Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION (Cycle C)
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24
Philippians 2:6-11
Luke 22:14-23:56 or 23:1-49
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: God's Servant is Christ the
King Who Raises Us from Death to Life
This Sunday, we have reached the climax of the liturgical
year when everything that has been anticipated and promised in the Old
Testament comes to fulfillment. As Jesus told the Apostles in today's Gospel
Reading: "For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me ...
indeed what is written about me is coming to fulfillment" (Lk 22:37).
We should read the First Reading and the Psalm Reading as a description of Jesus's humiliating death on the Cross. He is the "Suffering Servant" whose coming Isaiah foretold and whose cruel suffering the psalmist described. Both readings give an accurate description of the abuse Jesus suffered as He submitted Himself without protest into the hands of His enemies.
The First Reading is from the third "Song of the Servant" in the Book of Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, composed four songs describing the ideal Servant-Son of God. Jesus fulfills each song as God's beloved Son who came to "serve and give His life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28). In the third "Song of the Servant," the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah contrasts imperfect Israel with God's ideal Servant-Son. Isaiah presents the Servant's testimony in the first person, allowing God's Servant to speak for himself. The Church has interpreted the events described in Isaiah's third Servant's Song as fulfilled in Jesus Christ: in His obedience to His mission to proclaim the Kingdom in words that come from God, in the humiliation He endured at His trials before the Sanhedrin and the Roman governor, in the Passion of His crucifixion, and His vindication in His glorious Resurrection.
In the Responsorial Psalm, we read a prophecy that begins with Jesus's fourth statement from the Cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (quoted in Hebrew in Mt 27:46 and Aramaic in Mk 15:34). Psalm 22:8-9 and 17-18 describe Jesus's emotional and physical suffering as His enemies ridiculed and abused Him centuries before the event (Lk 22:63-65; 23:10-11, 16, 35-38). And Psalm 22:14-17 describes the physical agony of His crucifixion (Lk 23:33-43) as He suffered without protest for our sake (Lk 18:31-33; Is 53:4-7). The Gospels repeat the taunts we hear in Isaiah's Servant's Song and Psalm 22. Jesus's enemies mocked and beat Him (Lk 22:63-65; 23:10-11, 16; Is 50:5-6), they pierced His hands and feet with nails (Lk 23:33; Is 53:5), they cast lots for His garment (Lk 23:34; Ps 22:19), and His enemies dared Jesus three times to prove His divinity by saving Himself (Lk 23:35, 37, 39; Ps 22:8).
Jesus is God's divine Son. And yet, as St. Paul reminds us in the Second Reading, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross (Phil 2:7-8). By His obedience, St. Paul tells us, Jesus atoned for our disobedience, and he was exalted by the Father who bestowed upon Him the name which is above every name and for which every knee should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:9-11).
The Gospel Reading recounts the last night and next day of Jesus's life. The account begins with the events of the Passover meal on the first night of Unleavened Bread that became the first Eucharistic banquet as Jesus held Himself in His own hands in the bread and wine that became His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Next, we mourn as we hear about His betrayal by one of the Twelve Apostles. And we follow Jesus in His arrest and the indignity of His two trials: the first before the Jewish High Priest and the Sanhedrin, and the next day when they took Him before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Finally, we cringe as we hear the conditions of His unjust trial and execution. Yet we know the end of the story will result in victory and glory in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the holy day we celebrate as Easter Sunday!
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We begin today's liturgy by commemorating Jesus's triumphal entry into the holy city of Jerusalem to complete His work as humanity's Redeemer-Messiah in the spring of AD 30. He is God, yet He humbled Himself by coming to live among us as a man. The celebration of the event of Jesus's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, the remembrance of His unjust execution, and His victory in rising from the dead at this, the beginning of Holy Week, emphasizes that the three elements of His suffering, death, and resurrection belong together in God's plan for humanity's redemption. We remember that Jesus's death was not a defeat but a victory over the powers of sin and death. However, that is not the end of the story. Despite our human frailties and our repeated failures, Jesus continues to humble Himself as God's Servant-Son. He continually comes to His Church and offers us His Body and Blood in the miracle of the Eucharist so that one day we too will be able to arise from death in triumph and join Him in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Commemoration of the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem: The Order of the Procession
During the procession, the congregation, walking as a united people, offers a hymn of praise in honor of Christ the King. As the procession enters the church, the people sing another song referring to the Lord's entrance into Jerusalem on Palm/Passion Sunday, the day after His Sabbath dinner in Bethany (Jn 12:1). Coming from the village of Bethpage, Jesus and His disciples crossed the Kidron Valley and entered the walled city of Jerusalem through the arched eastern gate that faced the Mount of Olives. It was the gate that was closest to the Temple Mount. In the Antiphon, we imitate the crowd that shouted acclamations from the Messianic Psalm 118:25-26 ~ We beg you, LORD, save us [Hosanna], we beg you, LORD, give us victory! Blessed in the name of the LORD is he who is coming! "Hosanna" is a word of Hebrew origin (hosi-a-na) composed of two words meaning "save now" or "save (we) pray/ask" (cf., 2 Sam 14:4; Ps 106:47; Is 25:9; 37:20; Jer 2:27; etc.).
THE MASS OF THE LORD'S PASSION
The First Reading Isaiah 50:4-7 ~ The Beginning of
the Third Servant's Song: Trusting the Lord in the Midst of Suffering
4 The Lord GOD[Yahweh]
has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the wear
a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning, he opens my ear that I may
hear [the Lord Yahweh has opened my
ear]; 5 and I have not
rebelled, have not turned back. 6 I
gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my
face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. 7 The Lord GOD [Yahweh] is my help; therefore, I am not
disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to
shame. [...] = literal Hebrew; IBHE, vol. III, page 1706.
The 8th -century BC prophet Isaiah contrasts imperfect Israel with God's ideal Servant-Son. Isaiah presents the Servant's testimony in the first person, allowing him to speak for himself. In verses 4-7, the Servant emphasizes two points about himself:
First, in describing his strength in the Lord God, the Servant says that he is strong because he has the ear/hearing of a faithful servant. He testifies to his obedience to his master and his mission. The Lord instructs him on what to say and gives Him the endurance of spiritual strength. The second point the Servant makes in verses 6-7 is to describe his suffering, which he willingly endures and does not resist. He humbly submits to suffering and humiliation for God's sake as he is beaten, mocked, and people spit on him.
7 The Lord GOD
[Yahweh] is my help; therefore, I am not disgraced; I have set my face like
flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
Despite his treatment, God's Servant is not disgraced and remains
steadfast ("set my face like flint") to fulfill his mission because he knows
the Lord will sustain him and will ultimately vindicate him.
The Church has always seen the events described in Isaiah's third Servant's Song fulfilled in Christ's Passion and Resurrection:
St. Paul wrote that as Christians, we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8:17; emphasis added). St. Paul drew upon Isaiah's prophecy as he described the firm standing of men and women who place their faith in Jesus and are willing to offer the sacrifice of their lives in Romans 8:31-39. Especially see verses 33-34 ~ Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Rom 8:33-34 NAB).
Responsorial Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24 ~ Christ's Cry
of Suffering Foretold
The response is: "My God, my God, why have you
abandoned me?" (Ps 22:1)
7 All who see
me scoff at me; they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads; 8 "He relied on the LORD; let him deliver
him, let him rescue him, if he loves him."
Response:
16 Indeed, many
dogs surround me, a pack of evil doers closes in upon me; 17 they have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.
Response:
18 They
divide my garments among them, and for my vesture, they cast lots. 19 But you, O LORD, be not far from me; O
my help, hasten to aid me.
Response:
22 I will
proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise
you: 23 "You who fear the
LORD, praise him; all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him; revere him,
all you descendants of Israel."
Response:
This moving psalm, attributed to Jesus's ancestor, the great King David, contains Jesus's first statement from the altar of the Cross in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 (verse 1). It is also a vivid description of what took place during His crucifixion, a form of capital punishment unknown in David's day. The psalm prefigures the Passion of the Christ:
The psalm ends with the psalmist declaring that He will proclaim God's name in the liturgical assembly. Then he calls upon God's covenant people: You who fear the LORD, praise him; all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him; revere him, all you descendants of Israel. It is the same praise and glory we proclaim to Jesus Christ in our liturgical assembly as we remember His Passion and death that God the Father transformed into victory and glory. We who are the universal Christian assembly of Jesus Christ are now the true descendants of Jacob and the new Israel of the universal Church (CCC 877).
The Second Reading Philippians 2:6-11 ~ Meditating on the
Lord's Humility in His Suffering and Death
6 Christ
Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped. 7 Rather,
he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and
found human in appearance, 8 he humbled himself, becoming obedient to
the point of death, even death on a cross. 9
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name, which is above every name, 10 that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth,
and under the earth, 11 and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Most Bible scholars believe verses 6-11 are from an early Christian hymn that St. Paul quotes in his letter to the Christian community at Philippi in Macedonia. The passage testifies to Jesus's humility in emptying Himself of His divine glory to live a human life and undergo the suffering that is part of the human condition (verses 6-7). Paul is probably contrasting Jesus with Adam. Being created in God's likeness and image, Adam attempted to grasp equality with God through his transgression by disobeying God's command and submitting to the serpent's seductive encouragement to eat from the forbidden tree to become god-like and therefore equal to God (Gen 2:16-17; 3:4-5). It was a sin of rebellion and pride which then contaminated all of Adam's descendants in the human family. Jesus, however, through His humility, was obedient to the Father in offering His life as a sacrifice for humanity's sins. His reward was that God raised Him up to divine glory (8-11), making way for the "raising up" of all Adam's descendants from the curse of death. By the grace of God, through the merits of Jesus's redemptive work, all who believed in Christ received the promise of eternal salvation in Heaven that had been closed to humanity since Adam's fall from grace (CCC 536, 1026).
The Gospel Reading Luke 22:14-23:56 ~ From the Last
Supper to Christ's Crucifixion and Death
The Gospel of John establishes the day of Jesus's last
Passover: Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus
was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made his supper; Martha
served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him (Jn 12:1-2). The
day after the supper at Bethany, Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on the
foal of an ass (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-38; Jn 12:12-16). It was the
event Christians celebrate as Palm (Passion) Sunday. Therefore, the dinner at
Bethany the day before Jesus's entry into Jerusalem was a Saturday Sabbath meal
He shared with His friends. Six days from the Saturday in Bethany, as the
ancients counted with no zero-place value and with Saturday counting as day #1,
identifies the sixth day, the day of the Passover sacrifice, as the Thursday of
Jesus's last week in Jerusalem.
According to the Gospel of John, in agreement with the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Passover sacrifice in the year of Jesus's death and resurrection was on a Thursday, the day before His crucifixion. It was six days from the dinner at Bethany when Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus on the Saturday Jewish Sabbath (Jn 12:1). It was also two days (as the ancient's counted) from Jesus's visit with friends and second anointing in Bethany on Wednesday (Mt 26:1-2, 6-13; Mk 14:1, 3-9). His crucifixion was on Friday, "Preparation Day" for the next Saturday Sabbath (Mk 15:42). Please note that the Jewish day was from sundown to sundown.
Jesus's Last Week in Jerusalem
The day after the Sabbath meal with His friends in Bethany, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan. It was the same day God commanded the children of Israel to choose the sacrificial lambs and goat kids for the first Passover in Egypt: Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, "This month must be the first of all the months for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, "On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock for his family: one animal for each household (Ex 12:1-3 NJB). The word "lamb" does not appear in the Hebrew text because the animal had to come from the flock and could be either a lamb or goat kid (Ex 12:5; IBHE, vol. I, page 170).
On Thursday, Nisan 14th, the Passover sacrifice took place at the Jerusalem Temple with one victim for each group of 10 – 20 people. If the group was large and the Passover victim was not enough to feed the entire group, they included a festival hagigah offering. Each group offered a lamb or goat-kid in sacrifice. The victim's blood was collected in a chalice and poured out at the altar while the bodies were skinned and then returned to the different households/groups that had brought the animal for sacrifice. Then, the victim's skinned body was taken to where the group would hold the sacred meal in Jerusalem and roasted on a pomegranate spit. Other food items included: unleavened bread, a sweet mixture of chopped apple, figs with red wine (haroset), and two kinds of bitter herbs. There was also holy water in stone vessels for ritual purification and red wine. Four cups of communal red wine were ritually offered during the meal in addition to individual cups of wine. The dinner began at sundown, and only those members of the covenant community who were in a ritual state of purity could attend the meal (Mishnah: Pesahim).
Luke 22:14-20 ~ The Last Supper: The Sacred Meal of the
Passover on the First Night of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
14 When the hour came, Jesus took his place
[anapipto = reclined] at table with the Apostles. 15 He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to
eat this Passover with you before I suffer, 16
for I tell you, I shall not eat it again until there is fulfillment in
the kingdom of God." 17 Then he
took a cup, gave thanks, and said, "Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from this time on I shall
not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 Then he took the bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given
for you; do this in memory of me." 20 And
likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in
my blood, which will be shed for you." [...] = IBGE, vol. IV, page 234.
All the Gospels record that those assembled ate the traditional Passover meal that night before Jesus offered Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, at the end of the meal (Mt 26:26; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:14-15; Jn 13:26). Notice that verses 17 and 20 mention two different cups of wine. One cup before He offered the bread that became His Body and the second after the bread that became His Body in verse 19. The cup mentioned in verse 17 was probably the second of the four communal ritual cups of red wine served at the Passover meal, called the Cup of Forgiveness. The third cup, called the Cup of Blessing or Redemption, came after eating the ritual foods, including the Passover lamb or goat-kid. St. Paul wrote that the cup offered as Jesus's Precious Blood was the "Cup of Blessing" and, in some translations, "the Blessing Cup" (1 Cor 10:16; the literal translation in the Greek text is "cup of blessing"). Significantly, Jesus swore that He would not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God in verse 18. This oath was similar to His vow not to eat the sacred meal of the Passover again until the fulfillment of the New Covenant Passover in the Kingdom of God (Lk 22:16). His words "again" or "from now on" suggest that He drank from the Cup of Forgiveness, like all the others assembled in the room, even Judas.
In the ritual order of the meal, everyone present sang the last line of Psalm 114 and then drank from the Cup of Forgiveness (the second of the four cups of the ritual meal). Then it was time for the second ritual of handwashing in preparation for taking up and eating the unleavened bread. The first ritual handwashing was at the beginning of the meal, but Jesus washed the feet of the Apostles instead (Jn 13:3-15). The next part of the ritual was eating the prepared rounds of unleavened bread (not Jesus's Body). The unleavened bread symbolized the people's covenant holiness and the absence of sin within the community of those who ate this meal under the atoning sacrifice of the Passover victim (Ex 13:3-10). As was the custom, Jesus would have taken up the basket holding the individually wrapped rounds of unleavened bread and prayed over it. Some Rabbis say there were three rounds of unleavened bread with each round wrapped separately in a cloth, stacked one on top of the other and placed in one basket with the middle one broken in two pieces, while other Rabbis say there were only two wrapped rounds of bread. For Christians, the three separately wrapped rounds of unleavened bread together in one basket symbolize the mystery of the Trinity, a truth not yet revealed to the Old Covenant people of God. Christians identify the torn middle round of unleavened bread as the sinless Son of God whose torn flesh He offered for the sins of humanity.
Every food item served that night had symbolic significance linked to the Exodus liberation and the last meal the children of Israel ate in Egypt:
Taking up a round of unleavened bread and holding it in His hands, Jesus broke it into two pieces, thanking God in prayer for both the grain which made the bread and the command to eat it. Next, taking up part of the broken unleavened bread, Jesus dipped it into the haroset, folding the fruit mixture with the second bitter herb between the two sides of the bread. This "second dipping" (the first dipping was fresh green herbs in the salted water at the very beginning of the meal) was called the "sop." It was a tradition for the host to give the first "sop" to the person he wished to honor that night. The Gospel of John identifies the "beloved disciple" (believed to be St. John Zebedee) reclined against Jesus's chest on His right side, sharing the same couch (Jn 13:23). John also records, as the host of the meal, that Jesus gave the first "sop" to Judas. He was probably reclining on Jesus's left at the place traditionally reserved for the one so honored: So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after the morsel [sop], Satan entered into him (Jn 13:26). Jesus reached out to Judas one final time, but Judas rejected Christ, and John's Gospel records that he left the gathering (Jn 13:30). The passage about the giving of the sop to Judas proves Jesus and those with Him ate the traditional Passover meal.
The host then passed the communal dish that contained the bitter herb and the haroset fruit mixture around the table with additional rounds of the unleavened bread. After everyone had dipped the "sop" (Jn 13:26), the hagigah, the boiled meat of the festival peace offering (if there was one), was brought to the table and eaten. Finally, the Passover victim, roasted by fire like a sacrifice, was passed and consumed by those assembled. Jesus would have pronounced a blessing over the hagigah peace offering and the Passover victim. After roasting the meat of the Passover victim, it was separated from the bones without breaking any of them (Ex 12:46). According to the ritual of the meal, breaking even a single bone of the Passover victim was a grave offense punishable by forty lashes (Mishnah: Pesahim, 7:11C). It was a prohibition reflected in Jesus's crucifixion as the unblemished sacrificial victim since Scripture records that none of Jesus's bones were broken (Jn 19:31-36).
The meat of the Passover sacrifice was the last food consumed; no other food was offered after the flesh of the sacrifice (Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:9). But once again, Jesus changed the order of the sacred meal as He took up the unleavened bread again and offered it to His disciples, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me." 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you." In saying the words "new covenant," those assembled would have immediately thought of the promise of the everlasting, new covenant promised by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (Is 55:3; 61:8; Jer 31:31; 32:40; 50:5) in the era of the promised Messiah. In offering Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, Jesus began His walk to the Cross that night in the Upper Room in what was the first Eucharistic banquet. He was fulfilling what He promised in the Bread of Life Discourse. In that discourse, He said, "I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51 NJB) ... and "In all truth [amen] I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in that person" (Jn 6:53-56 NJB, [..] = literal Greek).
Luke 22:21-22 ~ Announcement of His Betrayal
"21 And yet
behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me is with me on the table; 22 for the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been
determined, but woe is that man by whom he is betrayed."
Jesus made the startling announcement that one of His own would betray Him, and this would happen according to the will of God. He had already prophesied His death three times (Mt 16:21-23; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; Mk 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34; Lk 9:22, 43-45; 18:31-34). Now His disciples know what He foretold is about to happen, and one among them is a traitor.
Luke 22:23-30 ~ The Role of the Apostles
23 And they began to
debate among themselves who among them would do such a deed. 24 Then an argument broke out among them about
which of them should be regarded as the greatest. 25 He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and those in authority over them are addressed as 'Benefactors';
26 but among you, it shall not be
so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as
the servant. 27 For who is greater:
the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table?
I am among you as the one who serves. 28 It
is you who have stood by me in my trials; 29
and I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on
me, 30 that you may eat and drink
at my table in my kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.
Next, Jesus set the standard for His disciples by telling them that the humblest of them who ranks himself the least in Jesus's kingdom would be considered the "greatest." He was sending them forth as servants of the Kingdom and not like the arrogant and self-righteous Pharisees and scribes who opposed Jesus. Those men He condemned for their hypocrisy and arrogance (Lk 11:39-52; 20:45-47; Mt 23:1-36). Jesus also promised His disciples they would be His heirs. They would inherit His Kingdom, and He would serve them at His table. Jesus continues to serve His disciples of every age and generation at His table of the altar at every Eucharistic celebration of the Mass. But He also promised to serve His disciples at the eschatological banquet when He returned to claim His Bride, the Church, at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Sanctuary (Rev 19:1-9).
Luke 22:31-46 ~ Simon-Peter's Denial Foretold and Jesus
Prays that the Father's Will is Fulfilled
(Jesus said) 31 "Simon,
Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed that your own faith may not
fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers." 33 He said to him, "Lord, I am prepared to go to
prison and to die with you." 34 But
he replied, "I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows this day, you will deny
me three times that you know me." 35 He
then said to them, "When I sent you forth without a money bag or a sack or
sandals were you in need of anything?" 36 'No,
nothing," they replied.' He said to them, "But now one who has a money bag
should take it, and likewise a sack, and one who does not have a sword should
sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For
I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me, namely, 'He was counted
among the wicked'; and indeed, what was written about me is coming to fulfillment."
38 Then they said, 'Lord, look,
there are two swords here.' But he replied, "It is enough!" 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 asleep from grief. 46 He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get
up and pray that you may not undergo the test."
Jesus warned His Apostles that Satan would test all of them, and He commanded Simon-Peter, the Apostle chosen to be His Vicar and to hold the "keys of the Kingdom" (Mt 16:16-19), that when he has recovered from his test, to strengthen his brother Apostles (verse 31). Jesus's instruction to Simon-Peter confirms his primacy within the Apostolic College. Simon-Peter professed his willingness to give his life for Jesus, but Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times before the cockcrow. The "cockcrow" was the trumpet signal that announced the end of the Third Watch of the night and the beginning of the Fourth and final Watch. The trumpet of the "cockcrow" announced the next Watch at 3 AM (see where Jesus lists the night watches in Mk 13:35). Next, Jesus counseled them to prepare themselves for the coming crisis. The Gospel message that they carried to the Jews on their earlier missionary journies was well received, and their material needs were met by those receptive to them (Lk 9:1-6; 10:1-20). But now, the climate had become hostile, and they would need to defend and care for themselves and their loved ones.
Jesus assured His disciples that the coming crisis would fulfill what the Scriptures foretold, saying, 37"For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me, namely, 'He was counted among the wicked'; and indeed, what was written about me is coming to fulfillment." The fulfillment passage Jesus quoted is from the Fourth Servant's Song in Isaiah 53:12.
Then, after the Passover meal, they left the Upper Room in Jerusalem. The other Gospels record that they sang a hymn before leaving, but there is no mention of the fourth communal cup that officially closed the ritual meal in any of the Gospel accounts. Jesus could not drink from it because He swore not to drink wine again until He came into His Kingdom (Lk 22:18). Next, they crossed the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives east of the city. Jesus led the disciples to a garden called Gethsemane (Mt 26:36; Jn 18:1), and He asked the disciples to pray with Him in preparation for the crisis that was about to come upon them. He withdrew a little apart from them and offered His prayer of submission to the will of the Father. Jesus's prayer reminds us that He is fully God in His divinity and fully man in His humanity. He was in anguish over the suffering He was going to endure. St. Luke recorded evidence of His anguish in verse 44, writing that drops of blood fell from the sweat of His face (verse 44), a condition identified by physicians as hematidrosis, blood pigments in sweat from extreme stress.
Jesus accepted God's judgment upon Himself on behalf of sinful humanity. When the time came for Jesus to fulfill the Father's plan, He showed us the depth of His love in His submission to the Father. Through His human will, the divine will of the Father was perfectly fulfilled once and for all time (CCC 2824). He freely submitted Himself to the Father's will, and in His prayer of agony, He consented 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 submitted Himself. He would take up the "cup of God's wrath" for humanity's salvation (see 2 Cor 5:14-14 and 1 Jn 1:7-10; 2:1-2). It 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's mission since His birth (i.e., Mt 1:20; 2:13; Mk 1:13; Lk 1:11-20, 26-38; 2:9-15).
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's entry into Jerusalem and His last week debating with
the religious leaders was a great success. However, He revealed His coming betrayal
to His disciples (Lk 22:21-22) and warned them that Satan would test them (Lk 22:31). Perhaps they now realize the three predictions of His death were going
to be fulfilled, and this was the cause of their grief (Lk 9:22, 44-45; 18:31-34).
Luke 22:47-53 ~ Jesus's 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 sword?" 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."
Some of the chief priests accompanied Judas with the Temple guards and Roman soldiers led by an officer (Lk 22:50, 52 and Jn 18:3, 19). Chief priests were the ordained priesthood and descendants of Aaron, Israel's first high priest, while the Levites were the lesser ministers of the Sanctuary who served the chief priests (Num 3:5-10). A member of the crowd of adversaries was the High Priest's servant (verse 50). The Gospel of John included the information that a cohort of Roman soldiers accompanied the guards of the chief priests, who were probably Levitical guards that served in the Temple. A cohort was a detachment of several hundred Roman soldiers. The chief priests were fearful to attempt to arrest Jesus during the festivities with crowds of people who supported and surrounded Him. While arresting Jesus after midnight on the Mount of Olives lessened the threat of interference, the chief priests were not taking any chances that His followers or sympathetic pilgrims might be present who would use force to prevent His arrest. Perhaps Judas had also reported to the chief priests that some of Jesus's men were armed (Lk 22:38).
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?"
To greet a relative or countryman with a kiss was customary
(Lk 7:45), but Judas using a kiss as a sign to Jesus's enemies made his actions even
more despicable. In the Gospels, Judas only calls Jesus "rabbi," also
translated as "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
is a title of allegiance between Master and servant and an allegiance Judas was
unwilling to give. Malchus was a servant or slave [doulos] of the High Priest,
and St. Peter cut off his ear to protect Jesus (Jn 18:10). Earlier Jesus
encouraged Peter to take a sword with him before they left for the Mount of
Olives (Lk 22:35-39, 51-52). Jesus was offering one more miracle to bring
those coming to arrest Him to believe in Him; the healing of the severed ear of
the High Priest's servant was the last testimony of the power of the Messiah. In
telling Peter to put always his sword, Jesus said to Peter, "Shall I not
drink the cup that the Father gave me?" (Jn 18:11), referring to His cup of
suffering. Imagine Peter's shock. Jesus refused to protect Himself, and
He would also not allow Peter to defend Him even though He told him to bring
the sword (Lk 22:38). Notice that throughout the arrest sequence, Jesus is entirely
in control of the events, even controlling His disciples who want to protect
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."
Jesus challenged the religious leaders on their cowardliness
in choosing the darkness of the night to arrest Him. It was now the "hour" of
His Passion (see Jn 12:23, 27; 13:1), but the choice to reject Jesus as their
Messiah and Lord became the defining "hour" for His enemies. Notice the contrast
in this passage between the darkness of night and the moral condition of Jesus's
enemies. The night is ironically fitting for the "power of darkness" that fills
the souls of His adversaries. They are the children of darkness opposed to the
disciples who are children of the Light who is Christ (see Jn 12:35, 46; 13:1).
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, the cock
crowed [alektorophonia = cockcrow], 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 cock crows [alektorophonia
= cockcrow] today (not in the 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 Greek translation (Interlinear Bible Greek-English, vol.
IV, page 238); (...) for clarity.
We know from secular sources that the high priest's name was Joseph Caiaphas. He was the son-in-law of Annas, the previous high priest (see Mt 26:2, 57; Jn 11:49; 18:13-14, 24, 38; and Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18.2.2 [35]).
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 also
translated as "hallway" or even "palace-room"; see the use of the same word in
Revelation 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 in the early spring of AD
30 (Jn 18:18), and there was a fire. Another disciple known to the High
Priest's household went with Peter (Jn 18:15-16), and it was through him that
Peter gained access to the High Priest's palace. Most Biblical scholars and the
Fathers of the Church identify this unnamed disciple as St. John Zebedee, who identifies
himself five times in John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, and 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.
It is impossible to know the connection between John and the High Priest's household, but it is clear that from the time of Jesus's arrest, only "the other"/"the beloved disciple" continued to follow Jesus to the Cross and the tomb. It is also important to note that the unnamed disciple is distinguished from but also associated with Peter in John's Gospel in Chapters 18 - 21. The close association between Peter and this unnamed disciple mirrors the close association recorded in John 13:24, 20:2-10, Luke 22:8, Acts 3:1, and 8:14 between St. Peter and St. John Zebedee.
While Jesus was facing His ordeal inside the High Priest's palace, Peter was facing his ordeal in the courtyard. The people in the courtyard questioned Peter, who refused to acknowledge his connection to Jesus three times. First, a young woman servant questioned Peter in the courtyard as he sat by the fire, a man challenged him next, and an hour later, for the third time, a man who probably recognized Peter's Galilean accent questioned him (Lk 22:56, 58, 59). Notice that servants of both genders challenged Peter. The man who pointed out that Peter was a Galilean probably recognized his region of origin either by his accent, manner of dress, or both. In the Gospel of St. John, one of the people who accused Peter of being one of Jesus's disciples was a relative of the slave/servant of the High Priest who Peter wounded when Jesus was arrested (Jn 18:26).
60 But Peter said, "My
friend, I do not know what you are talking about." Just as he was saying this,
the cock crowed,
Notice that Luke provides an approximate length of time that
Jesus was a prisoner of the Sanhedrin. At the time of Peter's last denial, he
heard "the sound of the cockcrow," the 3 AM trumpet signal (Lk 22:59). An
earlier betrayal took place in this same place on Wednesday when 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 put Him to death (Mt 26:3).
When Peter heard the "cockcrow," it reminded him of Jesus's prophecy that he would
deny the Lord three times (Mt 26:34; Mk 14:30; Lk 22:34).
There is no article associated with the Greek word for cockcrow in verses 60 and 61. The word "cockcrow" in Greek is 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 at 3 AM. The "cockcrow" Peter heard must have been the trumpet blast signaling the end of the Third Watch by the guards 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 the 1st century AD Jerusalem, as in all the cities of the Roman Empire, the nighttime hours were divided into four time periods called "Watches":
| #1: Evening watch | Sundown to 9 PM |
| #2: Midnight watch | 9 PM to Midnight |
| #3: Cockcrow watch | Midnight to 3 AM |
| #4: Dawn watch | 3 AM to Dawn |
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 crowed, it could not be a specific time since roosters are notoriously unpredictable in their crowing. There was also a rabbinic ordinance against keeping chickens within the walls of the Holy City because of the fear 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 referred 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).
At the close of the Third Watch, both the Roman guards at the Antonia Fortress next to the Temple and the Temple guards signaled the end of the Watch and changing of the guards with their trumpets. Mark records that Jesus told Peter he would betray Him before the cockcrows twice (Mk 14:30), and in the High Priest's palace courtyard, as Peter denied Christ the third time, he 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." It was the end of the Third Watch called "Cockcrow Watch" that lasted from midnight to 3 AM when Peter denied Christ for the third time.
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 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." The
same word is in Luke 20:17, and the double use of Jesus's title "Lord" contributes
to the pathos of the moment. That Peter "wept bitterly" may be related to
several Old Testament passages where weeping represents 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 was the beginning of his repentance. But 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. Perhaps Peter had 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 required for compassionately shepherding 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? See Jesus's three-times repeated loving forgiveness of Peter in John 21:15-17.
63 The men who held
Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and questioned him,
saying, "Prophecy! Who is it that struck you?" 65 And they reviled him in saying many other things against him.
Jesus's prophecy that the religious authorities would
mistreat Him as they had abused God's prophets throughout salvation history had
come true (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's 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 Jewish high law court that presided over religious and civil cases. Luke's account does not have the dramatic details present in the other Gospels (see Mt 26:57-68 and Mk 14:53-65). Missing are:
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.
Luke only uses the title "Messiah" in 4:41, 9:20, and 22:67.
In all of Jesus's other exchanges with the religious leaders, when He has
proved them wrong or eluded their traps, they have had no response or refused
to answer His questions (for example, see Lk 20:3-7and 25-26).
Then Jesus told them, "but from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." He responded by alluding to two Old Testament passages. The first was Daniel 7:13-14, where the divine Messiah, who looked like "a son of Man" (a human being) came on the clouds of heaven to God and received power and domination over all nations. The second passage He alluded to was Psalm 110:1. It is the passage Jesus used to challenge the religious authorities 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, it was obvious to the court that He was using the psalm to identify Himself as the Messiah along with the verses from the Book of Daniel. Both passages referred to Jesus's role in the Kingdom of God after His Resurrection and Ascension.
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."
Jesus claimed that He is the Messiah by alluding to the two
Scripture passages in verse 69. Then He used the Divine Name for Himself when
He said: "You say that I AM" [Ego Eimi]. Compare Jesus's ego eimi in
verse 70 to God's pronouncement of the Divine Name to Moses in the Septuagint
Greek of Exodus 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 High Priest,
Joseph Caiaphas, then charged Jesus with the crime of blasphemy against God (Mt 26:65; Mk 14:63).
Luke does not record the false witnesses in the other Gospel accounts of Jesus's trial (see Mt 26:60-61; Mk 14:56-59). It was forbidden under the Law to provide false testimony, and, in a death penalty case, the penalty for false testimony was death (Ex 20:16; Lev 19:12; Dt 5:20; 19:16-18). Everything about Jesus's trial was illegal:
| Jesus's Illegal Trial by the Jewish Sanhedrin | |
| Illegality | Scripture |
| There was a clandestine meeting of the high court. | |
| It was not an impartial court; they had already decided the death verdict against Jesus. | Mt 26:3-4, 59; Mk 14:1, 55; Lk 22:1-2; Jn 11:49-50; 18:13 |
| They called false witnesses 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 |
| They called no witnesses to support Jesus. | |
| They brought the charge of threatening the Temple against Jesus and then changed it to blasphemy. | Mt 26:61, 65; Mk 14:63-64; Jn 19:7 |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2012 www.AgapeBibleStudy.com | |
The Sanhedrin charged Jesus 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 found Him guilty of claiming to be equal to God (Lk 5:21-24).
From the Crucifixion to the Ascension
The Jewish daylight hours were divided into 12 seasonal hours beginning at dawn (Jn 11:9). Roman time, which is also modern time, started the new day at midnight, with dawn as the beginning of the 6th hour. However, noon was the 6th-hour Jewish time and the 12th-hour Roman time. When John 19:14 records that it was about the 6th hour when Jesus was with Pilate, it is Roman time between 6-7 AM, or about dawn, in agreement with the Synoptic Gospels.
Luke 23:1-5 ~ The Elders Take Jesus 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."
1 Then the whole
assembly of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
Luke says the "whole assembly" brought Jesus to the Roman
governor, suggesting the convening of the entire 72 members of the Sanhedrin
for Jesus's trial (Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 1:6). The chief priests and
elders wanted to condemn Jesus to death, but they did not have the power to execute
Him, and they were afraid of the hostility of the crowds who believed Jesus was
the Messiah. So as soon as it was dawn, they officially condemned Jesus and
took Him to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. He was visiting 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 AD 26. He was the second longest-ruling governor of the
province before being relieved of his duties in AD 36.
There are two reasons why the religious leaders took Jesus to the Roman governor to condemn Jesus to death. First, the Sanhedrin did not have the power to sentence Jesus to death (Jn 18:31). Second, they didn't want to turn Him into a martyr. They needed the Roman Empire to convict Him as a common criminal and execute Him to discredit Him with the people (Jn 19:31 and Mt 26:4).
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 as "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). 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 the people proclaimed Him "King of the Jews" (Lk 19:38). It was never a claim Jesus made directly for Himself, although He did speak of Himself in terms of kingship in Luke 19:11-27.
3 Pilate asked him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?" He said in reply, "You say so."
Pilate's 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 acknowledgment; it is similar to His response to the Sanhedrin in Luke 22:70
but without using the Divine Name. Jesus's point is that this is the charge
made against Him.
4 Pilate then
addressed the chief priests and the crowds, "I find this man not guilty."
Pilate announced to Jesus's accusers that there was 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." Pilate will give this
same judgment three times (Jn 18:4; 38; 19:6).
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 with 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 lamb was led from the Lamb Chamber and tied near the altar for the High Priest (or his representative) to judge its perfection. Then the presiding priest would publically pronounce the lamb "without fault" and suitable for sacrifice, even though its perfection had been judged the night before. The Jewish Mishnah records: 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).
Just as Jesus, the Lamb of God, was judged at dawn, so was the unblemished Tamid lamb judged before the morning liturgical worship service at the Temple. It is ironic that the high priest's representative judged the Tamid lamb "without fault" and ready for sacrifice at the same time the High Priest Joseph Caiaphas was condemning Jesus, the Lamb of God, and judging Him ready for sacrifice. It is also ironic that a pagan Roman Governor judged Jesus to be "without fault" three times (Jn 18:39; 19:4 and 6). See the book "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice."
In addition to the Tamid lamb and the communal sacrifices on
the first morning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Num 28:17-25), the people brought
their festival communion sacrifices (hagigah) for that morning. They brought
their animals to the Temple at 9 AM and would eat together in groups of family
and friends in the city that day. Only a ritually "clean" person could present
the hagigah peace offering (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).
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 Galilee where he began even to here" follows
the description of St. Luke's Gospel narrative. The mention of Galilee is also
an introduction to what Pilate did next.
Luke 23:6-16 ~ Pilate Sends Jesus to Herod Antipas
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." 17 He
was obliged to release one prisoner for them at the festival (not found in
all ancient manuscripts).
Only the Romans had the power over life and death in the provinces over which the Roman state ruled directly. However, Herod Antipas could execute St. John the Baptist because he directly ruled Galilee and Perea, even though he was a vassal of the Romans. For this reason, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod after he learned Jesus was from Galilee (Lk 23:5). If both men were staying at the palace, which most Bible scholars assume, Jesus passed between the courts of the two rulers fairly quickly. Herod Antipas, who professed to be a Jew, was in Jerusalem to attend the Passover meal and the required Temple services for the week of Unleavened Bread (Dt 16:16).
Jesus fulfilled a prophecy from Isaiah's fourth Servant Song in His refusal to speak to Herod Antipas and in His suffering abuse at the hands of the chief priests, elders, and Herod's soldiers (Lk 23:9-11 and Is 53). All the verses of Isaiah 53 find fulfillment in Christ's Passion, but verses 4 and 7-8 find fulfillment in Jesus's encounter with Herod Antipas.
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's authority over
citizens of Galilee signified his acceptance of Herod as an equal and therefore
capable of being a friend. The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote, "friendship
is equality" (Nicomachean Ethics, 9.4.5).
14 (Pilate) 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's 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.
Three times in 23:4, 14-15, and 22, Pilate pronounced Jesus without guilt. It is sadly ironic that the crowd chose a murderer like Barabbas instead of Jesus. 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 [son-of-the-father] or Jesus called Messiah?" Jesus Christ is the righteous Son of God the Father, but His own countrymen preferred Jesus Barabbas (whose surname means "son of the father") the murderer. Pilate realized the reason for their hatred was envy/jealousy. It was the same sin that led to the murder of Abel by his brother, Cain (see Gen 4:3-8; Mt 27:18).
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). A Roman officials' duty was to keep order in the provinces and bring in the taxes that kept the empire thriving. When the Jews threatened a riot as an act of self-preservation, Pilate submitted to the crowd. However, in a symbolic act, he washed his hands as a sign that he did not concede that Jesus deserved to die. The Jews clearly understood Pilate's act as a protest asserting Jesus's innocence (see Dt 21:6-9; Ps 26:5-11, especially verse 6 and Is 1:15-17).
Pilate offered to have Jesus scourged in an unsuccessful attempt to satisfy the Jewish leaders so he could release Him (Lk 23:22). After pronouncing the death sentence, Pilate sent Jesus to be scourged again (Jn 19:1-4). The scourging of a criminal before the execution was the established practice. The point of crucifixion was to make a deep impression on those who witnessed the suffering of the condemned person to prevent the repetition of the kinds of crimes against the state that necessitated crucifixion. The Persians invented crucifixion, the Greeks adopted the practice, but the Romans made it a horrific art. Crucifixion was reserved for foreign criminals, never for a Roman citizen, and it was devised to prolong suffering as long as possible before death. A healthy man could survive for three days.
The bloodthirsty crowd at Jesus's trial were probably men and women recruited by the Jewish leaders. Jesus had many supporters; they were so numerous that the religious leaders were afraid to arrest Jesus during the day when so many people were surrounding Him and listening to Him teach (Lk 19:47-48; 20:9; 22:2, 6). Jesus 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 would have attended the required morning worship service that began at the third hour/9 AM.
Luke 23:26-32 ~ Jesus carries His Cross to Golgotha
26 As
they led him away, they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was
coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him
carry it behind Jesus. 27 A
large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and
lamented him. 28 Jesus turned to
them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for
yourselves and for your children, 29 for
indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'blessed are the barren, the
wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' 30 At that time, people will say to the
mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!' 31 for if these things are done when the wood is
green, what will happen when it is dry?" 32
Now, two others, both criminals, were led away with him to be executed.
Those condemned to crucifixion were usually tied to a wooden crossbeam and forced to carry it to the site of execution. Perhaps Jesus was too weak from His scourging to carry His crossbeam the entire distance. The Roman soldiers impressed into service a man named Simon, a native of Cyrene, a city located in what is today the modern state of Libya. The Gospels of Mark and Luke include the information that Simon lived in the "countryside," presumably of Judea (Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26). It is possible that he was a Jewish pilgrim, but St. Ephraim (306-363/73) wrote that Simon was a Gentile and thought it ironic that he should bear the burden of the Cross behind Jesus like a disciple. The Gentiles would indeed carry their witness of the Cross to the "ends of the earth" in professing Christ (Commentary on Titian's Diatessaron, 20.20).
27 A large crowd of
people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him.
A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women.
They were probably His women disciples from Galilee, who the Gospels name as
witnesses to the crucifixion. God would reward the women disciples for their
faithfulness in standing by Jesus in His hours of suffering when they became
the first of His disciples to discover His Resurrection. Two criminals condemned
to death were led away with Him.
28 Jesus turned to
them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for
yourselves and for your children, 29 for
indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'blessed are the barren, the
wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' "
Jesus referred to "the days of punishment" He prophesied in
Luke 21:5-38 when Jerusalem, surrounded by armies, would be utterly destroyed. Jesus
told the women of Jerusalem not to weep for Him but for themselves and their
children. He alluded to the Day of Judgment, which would fall upon Jerusalem in
AD 70, and the historical fulfillment His prophecies concerning Jerusalem's
destruction and the Temple's destruction (Mt 23:37-39, 24:1-25). Some Bible
scholars insist that Jerusalem and the Temple were already destroyed when Luke
wrote his Gospel because of the accuracy of Luke's account of Jesus's prophecies
of Jerusalem's destruction. However, they deny the power of predictive prophecy.
If the events had already taken place, surely the Gospel writers would have
included the claim of the fulfillment of Christ's prophecies, as they claimed
fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Advent of Christ.
Calling these women "daughters of Jerusalem" in verse 28 was probably connected to a prophecy by the prophet Ezekiel. He may have been identifying these "daughters" who love and mourn Him with the righteous daughters of Jerusalem who consoled the survivors of the destruction of the city by the Babylonians prophesied by Ezekiel. The prophet wrote: Thus says the Lord GOD: Even though I send Jerusalem my four cruel punishments, the sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast, still some survivors shall be left in it who will bring out sons and daughters; when they come out to you, you shall see their conduct and their actions and be consoled regarding the evil I have brought on Jerusalem all that I have brought upon it. They shall console you when you see their conduct and actions, for you shall then know that it was not without reason that I did to it what I did, says the Lord GOD [Yahweh] (Ez 14:21-23). The Christian sons and daughters of God survived the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. St. Simon, the Christian Bishop of Jerusalem, recognized the "signs" and led them across the Jordan River into Perea.
Next, Jesus quoted parts of two passages from the book of the prophet Hosea to the women concerning the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and another prophecy from the Book of Ezekiel about the destruction of Judah by the Babylonians in 587/6 BC. Jesus compared the coming judgment on Jerusalem to the judgment prophecies of the prophet Hosea against the Israelites for their apostasy and the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians (722 BC). He also recalled the prophecies of the prophet Ezekiel concerning the destruction of the Southern Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians (587/6 BC).
Hosea began his prophetic career in the middle years of the rule of King Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (786-746 BC). The first reference in Luke 23:29 is to Hosea's judgment prophecy against "Ephraim" (the Northern Kingdom) in Hosea 9:14, Give them, O LORD! Give them what? Give them an unfruitful womb, and dry breasts! (underlining added to identify the symbolic wording of the Old Testament passage quoted by Jesus). The prophecy is a reversal of the blessing of fertility for Israel's covenant obedience (Dt 28:5) and also to Jacob's blessing for his beloved son Joseph that extended to his "firstborn in rank," to Ephraim's descendants, the Kingdom of Northern Israel (Gen 48:13-19; 49:25).
Then He said, "30 At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" Once again, Jesus quoted from the book of the prophet Hosea. But this time from Hosea 10:8, using the expression of agony and despair that Hosea said the doomed people of Israel would cry out at their hour of judgment: The king of Samaria shall disappear, like foam upon the waters. The high places of Aven shall be destroyed, the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars. Then they shall cry out to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall upon us!" (underlining added for the part of the verse quoted by Jesus). Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. "The high places of Aven" refer to the Northern Kingdom's golden calf idol worship imported from Egypt (1 Kng 12:28-32). In Egypt, Aven is another name for On (Heliopolis in Greek), a central site for worshipping the Apis bull. The golden calf the Israelites made at Sinai (Ex 32:1-6) probably represented this Egyptian deity from the Delta of Egypt (also see Ez 30:17 and Amos 1:5). They rejected Yahweh, their God and divine king, in favor of false gods, just as the Jews have rejected their true king, Jesus, the Davidic heir, and Son of God, in favor of the false god Augustus Caesar and his son Tiberius (Jn 19:15).
The resending of the blessing of fertility in Hosea 9:14b and the curse of thorns and thistles in Hosea 10:8 is an echo of God's first blessing for humanity's fertility in Genesis 1:28 but also the curse-judgment on Adam after the Fall in 3:18 that thorns and thistles will curse man's productivity. The prophet Hosea applied the resending of the blessing of fertility and the curse of Adam to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. What is Jesus's point in quoting from these two prophesies from the prophet Hosea concerning God's judgment against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed by the Assyrians about forty years after Hosea's prophecies in 722 BC? His message is that the people of the Northern Kingdom failed to heed the warning of God's prophet, just as the people of Jerusalem have failed to heed Jesus's judgment warnings during His last week of teaching at the Jerusalem Temple. Hosea's judgment prophecies against the Northern Kingdom of Israel for the people's apostasy in turning away from Yahweh to worship false gods is the same kind of judgment that will fall upon Jerusalem for the rejection of their God and Messiah. The "daughters of Jerusalem" need to be prepared to mourn for themselves and their people.
Finally, He tells the women, "31 for if these things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" referring to the prophecies of Ezekiel, especially Ezekiel 21:3. Read Ezekiel's prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in Ezekiel 21:1-28. Especially note what the prophet wrote in 21:3-4, Hear the word of the LORD! You shall say to the southern forest. Thus, says the Lord GOD: See! I am kindling a fire in you that shall devour all trees, the green as well as the day. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, but from south to north every face shall be scorched by it. Everyone shall see that I, the LORD, have kindled it, and it shall not be quenched.
Considering Jesus's reference to Ezekiel 21:3, and that the "southern forest is the former Southern Kingdom of Judah, ask yourself:
Hint: dry wood is beneficial for burning, but green wood is
not suitable. Jerusalem was destroyed by fire in the summer of AD 70, forty
years after Jesus's crucifixion and Resurrection (Eusebius, Church History, III.7.9).
Answer:
32 Now, two others,
both criminals were led away with him to be executed.
Like God's suffering Servant in Isaiah 53:12, Jesus was "counted
among the wicked" in God's plan for Him to take away the sins of many and
win pardon for their offenses.
Luke 23:33-38 ~ Jesus Arrives at Golgotha
33 When
they came to the place called the Skull [Kranion], they crucified him and the
two criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they
know not what they do." 35 They divided
his garments by casting lots. The people stood by and watched; the rulers,
meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if
he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." 36
Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37 they called out, "If you are King of the
Jews, save yourself." 38 Above him
there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."
Golgotha is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic name of the crucifixion site called gulgulta, meaning "skull." The identification as Golgotha appears in Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, and John 19:17. St. Luke gives the site's name as Kranion (Lk 23:33), the Greek word for "skull." The term Calvary comes to us from the Rheims New Testament translation of the Latin Vulgate, calvariae locus, which is the Latin translation of the Greek kraniou topos, "place of the skull;" in Latin, the word for skull is calvaria.
Matthew 27:32 and Mark 15:21 explicitly state the site was outside the city walls, and the Gospel of John records that it is near the city (Jn 19:20). We know it was close enough for the on-lookers to read the trilingual plaque that Pilate placed on Jesus's cross, probably as they looked down upon the scene of Jesus's crucifixion from the top of the city wall. Excavations beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulcher revealed burials that were centuries older than Christ's crucifixion and suggested that the name "skull" identified the site because it was an ancient graveyard.
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke only record that the darkness was from noon (the 6th-hour Jewish time) to 3 PM (the 9th-hour Jewish time). St. Mark is the only Gospel writer who records the time of Jesus's crucifixion: It was the third hour [9 AM] when they crucified him (Mk 15:25), and Darkness came over the whole land from the 6th hour until the ninth hour (Mk 15:33; IBHE, vol. IV, page 147). Jesus's crucifixion at the "third-hour" Jewish time, when His precious blood splashed upon the His Cross, was also when the Temple doors opened for the morning liturgical worship service. It was the moment of the sacrifice of the first Tamid lamb, after which a priest splashed its blood against the sacrificial altar as the Levites blew the silver trumpets (Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 108). That morning was a compulsory Sacred Assembly, and all religious Jews were attending the Temple worship service, including Jesus's supporters who had no idea about the events unfolding at Golgotha. Hanging Jesus from the Cross was what the chief priests wanted in their desire to discredit Jesus with the people. Only a man "cursed by God" would be hung on a tree (Dt 21:22-23), and they wanted to accomplish this without a riot from Jesus's supporters, who would all be worshiping at the morning liturgical service.
Jesus's enemies were unknowingly fulfilling God's promise to Abraham (see Gen 22:15-18; Gal 3:13, 29). It was God's plan for extending a worldwide blessing to all humanity. St. Paul wrote: Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree," that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal 3:13-14).
The Crucifixion of the Messiah
34a Then Jesus said,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
St. Luke continues to show that Jesus is entirely in charge
of His fate. With His full consent, Jesus entrusts the unfolding events of His
sacrificial death into the Father's hands (Jn 10:17-18; Eph 5:2). He understood
that His enemies were sinning in ignorance, and He showed mercy to them by praying
for their forgiveness from the altar of the Cross (1 Pt 2:23). His statement
recalls Isaiah 53:12 and is the same view of His death repeated by St. Peter in
Acts 3:17; 13:27 and St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:8. In his martyrdom, St.
Stephen followed Jesus's example (Acts 7:60), and in his martyrdom, St. James
of Jerusalem spoke the same words of forgiveness before he died (Eusebius, Church
History, II.23.16). St. Peter taught that all Christians should follow the same
spirit of forgiveness (1 Pt 2:21-25).
Verse 34 is the first of seven statements Jesus will make from the altar of the Cross. Two of His statements are quotations from the Psalms of David.
| Jesus's Last Seven Statements from the Cross | |
| Statement | Scripture |
| 1. "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." | Lk 23:34 |
| 2. "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." | Lk 23:42 |
| 3. "Woman, behold, your son"... "Behold, your mother." | Jn 19:26-27 |
|
4. "Eli, Eli lema sabachthani," "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?" ~ Hebrew "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani," "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" ~ Aramaic* |
Mt 27:46 (*Ps 22:1a quoted in Hebrew) Mk 15:34 (Jesus quoted from Ps 22:1/2a in Aramaic) |
| 5. "I thirst." | Jn 19:28 |
| 6. "It is fulfilled."+ | Jn 19:30 |
| 7. "Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit."+ | Lk 23:46 (Ps 31:5/6 quoted) |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2012 | |
*Jesus alluded to Psalm 22 in Mt 27:35, 39, and 43. Matthew records the Hebrew as it would have been written in the Hebrew scroll of Psalm 22, while Mark records Jesus's actual Aramaic statement. +It is hard to know which of these two statements are His last words from the Cross.
34b They divided his
garments by casting lots.
The Roman soldiers in charge of His crucifixion divided Jesus's
garments, and they cast lots for the expensive seamless tunic that was like what
the priests wore in liturgical service (Jn 19:23-24). In doing this, the soldiers
were fulfilling the prophecy in Psalm 22:19. Written by King David in the 10th
century BC, the 22nd Psalm describes David's sufferings. But the
psalm is also a graphic description and prediction of Jesus's crucifixion long
before the Persians ever invented it as a form of capital punishment. Included
in Psalm 22 was the casting of lots for the garments of the psalmist, an event
that was not part of David's history. Psalm 22:17-19 records: Many dogs
surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. So wasted are my hands and
feet that I can count all my bones. They stare at me and gloat; they divide my
garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots. This event is
fulfilled at Jesus's crucifixion as the soldiers overseeing the executions of
the three men divided the possession of the condemned. Matthew also records that
the Roman soldiers "kept watch" over Jesus (Mt 27:36), which was customary to prevent
any attempt to rescue the condemned men.
Jesus's seamless tunic was theologically symbolic of the seamless tunics only worn by the priests serving God in the Temple. As such, the garment is a symbol of Jesus's high priesthood. After His Ascension to the Father, Jesus took His place as High Priest of the Heavenly Sanctuary (Heb 8:1-2). The High Priest dressed in his priestly robes symbolized humanity fully restored in God's image. Jesus is not only our King but also our High Priest, offering the pure and holy sacrifice of Himself to God the Father (Rev 5:6). Exodus 28:4, Leviticus 16:4, and 21:10 use the word chiton in the Greek translation and ketonet in the Hebrew reference to the priestly tunic. Exodus 28:32 describes the priestly robe as "a woven piece" and not sewn. The word "seamless" (Hebrew = arraphos) is not in the Greek (Septuagint) translation. However, the Jewish priest and historian Flavius Josephus described the ankle-length tunic of the high priest as one seamless, woven cloth: Now, this vesture was not composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the shoulders and the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven as to have an aperture for the neck [...]; it was also parted where the hands were to come out (Antiquities of the Jews, 3.7.4 [161]; also see The Jewish Wars, 5.5.7 [231]).
It significant that Jesus wore the seamless garment of a high priest at both the Last Supper and His crucifixion (see Ex 28:4; Lev 16:4; Ez 42:14; Heb 2:17; 5:10; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1-3; 9:11, 25). Jesus wearing the seamless garment elevated those events to liturgical sacrifices since the seamless priestly tunic was only worn when offering liturgical service to Yahweh (Ez 42:14). At the Last Supper, Jesus wore this high priestly garment as He officiated as the New Covenant High Priest of the sacred meal. Wearing the seamless garment at His crucifixion implies that Jesus was acting as the New Covenant High Priest, officiating at the offering of His sacrifice on the altar of the Cross for the atonement sanctification of all people. You will recall that at the Last Supper, the disciples washed their hands (part of the ritual of the meal) and feet (washed by Jesus in Jn 13:5). Josephus records that before performing their Temple ministerial duties, priests washed both their hands and feet (Antiquities of the Jews, 3.6.2 [114]), information that adds another liturgical element to the events of the Last Supper.
35 The people stood
by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others,
let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." 36 Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they
approached to offer him wine, they called out, "If you are King of the Jews,
save yourself."
These repugnant actions by Jesus's tormentors were foretold
in Psalm 22. Verses 8-9 record: All who see me mock me; they curl their lips
and jeer; they shake their heads at me. "You relied on the LORD; let him deliver
you if he loves you, let him rescue you." Psalm 22 vividly describes Jesus's
suffering and the sneering and vindictive attitude of the crowd. The description
of His crucifixion in the Gospels and the enmity toward Jesus by the chief
priests, Pharisees, and elders also recalls the condemnation of the righteous by
the wicked described in Wisdom 2:12-24.
Jesus had to endure the taunts and challenges of the crowd, chief priests, scribes, elders, and the two men crucified on either side of Him in Luke 23:35-39 (also see Mt 27:39-43; Mk 15:29-32). They challenged Him to prove His divinity by saving Himself:
These events fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 ~ Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked, and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. And as St. Peter wrote, When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the Cross so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed (1 Pt 2:23-24).
36b As they
approached to offer him wine ...
The other Gospels include the information that the Roman
soldiers tried to give Jesus wine mixed with myrrh prepared to dull the
prisoner's pain (Mk 15:23). In the 1st century AD, the Jewish priest
and historian Flavius Josephus confirmed the historicity of the Gospel account by
mentioning that wealthy women of Jerusalem provided wine mixed with narcotics for
those destined for crucifixion. The soldiers offered Jesus more cheap wine to
drink just before He surrendered His life (Mt 27:48; Jn 19:28-30) when He only
tasted it but did not drink it. He vowed at the Last Supper that He would not
drink the "fruit of the vine" until He came into His kingdom (Mt 26:29 and
Lk 22:18).
The slight taste of the wine may be another connection between Jesus's perfect sacrifice and the sacrifice of the morning Tamid lamb at the Temple that received a drink just before its sacrifice (Mishnah: Tamid, 3.4). The Tamid lamb was a sacrifice that had prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus for centuries. Jesus was the true Tamid (meaning "standing" as in continual or perpetual) Lamb of God, as St. John the Baptist identified Jesus in John 1:29 and 36. When St. John identified Jesus as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," he could not have been referring to the Passover victim that could be either a lamb or a goat kid and of which multiple sacrifices were made only once a year. The Tamid was a single whole burnt offering of a lamb offered twice daily for the atonement and sanctification of God's covenant people (Ex 29:38-42). It took precedence over all other sacrifices (repeated 15 times in Num 28:4-29:38), only offered in addition to the Tamid lamb. Jesus was a single sacrifice in His humanity and divinity, and His sacrifice was the premier offering for all humanity and the true Tamid Lamb. See the book "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice."
38 Above him there
was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."
The wooden plaque above the head of a condemned criminal stating
his crime was a common Roman practice. The Gospel of John provides the
additional information that Pilate instructed the sign to have the words: "Jesus
the Nazarene, King of the Jews," written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (Jn 19:20).
Such a plaque was called in Greek a titulus. Pilate himself ordered the
wording of the sign to read "This is the King of the Jews" instead of "He
claims to be King of the Jews," much to the displeasure of the chief priests,
but Pilate refused to change the wording (Jn 19:21-22).
Luke 23:39-43 ~ Jesus's Exchange with the Criminals Crucified
with Him
39 Now,
one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah?
Save yourself and us." 40 The
other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you
are subject to the same condemnation? 41 And
indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds
to our crimes, but this man had done nothing criminal." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom." 43 He
replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
The four Gospels agree that two criminals were crucified on either side of Jesus (also, see Mk 15:27; Lk 23:33; Jn 19:18). But St. Luke is the only Gospel writer to include the story of the penitent criminal. Jesus was between two men on an elevation with His arms outstretched on the Cross, commanding the climactic battle between good and evil. The scene is reminiscent of Moses standing on a hill with outstretched arms between Aaron and Hur in the Israelite's battle with the wicked Amalekites (Ex 17:8-13; CCC 440). However, unlike the temporal consequences of Moses's battle, the outcome of Jesus's battle has cosmic and eternal implications. He promised salvation to one of the criminals because of his act of righteousness in defending Jesus, his penance in acknowledging his sins, and his profession of faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah and Davidic king. His actions of humility, repentance, and faith won him Jesus's promise of eternal salvation.
"Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
This is Jesus's second statement from the altar of the
Cross. According to the ancient non-canonical document entitled "The Gospel of
Nicodemus," the criminal's name on the right was Didymus, and the criminal on
the left was Gestas. These were probably not their real names but were given to
them by Christians for the story's sake.
The Gospel of John also records Jesus's words to His mother and the beloved disciple (believed to be St. John Zebedee), in which He makes him responsible to care for His mother. Jesus's action would have been unthinkable if Mary had other sons and supports 2,000 years of the Church's teaching and tradition that Jesus was Mary's only child (CCC 499-500). Jesus's words for His mother and the beloved disciple was His third statement from the Cross.
Luke 23:44-49 ~ The Death of Jesus Christ
44 Now
it was about noon [the sixth hour] and darkness came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon [the ninth hour] 45
because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the Temple was torn
down the middle. 46 Jesus cried out
in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he had
said this, he breathed his last. 47 The
centurion who witnessed what had happened, glorified God and said, "This man
was innocent beyond a doubt." 48 When
all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they
returned home beating their breasts; 49 but
all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed
him from Galilee and saw these events.
The Romans nailed Jesus to the Cross at the third-hour Jewish time, our 9 AM (Mk 15:25). In the Temple, the morning liturgy continued after the sacrificial offering of the Tamid lamb with the flour offering, the wafer of the High Priest, and the libation of wine. Afterward came the additional communal sacrifices for the Sacred Assembly of the feast (Num 28:17-23) and the many hagigah communion offerings that the people took back into the city for the day's meal. At noon the second Tamid lamb was brought out, tied near the altar, and received a drink of water from a golden cup. The only light would have been from the fire on the sacrificial altar consuming the whole burnt offerings because of the eclipse. The sacred ritual required burning incense in the morning service before placing the Tamid lamb on the altar fire; however, in the afternoon service, burning the incense in the Holy Place took place after placing the lamb on the altar, making the two lambs a single sacrifice.
Darkness engulfed the "whole land" from noon until the ninth-hour (3 PM). Luke's account of the eclipse from noon to 3 PM as events unfolded at Jesus's crucifixion agrees with the Gospels of Matthew (Mt 27:45-50) and Mark (Mk 15:33-37). According to the lunar calendar, these events took place on the 15th of Nisan during the full moon cycle. An eclipse of the sun at this time is an unexplainable phenomenon. According to the laws of physics, there cannot be an eclipse of the sun during a full moon cycle. However, secular writers like the Roman historian Thallus and the Greek historian Phlegon noted the unexplainable event of the total eclipse at this time (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1). At noon in the Temple, the second Tamid lamb for the afternoon (Jewish evening) service was tied at the Altar of sacrifice and received a drink from a golden chalice.
Just before the ninth-hour (Jewish time), our 3 PM, as Jesus was about to give up His life on the Cross, the priests in the Temple prepared the second Tamid lamb for sacrifice while other chief priests ministered in the Temple's Holy Place. They were checking the oil in the lamps of the golden Menorah and cleaning the ash from the golden Altar of Incense that stood in front of the curtain that shielded the Holy of Holies in preparation for burning the incense in the final rituals of the worship service. Imagine the shock of those chief priests as an earthquake struck the very moment the Tamid lamb died, and the curtain, as thick as a man's hand that covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies was ripped from top to bottom (Mt 27:51). At that same moment, Jesus was speaking His last words from the Cross before He offered up His life. He suffered on the Cross for the sins of humanity six full hours as the ancients counted from 9 AM to 3 PM, counting without a zero-place value, giving up His life at the beginning of the seventh hour as the second Tamid Lamb was sacrificed (Mk 15:25 and 32).
Concerning the significance of the Tamid sacrifice as the premier sacrifice in the liturgy of worship, the Jewish theologian Philo of Alexandria (died 37 AD) wrote: Accordingly, it is commanded that every day the priests should offer up two lambs, one at the dawn of the day, and the other in the evening [afternoon]; each of them being a sacrifice of thanksgiving; the one for the kindnesses which have been bestowed during the day, and the other for the mercies which have been vouchsafed in the night, which God is incessantly and uninterruptedly pouring upon the race of men (The Works of Philo, Special Laws, I.35 [169]; emphasis added; Jewish "evening" is our afternoon).
What was the link between Jesus's Passion and death and the single sacrifice of the Tamid lambs offered daily for the atonement and sanctification of the human race? The single sacrifice of the two unblemished male Tamid lambs perfectly coincided with Jesus Christ's Passion and death.
See the book "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice."
God ordained the daily whole-burnt offering of the Tamid as the first and most important sacrifice of the Sinai Covenant in Exodus 29:38-43. All other sacrifices were in addition to the Tamid (repeated fifteen times in Numbers Chapters 28-29). Josephus wrote: but did still twice each day, in the morning and about the ninth hour, offer their sacrifices on the altar (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.3/65). The Jewish-Christian scholar Alfred Edersheim wrote: 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 fulfills the Tamid, the sacrifice of the atonement and sanctification for humanity.
47 The centurion who
witnessed what had happened, glorified God and said, "This man was innocent
beyond a doubt."
Another translation of the centurion's statement has, "This
man was righteous beyond a doubt." This Roman officer is the first Gentile to
both profess Jesus's innocence and acknowledge His death as a work of God:
2 Corinthians 5:21, quoted above, is often misinterpreted. The "he" refers to God and the "him" to Christ. The verse is misunderstood to mean that Jesus took the sins of the world on Himself on the altar of the Cross. Such an interpretation is called "penal substitution" and is a Protestant Calvinistic doctrine of atonement. That theory suggests that God made Jesus guilty of the sins of humanity and then punished Him in our place. However, St. Paul does not mean that Jesus took on all the sinful guilt of humanity. There are two reasons why the Church refutes that interpretation:
Jesus was born and remained the sinless and unblemished Lamb of God. Catechism 603 states: "Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned. But in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the point that he could say in our name from the cross: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Having thus established him in solidarity with us sinners, God 'did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all,' so that we might be 'reconciled to God by death of his Son'" (quoting from Jn 8:46; Mk 15:34; Ps 22:1; Rom 8:32; 5:10).
Jesus is our eternal High Priest who continuously offers an infinitely meritorious sacrifice to God on behalf of the human race in the heavenly Sanctuary (Rev 5:6). That sacrifice is Christ's life, His sufferings, His love for the Father and humanity. His unblemished offering satisfied the demand of divine justice. In His willing sacrifice, according to the will of the Father, Christ merits the gift of salvation for all human beings who, in His name, accept His gift of eternal life. Jesus could not remain the "unblemished Lamb of God," presenting Himself to God in the heavenly Sanctuary, if He bore the stains of our sins; He could not have even entered Heaven. It was the punishment for our sins that He took upon Himself.
Luke 23:50-56 ~ The Burial of Jesus
50 Now
there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who, though he was a member
of the council, had not consented to their plan of action. 51 He came from the Jewish town of
Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 After he had taken the body down, he
wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb in which no one
had yet been buried. 54 It was
the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 55 The women who had come from Galilee
with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which
his body was laid in it, 56 they
returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the
Sabbath according to the commandment.
"Preparation day" was Friday, the day one prepared for the Sabbath (Saturday) rest that began at sundown, after which no religious Jew could perform any task considered "work," including laying a fire or cooking meals (Mk 15:42; Lk 23:54; Jn 19:31)
53 After he
had taken the body down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a
rock-hewn tomb in which no one had yet been buried.
The Law of the Sinai Covenant prohibited the placing of the
corpse of an executed man in a tomb already in use. It would defile the bones of
the dead already in the tomb. The body of an executed person or any who died
violently was not washed; the blood of the victim had to remain with the body. That
the Shroud of Turin displays the blood of the crucifixion victim is historically
accurate. The women did not have enough time to prepare spices and ointments
for the body because it was already nearing sundown and the beginning of the
Sabbath, and no work could be performed on the Sabbath, not even attending to
the burial of a family member.
According to forensic pathologist Dr. Zugibe, one of those scientists who personally examined the Shroud of Turin, the spot where the nails were placed in the hands of the crucifixion victim wrapped in the Shroud is at the base of the hand's thenar furrow. If you put the tip of your thumb on the tip of your little finger, the crease formed in your palm is the thenar furrow. If a nail is pierced through its base, it will exit at the back of the hand in the indentation at the wrist, which can be felt when the hand is flexed backward. This collection of bones in the hand and wrist is a very solid spot, and a nail at that angle will easily support the amount of weight generated by an upright body whose feet are supported. Dr. Zugibe's investigation supports that the Shroud of Turin's image indicates evidence of a practice in crucifixion that supports the tradition that the nails entered Jesus's lower palms and exited the back of the wrist. In ancient times, the wrist was considered part of the hands. See Acts 12:7, where the "chains fell from his [Peter's] hands." Surely the chains were on his wrists. Peter's chains were miraculously removed, and he was freed just as Christ's death and resurrection set us free from the bonds of sin and death.
For more information about the connection between Jesus and the Tamid sacrifice, see the book "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice" at Amazon books or read an excerpt from the book at Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice - exerpts. The book has the Church's Nihil Obstat and Bishop Timothy Doherty's Imprimatur and a five-star rating on Amazon.
Catechism references (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Isaiah 50:4-7 (CCC 713);
50:4 (CCC 141)
Psalm 22 (CCC 304); 22:2 (CCC 603); 22:2 (CCC 2605)
Philippians 2:6-11 (CCC 2641, 2667); 2:6-9 (CCC 1850); 2:6 (CCC 449); 2:7 (CCC 472, 602, 705, 713, 876, 1224); 2:8-9 (CCC 908); 2:8 (CCC 411, 612, 623); 2:9-11 (CCC 434); 2:10-11 (CCC 201); 2:10 (CCC 633, 635)
Luke 22:15-16 (CCC 1130); 22:15 (CCC 607); 22:18 (CCC 1403); 22:19-20 (CCC 1365); 22:19 (CCC 610, 611, 621, 1328, 1381); 22:20 (CCC 612); 22:26-27 (CCC 894); 22:27 (CCC 1570); 22:28-30 (CCC 787); 22:29-30 (CCC 551); 22:30 (CCC 765); 22:31-32 (CCC 641, 643); 22:32 (CCC 162, 552, 2600); 22:40 (CCC 2612); 22:41-44 (CCC 2600); 22:42 (CCC 532, 2605, 2824); 22:43 (CCC 333); 22:44 (CCC 2806); 22:46 (CCC 2612); 22:61 (CCC 1429); 22:70 (CCC 443)
Luke 23:2 (CCC 596); 23:19 (CCC 596); 23:28 (CCC 2635); 23:34 (CCC 591, 597, 2605, 2635); 23:39-43 (CCC 440, 2616); 23:40-43 (CCC 2266); 23:43 (CCC 1021); 23:46 (CCC 730, 1011, 2045); 23:47 (CCC 441)
Christ's entry into Jerusalem (CCC 557*, 558*, 559*, 560)
The Passion of Christ (CCC 602*, 603*, 604*, 605*, 606*, 607*, 608*, 609*, 610*, 611*, 612*, 613*, 614*, 615*, 616*, 617*, 618*)
Christ's kingship gained through His death and Resurrection (CCC 2816)
The Paschal Mystery and the Liturgy (CCC 654*, 1067-1068, 1085*, 1362)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2016; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.