Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
PALM SUNDAY OF OUR LORD'S PASSION (Cycle A)
Commemoration of the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem in the Procession:
Antiphon Matthew 21:9
Gospel Matthew 21:1-11
Antiphon I: repeated between verses of Psalm 24:1-10
Antiphon II: repeated between the verses of Psalm 47:1-2, 4-9
Mass Readings:
The First Reading Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm 22:7-8, 16-19, 22-23
The Second Reading Philippians 2:6-11
Verses read before the Gospel: Philippians 2:8-9
Gospel Reading Matthew 26:14-66
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), 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).
The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained 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: Death and Life
The Sixth Sunday of Lent is Palm Sunday, also called
the Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. The priest's vestments are
red (just as they were on Good Friday). Today we celebrate the day Jesus rode into
Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, the day in the Old Covenant
preparation for the Passover feast when God commanded the people to choose the
perfect male lambs or goat kids for the sacrifice of the Passover victim,
reliving the events of the first Passover in Egypt (Exodus 12:3). On this day in
AD 30, the crowds proclaimed Jesus as the true Lamb of God and King of Israel. They
placed palm branches before Him as He rode into the Holy City, fulfilling the
prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 and Jacob/Israel's prophecy for Judah's heir in
Genesis 49:11-12. We remember that event and celebrate by carrying palms at
Mass as signs of life and resurrection.
In the First Reading, God's Suffering Servant tells us that he is God's faithful disciple, teaching the divine word and God's promise of redemption to sinful and oppressed humanity. He testifies that he teaches as God directs him, despite suffering persecution, and declares that because of his faith and obedience, he will endure his trials that are part of God's divine plan.
Christians see the image of the Suffering Servant fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He faithfully taught the coming of God's Kingdom during His earthly ministry. He did not resist His persecutors' insults nor turn away from those who beat Him, slapped His face, or spit upon Him. Finally, they attempted to disgrace Him like a common criminal and condemn Him under God's curse to hang on a tree (Dt 21:22-23). But God did not abandon Him to shame; instead, He arose victorious on the third day, having defeated both sin and death.
The Responsorial Psalm (attributed to David) not only contains Jesus's first statement from the altar of the Cross but is a vivid description of the suffering that occurred during His crucifixion, a form of capital punishment unknown in David's time. The psalm ends with the psalmist declaring he will proclaim the glory of God's name in the liturgical assembly, 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 over death.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians what most Bible scholars believe are verses from an early Christian hymn. Paul referred to Jesus's humility in emptying Himself of His divine glory to live a human life and undergo suffering. Paul wrote that Jesus, through His humility, was obedient to the Father in offering His life as a sacrifice for humanity's sins and was raised from death by God to divine glory.
In the Gospel Reading, we commemorate Jesus's triumphal entrance into the holy city of Jerusalem to complete His work as humanity's Redeemer-Messiah. We remember His Last Supper with the disciples, His unjust trial and execution, and His rising from the dead. The Church's liturgy emphasizes that the three elements of His suffering, death, and resurrection belong together in God's plan for humanity's redemption. In our liturgical celebration on Palm/Passion Sunday, we affirm that Jesus's death was not a defeat but a victory over the powers of sin and death that opened Heaven and restored union with the Most Holy Trinity to the righteous.
The Sixth Sunday is also the last Sunday before the Paschal Triduum, our Passover festival, as we enter our own Jerusalem and begin our final preparation for Holy Week. On a Thursday, the Jews celebrated the last legitimate Old Covenant annual Feast of the Passover. The Gospel of John 12:1 recorded that the Passover was six days from the dinner in Bethany (as the ancients counted). The dinner in Bethany was a seventh-day Sabbath meal the day before Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the first day of the Jewish week (our Sunday). In ancient times there was no concept of 0 as a placeholder; therefore, when the ancients counted any series of years, months, or days the first day always counted as day #1. If it was six days from Jesus's Saturday dinner in Bethany to the Passover sacrifice, then Passover occurred on a Thursday in complete agreement with the other Gospel accounts. It also establishes Jesus's crucifixion on a Friday, just as we keep the remembrance of those same events in the Holy Triduum.
Commemoration of the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem:
Antiphon Matthew 21:9 ~ Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest (also see Mt 23:39 and Ps 118:26a). Our Procession Rite imitates the procession of Jesus and His disciples on Palm Sunday in the spring of AD 30. Coming from the village of Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus and His disciples crossed the Kidron Valley and entered the walled city of Jerusalem through the arched gate that faced the Mount of Olives. It was the closest gate to the Temple Mount on the city's east side. In the Antiphon, we imitate the crowd, making acclamations from the Messianic Psalms 118:25-26 (NJB) ~ We beg you Yahweh, save us [hosanna], we beg you Yahweh, give us victory! Blessed in the name of Yahweh is he who is coming! "Hosanna" is a word of Hebrew origin (hosi-a-na) composed of two words meaning "save now" or "save/save-us (we) pray" (c.f., 2 Sam 14:4; Ps 106:47; Is 25:9; 37:20; Jer 2:27; etc.). In Aramaic, the people's language in Jesus's time, they shouted hosa-na (International Christian Commentary: Matthew, page 124).
Gospel Matthew 21:1-11 ~ Jesus's Entry into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday
1 When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and
came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to
them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass
tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. 3 And if
anyone should say anything to you, reply, 'The Master has need of them.' Then
he will send them at once." 4 This happened so that what had been spoken
through the prophet might be fulfilled: 5 Say to daughter Zion, "Behold, you
king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a
beast of burden." 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. 7 They
brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon
them. 8 The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut
branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. 9 The crowds preceding
him and those following kept crying out and saying: "Hosanna to the Son of
David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest."
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is
this?" 11 And the crowds replied, "This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in
Galilee."
In Matthew 21:1-5, Jesus prepared to enter the holy city. He sent two disciples to bring Him an ass and her colt from the village of Bethpage on the Mount of Olives. In verse 5, St. Matthew reveals that this event fulfilled the prophecies of the restoration of Israel by the Messiah predicted by the prophets. It is the 9th of the "fulfillment statements" in Matthew's Gospel (Jesus childhood: 1:23; 2:15, 17-18, 23; Galilean ministry: 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; Jesus' last week in Jerusalem: 21:4-5; 27:9-10). The "fulfillment" statement refers to two verses in the book of the 8th century BC prophet Isaiah and the 6th century BC prophet Zechariah concerning the coming of the Messiah:
The words "daughter Zion" refers to the holy city of Jerusalem. According to the prophecies, the Messiah would come not like a conquering king or military leader. Instead, he would come humbly as a Savior to His people.
The Gospel of St. John identifies this event as occurring the day after Jesus's dinner with Lazarus' family in Bethany (Jn 12:1-2, 12-19). According to tradition and in agreement with the other Gospels, the Church celebrates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem as Palm (Passion) Sunday. John 12:1 records that the dinner was six days (as the ancients counted with no zero-place value) until the Passover sacrifice on the 14th of Nisan. Therefore, Jesus had a Sabbath Saturday dinner with friends in Bethany. Six days from Saturday (counting Saturday as day #1) makes the day of the Passover sacrifice Thursday of Jesus's last week, Nisan the 14th, and the day He rode into Jerusalem the first day of the week that we call Sunday.
Each of the Gospels records the Prophet-King's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-38; Jn 12:12-16). The disciples followed Jesus's instructions and brought a donkey and its colt. The information that the colt was still with its mother was a sign that no one had previously ridden it. They laid garments on both animals, and Jesus sat on the colt. In the Holy Land today, one still sees a mother donkey and a foal trotting beside her, with both animals having garments across their backs (Bishop, Jesus of Palestine, page 212).
Jesus's entry into Jerusalem on the colt of an ass was a divinely planned and highly symbolic act. Old Testament prophets taught in parables and performed symbolic acts in their ministry. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel taught in parables (short stories with examples from daily life that provided spiritual teaching). For example, Isaiah's parable of the vineyard was a symbol for Israel (Is 5:1-2). An example of a prophet called to perform a prophetic act, called an 'ot in Hebrew, is found in the Book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah's entire life was a series of prophetic actions as warnings to call the covenant people of Judah to repentance before God ended His protection, resulting in the destruction of the nation by the Babylonians (Jer 7:1-15). Likewise, Jesus, God's supreme prophet, performed several prophetic acts during His last week in Jerusalem, including His entrance to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which fulfilled prophecy and reenacted the ride of King Solomon into Jerusalem on his coronation day.
If Thursday was the Passover feast and the 14th of Nisan, then Sunday was Nisan the 10th. The 10th was the day God commanded the Israelites to choose the sacrificial victims in the first Passover in Egypt (Ex 12:3-5). It was also the day, forty years later, that Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan River in the conquest of the Promised Land (Josh 4:19). Jesus is the true Passover victim that all other Passover lambs and kids only prefigured. His entry into Jerusalem was the beginning of His conquest that would open the Promised Land of Heaven to the faithful through His death and Resurrection. Joshua and Jesus even had the same name in Hebrew.
Seeing Jesus, the crowd shouted acclamations from the Messianic Psalms 118:25-26 (NJB) ~ We beg you Yahweh, save us [hosanna], we beg you Yahweh, give us victory! Blessed in the name of Yahweh 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" (i.e., 2 Sam 14:4; Ps 106:47; Is 25:9; 37:20; Jer 2:27; etc.). The people shouted "Hosanna" in the same way the English might shout "God save the king," and this was the way the crowd called out "Hosanna" as an acclamation of praise to the one greeted as the promised Redeemer-Messiah. Psalms 113-118 are called the great Hallel (praise God) Psalms, also called the Egyptian Psalms since 113-117 retold the story of the Exodus, while Psalm 118 promised another liberator, an "anointed one" or "messiah" who was coming to save the covenant people.
The four Gospels describe Jesus's entry into Jerusalem as the triumphal arrival of a king or military ruler. The visit to the people by their ruler was a Parousia, a Greek word meaning "coming," "arrival," or "being present" among the people. In the New Testament, Parousia expresses the Christian belief and expectation that Jesus would return to His people in the future (the Second Advent of Christ). It is also the same term early Christians used for the "presence" of Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet. In the Old Testament, the Parousia of a king is described in the following:
The connection between King Solomon's ride into Jerusalem on the day of his coronation and Jesus's symbolic entrance was not missed by the crowds. Jesus received the same acclamation, and the people even referred to Him as "the son of David," quoting from Psalm 118, the passages referring to the promised Messianic king. St. John also records that the crowd not only quoted from the Messianic Psalms 118:26 ~ Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord, but also hailed Jesus as the king of Israel (Jn 12:13; also see 1 Kng 2:38-40; Ps 118:25-27, Jn 12:13). Jesus told His disciples that the day would come when they would not see Him again until they said this verse (Mt 23:39). These are the words we repeat in the celebration of the Mass just before the Eucharistic procession as we prepare to "see" Jesus in the gift of the Eucharist.
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was
shaken and asked, "Who is this?" 11 And the crowds replied, "This is Jesus the
prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."
The word "shaken" is a Greek term commonly used to describe
earthquakes. The strength of this word conveys the tremendous excitement of the
pilgrims and citizens of Jerusalem who greeted Jesus. The crowd recognized Him
as the Davidic Messiah and "the prophet" (Mt 21:11), fulfilling God's promise
to Moses and the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18:18 ~ I will raise up for them
a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put my words into his
mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. For the significance of
Jesus's prophetic ministry, see CCC 436, 783, 873, 904.
The questioning of some in the crowd concerning Jesus's identity (Mt 21:10) is the question facing each of us on this day when commemorating Jesus's triumphal ride into Jerusalem. True disciples recognize Jesus as God's prophet, priest, and king who came to redeem His people and to raise them from death to life (CCC 788). Can you profess with conviction that Jesus not only came on that day in history to begin the completion of His earthly mission but that He has personally come for you and has raised you from death to life in the Sacrament of Baptism so that you might listen to His voice and obey Mother Church on your journey to eternal salvation?
Psalm 24:1-10 ~ For a Solemn Entry into the Sanctuary (a
psalm of David)
Antiphon I: During the procession, the choir and people sing,
"The children of Jerusalem welcomed Christ the King. They carried olive branches
and loudly praised the Lord: Hosanna in the highest," which they repeat between
the verses of Psalm 24.
1 The LORD's are the earth and its fullness; the world
and those who dwell in it. 2 For he founded it upon the seas and established
it upon the rivers.
Repeat Antiphon I
3 Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD or who may stand
in his holy place? 4 He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires
not what is vain, nor swears deceitfully to his neighbor.
Repeat Antiphon I
5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward
from God his savior. 6 Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the
face of the God of Jacob.
Repeat Antiphon I
7 Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient
portals, that the king of glory may come in! 8 Who is this king of glory? The
LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
Repeat Antiphon I
9 Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient
portals, that the king of glory may come in! 10 Who is this king of glory?
The LORD of hosts; he is the king of glory.
Repeat Antiphon I
The covenant people sang Psalm 24 every first day of the week (our Sunday) in the Jerusalem Temple's twice-daily liturgical worship services. It recounts an encounter between the Lord, the King of Glory, and the righteous believer who has come to worship Him in His holy Temple. The poem, attributed to David of Bethlehem, the ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth (Mt 1:1), begins by proclaiming who the Lord is: He is the creator of the earth (verses 1-2).
The psalm then enumerates the conditions which allow the people to approach the Lord in His Temple in verses 3-6:
These righteous covenant members are worthy to enter God's presence and receive His blessing.
The psalm gives a blessing for the faithful (verse 5), after which the psalmist calls upon the Temple to "lift up" its gates and lintels (twice) so the King of Glory may enter (verses 7-8). Finally, the psalmist asks, "Who is this king of glory" in two rhetorical questions before answering, "The LORD of Hosts [literally Yahweh Sabaoth]; He is the King of Glory!" His sovereignty extends over the nations of the earth and every human being; therefore, people worship Him as the King of Glory (verse 10)!
The Fathers of the Church saw this psalm as applied to the Christian's soul as God's Temple of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus (St. Ambrose, Expositio psalmi, 118.14; also see 1 Cor 3:10-17). God is ready to enter the Temple of the Christian's soul in the Sacrament of Baptism. The prayer of all Christians is that they will open up the gates of their souls in faith so Christ, the King of Glory, will enter in, carrying with Him the triumph of His Passion.
Psalm 47:1-2, 4-9 ~ Yahweh, the King of Israel, is King
of the World
Antiphon II repeated between the verses of Psalm 47: "The
children of Jerusalem welcome Christ the King. They spread their cloaks before
him and loudly praised the Lord: Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord!"
1 All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with
cries of gladness. 2 For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome, is the great
king over all the earth.
Repeat Antiphon II
4 He chooses for us our inheritance, the glory of Jacob,
whom he loves.
Repeat Antiphon II
5 God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD,
amid trumpet blasts. 6 Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our
king, sing praise.
Repeat Antiphon II
7 For king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise.
8 God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne.
Repeat Antiphon II
9 The princes of the peoples are gathered together with
the people of the God of Abraham. For God's are the guardians of the earth; he
is supreme.
Repeat Antiphon II
The psalm begins by declaring that God is the King over all the peoples and nations of the earth. Then it offers two invitations to sing God's praises (verses 1 and 6), followed by why the people should proclaim praise to God (verses 2-5 and 7-9). The first reason is that God is king over the earth, and the second is to offer communal praise in the liturgy of worship because, being the King of all nations, God unites us as one people (verses 7-9). The Temple liturgy and Jews in their Synagogues today recite this psalm on the Feast of the New Year (Rosh Hashanah). Christians identify with this psalm by reflecting on the kingship of Jesus Christ and the universal Church's authority over the people of every language, race, and nation (prophesied by Daniel in 7:13-14 and 27).
In the Apostolic Age, the Church saw verses 5-6: God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD, amid trumpet blasts. 6 Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise as being fulfilled in the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven (Acts 1:1-11; Heb 9:24-28). That is why we read this psalm on the Feast of the Ascension, proclaiming Christ's universal kingship that transcends the world's kingdoms. The Church's character of universality is a gift from Christ whereby Mother Church seeks to fulfill her mission of reconciling all humanity to Him and helping all nations attain their eternal destiny (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 13). Reciting this psalm in our solemn procession on Palm Sunday, we offer our acclaim for Christ's divine kingship linked to the contemplation of our promised inheritance in the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem, where He sits enthroned on the right hand of God the Father. We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the King over all the nations and peoples who dwell on the earth.
The Mass Readings:
The First Reading Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:7-8, 16-19, 22-23
The Second Reading Philippians 2:6-11
Verses read before the Gospel: Philippians 2:8-9
Gospel Reading Matthew 26:14-66
The First Reading Isaiah 50:4-7 ~ The Third Servant's
Song (God's Suffering Servant)
4 The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I
might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. 5 Morning
after morning, he opens my ear that I may hear; 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 is my help; therefore, I am not disgraced; I have set my face like
flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
This passage begins Isaiah's third "Servant's Song." The Servant speaks directly to us in verses 4-9. He tells us that he is God's faithful disciple, teaching the divine word and God's promise of redemption to sinful and downtrodden humanity (verses 4-5). He says that thanks to God's divine guidance, he teaches as God directs him despite suffering persecution (verses 7-9). Because of his faith and obedience, he will endure persecution and suffering because he knows it is part of God's divine plan (verses 5-7).
Christians see the image of the Suffering Servant fulfilled in Jesus Christ. During His earthly ministry, He faithfully taught the coming of God's Kingdom (Mt 4:17; Mk 1:14-15; Lk 4:14-15). He did not resist His persecutors' insults, nor did He turn away from those who beat Him, slapped His face, or spit upon Him (c.f., Mt 26:67-68; 27:26-31; Mk 14:65, 15:15; Jn 18:22; 19:1). Finally, they attempted to disgrace Him by crucifying Him like a common criminal (Mt 27:35-38; Mk 15:21-27; Lk 23:26-34, 38; Jn 19:17-24) and condemn Him under God's curse (Dt 21:22-23; Gal 3:13). But God did not abandon Him to shame; instead, He arose victorious on the third day, having defeated both sin and death (Mt 28:5-6; Mk 16:6; Lk 24:5-8; Jn 20:1-10).
Responsorial Psalm 22:7-8, 16-19, 22-23 ~ God Rescues the
Upright from Suffering
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: Psalm 22:1
16 Indeed, many dogs surround me, a pack of evildoers
closes in upon me; 17 they have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all
my bones.
Response: Psalm 22:1
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: Psalm 22:1
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: Psalm 22:1
This moving psalms (attributed to David) not only contains Jesus's first statement from the altar of the Cross in verse 1 (Mt 27:46 and Mk 15:34) but is a vivid description of the suffering that took place during His crucifixion, a form of capital punishment unknown in David's day:
The psalm ends with the psalmist declaring that He will proclaim God's name in the liturgical assembly. Then he called 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. This is the 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. As members of the universal Kingdom and the Christian liturgical assembly of Jesus Christ, we are the true descendants of Jacob and the new Israel (CCC 877) that God promised Abraham (Gen 12:3; 22:15-18; Gal 3:29).
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 that verses 6-11 are from an early Christian hymn that St. Paul quoted in his letter to the Christian community at Philippi in Macedonia. The verses refer to Jesus's humility in emptying Himself of His divine glory (kenosis in Greek) to live a human life and to undergo suffering (verses 6-7). Jesus is likely being contrasted with Adam, who, being created in the likeness and image of God, attempted to grasp equality with God through his sin of rebellion and pride in eating from the forbidden tree and condemned humanity to live in sin. However, Jesus, through His humility, was obedient to the Father in offering His life as a sacrifice for humanity's sins and was raised from death by God to divine glory (8-11).
The Gospel Acclamation: Philippians 2:8-9 from the second Reading ~ 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 same, which is above every name. The refrain is "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!"
The Gospel Reading is Matthew 26:14-66 ~ The Passion of
the Christ
Part I: Matthew 26:14-16 ~ The Betrayer
14 One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went
to the chief priests 15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand
him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 and from that time
on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Apostle Judas Iscariot was the son of a man named Simon (Jn 6:71; 13:26) from the Judean village of Kariot (ish means man as in ish Kariot, "man of Kariot"). From the Gospel accounts, we know that Jesus said Judas had an evil nature. He was the treasurer of Jesus's community, but he was a thief, stealing from the contributions collected for the poor. Jesus also called him "the son of destruction" and a "devil" (Mt 7:15; Jn 6:70-71; 12:4-6; 17:12). His offer to betray Jesus for money reveals his motive and shows that he loved money more than he loved Christ (Jn 6:70-71; 12:4-6; 13:26-29 and Mt 26:15).
The amount the chief priests offered to pay Judas for betraying Jesus is significant and related to Old Testament passages in Exodus 21:32, Psalm 41:10/9, and Zechariah 11:12-17:
The literal translation of Psalm 41:10 is, Even the friend on whom I relied, he who eats my bread, lifted up his heel against me (IBHE, vol. II, page 1423). To "lift up his heel" is a Semitic expression for doing violence. Jesus used this expression at the Last Supper in John 13:18 as He quoted Psalm 41:9, referring to Judas. St. Peter linked this passage to Judas in Acts 1:16, and it is part of the prophecy concerning the curse of the serpent in his struggle with the promised Redeemer, who is the "seed of the woman." See Genesis 3:15 in the Hebrew text when God cursed the serpent, saying: I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed; [he/she/it]* will crush your head and you will strike his/her/its* heel (IBHE, vol. I, page 7; underlining added). *The indefinite pronoun in Hebrew can be either he, she, or it; the "you" and "your" in this verse are singular; see CCC 70, 410, 489.
Part II: Matthew 26:17-19 ~ Preparation for the Sacred
Meal on the Day of the Passover Sacrifice
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the
disciples approached Jesus and said, "Where do you want us to prepare for you
to eat the Passover?" 18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell
him, "The teacher says, 'My appointed time draws near; in your house, I shall
celebrate the Passover with my disciples.'" 19 The disciples then did as Jesus
had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
The Jewish Talmud is in two parts: the Mishnah and the Gemarah. The Mishnah records the sacred Oral Tradition of the covenant people entrusted to the chief priests (not recorded in Scripture) and the order of worship in the Jerusalem Temple. For Jews, it is the authoritative source of halacha (Jewish law), second only to the Bible itself. The Gemarah is the commentary on the Mishnah (both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Gemarah). The section Mishnah: Pesahim records all the ritual requirements for the observance of the Passover sacrifice and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The knowledge recorded in the Mishnah was maintained orally by the chief priests and was not written down until after the destruction of the Temple. It was completed in its final editing c. AD 220. There will be frequent references to the Mishnah in this part of the lesson.
St. Mark identified the day of the Passover sacrifice: On the first day of the Unleavened Bread, when they kill the Passover, his disciples said to him, "Where do you desire that going we may prepare that you may eat the Passover?" (Mk 14:12, underlining added; translation from the IBGE, vol. IV, page 140). The Old Testament lists the Passover and the week-long celebration of Unleavened Bread as two separate feasts (Ex 12 -13; Lev 23:4-8; Num 28:16-25). Unleavened Bread was a pilgrim feast in which God required the attendance of every adult male of the covenant (Ex 23:14-17; 34:18-23; Dt 16:16; 2 Chr 8:13). However, in Jesus's time (first century AD), the names of the two feasts were used interchangeably to refer to the entire eight holy days from the 14th of Nisan to the 21st. The Jewish priest turned historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD), recorded that in his time, the term "Passover" came to mean the celebration of both feasts as one eight-day festival. He wrote: As this happened at the time when the feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated, which we call the Passover (Antiquities of the Jews 14.2.1). Like Josephus, St. John refers to the two feasts as "Passover," as do Jews today. Rabbinic Judaism no longer keeps the original Passover as prescribed in Scripture. They only keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread from Nisan the 15th-21st, calling those days "Passover" because there is no Temple or sacrificial altar where they can offer the Passover victims. The Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70. According to Mosaic Law, the Passover sacrifice was on the 14th of Nisan (Ex 12:6; Lev 23:5; Num 28:16), and the Feast of Unleavened Bread began on that same day that became the 15th at sundown (the Jewish day is from sundown to sundown).
In the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Old and New Testaments, the victim is never referred to as the Passover "lambs," unlike many English translations. Instead, the animal could be a lamb or a goat-kid (Ex 12:5). The instructions for the selection of the victim in the first Passover in Egypt required the people to select: A flock-animal, a perfect one, a male, a yearling shall be to you. You shall take from the sheep or from the goats. And it shall be for you to keep until the fourteenth day of this month. And all the assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the evenings [twilights] (Ex 12:5-6, IBHE, vol. I, page 170). The phrase "between the twilights" identifies noon, the time between dawn and dusk, and agrees with the Jewish Mishnah (Mishnah: Pesahim, 5:3H) and first-century AD Jewish theologian, Philo of Alexandria (Special Laws II, 145). The Gospel of Mark relates that Jesus sent two disciples to prepare the room for the meal of the Passover victim (Mk 14:13), and the Gospel of Luke names Saints Peter and John Zebedee as the two He sent to prepare the room (Lk 22:8).
When Peter and John arrived at the house, they discovered an upper room arranged with banquet tables and couches for reclining at the meal (Mk 14:15a). However, as Jesus told them, Peter and John still had to make other necessary preparations (Mt 26:19). They needed to ensure that there was an adequate supply of red wine for the banquet's four ritual communal cups in addition to the cups of wine that the guests were to consume during the meal (Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:1C). They needed to provide stone vessels filled with enough water for the three ritual hand washings (see Jn 2:6 where the wedding feast in Cana had six stone jars, each holding 20-30 gallons of water for the ritual washings). They needed to provide the other necessary foods for the women to prepare for the meal. And, if not already available, they needed to set up a roasting pit and spit of pomegranate wood to roast the Passover sacrifice (Mishnah: Pesahim, 7:1B).
In addition to those arrangements, Peter and John had to personally inspect the premises, making sure that all leaven, a symbol of sin, had been removed (Ex 13:7). Before noontime on the day of the Passover sacrifice, the Law commanded the covenant people to do a thorough search of the rooms of their houses in Jerusalem to remove all leaven for the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread that began at sundown on the day of the Passover sacrifice (Ex 13:6-7; Mishnah: Pesahim, 1:3-1:4). They were also required to start a fast at noon: On the eve of Passover [meal] from just before the afternoon's daily whole offering, a person should not eat, until it gets dark (Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:1A). The "evening's (our afternoon) daily whole offering" was the afternoon Tamid liturgical worship service at the Temple, and the "eve of Passover" refers to the Passover victim eaten at a sacred covenant meal on the first night of Unleavened Bread. Please note that the Jewish Mishnah and writings of the Rabbis only refer to the eight days as "Passover," like the Gospel of John.
All the Gospels and two thousand years of Christian tradition agree that the Jewish festival of the Passover and the slaying of the Passover victims took place on the Thursday of Jesus's last week in Jerusalem, the day before His crucifixion on Friday (Jn 19:31). Those of the covenant community who were offering the Passover sacrifice for their family and friends gathered at the Temple with their lambs and goat kids at noon for the afternoon liturgical worship service. The sacrificial ceremony began immediately after the High Priest placed the body of the afternoon Tamid lamb on the altar fire (Mishnah: Pesahim, 5:3).
During the ceremony, the people repeated the Egyptian Hallel Psalms (Ps 113-118) until completing the sacrifice of the animals (Mishnah: Pesahim, 5:7-10). The faithful offered one animal for every group of not less than ten and not more than twenty people. If the Passover victim was not enough to feed a larger group, a communion Hagigah festival sacrifice was included (Lev 7:11/7:1-17/7; 19:5-8; 22:18-25; Num 6:13-20; JPS Commentary: Leviticus, pages 42-44; Mishnah: Hagigah). The Levites skinned the bodies of the animals, washed them, and removed the entrails and inside fat, which they cleansed, and put everything in a bowl where they salted the fat and entrails before placing them on the altar fire as a burnt offering to Yahweh. Then they returned the bodies to the offerors (Mishnah: Pesahim, 5:10). After sacrificing all the victims (Passover lambs or goats and the communion Hagigah offerings), the Passover service concluded by burning incense on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary and the assembly receiving the priestly blessing.
At one annual Passover service during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero (AD 54-68), Flavius Josephus recorded that the sacrifice totaled 256,500 victims. He wrote that at the end of the afternoon, the blood from the sacrificial victims splashed against the sacrificial altar reached the ankles of the priests, and the Kidron brook, where the Temple drains emptied, became a river of blood (Wars of the Jews, 6.9.3 [424]). At the end of the liturgical worship service, each group took the skinned body of their Passover lamb or goat-kid and free-will Hagigah festival offering back to where they were staying in Jerusalem. There they roasted the meat of the Passover victim and boiled the hagigah sacrifice in water.
Those assigned the task had to be careful when roasting the Passover victim so the bones remained unbroken. The punishment for anyone who carelessly broke a bone of the Passover victim was forty lashes, and the sacrifice became invalid (Mishnah: Pesahim, 7:1B, 7:11C; Ex 12:46; Num 9:12). It was also necessary to prepare the other foods that were part of the sacred meal: two kinds of bitter herbs, vinegar or salted water for dipping the herbs, a chopped fruit mixture, and the baked loaves of unleavened bread (Ex 12:8-28; 13:3-10; Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:3). The pilgrim Feast of Unleavened Bread that followed the Passover sacrifice allowed the covenant people to relive the themes of judgment and redemption that the Israelites experienced in the first Passover event in Egypt and to eat the sacred meal of the Passover as a sign of covenant renewal and continuation. The meal was so sacred that the penalty for deliberately failing to keep the feast on the first night of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was ex-communication from the covenant people (Num 9:13).
The Law of Moses required that the celebration of Passover and the eating of the sacred meal on the first night of Unleavened Bread must take place in the early spring during the first full moon of the spring equinox (Ex 12:6; Lev 23:5; Num 28:16; Mishnah: Pesahim, 1:1: Philo, Special Laws II, 150-155). The Church establishes the date for Easter the same way: on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox.
Part III: Matthew 26:20-25 ~ Jesus Announces His Betrayal
20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the
Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you
will betray me." 22 Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one
after another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" 23 He said in reply, "He who has dipped
his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24 The Son of Man
indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of
Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." 25
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He
answered, "You have said so."
20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve.
Sundown was the end of one day (Nisan the 14th) and
began the next Jewish day (Nisan the 15th), signaling the beginning
of the celebration of the pilgrim feast of Unleavened Bread, with the feast of
the Passover victim (Ex 12:5-6, 8-10, 42;
Lev 23:5-7). The meal started after
sundown and had to end before midnight (Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:1A; 10:9). That
night, by the light of the full moon, those invited to eat the sacred meal with
Jesus made their way to an upper room in the oldest section of the city known
as the City of David on Mt. Zion. Only covenant members were permitted to take
part in this ritual meal. All males had to be ritually circumcised, and men and
women ritually clean, a condition that reflected the spiritual purity of the
covenant member's circumcised heart (Ex 12:43-51).
The liturgical service of the Passover sacrifice on the 14th of Nisan was not a pilgrim feast; therefore, it was unnecessary to be present at the sacrifice of the Passover victims. A Jewish servant or member of the group dining together could take the victim to the Temple service. However, according to the Law of Moses, it was necessary to be present that night for the sacred meal. In addition to the animal victims (Passover and Hagigah), there were four communal cups of red wine and more wine for the cups of individual guests. The four communal cups stood for the four ways God promised to redeem the children of Israel in Exodus 6:6-8. They also represented the blood of the sacrificial victim that became the "sign" of their redemption in the first Passover when God commanded Moses to tell the people to smear the blood of the victims across the doorways of their houses from the threshold to the lintel to each of the doorposts, forming a cross (Ex 13:21-23).
Jesus was the host of the meal. Those serving placed the food on the table in front of Him. After the first hand-washing ritual, the host blessed the meal and passed the first communal cup. There were three ritual hand washings, but Jesus used one (probably the first) to wash His disciples' feet as a sign of their ordination to carry on His earthly ministry (Jn 13:4-10). Next, the order of the meal called for the dipping of the first bitter green herb in vinegar or salted water (Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:3). The purpose of the green herb was to remind them that God's creation and all that it contained was good (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and 31), but the dipping of the bitter herb in salted water represented the destructive power of sin and the tears shed by the generations who suffered in bondage when Israel was in Egypt and also to those who suffered from bondage to sin. Jesus prayed over the herbs, dipped the first bitter herb (usually lettuce), ate it, and then passed the herbs and the salted water around the table to those assembled to dip and eat as they reflected on God's blessings and the curse of sin. Later, after passing the second communal cup and the host's blessing of the unleavened bread, there would be a second dipping of a bitter herb into the dish of the Charoset fruit mixture.
It was probably the second dipping with the fruit mixture when Jesus said: "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me" (Mt 26:21). St. John confirmed the second ritual dipping when he wrote: So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot (Jn 13:26b). The "morsel" referred to the dipping of the bitter herb wrapped in a piece of unleavened bread with the mixed fruit, the "sop" that the host gave to the person he wanted to honor at the ritual meal. Jesus gave the sop to Judas Iscariot. He was the member of the feast most in need of a sign of Jesus's love, but the moment Judas took the sop, the devil entered him because he had closed his heart to Jesus and His forgiveness (Jn 13:25-30). The disciples did not know who would betray Jesus after He told them it was the one who dipped the sop because, as the communal dish was passed, they all had eaten the bread dipped in the Charoset. Therefore, they didn't know to which of them He was referring. Judas, realizing Jesus was speaking of him, got up and went out. It was not the first time Jesus had spoken of His betrayer. The first time was a year earlier, near the time of Passover in John 6:64, 70-71 (also see Jn 8:44 and 12:6 and where Jesus identified Judas as a murderer and a thief).
Again, we have confirmation that Jesus was in control of His destiny. Jesus knew of His betrayal, and He knew His betrayer. It is tragic that Judas, faced with the accusation of his treachery, did not turn back from the course he set for himself and ask for Jesus's forgiveness. Judas's exit from the lighted room into the darkness of the night is an image of his departure from the light of Christ into the darkness of sin and death (Jn 13:30).
Part IV: Matthew 26:26-30 ~ The Offering of the Body and
Blood of Christ
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the
blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is
my body." 27 Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
"Drink for it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which will
be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, from now
on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with
you new in the kingdom of my Father." 30 Then, after singing a hymn, they went
out to the Mount of Olives.
Verse 26 testifies that they were at the point of eating the festival offering and the Passover victim that followed the second dipping of the morsel. All the Gospel accounts confirm that they ate the sacred meal of the Passover victim before Jesus gave them His Body and Blood (Mt 26:21; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:14-15; Jn 13:26b). As they finished eating the meat of the Passover sacrifice, Jesus surprised them by taking up some of the unleavened bread a second time. The first time was when He blessed the bread and passed it with the Charoset. According to the ritual of the meal, no other food was to be consumed after eating the Passover victim. They were to wash their hands a third time and drink from the third communal cup, the Cup of Blessing, also called the Cup of Redemption (1 Cor 10:16), followed by the after-meal blessing. Then those assembled were to complete the meal by singing the Hallel psalms and drinking the fourth communal cup, the Cup of Acceptance, that ended the meal. The guests could drink from their individual cups between the communal cups of wine, but between the third and fourth communal cups, they were not allowed to eat or consume more wine (Mishnah: Pesahim, 10:7 III-IV). The meal had to end by midnight, and the bones of the animal victim burned (Mishnah: Pesahim,10:9).
To their surprise, Jesus took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body."
27 Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink for it,
all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on
behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, from now on I shall
not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in
the kingdom of my Father."
In the Greek text, the words "which will be shed" are rendered
"is being poured out" in a present participle, ritually significant wording that
identified Jesus as the sacrificial victim. The Old Covenant liturgical command
"poured out" was the instruction in liturgical the blood ritual for a sin sacrifice
that was "poured out" against the altar (IBHE vol I, Lev 4:7b, 18b, 25, 30b).
Jesus's actions fulfilled His promise in the Bread of Life Discourse when He promised that those who ate His flesh and drank His blood would have eternal life (Jn 6:22-59). Wearing the seamless linen garment of a priest (Jn 19:23-24), Jesus's ritual language repeated the words of the covenant ratification ceremony at Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:8), and words indicating the blood ritual for a sins sacrifice (Lev 4:30) signified that the Last Supper was a liturgical ceremony in which Jesus inaugurated a New Covenant sacred meal (Lk 22:20) by offering Himself as a sin sacrifice. Offering Himself (Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity) in what Jesus announced as a New Covenant sacred meal that night in the Upper Room (Lk 22:20) was the beginning of His journey to the altar of the Cross. It was also the fulfillment of the prophecy that one day God would bring His people a new covenant in which He would forgive their guilt and never more call their sin to mind (Jer 31:31, 34). Jesus promised that through His flesh and blood, one is spiritually united to His life and the promise of eternal life (Jn 6:54-55). Those present would have understood that, in some way, the sacred meal had been transformed forever into something much more profound than eating the flesh of a sacrificial animal in memory of a past historical event that recalled God's redemption and Israel's thankfulness.
We call the gift that our Lord gave us on the last night of His life the "Eucharist," derived from the Greek words eucharistein and eucharistia, meaning an expression of "thanks" or "thanksgiving." The term comes from Jesus's words of thanks to the Father as He prayed over the bread and the wine that became His Body and Blood (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:19-20). It is also the word in the Greek translation of the Old Testament for the communion ritual meal of the Todah ("thanksgiving"). Notice that all accounts record that they had been eating the Passover meal before Jesus offered Himself in what had been bread and wine. However, some falsely teach that Jesus and His disciples did not eat the traditional Jewish Passover meal; the Synoptic Gospel verses listed above and John 13:26 prove them wrong.
The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of the glorified Christ, who is really and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine. In this way, He offers Himself in the sacrifice of the Mass received by His faithful covenant people who come to His altar in a state of grace to receive the spiritual food of Holy Communion. The word "Eucharist" is for all three aspects of Christ's one mystery:
In verse 29, Jesus made a vow: "I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of
the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my
Father." 30 Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
The members of the Last Supper did not drink the Cup of
Acceptance that concluded the meal. Instead, they sang the last of the Hallel Psalms
(Ps 118) and left the city, crossing the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives,
east of the city. It was before midnight.
Part V: Matthew 26:31-35 ~ The Prophecy of Peter's Denial
of the Christ
31 Then Jesus said to them, "This night all of you will
have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed'; 32 but after I have been raised
up, I shall go before you to Galilee." 33 Peter said to him in reply, "Though
all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be." 34 Jesus said to
him, "Amen, I say to you, this very night before the crock crows, you will deny
me three times." 35 Peter said to him, "Even though I should have to die with you,
I will not deny you." And all the disciples spoke likewise.
Jesus told the Apostles they would all face an ordeal. What they experienced would be a crisis of faith that included a crisis of expectation of what they understand concerning Jesus's mission. They all believed Jesus was the Messiah. They all risked their lives following Him to Jerusalem, but they still could not reconcile how the Son of God, who came to restore and redeem His people, would allow Himself to be taken captive or suffer at the hands of mere men.
In verse 31, Jesus quoted from Zechariah 13:7, referring to a prophecy that He applied to Himself in the striking down of God's Shepherd and the scattering of the Apostles in that time of crisis. The passage continued with a prophecy of God's judgment against the people who strike His shepherd, the destruction of Jerusalem that would follow, and the preservation of a faithful remnant. Zechariah's 6th century BC prophecy ended with a promise of the Lord coming in judgment with His "holy ones" at the end of the Age of Humanity.
Peter's response to Jesus's announcement that they would desert Him when He died was to bravely proclaim that, unlike the others, his faith in Jesus would never falter, and he was willing to die for Him. Likewise, in Luke's Gospel, Jesus offered encouragement to St. Peter when He told him that He prayed for him, and when Peter regained his faith, he was to take a leadership role and "strengthen his brothers" (Lk 22:32).
In verse 34, Jesus told Peter that before the "cockcrow," he would deny Jesus a significant three times (also see Mk 14:30; Lk 22:34). The "cockcrow" was a trumpet call at 3 AM that signaled the end of the third Night Watch and the beginning of the fourth and last Watch from 3-6 AM (see the chart on the division of the Jewish day). The "cockcrow" is mentioned frequently in the Mishnah as a trumpet signal and in the diaries of Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem in the 4th century AD. The 3 AM hour was when the Temple Superintendent awakened the chief priests and Levites assigned to the morning worship service to begin their duties. Those duties included ritually bathing and dressing, presenting themselves for the first drawing of lots for preparing the morning worship service, cleansing the altar in the inner courtyard of the Temple, and laying more wood for the continual altar fire (Mishnah: Yoma, 1:8; Mishnah: Tamid, 1:2). Later, it also became the signal for Christian pilgrims to assemble for early morning prayers. For example, the 4th century AD Spanish nun and Holy Land pilgrim, Egeria, frequently mentioned the " cockcrow " trumpet signal in her diary. St. Hippolytus wrote that the faithful attended cockcrow prayers in obedience to evangelical counsel. After this last exchange between Jesus and the Apostles, they reached the Mount of Olives and Jesus's appointment with His destiny that God had planned since the fall of Adam.
Part VI: Matthew 26:36-46 ~ Jesus's Agony in the Garden
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called
Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and
pray." 37 He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel
sorrow and distress. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch with me." 39 He advanced a little and fell prostrate
in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me;
yet, not as I will, but as you will." 40 When he returned to his disciples, he
found them asleep. He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for
one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak." 42 Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again,
"My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your
will be done!" 43 Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they
could not keep their eyes opened. 44 He left them and withdrew again and prayed
a third time, saying the same thing again. 45 Then he returned to his disciples
and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the
hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. 46 Get up,
let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand."
The covenant people used a lunar calendar, beginning each month with the new moon and a full moon marking the middle of the month. Since it was the night of the 15th of Nisan, Jesus and His disciples had the light of a full moon to help them travel out of Jerusalem and cross the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives. In a garden on the Mount of Olives (Jn 18:1), Jesus began to pray to the Father concerning the covenant ordeal He was about to face. A covenant ordeal is when a servant of God experiences the choice between obedience to the will of God that involves some sacrifice in opposition to one's desires or well-being. The first covenant ordeal was Adam's test in the Garden of Eden when God forbade him to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the fruit which Adam and Eve desired for the serpent's promise of godlike wisdom despite God's command. Unlike Jesus, Adam failed his test of obedience and chose to disobey God's will for his life.
37 He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and
began to feel sorrow and distress. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is
sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me."
Jesus's statement, "My soul is sorrowful," may allude
to Psalms 42-43. Psalms 42 and 43 form a single lament in three parts, with
each section ending in the identical refrain in verses 42:6, 12, and 43:5 ~ Why
are you downcast, my soul, why do you groan within me? Wait for God, whom I
shall praise again, my savior and my God.
39 He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer,
saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I
will, but as you will."
The Jewish custom of prostrating oneself when praying
(especially for penitential prayers) derives from Moses's statement concerning
his posture in his prayers in the Book of Deuteronomy (Dt 9:18). In verse 39,
Jesus petitioned the Father, saying: "My Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass from me' yet, not as I will, but as you will." Jesus is entirely
man and God. It is human nature to turn away from physical suffering. The
difficulty of the test makes Jesus's decision that much more poignant. He asked
the Father if it was within the Father's will to spare Him from the suffering that
He knew He must endure.
42 Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, "My Father,
if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be
done!"
The "cup" Jesus mentioned in His prayer (in verses 39 and 42)
is one of the reoccurring symbols of the Old Testament prophets. They used it
as an image of the covenant people and their relationship with God. Drinking the
best wine was a sign of covenant union, as in the four communal cups of the
Passover meal (also see Ps 23:5; 116:13; Is 25:6). But "the cup" was also a
symbol of divine retribution and God's judgment. Judgment images are usually
"drinking the cup of God's wrath," as in Isaiah 51:17-23 (also see references
to the cup of judgment in Ps 75:9;
Jer 25:15-29; 49:12; 51:6-7;
Ez 23:31-34;
Hab 2:16; Rev 14:10; 16:19 and 18:6). It is the same cup Jesus alluded to when
He asked James and John Zebedee if they were able to drink from His cup (Mt 20:22). In verses 39 and 42, Jesus referred to the "cup of suffering" for
covenant disobedience and apostasy that was His destiny to take on behalf of a
disobedient covenant people (see the chart "Images of the Old Testament Prophets").
Matthew 26:44 records that He made the same prayer a third time.
Jesus understood that it was God's will for Him to drink from the cup of suffering/the cup of God's wrath. Jesus came to liberate humankind from the curse of sin and death. To accomplish His mission, He had to take upon Himself the debt humanity owed for sin. He is the sinless victim offered on the altar of the Cross, drinking "the cup of God's wrath" that each of us deserves so that we might be redeemed. As St. Peter wrote, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed (1 Pt 2:24b). He drank the "cup of suffering" so we might drink the cup of His Precious Blood in the New Covenant banquet of the righteous (see Is 53:5-12; 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 4:25; Gal 3:13; Heb 2:10; 9:28; 1 Pt 2:24-25. Also see CCC 607, 612-13).
45 Then he returned to his disciples and said to
them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand
when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. 46 Get up; let us go. Look,
my betrayer is at hand."
These verses remind us that Jesus controlled His destiny as
He announced His betrayal and approaching death. The exhausted Apostles were
physically unable to stay awake, as Jesus told them earlier, "the spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mt 26:41). Jesus, in His humanity, felt
sorrow and distress concerning the ordeal He was about to face now that His "hour"
had come (Mt 26:46; Jn 12:27). However, He was willing to submit in obedience to
God's plan for humanity's salvation and to embrace the prospect of suffering as
He passed out of this world into the arms of His heavenly Father for the sake
of those He loved (Jn 13:1-2).
Jesus's "hour" refers to the completion of His mission and the appointed time of His Passion, which would result in His glorification. In His appointed "hour," Jesus would submit to the agonies of betrayal and bodily suffering, the humiliation of a trial by His Jewish countrymen, and the excruciating pain of Roman crucifixion. But His humiliating death would be transformed into the "hour" of His exaltation in His bodily resurrection from the dead as He became the "first fruits" of the Resurrection and the source of eternal life for the world (1 Cor 15:20-28).
The Gospel of John refers to Jesus' "hour" seventeen times, and Jesus directly mentions His coming "hour" ten times (Jn 2:4; 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28; 12:23, 27 (twice); 16:32; 17:1). The final countdown to His "hour" began on Wednesday of Passion Week (His last day teaching at the Temple) when Jesus declared that the "hour" of His glorification had arrived (Jn 12:23).
Part VII: Matthew 26:27-56 ~ The Betrayal and Arrest
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve,
arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from
the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 His betrayer had arranged a
sign with them, saying, "The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him." 49 Immediately
he went over to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and he kissed him. 50 Jesus
answered him, "Friend, do what you have come for." 51 Then stepping forward,
they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. And behold, one of those who
accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest's
servant, cutting off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back
into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you
think that I cannot call upon my Father, and he will not provide me at this moment
with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But then how would the scriptures
be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?" 55 At that hour
Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords
and clubs to seize me? Day after day, I sat teaching in the temple area, yet
you did not arrest me. 56 But all this has come to pass that the writings of
the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Roman soldiers led by an officer and guards from the chief priests and Pharisees led Jesus away. The chief priests were fearful of attempting to arrest Jesus during the festivities with crowds of people surrounding 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 sympatric pilgrims might be present who could try to prevent His arrest. Perhaps Judas had also reported to the chief priests that some of Jesus's men were armed (Lk 22:38).
48 His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,
"The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him." 49 Immediately he went over to
Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and he kissed him.
To greet a kinsman with a kiss was customary behavior
(Lk 7:45), but Judas's sign to Jesus's enemies in kissing Him makes his actions
even more repugnant. Notice that he called Jesus "Rabbi," a title of respect
that can mean "sir" or "teacher." Judas did not call Jesus "Messiah" or "Kyrios"
(Lord), titles that indicated more than respect. Kyrios was a title of
allegiance between Master and servant (Mt 10:24-25), a commitment Judas was
unwilling to give.
Peter attempted to defend Jesus and, using his sword, struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear (Mt 26:51, Mk 14:46-47, Lk 22:50, Jn 18:10). Jesus offered one more miracle before His arrest to bring those coming to make Him a prisoner to believe in His powers. He healed the severed ear of the high priest's servant (Lk 22:51), one last testimony of the power of the Messiah. Then, Jesus said to Peter, "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?" referring to His cup of suffering. Imagine Peter's shock. Jesus refused to protect Himself and would not allow Peter to defend Him.
53 Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and
he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come
to pass in this way?"
A "legion" is a Roman military designation for a unit of six
thousand soldiers. Jesus had the power to call twelve times that number to
assist Him, or 72,000 angels, that is 71,928 more than the 72 men of the
Sanhedrin who were preparing to sit in judgment against Him. Jesus told His
disciples and the men who came to arrest Him that His enemies did not have power
over Him. As the Son of God, He could command a host of angels, but this was how
events must unfold to fulfill God's plan foretold by the prophets. Jesus was likely
referring to Isaiah Chapter 53 but also to Zechariah 13:7, a passage that Jesus
quoted in Matthew 26:31. He would repeat what He said concerning the
fulfillment of the writings of the prophets after His resurrection when He spoke
to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and later to the Apostles in the Upper
Room (Lk 24:25-27, 44).
55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come
out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day, I
sat teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me.
The Greek word lestes can mean "robber" or "bandit." It
can also mean "revolutionary," as Flavius Josephus, the 1st century
AD Jewish priest/historian, used the word (Antiquities of the Jews, 20.8.5
[160-172]). "Revolutionary" may be the way Jesus used the term since the chief
priests feared that the people who believed Jesus was the Messiah would rebel
against Roman domination. Ironically, at Jesus's trial before Pilate, he was accused
of encouraging the Jews to revolt against Rome (Lk 23:5, 14). The man the Jewish
crowd chose to set free instead of Jesus was a lestes/revolutionary (Jn 18:40).
Jesus reassured His Apostles, saying, "But all this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled" (verse 56), repeating what He stated in verse 54. In their shock and confusion at the turn of events, all the disciples ran away, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7.
Part VIII: Matthew 26:57-68 ~ Jesus' Trial before the
Sanhedrin (Jewish High Law Court)
57 Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas
the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 Peter was
following him at a distance as far as the high priest's courtyard, and going
inside, he sat down with the servants to see the outcome. 59 The chief priests
and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus,
in order to put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false
witnesses came forward. Finally, two came forward 61 who stated, "This man
said, 'I can destroy the temple of God and within three days rebuild it.'" 62 The
high priest rose and addressed him, "Have you no answer? What are these men
testifying against you?" 63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to
him, "I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are
the Messiah, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him in reply, 'You have said so.
But I tell you: From now on you will see 'the Son of Man seated at the right hand
of the Power' and 'coming on the clouds of heaven.'" 65 Then the high priest
tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses?
You have now heard the blasphemy; 66 what is your opinion?" They said in reply,
"He deserves to die!" 67 Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some
slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you?"
The Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem was the highest judiciary and administrative authority of the covenant people (there were also local councils). According to Acts of Apostles, Pharisees and Sadducees sat on the council (Acts 23:6). The Jewish Talmud describes the Sanhedrin's function and composition in Mishnah: Sanhedrin. According to the Mishnah, the council was composed of the reigning high priest, senior chief priests, and the elders of the covenant people. They met in announced sessions within the Temple complex in the Chamber of Hewn Stones, one of the south-western chambers in the Court of the Priests (Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 11:2). There, the seventy members were led by the reigning high priest (seventy-first member) who served as the court's president. For Jesus's trial, the court did not meet in the Temple but secretly met very early in the morning, before dawn, in the privacy of the palace of High Priest Joseph Caiaphas. It was an illegal session.
58 Peter was following him at a distance as far as
the high priest's courtyard, and going inside, he sat down with the servants to
see the outcome.
The Gospel of John includes the information that Peter, and
another disciple (probably St. John Zebedee), followed Jesus and entered the courtyard
of the High Priest (Jn 18:15).
59 The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying
to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, 60 but
they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two came
forward 61 who stated, "This man said, 'I can destroy the temple of God and within
three days rebuild it.'"
The High Priest probably promised the witnesses immunity for
their false testimony since they knew the penalty for giving false statements
was death (Dt 19:16-21). But they failed to get their stories straight; St.
Mark wrote that the witness's testimony did not agree (Mk 14:56). Finally, two
men testified that Jesus threatened to destroy the Temple. St. Matthew did not
record the first Temple cleansing in John 2:19 when Jesus told the crowd, "Destroy
this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up." Either these men were
present at that event, or they heard about Jesus's claim from others. Everything
about Jesus's trial was illegal, according to Mosaic Law.
63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him,
"I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the
Messiah, the Son of God."
The High Priest, Joseph Caiaphas, challenged Jesus
concerning the testimony against Him. But Jesus remained silent in fulfillment
of Isaiah 53:7 ~ Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his
mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was
silent and opened not his mouth. Exasperated, the High Priest commanded
Jesus to answer in the name of God. Obedient to the command of the anointed
high priest, 64 Jesus
said to him in reply, "You have said so. But I tell you: From now on, you will
see 'the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power' and 'coming on the
clouds of heaven.'" Jesus only answered when put under oath before God.
Jesus quoted two significant passages from the Psalms and the book of Daniel to Caiaphas. In the second passage, Jesus used His favorite title for Himself and applied it to the Scripture passage that identified the divine Messiah as one who looks like a man:
The two quotations sealed His fate. First, Jesus identified Himself as the divine Messiah in the prophet Daniel's vision (Dan 7:13-14). And in the second quote, He had already corrected the priests on their interpretation of Psalms 110:1, telling them it referred not to David's son but to the Messiah, who is above David and is David's "Lord" (Mt 22:45).
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has
blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy;
66 what is your opinion?" They
said in reply, "He deserves to die!"
According to Mosaic Law, He who blasphemes is liable only
when he will have fully pronounced the divine Name. If witnesses proved the
blasphemy, then the judges stand on their feet and tear their clothing, and never
sew them back up (Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 7:5E). Jesus did not
technically blaspheme but claiming to be the Messiah and "making himself equal
to God" (Jn 5:18) was enough for Caiaphas, who immediately tore his robes (also
see Mk 14:63). The judges tearing their robes and the prohibition against
repairing their garments was a symbol that the offender had broken the covenant
in such a way that there could never be a restoration of his membership in the
covenant family.
Knowing that the witnesses failed to provide enough evidence to condemn Jesus after He quoted from the two prophetic passages, applying them to Himself, Caiaphas said to the council, "He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion?" In other words, the council members were now witnesses against Jesus. Addressing the court, Caiaphas asked their opinion, and in response, the members of the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus to death. They said in reply, "He deserves to die!"
67 Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some
slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you?"
Jesus's treatment fulfilled the prophecy of the abuse
suffered by God's Servant in Isaiah 50:6 and 52:14.
Part IX: Matthew 26:69-27:2 ~ Peter Denies Knowing
Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of
the maids came over to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." 70
But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, "I do not know what you are talking
about!" 71 As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those
who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazorean." 72 Again he denied it
with an oath, "I do not know the man!" 73 A little later, the bystanders came
over and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives
you away." 74 At that, he began to curse and to swear, "I do not know the man."
And immediately, a cock crowed [immediately cockcrow]. 75 Then Peter remembered
the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the cock crows [Before cockcrow], you will
deny me three times." He went out and began to weep bitterly. 27:1 When it was
morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel
against Jesus to put him to death. 2 They bound him, led him away, and handed
him over to Pilate, the governor. [...] = singular in IBGE, vol. I, page 85.
While Jesus faced His ordeal inside the palace of the High Priest, Peter faced his ordeal in the courtyard. Three times, three people in different locations questioned Peter: a young woman servant in the courtyard, a second girl at the gate, and a third time by a man in the outer court, who probably recognized Peter's Galilean accent. Suddenly Peter heard the signal of "cockcrow." The "cockcrow" Peter heard must have been the trumpet blast signaling the end of the Third Watch that was given at the Temple (Mishnah: Sukkot, 5:4; M. Yoma, 1:8) and at the Roman fortress called the Antonia. Mark's Gospel records that Jesus told Peter he would betray Him before he heard the cockcrow twice (Mk 14:30), and in the High Priest's courtyard, as Peter denied Christ the third time, Mark recorded that Peter heard the second "cockcrow" (Mk 14:72). It was 3 AM. The Romans called the trumpet blast at the end of the Third Watch the "gallicinium," in Latin, "cockcrow." Jesus named the Nigh Watch titles in Mark 13:35: evening [sunset], midnight, cockcrow, or morning [dawn].
Why was it necessary for Peter to face this ordeal? He was the first to profess Jesus as the 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 needed to experience the despair of the sinner to have enough compassion to be the kind of leader Jesus required to guide the Kingdom of His Church. If Peter only saw sinners as the weak and despised, he would not have had the love for sinners he needed to shepherd the flock of the New Covenant Church. If Christ could forgive him for his thrice-time betrayal and still love him, how could Peter deny Christ's forgiveness and the Church's love to those sinners seeking forgiveness and reconciliation?
1 When it was morning, all the chief priests and
the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. They
bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
The chief priests and elders wanted to condemn Jesus to
death, but they did not have the power to execute Him. So as soon as dawn broke,
they officially condemned Jesus and took Him to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate,
who was visiting the city from his headquarters in Caesarea Maritima. 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
when he was relieved of his duties in AD 36.
There were two reasons the Jewish leaders took Jesus to the Roman Prefect. The Sanhedrin did not have the power to condemn Jesus to death. They also didn't want to turn Him into a martyr. They needed the Roman Empire to condemn Him as a common criminal and execute Him to discredit Him with the people (Jn 19:31 and Mt 26:4). In the provinces over which the Roman state ruled; only the Romans had the power over life and death. Herod Antipas could execute St. John the Baptist because, although a Roman vassal, he directly ruled Perea and Galilee.
In the Jerusalem Temple, the chief priests were preparing for the morning liturgical worship service of the Tamid sacrifice and the compulsory Sacred Assembly on the first day of Unleavened Bread with its associated sacrifices (Num 28:17-25; see the book "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice).
At the trumpet signal of the "cockcrow," the priests began their duties. The priest assigned the task to cleanse the altar of sacrifice began his duties while his brother priests rose, bathed, and dressed in their liturgical garments (Mishnah: Tamid, 1:2). At dawn, as Jesus was sentenced to death and taken to Pilate, the unblemished male lamb of the morning Tamid was led from the Lamb Chamber and tied near the altar for everyone to see its perfection. The High Priest, Joseph Caiaphas (or his representative), inspected the lamb a final time, pronouncing it "without fault" and suitable for sacrifice, even though a priest had judged its perfection the night before (Mishnah: Tamid, 3:3-3:4). In addition to the Tamid lamb and the communal sacrifices of the first day of Unleavened Bread, the people who were in a ritually "clean" state would bring their festival communion sacrifices (Hagigah). They would eat the festival sacrifices together in groups of family and friends in the city that day. The Hagigah peace offering could not be offered or consumed by any person who had become ritually defiled (Mishnah: Pesahim, 6.3). Because of this prohibition, the chief priests and elders refused to enter Pilate's Praetorium (Jn 18:28; Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 200). John 18:28 could not have been referring to the meal of the Passover victims because they would have had time to become ritually clean again since ritual purity would have been restored at sundown before the Passover meal began. However, the Hagigah peace offering was eaten in a meal during the daytime.
Matthew 27:3-10 ~ Judas's Suicide
3 Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been
condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of
silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent
blood." They said, "What is that to us? Look to it yourself." 5 Flinging the
money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself. 6 The chief
priests gathered up the money, but said, "It is not lawful to deposit this in
the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood." 7 After consultation, they
used it to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is
why that field even today is called the Field of Blood. 9 Then was fulfilled
what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, "And they took the thirty pieces
of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of
the Israelites, 10 and they paid it out for the potter's field just as the Lord
had commanded me."
Judas loved money more than he loved Jesus, but perhaps he didn't consider that his betrayal of Jesus could lead to His death. Suddenly, he seemed to regret his actions and became concerned about the consequences of what he had done in condemning an innocent man and how it might affect his life. He tried to return the money, but he did not plead for Jesus's life. How tragic that he did not understand that the remedy for his sin was confession and penance. Both Judas and Peter betrayed Christ, but Peter returned to Jesus, and his experience strengthened him. At the end of his life, Peter would die for Christ just as he promised the night of the Last Supper (Mk 14:31). Judas, however, hung himself in his despair (Mt 27:5), and later, his rotting body fell and burst open (Acts 1:18-19).
8 That is why that field even today is called the Field
of Blood.
Ironically, the chief priests who had Jesus's blood on their
hands were worried about putting Judas's betrayal money into the Temple treasury.
So, they purchased some land from a potter as a graveyard for foreigners who
died in Jerusalem. The burial ground became known as "the Field of Blood" (referring
to Judas' blood and not to Jesus). Acts 1:19 gives the Aramaic equivalent
"Akeldama/Hakeldama."
9 Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah
the prophet, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man
with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites, 10 and they
paid it out for the potter's field just as the Lord had commanded me."
Verses 9-10 complete the ten "fulfillment statements" in St.
Matthew's Gospel (quoting from Jer 19:11 and Zech 11:12-13). The ten "fulfillment"
statements in St. Matthew's Gospel show that everything God did in the Old Testament
was part of His divine plan in preparation for the First Advent and the Passion
of the Messiah.
Jesus's Trial before the Roman Governor
Part X: Matthew 27:11-14 ~ The Members of the Sanhedrin
Take Jesus to Pilate
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned
him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." 12 And when he
was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. 13 Then Pilate
said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you? 14
But he did not answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed. 15
Now on the occasion of the feast, the governor was accustomed to release to the
crowd one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious
prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,
"Which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?"
18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they handed him over. 19 While he
was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, "Have nothing to do
with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him." 20 The
chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to
destroy Jesus. 21 The governor said to them in reply, "Which of the two do you
want me to release to you?" They answered, "Barabbas!" 22 Pilate said to them,
"Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be
crucified!" 23 But he said, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the
louder, "Let him be crucified!" 24 When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding
at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his
hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. Look
to it yourselves." 25 And the whole people said in reply, "His blood be upon us
and upon our children." 26 Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had
Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Jesus did not attempt to defend Himself, just as in His questioning by the Sanhedrin, another fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7. Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" and Jesus responded, "You say so," as He also responded in 26:25 to Judas and in verse 64 to Caiaphas. Jesus's statement of affirmation was different from how it was perceived by Caiaphas and perhaps at first by Pilate (see Jn 18:36). It appears to be an affirmation, but His response was couched in irony because neither Caiaphas nor Pilate understood what the title "king of the Jews" meant for Jesus. Although Jesus would tell Pilate that His kingdom "is not of this world" (Jn 18:36), and Pilate would believe Him. Pilate was amazed at Jesus's refusal to defend Himself, and he was surprised at Jesus's composure. He was probably used to men dissolving in hysterics and pleading for their lives. Moreover, there were political overtones to the charge that Jesus claimed to be the "Son of God" that could be construed as a challenge to the Roman emperor since Tiberius Caesar claimed to be the son of Caesar Augustus, the previous emperor deified by the Roman Senate.
The choice Pilate offered the people between freeing Jesus, the Son of God the Father, and Barabbas, whose name means "son of the father" or "father's son") is ironic. Pilate was giving them a choice between Jesus, the righteous Son of God, and a murderer, the son of a human father. It was a choice between what was good and holy and what was evil. It is the same choice men and women face every day. Pilate astutely perceived that the reason the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus executed was their jealousy/envy, even though He was a member of their Jewish covenant family (verse 18). Ironically it was the same sin that led to the first murder in salvation history, the same ugly sin that led Cain to murder his brother Abel.
19 While he was still seated on the bench, his
wife sent him a message, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I
suffered much in a dream today because of him."
The bench/bema was the Roman governor's judgment seat.
The word bema refers to the tribunal/judicial bench or raised area from
which Pilate handed down his verdicts. The name of Pilate's wife, who believed
in Jesus's innocence, according to Christian tradition, was Claudia Procula. The
Gospel of John revealed that Pilate proclaimed Jesus's innocence with the words
"I find no fault" three times (see Jn 18:38; 19:4, 6). These were the same
words that High Priest Joseph Caiaphas (or his representative) spoke when
approving the perfection of the Tamid lamb selected for the morning liturgy of
sacrifice. Ironically, in the whole unruly scene at the Praetorium, only a Gentile
man and woman had the insight to recognize Jesus's innocence.
The Jewish crowd called for the release of Barabbas, and 22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!" 23 But he said, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the louder, "Let him be crucified!" Under the influence of their religious leaders, the crowd called for Jesus's crucifixion.
24 When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but
that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the
sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. Look to it yourselves."
25 And the whole people said in reply, "His blood be upon us and upon our
children."
It was a Roman official's duty to keep order in the
Provinces and collect the taxes that made the empire prosperous. Pilate
submitted to the crowd's verdict as an act of self-preservation, but in a symbolic
act, he washed his hands as a sign that he did not concede that Jesus deserved
to die. The Jews certainly understood Pilate's symbolic act in protesting
Jesus's innocence (see Dt 21:6-9; Ps 26:6-11; Is 1:15-17).
Pilate told the crowd that Jesus's death was their responsibility, and the people answered back by uttering a curse on themselves and the next generation, accepting the responsibility for Jesus's death and, unknown to them, killing "the Lord's anointed." Ironically, Jesus prophesied that judgment for the martyrdom of all God's holy prophets would fall upon "this generation" (Mt 23:35-36). Still, Jesus did not come to inflict a curse upon His people; He came to save the "lost sheep" of Israel and to take the curses of their covenant failures upon Himself. His blood would indeed be upon them and upon their children but for the sake of their salvation.
26 Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he
had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Earlier in the trial, Pilate had Jesus scourged in an unsuccessful
attempt to satisfy the Jewish leaders so he might be able to release Him (Lk 23:22;
Jn 19:1-4). Now Pilate sent Jesus to be scourged again according to Roman
custom. The scourging of a criminal before the execution was the established
practice. The purpose of inflicting suffering was to make a deep impression on
those who witnessed it and prevent repeating the same kinds of crimes against the
state that necessitated crucifixion. Crucifixion was reserved only for foreign
criminals and never for Roman citizens.
Despite the lack of evidence, in the end, Jesus was charged with treason against the Roman state. The placard listing Jesus's crime that Pilate had the soldiers put above His head on the cross (a common practice) read "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, and ironically; it was the truth (Jn 19:19-20). The bloodthirsty crowd at Jesus's trial were probably men and women recruited by the Jewish leaders. Jesus had many supporters; He had so many that the religious leaders were afraid to arrest Jesus during the day when many people were listening to Him preach. Jesus mentioned this when He was arrested (Mt 26:55). In these early morning hours, the officers of the Sanhedrin delivered Jesus to Pilate at dawn, but He was passed back and forth between Pilate and Herod Agrippa (Lk 23:4-12). Those who believed Jesus was the Messiah were probably preparing to go to the Temple to attend the required Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:7; Num 28:18). The Temple gates opened at the third hour/9 AM.
Part XI: Mathew 27:27-32 ~ The Crown of Thorns
27 Then the soldiers of the
governor took Jesus inside the Praetorium and gathered the whole
cohort around him. 28 They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet
military cloak about him. 29 Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his
head and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him,
saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30 They spat upon him and took the reed and
kept striking him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him
of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him. 32
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed
into service to carry his cross.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the
Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him.
A cohort was composed of 600 men and formed a tenth part of
a legion. Matthew may not intend to suggest 600 men gathered around Jesus but
rather that all those men of a particular cohort, who were present in the hall,
gathered around Jesus to torment Him. They placed three objects on Jesus: a
scarlet military cloak, a crown made of thorns, and a reed. They intended to dress
Jesus like a king since His charge was sedition against the empire by claiming
to be "King of the Jews" (Mt 27:29, 37). The thorn spikes in the crown of
thorns they made for Jesus's head were probably intended to represent the
radiant crown of the emperor depicted on Roman coins and the reed to serve as a
king's scepter, a sign of royal authority. What is ironic about their cruel
treatment in dressing Jesus this way and greeting Him "Hail, King of the Jews,"
part of the traditional greeting for the Roman Emperor, was that Jesus was not
only the king of the Jews but the King of kings.
31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him
of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
Their cruel treatment included mocking Him, spitting in His
face, and striking Him. These acts recall the prophecy of God's suffering servant
by the 8th century BC prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53:1-12. That entire
passage describes Christ's Passion, but two verses that are especially close to
the suffering Jesus endured at the hands of the Roman soldiers are verses 3 and
7-8: He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to
infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held
him in no esteem (Is 53:3) ... Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before
the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned,
he was taken away (Is 53:7-8a).
In the third prophecy of His Passion, Jesus told the Apostles that the chief priests and scribes would condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, and crucified (Mt 20:17-19). The fulfillment of Jesus's prophecy once again demonstrated that He was in control of His destiny.
Those condemned to crucifixion were usually tied to a wooden crossbeam and forced to carry it to the site of their execution. Perhaps Jesus had become too weak from His scourging to carry His crossbeam the entire distance. The Roman soldiers impressed a man who was probably a Jewish pilgrim into public service. The man was Simon, a native of the city of Cyrene in North Africa, today in the modern state of Libya. St. Luke related that a large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented His fate, and that two criminals were also led away with Him.
Part XII: Matthew 27:33-44 ~ The Crucifixion
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which
means Place of the Skull, 34 they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But
when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. 35 After they had crucified him,
they divided his garments by casting lots; 37 then they sat down and kept watch
over him there. 37 And they placed over his head the written charge against
him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. 38 Two revolutionaries were crucified
with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 39 Those passing by reviled
him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who would destroy the Temple and
rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come
down from the cross!" 41 Likewise, the chief priests with the scribes and
elders mocked him 42 and said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he
is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will
believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him.
For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 The revolutionaries who were crucified
with him also kept abusing him in the same way.
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha
(which means Place of the Skull)
Golgotha is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic name of
the crucifixion site called gulgulta, meaning "skull." The identification
of the place as Golgotha appears in Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, and John 19:17.
Matthew 27:32 and Mark 15:21 state the site was outside the walls of Jerusalem;
the Gospel of John says it is near the city (Jn 19:20). We know it was close
enough to the city for the on-lookers to read the trilingual plaque that Pilate
ordered placed on Jesus's cross, probably as they looked down upon the scene of
His crucifixion from the top of the city wall. Excavations beneath the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher revealed burials that were centuries older than when Jesus
was crucified, which suggests that the name "skull" was given to the site
because it was an ancient graveyard.
34 they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But
when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
In the Temple that morning, the unblemished male
Tamid lamb was led from the chamber called the Lamb Office to the site of its execution
near the altar. The Tamid lamb was a communal sacrifice for the atonement and
sanctification of the covenant people: They gave the lamb, which was to be
the daily whole offering, a drink from a golden cup (Mishnah: Tamid, 3:4B).
The soldiers offered the prisoners wine mixed with myrrh to dull the pain (Mk 15:23). The historicity of the Gospel account is confirmed by the 1st AD century historian, Flavius Josephus, who recorded that the wealthy women of Jerusalem provided wine mixed with narcotics for those destined for crucifixion. But according to Matthew, the Roman soldiers continued their abuse of Jesus by mixing gall into the treated wine. Gall is a bitter discharge from the liver or gall bladder, but it can also refer to any bitter substance or even poison. That Matthew includes this information may be an allusion to the fulfillment of Psalm 69:22: Instead, they put gall in my food; for my thirst, they gave me vinegar. "Vinegar" was cheap red wine. The Roman soldier would offer Jesus cheap wine/vinegar to drink just before He surrendered His life (Mt 27:48, Jn 19:28-30). Jesus only tasted the doctored wine but did not drink it. This action may be to further connect Jesus's perfect sacrifice with the sacrifice of the morning Tamid lamb at the Temple that received a drink before its death. The Tamid was a sacrifice that had, for centuries, prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus as the true Tamid, the "standing" (as in continual) Lamb of sacrifice (Rev 5:6).
St. Mark is the only Gospel writer who recorded the time the soldiers nailed Jesus to the Cross: It was the third hour [9 AM] when they crucified him (Mk 15:25). The "third hour" Jewish time was also when the hour of the sacrifice of the morning Tamid lamb in the Temple worship service. A priest slit its throat, collected its blood, and splashed it against the sacrificial altar as the Levites blew their silver trumpets, and the Temple doors opened for the morning worship service (Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 108). That morning was a compulsory Sacred Assembly, and all religious Jews attended the Temple liturgy, including the majority of Jesus's supporters who had no idea about the events unfolding at Golgotha. As Jesus was suffering on the cross, the morning liturgy of the Tamid lamb continued in the Temple.
35 After they had crucified him, they divided his
garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
It was the custom for the soldiers overseeing executions to divide
the possession of the condemned. The Roman soldiers "kept watch" over Jesus and
the other two men to prevent any attempt to rescue them. Psalm 22,
written by Jesus's ancestor King David in the 10th century BC, recounts
David's sufferings, but it is also an accurate description of Jesus's
crucifixion long before the Persians invented crucifixion as a form of capital
punishment. Included in Psalm 22 is the prediction that lots would be cast for
Jesus's garments, an event that was not part of David's history. In verses
16-18, David wrote: 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. 18 They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture (clothes),
they cast lots. In John 19:23-24, we read that Jesus's tunic was seamless,
woven from one piece of cloth. It was obviously expensive so the soldiers cast
lots to see which one would possess it. The Gospel of John recorded that this
was to fulfill Psalm 22:18. Jesus's seamless tunic recalls the tunic of the anointed
High Priest of Israel (Ex 28:1-5; Lev 21:10), which, according to Josephus, was
seamless (Antiquities of the Jews, 3.7.4 [161]; The Jewish Wars, 5.5.7
[231]) and only worn during a liturgical service in the Temple (Ezek 42:14).
It is significant that Jesus wore the seamless garment of a high priest at both the Last Supper and His crucifixion. It implies that both events were liturgical worship services at which Jesus officiated as the New Covenant High Priest of the sacred meal and the sacrifice (Heb 8:1-2). 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 and sanctification of all people. In the ritual meal of the Passover victim on the night of 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 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.
37 And they placed over his head the written
charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
It was a common Roman practice to post the crime and name of
the condemned man. Such a plaque was called in Greek a titulus. Pilate ordered
the wording of the sign, much to the displeasure of the chief priests. St. John
wrote that the inscription was in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek and could be read by
the crowds (Jn 19:20).
38 Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one
on his right and the other on his left.
All four Gospels agree that Jesus was between two criminals
(also see Mk 15:27, Lk 23:33, Jn 19:18). With Jesus situated 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 on a hill with
outstretched arms between Aaron and Hur in Israel'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 had cosmic and eternal
implications.
Psalm 22:1a reads: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? It was Jesus's first statement from the Cross. Jesus's quote from Psalm 22:1 is not, as some have wrongly interpreted, a cry of utter despair and hopelessness; far from it. If one reads the entire Psalms 22, David's cry of distress ends in a shout of joy, and his confidence that God heard his prayer, would rescue him from his enemies, and future generations would hear of his deliverance. Such psalms are called Toda psalms (the Hebrew word toda/todah means "thanks" or "thanksgiving"). Again, it is also important to note that this psalm, attributed to David and therefore written sometime in the early 11th century BC, describes a crucifixion centuries before the Persians invented this form of capital punishment.
39 Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads 40 and
saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save
yourself, if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!" 41 Likewise,
the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, 42 "He saved
others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down
from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; let him
deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
The actions of Jesus's tormentors in these verses are also
described in Psalm 22: All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and
jeer; they shake their heads at me. "You relied on the LORD [Yahweh], let him
deliver you if he loves you, let him rescue you" (verses 8-9). The scene in
Matthew 27:39-42 and the hostility against Jesus by the chief priests, Pharisees,
and elders also recall the condemnation of the righteous by the wicked described
in Wisdom 2:12-13, 16a-20.
43b The revolutionaries who were crucified with him
also kept abusing him in the same way.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke mention the two men crucified
on either side of Jesus (Mk 15:27, 32; Lk 23:33, 39-43), but Luke records the
change of heart of the man to Jesus's right (Lk 23:39-43).
Part XIII: Matthew 27:45-56 ~ The Death of the Redeemer-Messiah
45 From noon [the sixth hour] onward, darkness came over
the whole land until three in the afternoon [the ninth hour]. 46 And about
three o'clock [the ninth hour] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli, eli, lema
sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken [abandoned]
me?" 47 Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "This one is calling for
Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine,
and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, "Wait,
let us see if Elijah comes to save him." 50 But Jesus cried out again in a loud
voice and gave up his spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn
in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, 52 tombs were
opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And
coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city
and appeared to many. 54 The centurion and the men with him who were keeping
watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was
happening, and they said, "Truly, this was the Son of God!" 55 There were many
women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering
to him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph,
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
[...] = literal translation IBGE, vol.
IV, pages 88-89.
While the Gospels of Matthew and Mark mention the total darkness that began at the 6th-hour Jewish time (noon our time), St. Luke identified the darkness as a total eclipse of the sun: It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened (IBGE, Vol. IV, page 242, Lk 23:44-45). The eclipse of the sun is a miracle that some coincidence of nature cannot explain away. It lasted from noon to the ninth hour, 3 PM our time. The liturgical calendar was lunar, and the day of Jesus's crucifixion on the 15th of Nisan was during a full moon cycle: And this feast is begun on the fifteenth day of the month in the middle of the month, on the day on which the moon is full of light, in consequence of the providence of God taking care that there shall be no darkness on that day (Philo, Special Laws II, 155). Total or partial eclipses do not occur during full moon cycles, and they only last for minutes, not hours. Both Christian and non-Christian writers recorded the phenomena.
This cosmic event and its aftermath fulfilled the prophecy of the 8th century BC prophet Amos: On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations. I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth and make every head bald. I will make them mourn as for an only son and bring their day to a bitter end (Amos 8:9-10; underlining added). It was a sign of affliction and mourning in the ancient Near East to wear sackcloth and to shave one's head (Is 15:2, Jer 7:29, Mic 1:16).
As Jesus suffered on the altar of the Cross, the Temple was in darkness, but the liturgical ceremony and sacrifices for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread continued by the light of the altar fire. At noon, the beginning of the eclipse, the second lamb of the Tamid sacrifice was led out and tired near the altar before it was inspected one last time by the High Priest, Joseph Caiaphas. Declared "without fault," it received a final drink (Mishnah: Tamid, 3:4B; 4:1). This may be the point at which the Roman soldier offered Jesus a second drink (Lk 23:35-36); the first offer of a drink was before He was crucified (Mt 27:34-35; Mk 15:23-24). You may recall that Pilate declared Jesus "without fault" three times (Jn 18:38; 19:4, 6).
46 And about three o'clock [the ninth-hour Jewish time] Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, Eli, eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God,
my God, why have you forsaken [abandoned] me?"
Jesus's last four statements come very close together. It was
about three in the afternoon. Verse 46 was Jesus's fourth statement from the
Cross. St. Matthew recorded what Jesus said in Hebrew either to draw His Jewish
audience to the passage in the Hebrew Scriptures of Psalm 22:1a or because this
is one element retained from his Gospel originally written in Hebrew (Irenaeus,
Against Heresies, 3.1.1). St. Mark recorded Jesus's statement in Aramaic,
which Jesus would have spoken aloud (Mk 15:34).
47 Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "This one is
calling for Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it
in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said,
"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him."
The crowd mistook the words "Eloi," "my God," for the name of
the prophet Elijah, who they evidently recalled was prophesied to be a precursor
to the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah (Mal 3:23/4:5). They may have also remembered
the passage in Malachi 3:1 about God's messenger, who would "prepare the way" by
suddenly coming to the Temple, which Jesus did in His Temple cleansings.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John record that Jesus received a final drink of wine. However, only the Gospel of John mentions that Jesus requested the drink, saying, "I thirst" (Jn 19:28). A Roman soldier extended the wine to Him on a hyssop branch, and Jesus said: "It is fulfilled!" These are the same last words as those of the host of the Passover meal after the assembled guests drank from the Fourth Cup, the Cup of Acceptance; this cup was not passed at Jesus's Last Supper.
50 But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and gave up
his spirit.
When Jesus willingly gave up His life, He breathed out His
spirit/life force upon the earth just as in the first Creation event when the
divine ruah, the "breath/spirit" of God, swept across the face of the
earth (Gen 1:2). This moment was the beginning of the New Creation event!
In the offering up of His perfect sacrifice, Jesus came into His Kingdom. What He spoke of figuratively in His agony in the garden of Gethsemane was now symbolically fulfilled. Jesus drank the wine of God's wrath and the wine of the Fourth Cup of the ritual meal that He did not pass at the Last Supper, signifying the acceptance of the continuance of the covenant with Yahweh. Everything was "fulfilled," as He promised in Matthew 5:17-18 and announced in John 19:28. Therefore, He accepted on behalf of all people the cup that sealed the covenant with God in a New and Eternal Covenant, offering humanity the purification of sins through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1:29). Through His Passion, Jesus paid in full the debt of humanity's sin, and the New Covenant, inaugurated in the sacrificial blood of the Christ the Lamb, became the Eucharistic Cup of Acceptance for the restoration of fellowship with God in the New Covenant Church. Jesus willingly gave up His spirit for the sake of humanity and for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, which became the vehicle to lead all members of the human family to salvation.
The Synoptic Gospel accounts agree that it was at the ninth-hour Jewish time, or three in the afternoon (Roman and modern time), that Jesus died. At the Temple, it was the same hour as the sacrifice of the second Tamid lamb (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.3[65]). Jesus's death on the altar of the Cross, offering up to the Father in a single perfect sacrifice of His humanity and divinity, had been uniquely prefigured in the centuries-old Tamid ("standing/continual") sacrifice, the single sacrifice of two unblemished male lambs in a morning and evening (our afternoon) liturgical worship service since the time of the formation of the covenant at Mount Sinai (Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:4-8). See the book, "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice."
51 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from
top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split
There were two "veils" in the Temple. One covered the entrance
to the Temple's Holy Place, and the second inner veil separated the Holy Place
from the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was where God's presence resided amid
His people and was the sacred space that linked the heavenly and earthly Sanctuaries
(Ex 25:8, 40;
Ex 26:31-35; 35:12; 39:34;
Lev 24:3; 2 Chr 3:14). In verse 51, Matthew
was referring to the inner veil. The word "veil" gives the wrong impression of
this barrier. It was a textile that hung from a height of about 30 feet and was
the thickness of a man's hand. Since the sin of the Golden Calf (Ex 32), only
the anointed High Priest had access to the Holy of Holies once a year on the Feast
of Atonement/Yom Kippur (Lev 16:1-18).
At the ninth hour (three in the afternoon), as Jesus gave up His life on the altar of the Cross, the assigned chief priests entered the Holy Place as soon as the sacrifice of the afternoon Tamid lamb at God's sacrificial altar. They had two duties: the first was trimming the wicks of the Menorah's (lampstand's) oil lamps. The second was to remove ashes on the Altar of Incense left from the morning service. The Altar of Incense stood in front of the veil covering the Holy of Holies. The incense altar had to be clean in preparation for burning incense at the end of the afternoon liturgy. Imagine the shock of the chief priests as the earth shook, and the veil was torn as though by invisible hands from top to bottom (Mt 27:51). The ripping of the veil symbolized that God had accepted His Son's perfect sacrifice for the sins of humanity and was giving humanity access to the holiest place, the heavenly Sanctuary, barred to humankind since the Fall of Adam. Christ conquered the serpent and became the promised Mediator between humans and God (Gen 3:15, CCC 536 and 1026). These were the signs the prophets predicted in the coming of the Final Age of Humanity (see Ps 68:9; 77:19; Mt 24:7-8).
52 tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who
had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And coming forth from their tombs after his
resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Only Matthew recorded the appearance of saints in association
with Jesus's resurrection. This event is the first sign of faith in the
liberation of the dead by Christ's descent into Sheol/Hades
(see 1 Pt 3:19-20; 4:16; CCC 633). We do not know what became of these saints, but it was an event
Jesus prophesied in John 5:25-28. We do not know if they continued to live out
their lives on earth as a reminder of the Resurrection and as an encouragement
to the fledgling New Covenant Church like the resurrected Lazarus (Jn 11:38-44;
12:1-2), or perhaps they ascended to the Father with Jesus forty days later. For
the Jews, the "resurrection of the righteous ones" was a sign of the Last Age
and the Messianic Era (see Is 26:19, Ezek 37:1-14, Dan 12:2-3). For Christians,
this event prefigured the promise of a bodily resurrection when Christ returns.
It is also evidence that the effect of Jesus's resurrection changed the whole
balance of nature. He came to redeem humanity from the effects of sin, but He
also came to redeem the natural world, which had been wounded, like humanity, by
the corrupting power of sin. That is why, in His Second Advent, all creation
will become transformed into the new Heaven and new earth (see 1 Thess 4:16,
Rev 21:1-4).
54 The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch
over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was
happening, and they said, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"
The declaration of the Roman officer and his men prefigures
the beginning of the evangelization of the Gentiles. Those men were among
the first Gentiles to publicly proclaim Jesus "the Son of God." They may not
have completely understood what they were saying, but it would be a declaration
they would carry, along with Jesus's disciples, into the Gentile nations of the
earth.
55 There were many women there, looking on from a distance,
who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. 56 Among them were Mary
Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons
of Zebedee.
According to the Gospel of John, the only male disciple at
the Cross was the "beloved disciple," whom the Church Fathers identify as St.
John Zebedee. Isn't it ironic that it was the women who stayed with Christ to
the end? Jesus would reward them for their faithfulness. A woman, Mary
Magdalene, would be the first disciple to see the Resurrected Christ. Including
the Virgin Mary, eight women disciples are named in the Gospels.
It is important to remember that the Jews collectively are not responsible for Jesus's death. No human agency had power over Jesus. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "The Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus's death: The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. The personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence, we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles' calls to conversion after Pentecost. Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept 'the ignorance' of the Jews of Jerusalem and even their leaders. Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: "His blood be on us and on our children!" a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence. As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council: 'Neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion.... The Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from Holy Scripture.' All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion" (CCC# 597).
Part XIV: Matthew 27:57-61 ~ Jesus's Burial
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from
Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate
and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. 59 Taking
the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen 60 and laid it [in] his new tomb
that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance
to the tomb and departed. 61 But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained
sitting there, facing the tomb. 62 The next day, the one following the day of
preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and
said, "Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, 'After three
days, I will be raised up." 64 Give orders, then, that the grave be secured
until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the
people, 'He has been raised from the dead.' This last imposture would be worse
than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "The guard is yours; go, secure it as
best you can." 66 So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the
stone and setting the guard.
St. Mark included the information that Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin and that the day Jesus died was Preparation Day (Friday) for the coming Saturday Sabbath (Mk 15:42-43). The day became the Sabbath at sundown; therefore, Jesus's body was removed from the Cross before sunset following Mosaic Law (Dt 21:22-23). Placing Jesus's body in the rich man's tomb fulfilled Isaiah 53:9 in the Septuagint translation: And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich of his death; for he practiced no iniquity, nor craft with his mouth.
Jesus's disciples wrapped His body in a clean linen shroud, which many Christians believe is the Shroud of Turin (Mk 15:46; Lk 23:53; Jn 19:40). There was no mention of washing Jesus's body in any of the Gospel accounts, which was the typical practice in a natural death (see Acts 9:37). Not washing Jesus's body was following Jewish customs for one who died a violent death since the blood, which gives life, must not be removed from the corpse. That is still the practice in Israel today for those killed by suicide bombers. The Shroud of Turin, believed to be Jesus's burial shroud, not only has the negative image of a man who died from crucifixion, but the victim's blood is on the Shroud. However, even a victim of violent death would have his body prepared with herbs and spices, as was the case with Jesus's body (Jn 12:7; 19:40). The Shroud of Turin has evidence of this practice. Scientists discovered pollen from several plants that grow in and around Jerusalem on the Shroud.
Mary Magdalene and Mary (the mother or sister of James and Joseph) watched over the tomb's location. At sundown, it became the Saturday Sabbath, which was also the Great/High Sabbath of the holy week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Jn 19:31). The presence of the guards and the officially sealed tomb, which the chief priests demanded, only served as more proof that Jesus's Resurrection the next day would be a supernatural event.
Catechism References for the readings (* indicates Scripture
quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Commemoration of the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem:
The Procession:
Antiphon Matthew 21:9 (CCC 439*)
Gospel Matthew 21:1-11 (CCC 559*);
21:9 (CCC 439*)
Antiphon Psalm 24:6 (CCC 2582);
24:7-10 (CCC 559);
24:8-10 (CCC 269);
24:9-10 (CCC 2628)
The Mass Readings:
Isaiah 50:4-7 (CCC 713*);
50:4 (CCC 141*)
Philippians 2:6-11 (CCC 2641*, 2667*);
2:5-8 (CCC 461);
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 449*, 2812);
2:9-10 (CCC 434);
2:10-11 (CCC 201*);
2:10 (CCC 633*, 635)
Gospel Reading Matthew 26:17-29 (CCC 1339*);
26:20 (CCC 610*);
26:26 (CCC 1328, 1329*);
26:28 (CCC 545, 610, 613, 1365, 1846, 2839*);
26:29 (CCC 1403);
26:31 (CCC 764*);
26:26-44 (CCC 2849*);
26:38 (CCC 363*);
26:39 (CCC 536*, 612);
26:40 (CCC 2719*);
26:41 (CCC 2733, 2846*);
26:42 (CCC 612*);
26:52 (CCC 2262);
26:53 (CCC 333*, 609*);
26:54 (CCC 600*);
26:64-66 (CCC 591*);
26:64 (CCC 443*);
26:66 (CCC 596)
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 © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.