THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE
Lesson 15: Chapter 22:39-71 and 23:1-25
The Passion of the Christ: His Arrest and Trials
Heavenly Father,
Your Son asked us to take up our individual crosses as we
journey to salvation and to be willing to join our earthly sufferings to His.
In accepting this call, we also drink from His cup of suffering in the hopes
that we might one day also partake of His cup of glory. In the meantime, we
gratefully accept the Cup of Blessing that is the Eucharist "the cup of His
Precious Blood that sustains us on our earthly journey. Like the disciples who
Jesus told to "stay awake" in the garden of Gethsemane, we know that we must
also "stay awake," being vigilant to guard our souls from the stain of sin and
to be dedicated to prayer in our spiritual journey because we have Your promise
that the prayers of those who "watch and pray" will be heard. Send Your Spirit
to guide us, Lord, in our study of Jesus' submission to Your will and Your plan
for man's salvation through His Passion. We pray in the name of God the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
The highest
point in the evolution of Pesach came in the last century of the second Temple,
when the Jews suffered from the heavy oppression of the Romans. It was during
this period that the Messianic hope flamed up, and in the minds of the Jews the
deliverance of the future became bound up with the first redemption in Jewish
history: the deliverance from Egypt. Jews had long believed that in the
deliverance to come, God would show the same sort of miracles that he had
performed in redeeming the Jews from Egypt. This belief gained added strength
in this period of Roman occupation and oppression. Jews began to believe that
the Messiah would be a second Moses and would free the Jews the self-same eve,
the eve of Pesach. So Pesach became the festival of the second as well as the
first redemption; in every part of the world where Jews lived, especially in
Palestine, Jewish hearts beat faster on the eve of Pesach, beat with the hope that
this night the Jews would be freed from the bondage of Rome, just as their
ancestors were released from Egyptian slavery.
Hayyim Schauss, The
Jewish Festivals, page 47
On the fourteenth
day of the first month falls the Passover of the LORD, and the fifteenth day
of this month is the pilgrim feast. For seven days unleavened bread is to
be eaten. On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly,
and do no sort of work. As an oblation you shall offer a holocaust to the
LORD, which shall consist of two bullocks, one ram, and seven yearling lambs
that you are sure are unblemished ... These offerings you shall make in
addition to the established morning holocaust [ olat ha-Tamid].
Numbers 28:16-23
(emphasis added)
| CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS ON FRIDAY, NISAN 15th The Harmony of the Gospels (the Jewish day begins at sundown) | ||
| EVENT | SCRIPTURE | TIME |
|
The sacred meal of
the Passover on the first night of Unleavened Bread which Christians call the
Last Supper. |
Mt 26:26-35; Mk 14:22-31; Lk 22:14-38; Jn 13:1-17:26 |
Sundown = Nisan 15th; sacred meal must end by midnight |
| Jesus' agony in the garden of Gethsemane; His "hour" has come. |
Mt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:39-46; Jn 18:1 |
|
| Jesus is arrested. |
Mt 26:47-56; Mk 14:43-52; Lk 22:47-53; Jn 18:2-14 |
|
| Jesus is questioned by Annas. | Jn 18:19-24 | |
| Jesus is taken to Caiaphas and the council of the Sanhedrin. While Jesus is in the High Priest's palace, Peter denies Jesus three times and hears the "cockcrow." |
Mt 26:69-75; Mk 15:66-72; Lk 22:54-62; Jn 18:25-27 |
2 AM to 3 AM = "cockcrow" |
| Jesus is condemned to death by the Sanhedrin at dawn. The first Tamid lamb is led to the altar to be inspected and judged "without fault" one last time and given a drink. |
Mt 26:57-68; Mk 14:53-65; Lk 22:66-71; Jn 18:24; Ex 29:38-42; Mishnah: Tamid, 3:2-3:4C |
Dawn/near dawn |
| Part I of Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate. |
Mt 27:1-2; Mk 15:1-5; Lk 23:1-5; Jn 18:28-19:16 |
Just after dawn Roman time =about the 6th hour/6 AM |
| Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas. | Lk 23:6-12 | |
| Judas commits suicide. | Mt 27:3-10 | |
|
Part II of Jesus'
trial before Pilate. Jesus is condemned to death and carries the Cross to Golgotha. |
Mt 27:11-30; Mk 15:6-20; Lk 23:13-32 Jn 19:16-17 |
|
|
The crucifixion of
the Christ. The Temple doors are opened to the people for the morning worship service & the Sacred Assembly as first Tamid lamb is sacrificed.* |
Mt 27:31-34; Mk 15:25; Lk 23:33; Jn 19:18; Lev 23:6-7 Num 28:17-18; Mishnah: Tamid, 3:7 |
9 AM It was the third hour [9 AM] in the morning when they crucified him (Mk :15:25). |
| Jesus' garments are divided. He has an exchange with the men crucified on either side of Him. Jesus is mocked by the religious leaders and the crowd. He commits His mother into the care of St. John. |
Mt 27:35-44 Mk 15:26-32; Lk 23:34-43; Jn 19:19-27 |
|
|
Darkness from noon (sixth hour Jewish time) to 3 PM (ninth hour Jewish time). At noon the second Tamid lamb is led to the altar in preparation for the afternoon liturgical service and is given a drink. |
Mt 27:45; Mk 15:33; Lk 23:44-45; Mishnah: Tamid, 3:4B, 4:1G |
Noon From the sixth hour [noon] onward, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour [3 PM]. |
|
Jesus asks for a
drink; He drinks the wine and says "It is finished." It is the ninth hour =
3 PM. *The second Tamid lamb is sacrificed at the ninth hour/3 PM. |
Mt 27:46-50; Mk 15:34-39; Lk 23:46-48; Jn 19:28-30; Ex 29:38-42; Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.3/65* |
3 PM At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice ... and breathed his last (Mk 15:34, 37). |
| Michal E. Hunt © copyright 2013 | ||
*Josephus writing about the Tamid sacrifice at the Temple: ...but did still twice each day, in the morning and about the ninth hour, offer their sacrifices on the altar (Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.3/65). Jewish-Christian scholar Alfred Edersheim: According to general agreement, the morning sacrifice was brought at the third hour, corresponding to our nine o'clock (The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 108).
Jesus' Sacrifice and the Daily Liturgy of the Tamid Sacrifice in the Temple
The communal sacrifice of the Tamid was the most important ritual sacrifice of the Sinai Covenant. It was a single sacrifice of two yearling lambs, one offered in a morning liturgical worship service and the second in an afternoon liturgical worship service; each lamb offered together with unleavened bread and red wine (Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:3-9).(1) It was the compulsory communal daily sacrifice for the atonement and sanctification of the covenant people. However, Jewish philosopher and theologian Philo of Alexandria (d. 50 AD) wrote that the daily Tamid sacrifice was not only offered for the covenant people but on behalf of all mankind (The Special Laws I, 35 [168]).
The olat ha-Tamid, "whole burnt offering of the standing" ("standing" as in continual/perpetual) was the only compulsory communal sacrifice of the Sinai Covenant before the failure of Israel in making and worshiping the Golden Calf and remained the premier sacrifice when the ritual of animal sacrifice was expanded after the Golden Calf (Ex 29:38-42; 32:1-35). It was so important that no other sacrifice was to take precedence over it. All other sacrifices, including the Passover and Sabbath sacrifices, were offered in addition to the Tamid, a command repeated fifteen times in the Torah of Moses (Num 28:10, 15, 23, 24, 31; 29:6, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 38).
When St. John identified Jesus in His perfect humanity and divinity as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" to the Jewish crowd on the banks of the Jordan River, he was not identifying Jesus with the annual Passover sacrifice of lambs and kids (Ex 12:5) but instead with the daily offering of the two unblemished male lambs of the Tamid sacrifice. According to rabbinic teaching, this single sacrifice of two lambs was to last so long as the Sinai Covenant endured and when it ended in the coming of the Messianic era only the "Thanksgiving" (Toda in Hebrew; Eucharistia in the Greek) communion sacrifice of peace would continue (Joseph Ratsinger [Pope Benedict XVI], Feast of Faith, page 58; Baruch Levine, JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus, page 43).
Notice in the chart above that the daily sacrifice of the Tamid corresponds with the Passion of the Christ: Jesus was condemned at about the time the first Tamid lamb was brought out to the altar and given a drink from a golden cup. Jesus was crucified at the third hour Jewish time, (9 AM) as the first Tamid lamb was sacrificed in the Temple. The second lamb was brought to the altar at noon, given a drink and sacrificed at about the ninth hour (3 PM). The "whole land" turned dark from an eclipse of the sun from noon to three in the afternoon (Mt 27:45; Mk 14:33; Lk 23:44), and Jesus gave up His life at the ninth hour/three in the afternoon just as the second Tamid lamb was sacrificed (Mt 27:46; Mk 14:34). The Tamid was one single sacrifice of two lambs and Jesus was one single sacrifice of He who is fully God and fully man.
Chapter 22:39-71
Jesus is Betrayed
and Arrested
Even the friend
who had my trust, who shared my table, has scorned me.
Psalms 41:10
My brothers, the
Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through
the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested
Jesus. He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry.
Acts 1:16-17
Luke 22:39-46 ~ Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
39 Then going
out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples
followed him. 40 When he
arrived at the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not undergo the test."
41 After withdrawing about a
stone's throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this
cup away from me; still not my will but yours be done." 43 And to strengthen him, an angel from
heaven appeared to him. 44 He
was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops
of blood falling on the ground. 45 When
he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from
grief. 46 He said to them,
"Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test."
Jesus led the disciples to a garden called Gethsemane on the Mt. of Olives to the east of the city (Mt 26:36; Jn 18:1). He asked the disciples to pray with Him in preparation for the crisis that is about to come upon all of them. He withdraws a little apart from them and offers His prayer of submission to the will of the Father. Jesus' prayer reminds us that He was fully God but also fully man and in His humanity He was in anguish over the suffering He was going to endure. Evidence of His anguish is recorded in Luke's statement that drops of blood fell from the sweat of His face. This is a condition identified by physicians as hematidrosis, blood pigments in sweat from extreme stress.
In His anguish He prays "Father, if you are willing, take
this cup away from me; still not my will but yours be done."
Question: What is the "cup" Jesus is loathed to
accept? In the reoccurring images of the Old Testament prophets, what does
drinking from a cup symbolize? See the chart below and the symbolic cup
imagery in Luke 22:20 and Rev 14:10; 16:19 and 18:6.
|
Drinking Wine Examples in Scripture |
Joy of drinking
good wine Is 25:6-8; 62:8-9; 65:13; Jer 31:12; 40:12 |
Becoming drunk Is 5:11-12; 28:1; Jer 8:13; 48:26; 51:7; Joel 1:5 |
Loss of wine; drinking the "cup of God's wrath" Ps 75:9; Is 51:17-23; 63:2-3; Joel 4:13; Jer 13:12-14; 25:15-31; 49:12; 51:6-7; 48:26; Ez 23:31-34; Hab 2:16 |
Rejoicing in the
best "new wine" at the Master's table O.T. promise: Zec 9:15-16 Fulfilled: Mt 26:27; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:23-32; Rev 19:7-9 |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013 | ||||
Answer: It can symbolize covenant unity with God in drinking the wine of the covenant as drinking wine did at the Last Supper, but it can also symbolize God's divine judgment for covenant failure in drinking the cup God's wrath.
The Israelites and all of humanity deserved the "cup of God's wrath" for their rejection of God's authority over their lives and their debasement of human dignity through their many sins. But God has sent the Son to redeem mankind and to take upon Himself the "cup of wrath" that mankind deserved. In the promise of a future redemption, the prophet Zechariah wrote: They shall drink blood like wine, till they are filled with it like libation bowls, like the corners of the altar. And the LORD, their God, shall save them on that day, his people, like a flock. For they are the jewels in a crown raised aloft over his land (Zec 9:15b-16). The disciples have already drunk "blood like wine" in the first Eucharist, and now God the Son takes the next step to save God's people, "like a flock."
Question: Why does Jesus submit Himself to drinking
the "cup of God's wrath"? See Is 53:5-12; 2 Cor 5:14-15, 21; Rom 4:25; Gal 3:13; Heb 2:10; 9:28; 1 Pt 2:24-26 and CCC 607, 612-13?
Answer: He made who was sinless made Himself sin for
our sake so that we might be reconciled with God and receive the gift of
eternal salvation. As Christ became our righteousness, through Him we become
God's righteousness.
Jesus accepts upon Himself God's judgment for a sinful humanity. When the time came for Jesus to fulfill the Father's plan, He shows us the depth of His love. Through His human will, the divine will of the Father is perfectly fulfilled once and for all time (CCC 2824). He freely submitted Himself to the Father's will. In His prayer of agony He completely consents to God's plan: not my will but yours be done (Lk 22:42b; CCC 2605). This is the cup of suffering to which Jesus will submit Himself. He will take up the "cup of God's wrath" for the sake of mankind's salvation (see 2 Cor 5:14-14 and 1 Jn 1:7-10; 2:1-2). This is the same "cup" He spoke of in Matthew 20:22-23; 26:39, 42; Mark 10:38-39; 14:36 and John 18:11.
Luke 22:43 And to strengthen him, an angel from heaven appeared to him. Angels have been part of Jesus' mission since His birth (i.e., Mt 1:20; 2:13; Mk 1:13; Lk 1:11-20, 26-38; 2:9-15).
Luke 22:45-46 When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. 46 He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test."
What is the occasion of their grief? Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and His last week debating with the religious leaders has been a great success. However, He has told them again that He will be betrayed (Lk 22:21-22) and that they will be tested by Satan (Lk 22:31). Perhaps they now realize the three predictions of His death will indeed be fulfilled.
Luke 22:47-53 ~ Jesus' arrest
47 While he
was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a
man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him. 48 Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you
betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" 49
His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked,
"Lord shall we strike with a sward?" 50 And
one of them struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said in reply, "Stop, no
more of this?" Then he touched the servant and healed him. 52 And Jesus said to the chief priests
and temple guards and elders who had come for him, "Have you come out as
against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53
Day after day I was with you in the Temple area, and you did not
seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness."
Question: Who are the members of the crowd in verse
47? See Lk 22:50, 52 and Jn 18:3, 19
Answer: Judas is accompanied by the some of the chief
priests, the Temple guards and Roman soldiers led by an officer.
Chief priests are the ordained priesthood while the Levites are the lesser ministers of the Sanctuary who serve the chief priests (Num 3:5-10). A member of the crowd was the High Priest's servant. The Gospel of John includes the information that a cohort of Roman soldiers accompanied the guards of the chief priests, who are probably Levitical guards that serve in the Temple. A cohort is a detachment of several hundred Roman soldiers. The chief priests were fearful of attempting to arrest during the festivities with crowds of people surrounding Him. While arresting Jesus after midnight on the Mt. of Olives lessens the threat of interference, the chief priests are not taking any changes that His followers or that sympatric pilgrims might be present who could try to prevent His arrest. Perhaps Judas has also reported to the chief priests that some of Jesus' men are armed (Lk 22:38).
Luke 22:47-48 While he was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him. 48 Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
To greet a kinsman with a kiss was customary behavior (Lk 7:45), but Judas' sign to Jesus' enemies in kissing Jesus makes his actions even more repugnant. In the Gospels, Judas only calls Jesus "rabbi," which can be translated "sir" or "teacher" (Mt 26:49). Judas never calls Jesus "Messiah" Christos or even Kyrios, "Lord," a title that speaks of more than respect "Kyrios it is a title of allegiance between Master and servant; it is an allegiance Judas is unwilling to give.
Question: What was the name of the High Priest's
servant and who cut off his ear? See Jn 18:10.
Answer: Malchus was servant/slave of the High Priest and
St. Peter cut off his ear in his attempt to protect Jesus.
Question: How did Peter happen to have a sword and
what was the purpose? See Lk 22:35-39; 51-52. What does Jesus say to Peter in
John 18:11 and what is the significance?
Answer: Jesus encouraged him to take it with him
before they left for the Mt. of Olives. Jesus was going to offer one more
miracle before His arrest to bring those coming to arrest Him to believe in Him "the
healing of the severed ear of the High Priest's servant "one last testimony of
the power of the Messiah. Jesus says to Peter, "Shall I not drink the cup
that the Father gave me?" referring to His cup of suffering.
Imagine Peter's shock. Jesus refuses to protect Himself, and He will also not allow Peter to protect Him even though He told him to bring the sword (Lk 22:38). Notice that throughout the arrest sequence that Jesus is completely in control of the events, even controlling His disciples who want to protect Him.
Luke 22:52-53 And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards and elders who had come for him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 Day after day I was with you in the Temple area, and you did not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness." Jesus challenges the religious leaders on their cowardliness in choosing the darkness of the night to arrest Him. It is now the "hour" of His Passion (see Jn 12:23,27; 13:1) but the choice to reject Jesus as their Messiah and Lord has become a defining "hour" for His enemies.
Question: What contrast can be made in this passage
between the night and the moral condition of Jesus' enemies? See Jn 12:35, 46;
13:1.
Answer: The dark of night is ironically fitting for
the "power of darkness" that fills the souls of His adversaries. They are the
children of darkness as opposed to the disciples who are children of the Light
who is Christ.
Luke 22:54-65 ~ Simon-Peter's denial of Christ
54 After
arresting him they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest;
Peter was following at a distance. 55 They
lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat down
with them. 56 When a maid
saw him seated in the light, she looked intently at him and said, "This man too
was with him." 57 But he
denied it saying, "Woman [gynai], I do not know him." 58 A short while later someone else saw
him and said, "You too are one of them"; but Peter answered, "My friend [man =
anthrope], I am not." 59 About
an hour later, still another insisted, "Assuredly, this man too was with him,
for he also is a Galilean." 60 But
Peter said, "My friend [man = anthrope], I do not know what you are talking
about." Just as he was saying this, [sounded] the [no article] cock crowed,
61 and the Lord turned and
looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to
him, "Before the [no article] cock crows [sounds] today [not in
Greek text], you will deny me three times." 62 He went out and began to weep bitterly. 63 The men who held Jesus in custody were
ridiculing and beating him. 64 They
blindfolded him and questioned him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck
you?" 65 And they reviled
him in saying many other things against him. [..] = literal translation (Interlinear
Bible Greek-English, vol. IV, page 238).
Question: What is the name of the high priest? Lk 3:2; Mt 26:2; 26:57; Jn 11:49; 18:13-14, 24, 28.
Answer: Caiaphas.
We know from secular sources that his name was Joseph Caiaphas, and he was the son-in-law of Annas, a previous high priest (see Mt 26:57; Jn 18:13 and Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18.2.2 [35]). Also see the chart on "The Rulers of Judea in the 1st century AD").
Luke 22:55 They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat down with them. The Greek text has the word aule`, "courtyard, but it could also be translated as "hallway or even palace [room]; see the use of the same word in Rev 11:2 but also in the Greek Septuagint of Jer 37:21; 38:26 and 39:14 (Johnson, Gospel of Luke, page 357). It was cold that in the early spring of 30 AD (Jn 18:18) and there was a fire.
Question: Was Peter alone or did another disciple go
with Peter? See Jn 18:15-16.
Answer: Another disciple who was known at the
household of the high priest went with Peter, and it was through him that Peter
gained access to the high priest's palace.
Most scholars and the Fathers of the Church have identified this unnamed disciple as St. John, who identifies himself five times in John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7 & 20 as the disciple Jesus loved. The inspired writer of the fourth Gospel also identifies himself as "this disciple" who is an eyewitness to these events in John 21:24.
The difficulty is how could the son of a Galilean fisherman have a strong enough connection to the high priest to be recognized and admitted to his palace by his household staff? One tradition repeated by Bishop Eusebius in his 4th century Church History is that John the Apostle was from a priestly family. Eusebius is basing his assumption on the fact that Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus in the 2nd century AD, and the early Church historian Hegesippus, both reported that as the Bishop of Ephesus John wore a golden sacerdotal plate similar to that worn by a Jewish High Priest (see Exodus 39:30-31). However, James, kinsman of Jesus, Mark the author of the second Gospel are also reported as wearing the sacerdotal plate. All three men were born and raised in the Old Covenant faith and traditions and they may have seen themselves as the replacement of the hereditary priesthood by adopting a devise similar to the ziz to illustrate their spiritual appointment and authority over the Church (Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series, vol. I: Eusebius, Church History, III.31.3; also note 10 page 163; and V. 37).
Another possibility is that John had been a student at the palace at one time. It was the practice to take especially bright young men from the outer districts of Judah, the Galilee and beyond in the Diaspora to train them in Jerusalem to fill the scribal positions. St. Paul was one such lucky student who came from a Jewish community in Asia Minor. Is it possible that John was also studying in Jerusalem when he began to follow John the Baptist and later Jesus? Is it possible that he had been studying under the tutorage of Annas or Caiaphas and was therefore known and trusted by the household staff?
It is impossible to know the connection between John and this priestly house, but it is clear that from the time of Jesus' arrest only "the other"/"the beloved disciple" continues to follow Jesus to the cross and to the tomb. It is also important to note that the unnamed disciple is clearly distinguished from but also associated with Peter in John's Gospel chapters 18 - 21. The close association between Peter and this unnamed disciple also mirrors the close association recorded in John 13:24; 20:2-10; and in Luke 22:8; Acts 3:1 and 8:14 between St. Peter and St. John the Apostle.
While Jesus is facing His ordeal inside the palace of the
high priest, His Vicar is facing his ordeal in the courtyard.
Question: How many times does Peter deny his Lord in
his refusal to acknowledge his connection to Jesus and where does each denial
take place? Also see Mt 27:69-75; Mk 14:66-72 and Jn 18:26.
Answer: Peter is questioned three times. In Luke he
is questioned by a young woman servant in the courtyard as he sat by the fire,
by a man, and an hour later for the third time by a man who probably recognized
Peter's Galilean accent.
In Luke 22:57-60 Peter is challenged by servants of both genders: a woman and two men. The second man points out that he is a Galilean, either by his accent, or his manner of dress, or both.
In the Gospel of St. John, one of the people who accuse Peter of being one of Jesus' disciples is a relative of the slave/servant of the high priest who Peter wounded when Jesus was arrested (Jn 18:26). Notice that Luke provides an approximate length of time that Jesus is held by the Sanhedrin "an hour before Peter's last denial when he hears "the sound of the cockcrow"(Lk 22:59).
Question: What betrayal took place in this same
courtyard on Wednesday? See Mt 26:3.
Answer: The chief priests, scribes and elders
gathered together in the courtyard of the high priest's palace and agreed to
arrest Jesus by treachery and to put Him to death.
Question: What occurs that reminds Peter of Jesus'
prophecy that he will deny the Lord three times?
Answer: Peter hears [the] "cockcrow."
Luke 22:60 But
Peter said, "My friend, I do not know what you are talking about." Just as he
was saying this, the cock crowed,
The cockcrow was a trumpet signal that announced the end of
the third night watch, called the "Cockcrow," and the beginning of the fourth
and last watch. There is no article associated with the Greek word for
cockcrow in verses 60 and 6. The word "cockcrow" in Greek is formed from the
Greek word for "cock" alektor and the word for "sound" phoneo. In
Greek alektorophonia was a trumpet signal that announced the end of the
third watch and the beginning of the fourth and last night watch. The
"cockcrow" Peter heard must be the trumpet blast signaling the end of the third
watch that was given at the Temple (Mishnah: Sukkot, 5:4; M. Yoma, 1:8)
and at the Roman fortress called the Antonia. The Romans called the trumpet
blast at the end of the Third Watch the "gallicinium," in Latin,
"cockcrow."
In 1st century AD Jerusalem, as in all the cities of the Roman Empire, the nighttime hours were divided into 4 time periods called "Watches":
| #1: Evening watch | Sundown to 9PM |
| #2: Midnight watch | 9 PM to Midnight |
| #3: Cockcrow watch | Midnight to 3 AM |
| #4: Dawn watch | 3 AM to Dawn |
The end of each watch, and the beginning of the next was signaled by a trumpet blast. The Third Watch was from Midnight to 3 AM. If Jesus was identifying the time of Peter's last denial at the time a rooster crow was heard, it could not be a specific time "roosters are notoriously unpredictable in their crowing. There was also a rabbinic ordinance against keeping chickens within the walls of the Holy City because it was feared that their scratching would produce "unclean things," thereby violating the purity laws (J. Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, page 47, note 44). However, if Jesus was referring to the gallicinium in Latin or alektorophonia in Greek in Luke 22:34, His time reference was to the trumpet call of the "cockcrow" that was a precise military signal (Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John, page 828).(2) Jesus spoke of the four night watches in Mark 13:35: So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming: evening, midnight, cockcrow or dawn.
At the close of the Third Watch a signal was given by the both the Roman guards at the Antonia Fortress next to the Temple and by the Temple guards to signal the end of the Watch and the change of the guard. Mark records that Jesus told Peter he would betray Him before the cockcrows twice (Mk 14:30), and in the high priest's courtyard, as Peter denied Christ the third time Mark records Peter heard the second "cockcrow" (Mk 14:30 and 72). Jesus named the four night watches in Mark 13:35: Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
Question: If the "cockcrow" refers to the trumpet
signal, what time was it when Peter denied Christ? See the chart on the Night
Watches of the first century AD.
Answer: It was the end of the Third Watch called
"Cockcrow Watch" that lasted from midnight to 3 AM. Therefore, it was 3 AM our
time.
Luke 22:61-62 ... and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times." 62 He went out and began to weep bitterly.
This dramatic moment is only recorded in St. Luke's Gospel. In the Greek text the verb is emblepo, "meaning to stare at intently." It is the same word found in Luke 20:17 and the double use of Jesus' title "Lord" contributes to the pathos of the moment. That Peter "wept bitterly" may be related to several Old Testament passages where weeping is a sign of defeat, failure, ruin or loss (Is 22:4 LXX; 33:7 LXX; Ez 27:30 LXX).
Peter's realization of his sin and his bitter weeping is the
beginning of his repentance.
Question: Why was it necessary for Peter to face this
ordeal? He was the first to profess Jesus as his Lord Messiah, the only
Apostle brave enough to attempt to walk on the stormy sea to Jesus, and he was
ready to defend Jesus with his life. This fisherman was physically and
spiritually courageous.
Answer: Perhaps Peter needed to experience the
despair of the sinner to have enough compassion to be the kind of leader Jesus
needed to guide the ship of His Church. If Peter only saw sinners as the weak
and despised, he would not have had the love for sinners he needed to properly
shepherd the flock of the New Covenant Church. If Christ could forgive him for
his thrice-time betrayal and still love him, how could Peter deny Christ's
forgiveness and the Church's love to those sinners seeking forgiveness and
reconciliation?
Luke 22:63-65 The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" 65 And they reviled him in saying many other things against him. Jesus prophesied that the religious authorities would mistreat Him as they have abused God's prophets throughout salvation history (Lk 18:32; Mt 23:35; 1 Kng 22:24; 2 Chr 24:20-21; Jer 20:1-2; 26:7-8, 20-23).
Luke 22:66-71 ~ Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin
66 When day
came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes,
and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. 67 They said, "If you are the Messiah, tell us," but he
replied to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I question, you will not
respond. 69 But from this
time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." 70 They all asked, "Are you then the Son
of God?" He replied to them, "You say that I am." 71 Then they said, "What further need
have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth."
The "council of elders" is the Sanhedrin "the high law court for Jews.(3) Luke's account does not have the dramatic details that are present in the other Gospels (see Mt 26:57-68 and Mk 14:53-65). Missing are the false witnesses who could not agree, the charge by two witnesses that agreed Jesus said He would destroy the Temple and within three days rebuild it, the high priest ordering Jesus under oath before God to say if He was the Messiah ("anointed one"), the Son of God, and the high priest tearing his robes as he condemns Jesus of blasphemy after Jesus quoted from Daniel 7:13 and Psalms 110:1.(4)
Luke 22:67-68 They said, "If you are the Messiah, tell us," but he replied to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I question, you will not respond.
Luke only uses the title "Messiah" in 4:41, 9:20 and in 22:67.is the Sanhedrin Question: What does Jesus' first reply to the members of the Sanhedrin refer to in verses 67-68 when they ask if He is the Messiah? See for example Lk 20:3-7and 25-26.is the Sanhedrin Answer: In all His other exchanges with them, when He has proved them wrong or eluded their traps, they have had no response or refuse to answer His questions.
Luke 22:69 "... But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God."
However, He does respond by alluding to two Old Testament passages. The first is Daniel 7:13-14 in which the divine Messiah is called one who looks like "a son of Man," meaning a human being, who came on the clouds of heaven to God to receive power and domination over all nations. The second passage He alludes to is Psalms 110:1. Psalms 110:1 is the passage Jesus challenged them on concerning the correct understanding of Scripture in Luke 20:41-44: The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool." Since Jesus has already taught that David was referring not to his son but to the Messiah who is greater, He is obviously using the Psalms passage to identify Himself as the Messiah as well as the Daniel passage. Both passages refer to Jesus' role in the Kingdom of God after His Resurrection and Ascension.
Luke 22:70-71 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied to them, "You say that I am." 71 Then they said, "What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth."is the Sanhedrin Question: What is it that Jesus has said in verse 70 that has the members of the Sanhedrin condemning Jesus for blasphemy? See Ex 3:14.is the Sanhedrin Answer: He has claimed that He is the Messiah by alluding to the two Scripture passages in verse 69 and now He has used the Divine Name for Himself when He says: "You say that I AM."
Compare Jesus' ego eimi in verse 70 to God's pronouncement of the Divine Name to Moses in the Septuagint Greek of Ex 3:14: God replied, "I am who am" [ego eimi ho on]. Then he added "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM [ego eimi] sent me to you." In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark the charge of blasphemy is pronounced against Jesus at this time (Mt 26:65; Mk 14:63).
Luke does not record the false witnesses that are in the other Gospel accounts of Jesus' trial (see Mt 26:60-61; Mk 14:56-59). It was absolutely forbidden under the Law to provide false testimony and if proved, the penalty was death (Ex 20:16; Lev 19:12; Dt 5:20; 19:16-18).
Question: Everything about Jesus' trial was illegal. How many irregularities can you site? Compare the Gospel accounts in Luke with Mt 26:57-68 and Mk 14:53-65.is the Sanhedrin Answer:
| Jesus' Illegal Trial by the Jewish Sanhedrin | |
| Illegality | Scripture |
| There was a clandestine meeting of the high court. |
Mt 26:57; Mk 14:53; Lk 22:66 |
| It was not an impartial court; the verdict against Jesus was already decided. |
Mt 26:3-4, 59; Mk 14:1, 55; Lk 22:1-2; Jn 11:49-50; 18:13 |
| False witnesses were called to testify against Jesus, but their testimony did not agree. The council violated the commandment against bearing false witness in the Ten Commandments. |
Mt 26:60-61; Mk 14:56-59; Ex 20:16; Lev 19:12; Dt 5:20; 19:16-18 |
| No witnesses were called to support Jesus. | |
| The charge of threatening the Temple was brought against Jesus and then the charge was changed to blasphemy. |
Mt 26:61, 65; Mk 14:63-64; Jn 19:7 |
| Michal E. Hunt © copyright 2013 | |
Jesus was charged with blasphemy, but technically He was not guilty of the charge of blaspheming God's name under the prohibition and the case cited in the Torah (Lev 24:11-16). Instead they find Him guilty of claiming to be equal to God (Lk 5:21-24).
Chapter 23
When it was
morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel
against Jesus to put him to death. They bound him, led him away, and handed
him over to Pilate, the governor.
Matthew 27:1-2
The superintendent
said to them, "Go and see whether the time for carrying out the act of
slaughter [sacrifice] has come." If it had come, the one who sees it says, "It
is daylight." ... He said to them, "Go and bring a lamb from the lamb office."
Mishnah: Tamid, 3:2-3:3
Luke 23:1-5 ~ Jesus is taken to Pilate
1 Then the
whole assembly of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 They brought charges against him,
saying, "We found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of taxes
to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah, a king." 3 Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of
the Jews?" He said in reply, "You say so." 4 Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds,
"I find this man not guilty." 5 But
they were adamant and said, "He is inciting the people with his teaching
throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to here."
Luke 23:1 Then the whole assembly of them arose and brought him before Pilate. That Luke says the "whole assembly" brought Jesus to the Roman governor suggests that the entire 72 members of the Sanhedrin were convened for Jesus' trial (Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 1:6).
The chief priests and elders wanted to condemn Jesus to death, but they did not have the power to publically execute Jesus, and they were afraid of the enmity of the crowds who believed Jesus was the Messiah. As soon as dawn broke they officially condemned Jesus and took Him to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. He was visiting in the city from his headquarters in Caesarea Maritima on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and was probably staying at the Jerusalem Herodian palace along with Herod Antipas. Pontius Pilate was a member of the Roman equestrian class and had ruled Judea as the Roman Prefect since 26 AD. He was to become the second longest ruling governor of the province, being relieved of his duties in 36 AD.
Question: Why did they take Jesus to the Roman
governor to be condemned to death? There are two reasons. See Jn 19:31 and Mt 26:4.
Answer: The Sanhedrin did not have the power to
condemn Jesus to death. They also didn't want to turn Him into a martyr. They
needed the Roman Empire to condemn Him as a common criminal and execute Him to
discredit Him with the people.
Luke 23:2 They
brought charges against him, saying, "We found this man misleading our people;
he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah,
a king."
...the Messiah, a king can also be translated "an
anointed king." In accusing Jesus of "misleading our people" here and in verse
14, they are accusing Jesus of being a false prophet (see Jer 23:32).
Question: What were the false charges the Sanhedrin
made against Jesus that would be considered treasonous acts against Roman
rule? Why were the charges false? See Lk 19:11-27, 38; 20:20-25;
Answer: They accused Jesus of urging the people not
to pay the Roman tax, which was untrue since He told them in Luke 20:20-25 to
pay the Romans the Roman coin that bore Caesar's image. He never urged the
people to revolt against Rome. Jesus identified Himself as the Son of God, but
it was the people who proclaimed Him as King of the Jews (Lk 19:38) "it was never
a claim Jesus made directly for Himself, although He did speak of Himself in
the terms of kingship in 19:11-27.
Luke 23:3 Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He said in reply, "You say so." Pilates question to Jesus is the same in all four Gospels (Mt 27:11; Mk 15:2; Jn 18:33). "You say so" is not a denial but neither is it an acknowledgement; it is similar to His response to the Sanhedrin in Luke 22:70 but without the use of the Divine Name.
Luke 23:4 Pilate
then addressed the chief priests and the crowds, "I find this man not guilty."
Pilate announces to Jesus' accusers that there is no
evidence to support the charge of treason against the Roman Empire. The
literal Greek can be translated "I find no fault in this man."
In the Jerusalem Temple the chief priests were preparing for the morning liturgy of the Tamid sacrifice and the compulsory Sacred Assembly on the first day of Unleavened Bread and its associated sacrifices (Num 28:17-25). At the trumpet signal of the "cockcrow" a priest began to cleanse the altar of sacrifice while his brother priests rose, bathed and dressed in their liturgical garments (Mishnah: Tamid, 1:2). At dawn as Jesus was sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin and taken to Pilate, the unblemished male lamb of the morning Tamid was being led from the Lamb Chamber to be tied near the altar for its perfection to be judged by the High Priest, Joseph Caiaphas (or his representative) who then pronounced it "without fault" and suitable for sacrifice, even though its perfection had been judged the night before: The Superintendent said to them [the other chief priests], "Go and see whether the time for carrying out the act of slaughter [sacrifice] has come." If it had come, the one who sees it says, "It is daylight." ... He said to them, "Go and bring a lamb from the lamb office." ... They gave the lamb which was to be the daily whole offering a drink from a golden cup. Even though it was inspected the preceding night, they inspect it again by the light of the torches (Mishnah: Tamid, 3:3-3:4).
Question: How does the beginning of the Tamid
sacrifice correspond to Christ's Passion? What is the irony in the comparison?
Answer: Just as Jesus, the Lamb of God, was judged at
dawn so was the unblemished Tamid lamb. It is ironic that as the Tamid lamb
was judged to be perfect and ready for sacrifice by the high priest's
representative, the high priest was condemning Jesus and judging Him ready for
sacrifice. It was a pagan Roman who judged Jesus to be "without fault."
In addition to the Tamid lamb and the communal sacrifices on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Num 28:17-25), the people who were in a ritually "clean" state were expected to bring their individual festival communion sacrifices (hagigah) that they would eat together in groups of family and friends in the city that day to the Temple at 9 AM. The hagigah peace offering could not be offered by a person who had become ritually defiled (Mishnah: Pesahim, 6.3), and it was because of this prohibition that the chief priests and elders had refused to enter Pilate's Praetorium (Jn 18:28; Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 200). See the chart in the handouts on "The Jewish Time Divisions and the Tamid Sacrifice.
Luke 23:5 But they were adamant and said, "He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to here." The words "from the Galilee where he began even to here" follow the description of St. Luke's Gospel narrative. The mention of the Galilee is also an introduction to what Pilate does next.
Luke 23:6-16 ~ Pilate sends Jesus to Herod who returns
Jesus to Pilate
6 On hearing
this Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean; 7 and upon learning that he was under Herod's
jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time. 8 Herod was very glad to see Jesus; he
had been wanting to see him for a long time, for he had heard about him and had
been hoping to see him perform some sign. 9
He questioned him at length, but he gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and scribes,
meanwhile, stood by accusing him harshly. 11
Even Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked
him, and after clothing him in resplendent garb, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 Herod and Pilate became friends that
very day, even though they had been enemies formerly. 13 Pilate then summoned the chief
priests, the rulers, and the people 14 and
said to them, "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the
people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have
not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him, 15 nor did Herod, for he sent him back to
us. So no capital crime has been committed by him. 16 Therefore I shall have him flogged and
then release him."
In the provinces over which the Roman state ruled directly, only the Romans had the power over life and death. However, Herod Antipas was able to execute St. John the Baptist because he directly ruled the Galilee and Perea, even though he was a vassal of the Romans. It was for this reason that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod since he was told Jesus was from the Galilee (Lk 23:5). If they were both staying in the palace, which most Bible scholars assume, Jesus was passed between the courts of the two rulers fairly quickly.
Question: How did Herod Antipas happen to be in
Jerusalem?
Answer: He professed to be a Jew and therefore he was
there to attend the Passover meal and the required Temple services for the week
of Unleavened Bread.
Question: What prophecy from Isaiah's fourth Servant
Song was fulfilled in Jesus' refusal to speak to Herod Antipas and in His suffering
abuse at the hands of the chief priests, elders and Herod's soldiers? See Lk 23:9-11 and Is 53.
Answer: All of Isaiah 53 is fulfilled in
Christ's Passion, but verses 4 and 7-8 are fulfilled in Jesus' encounter with
Herod Antipas.
Luke 13:12 Herod and Pilate became friends that very day, even though they had been enemies formerly. St. Luke demonstrates a good sense of Hellenistic culture in the first century AD. Pilate's recognition of Herod Antipas' authority over citizens of the Galilee signified his acceptance of Herod as an equal and therefore capable of being a friend. The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote "friendship is equality" (Nichomachean Ethics, 9.4.5).
Luke 23:14 ... and said to them, "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him,
Pilate's failure to "find" guilt in Jesus contradicts the accusation of Jesus' enemies in 23:2.
Luke 23:18-25 ~ Pilate sentences Jesus to Death
18 But all
together they shouted out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us." 19 Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a
rebellion that had taken place in the city and for murder. 20 Again Pilate addressed them, still
wishing to release Jesus, 21 but
they continued their shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" 22 Pilate addressed them a third time,
"What evil had this man done? I found him guilty of no capital crime.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him." 23 With loud shouts, however, they
persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices prevailed. 24 The verdict of Pilate was that their
demand should be granted. 25 So
he released the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom
they asked, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.
Question: How many times did Pilate pronounce Jesus
"without guilt"?
Answer: Three times in 23:4, 14-15 and 22.
Notice the significance of the number three again in Jesus' ministry. Some occurrences of "threes" in the Gospels:
Question: What was ironic about the release of
Barabbas? Also see Mt 27:17: 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?"
Answer: Jesus Christ is the righteous Son of God the
Father, but His own kinsmen prefer Jesus Barabbas (whose name means "son of the
father") the murderer.
Question: What does St. Matthew record was the reason
Pilate perceived that those Jewish brothers/kinsmen of Jesus wanted Him to
die? What was the cause of the first murder in the Bible? See Gen 4:3-8; Mt
27:18?
Answer: Pilate realized the reason was
envy/jealousy. It was the same sin that lead to the death of Abel by his
brother.
St. Matthew records: 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" (Mt 27:24-26). It was a Roman officials' duty to keep order in the Provinces and bring in the taxes that kept the empire alive. When the Jews threaten a riot, as an act of self-preservation, Pilate submits to the verdict of the crowd but in a symbolic act he washes his hands as a sign that he does not concede that Jesus deserves to die. The Jews clearly understood Pilate's symbolic act in protesting Jesus' innocence (see Dt 21:6-9; Ps 26:5-11 [especially verse 6] and Is 1:15-17).
Pilate had offered to have Jesus scourged in an unsuccessful attempt to satisfy the Jewish leaders and to be able to release Jesus (Lk 23:22). After pronouncing the death sentence, Pilate will send Jesus to be scourged according to custom (Jn 19:1-4). The scourging of a criminal before execution was the established practice. The idea was to make a deep impression on those who witnessed the execution to prevent the repetition of the kinds of crimes against the state that necessitated crucifixion. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians, adopted by the Greeks and made into an horrific art by the Romans. It was reserved for only foreign criminals but never for a Roman citizen and was devised to prolong suffering as long as possible before death.
Perhaps the blood thirsty crowd at Jesus' trial were men and woman recruited by the Jewish leaders. Jesus had many supporters "His supporters were so numerous that the religious leaders were afraid to arrest Jesus during the day when so many people were listening to Jesus teach (Lk 19:47-48; 20:9; 22:2, 6). Jesus Himself mentioned this when He was arrested (Lk 22:53). In these early morning hours, those who believed Jesus was the Messiah were probably still in bed after the long night celebrating the sacred feast of Unleavened Bread and in the morning they will attend the morning worship service that began at the third hour/9 AM.
The Gospel Controversy
There is a problem in interpretation concerning John 18:28 which reads: Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the Praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. In the Gospel of John the entire 8 days of Passover and Unleavened Bread are only referred to as the "Passover," as it is also called in the Jewish Talmud section of the Mishnah. The "Passover" meal that they would not be able to eat if they became ritually defiled by contact with a Gentile was not the sacred meal of the Passover victim, which all four of the Gospels identify as Thursday of Passion Week. If anyone became contaminated during the day of the Passover sacrifice, they simply sent someone else to the Temple with their sacrifice, they ritually bathed and became "clean" again at sundown when the meal began (Mishnah: Pesahim, 8:8). However, the daytime liturgical service at the Temple on Nisan the 15th was a Sacred Assembly and a holy day of obligation in which the faithful made a communion festival offering called a hagigah which was eaten that day before sundown (Ex 23:15; Lev 23:6-8; Num 28:18-25; Mishnah: Hagigah, 1:3; 1:6; 2:3 II). If they became ritually defiled they could not attend the morning worship service, make the hagigah offering, or eat it that day.
There is also a problem concerning the account of Jesus' trial before Pilate beginning early in the morning on Friday, Nisan the 15th, in Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels (Mt 27:1; Mk 15:1; Lk 22:66; 23:1) and what is recorded in John 19:13-14 ~ Then hearing this word, Pilate led Jesus out. And he sat down on the judgment seat at the place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour (literal translation IBGE, vol. IV, page 311). If it is the sixth hour Jewish time, then Pilate would be condemning Jesus at noon and the trial would have lasted six hours since just after dawn. There appears to be a discrepancy in Scripture since St. Mark's Gospel records that Jesus was crucified at the third hour/9 AM and all the Synoptic Gospels record that the eclipse of the sun came at noon/the sixth hour Jewish time (Mt 27:45; Mk 14:33; Lk 23:44). However, if John's Gospel is using Roman time, "about the sixth hour" is the hour between dawn and 7 AM and is in agreement with the Synoptic Gospels. St. John's Gospel was the last Gospel written, and according to Christian historians, it was written by St. John Zebedee in the Roman city of Ephesus for his mostly Gentile Roman community. Why would St. John use Jewish time? Most of the modern world, including the USA, keeps Roman time. The argument can also be made that if the total darkness caused by an eclipse of the sun came during Jesus' trial with Pilate, the superstitious Romans would not have continued with the crucifixion of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels agree that Jesus was on the Cross prior to the eclipse and Mark 15:25 sets the time of Jesus' crucifixion at the third hour Jewish time or 9 in the morning "just as the Temple gates were opening for the morning liturgical service and the required Sacred Assembly.
Then too, the words "preparation of the Passover" in John 19:14 can be interpreted incorrectly. "Passover" in the Gospel of John always refers to the entire 8-days of Passover/Unleavened Bread, and in John 19:31 we are told that "preparation day" refers to the day of preparation (Friday) before the coming of the Sabbath at sundown (the beginning of the Saturday Sabbath). John 19:31 identifies Friday as Preparation Day before the great Sabbath of the holy week of Passover (referring to Passover/Unleavened Bread), and all the other Gospels identify the day of Jesus' crucifixion as Friday, Nisan the 15th, of the holy week of Unleavened Bread. With these cultural and religious traditions taken into account, the four Gospels are in agreement.
Question for reflection or group discussion:
It was when Jesus looked intently at Peter that Peter
realized his sin (Lk 22:61).
How does Jesus reveal your sins to you?
Do you
readily recognize your sins or does that realization come over time?
What role
does your prayer life and studying Scripture play in that recognition of sin?
What made the chief priests and Pharisees blind to their sins and is there a
warning in their failure for us?
Endnotes:
1. The "afternoon" sacrifice of the Tamid lamb is usually called the "evening sacrifice" in the Old Testament. Since the Jewish day began and ended at sunset, their "evening" is our afternoon.
2. Fr. Raymond Brown noted that the Franciscans conducted their own survey of rooster crows in the city of Jerusalem during Holy Week one spring and discovered that roosters crowed at all hours of the night and day. However, they were able to determine that the largest number of "crowings" occurred at about 2:30 AM, which is probably the reason the third night watch and the trumpet signal announcing the end of the third watch and the beginning of the 4th watch at 3 AM was called "cockcrow" (Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John, Brown, page 828).
3. The Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem functioned as the supreme judicial body of the Jews until 359 AD (The Jewish Book of Why, vol. I, pages 8-9).
4. Caiaphas was not wearing the high priest's liturgical robes; priestly vestments were only worn in the Temple (Ez 42:14). The Law condemned a man to stoning for the capital offense of blaspheming God's Divine Name (Lev 24:16; Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 7:1). Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 7:5 states: He who blasphemes is liable only when he will have fully pronounced the divine Name. If it is proved, then the judges stand on their feet and tear their clothing, and never sew them back up (Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 7:5E). It is interesting that they did not charge Jesus with breaking the Sabbath, a charge leveled against Jesus and the disciples several times (i.e. Mt 12:12; Lk 6:2; Jn 5:18) which also carried the death penalty (Ex 31:15).
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2013 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
| Lk 22:40 | 2612* | Lk 22:46 | 2612* |
| Lk 22:41-44 | 2600* | Lk 22:61 | 1429 |
| Lk 22:42 | 532, 2605, 2824 | Lk 22:70 | 443 |
| Lk 22:43 | 333* | Lk 23:2 | 596* |
| Lk 22:44 | 2806* | Lk 23:19 | 596 |