According to Matthew – 2017.04.09
The Passion
The
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
Key: N. Narrator. ✠
Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. One of the Twelve, the man
called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
O. What are you prepared to
give me if I hand him over to you?
N. They paid him thirty silver
pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.
Now on the first day of
Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say,
C. Where do you want us to
make the preparations for you to eat the passover?
N. He replied:
✠ Go to so-and-so
in the city and say to him, ‘The Master says: My time is near. It is at your
house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.’
N. The disciples did what
Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.
When evening came he was at
table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said:
✠ I tell you
solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.
N. They were greatly
distressed and started asking him in turn,
C. Not I, Lord, surely?
N. He answered,
✠ Someone who has
dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man is going
to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the
Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!
N. Judas, who was to betray
him, asked in his turn,
O. Not I, Rabbi, surely?
N. Jesus answered:
✠ They are your own
words.
N. Now as they were eating,
Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave
it to the disciples and said:
✠ Take it and eat;
this is my body.
N. Then he took a cup, and
when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, saying:
✠ Drink, all of
you, from this, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I
shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom
of my Father.
N. After psalms had been sung
they left for the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them,
✠ You will all lose
faith in me this night, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and
the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after my resurrection I shall go
before you to Galilee.
N. At this, Peter said,
O. Though all lose faith in
you, I will never lose faith.
N. Jesus answered him,
✠ I tell you
solemnly, this very night, before the cock crows, you will have disowned me
three times.
N. Peter said to him,
O. Even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you.
N. And all the disciples said
the same.
Then Jesus came with them to a
small estate called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
✠ Stay here while I
go over there to pray.
N. He took Peter and the two
sons of Zebedee with him. And sadness came over him, and great distress. Then
he said to them,
✠ My soul is
sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and keep awake with me.
N. And going on a little
further he fell on his face and prayed:
✠ My Father, if it
is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I,
would have it.
N. He came back to the
disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter:
✠ So you had not
the strength to keep awake with me one hour? You should be awake, and praying
not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
N. Again, a second time, he
went away and prayed:
✠ My Father, if
this cup cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done!
N. And he came back again and
found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy. Leaving them there, he went away
again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words. Then he came
back to the disciples and said to them,
✠ You can sleep on
now and take your rest. Now the hour has come when the Son of Man is to be
betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is already
close at hand.
N. He was still speaking when
Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, and with him a large number of men armed
with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. Now
the traitor had arranged a sign with them. He had said,
O. ‘The one I kiss, he is the
man. Take him in charge.’
N. So he went straight up to
Jesus and said,
O. Greetings, Rabbi.
N. and kissed him. Jesus said
to him,
✠ My friend, do
what you are here for.
N. Then they came forward,
seized Jesus and took him in charge. At that, one of the followers of Jesus
grasped his sword and drew it; he struck out at the high priest’s servant, and
cut off his ear. Jesus then said,
✠ Put your sword
back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I
cannot appeal to my Father who would promptly send more than twelve legions of
angels to my defence? But then, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that say
this is the way it must be?
N. It was at this time that
Jesus said to the crowds,
✠ Am I a brigand,
that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs? I sat teaching in
the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me.
N. Now all this happened to
fulfil the prophecies in scripture. Then all the disciples deserted him and ran
away.
The men who had arrested Jesus
led him off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were
assembled. Peter followed him at a distance, and when he reached the high
priest’s palace, he went in and sat down with the attendants to see what the
end would be.
The chief priests and the
whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on
which they might pass the death sentence. But they could not find any, though
several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward and made a
statement,
O. This man said: ‘I have
power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up.’
N. The high priest then stood
up and said to him,
O. Have you no answer to that?
What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?
N. But Jesus was silent. And
the high priest said to him,
O. I put you on oath by the
living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.
N. Jesus answered:
✠ The words are
your own. Moreover, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son
of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of
heaven.
N. At this, the high priest
tore his clothes and said,
O. He has blasphemed. What
need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy. What
is your opinion?
N. They answered,
C. He deserves to die.
N. Then they spat in his face
and hit him with their fists; others said as they struck him,
C. Play the prophet, Christ!
Who hit you then?
N. Meanwhile Peter was sitting
outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said,
O. You too were with Jesus the
Galilean.
N. But he denied it in front
of them all, saying:
O. I do not know what you are
talking about.
N. When he went out to the
gateway another servant-girl saw him and said to the people there,
O. This man was with Jesus the
Nazarene.
N. And again, with an oath, he
denied it:
O. I do not know the man.
N. A little later the
bystanders came up and said to Peter,
C. You are one of them for
sure! Why, your accent gives you away.
Then he started calling down
curses on himself and swearing:
O. I do not know the man.
N. At that moment the cock
crew, and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ‘Before the cock crows you will
have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
When morning came, all the
chief priests and the elders of the people met in council to bring about the
death of Jesus. They had him bound, and led him away to hand him over to
Pilate, the governor.
When he found that Jesus had
been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with remorse and took the thirty
silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders, saying:
O. I have sinned. I have
betrayed innocent blood.
N. They replied:
C. What is that to us? That is
your concern.
N. And flinging down the
silver pieces in the sanctuary he made off and hanged himself. The chief
priests picked up the silver pieces and said,
C. It is against the Law to
put this into the treasury: it is blood-money.
N. So they discussed the
matter and bought the potter’s field with it as a graveyard for foreigners, and
this is why the field is called the Field of Blood today. The words of the
prophet Jeremiah were then fulfilled: And they took the thirty silver pieces,
the sum at which the precious One was priced by children of Israel, and they
gave them for the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.
Jesus, then, was brought
before the governor, and the governor put to him this question:
O. Are you the king of the
Jews?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ It is you who say
it.
N. But when he was accused by
the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said
to him,
O. Do you not hear how many
charges they have brought against you?
N. But to the governor’s
complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the charges.
At festival time it was the
governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose.
Now there was at that time a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So
when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them,
O. Which do you want me to
release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?
N. For Pilate knew it was out
of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was seated in the chair of
judgement, his wife sent him a message,
O. Have nothing to do with
that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.
N. The chief priests and the
elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and
the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them,
O. Which of the two do you
want me to release for you?
N. they said,
C. Barabbas.
N. Pilate said to them:
O. But in that case, what am I
to do with Jesus who is called Christ?
N. They all said:
C. Let him be crucified!
N. Pilate asked:
O. Why? What harm has he done?
N. But they shouted all the
louder,
C. Let him be crucified!
N. Then Pilate saw that he was
making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water,
washed his hands in front of the crowd and said,
O. I am innocent of this man’s
blood. It is your concern.
N. And the people, to a man,
shouted back,
C. His blood be on us and on
our children!
N. Then he released Barabbas
for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be
crucified.
The governor’s soldiers took
Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him.
Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted
some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his
right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying,
C. Hail, king of the Jews!
N. And they spat on him and
took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished
making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes
and led him away to crucify him.
On their way out, they came
across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross.
When they had reached a place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the skull,
they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall, which he tasted but refused to
drink. When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by
casting lots, and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him.
Above his head was placed the
charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ At the same
time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
The passers-by jeered at him;
they shook their heads and said,
C. So you would destroy the
Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are God’s son,
come down from the cross!
N. The chief priests with the
scribes and elders mocked him in the same way, saying:
C. He saved others; he cannot
save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now,
and we will believe in him. He puts his trust in God; now let God rescue him if
he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the son of God.’
N. Even the robbers who were
crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
From the sixth hour there was
darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour,
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
✠ Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?
N. That is, ‘My God, my God,
why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood there heard this, they
said,
C. The man is calling on
Elijah.
N. and one of them quickly ran
to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it
him to drink. The rest of them said:
C. Wait! See if Elijah will
come to save him.
N. But Jesus, again crying out
in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a
short time.
At that, the veil of the
Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were
split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and
these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and
appeared to a number of people. Meanwhile the centurion, together with the
others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place,
and they were terrified and said,
C. In truth this was a son of
God.
N. And many women were there,
watching from a distance, the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee
and looked after him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James
and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
When it was evening, there
came a rich man of Arimathaea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple
of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate
thereupon ordered it to be handed over. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in
a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the
rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went
away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the
sepulchre.
Next day, that is, when
Preparation Day was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to
Pilate and said to him,
C. Your Excellency, we recall
that this impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I shall
rise again.’ Therefore give the order to have the sepulchre kept secure until
the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the
people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ This last piece of fraud would be worse
than what went before.
N. Pilate said to them:
O. You may have your guard. Go
and make all as secure as you know how.
N. So they went and made the
sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard.
Propaganda
Jesus lived and died, and death was not
the end of him (if you believe it).
This is the central message of the
Christian faith, even a man who was executed as a blasphemer, and a criminal,
could receive resurrected to the afterlife, a world of hope, and comfort and
joy.
This faith is a blessing to the poor, to
the marginalized, to the outcast. The faith instructs them that they are known,
and loved by God, the creator of the universe, that they will be cared for in
the world to come.
Every other element of this story should
be stripped away. It is all propaganda.
The core of this narrative may be true,
but the everything that drapes from it is embellishment. Jesus did not die in
fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, and the rest of the prophets were not miracle
workers and fortune tellers. They were human beings, who died as human beings,
at the hands of human beings, for ordinary human purposes; fear and the desire
to retain power.
Palm Sunday
