The story of the Passion
The story of the Passion
The elements of the Passion story are these:
- The Last Supper
- The agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
- The arrest of Jesus after his betrayal by Judas
- The examination and condemnation of Jesus by the Jews
- The trial before Pilate during which Jesus is sentenced to be whipped and crucified
- The crucifixion of Jesus
The Last Supper
Jesus and the disciples share a last meal together either during Passover (Synoptic Gospels) or on the eve of Passover (John's Gospel).
The Last Supper was a Passover meal ©
During the meal Jesus blesses and breaks bread, which he gives to the disciples saying "Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me".
After the meal Jesus blesses some wine and gives it to the disciples saying "Drink ye all of this; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me".
This event is the foundation of the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, which includes services such as Holy Communion, Mass, The Lord's Supper. Although different Christian denominations have many different ways of celebrating the Eucharist, and understand it in different ways, they all developed from the Last Supper.
During the meal Jesus predicts that he will be betrayed by one of those sharing the meal with him, and that another of the disciples will disown him.
The agony in the Garden
After supper Jesus goes with the disciples to spend the night in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus asks God if he can escape his fate..."Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
Despite this prayer he willingly submits to God's will and continues to prepare himself. God sends an angel to give Jesus strength for the ordeal.
Jesus continues to pray and his distress is such that 'his sweat was like drops of blood'.
The disciples who Jesus asked to wait with him fell asleep; even his closest friends left him to suffer alone.
Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested
Judas betrayed Jesus by kissing him ©
A group of armed men, sent by the Jewish authorities, arrives in the Garden to arrest Jesus.
Judas betrays Jesus by identifying him with a kiss - the signal he had arranged beforehand.
Peter, one of the disciples, takes a sword and cuts off the ear of one of the arresting party. The disciple believes that he is trying to protect Jesus, but by doing so he abandons Jesus' teaching against violence.
Jesus forbids further violence and heals the injured man.
The disciples run away and Jesus is taken away.
Jesus is tried by Jewish officials
Jesus is questioned in front of a group of Jewish religious leaders. The Gospels give different accounts of this, and of who is present.
Caiaphas, the Chief Priest of the Temple wanted to destroy Jesus before he caused a rebellion that would bring down the comfortable world of the Temple and enraging the Roman authorities.
During questioning Jesus says enough for the Romans to see him as a rebel, and the Jews to regard him as a blasphemer.
The trial of Jesus before the Jewish authorities is a source of much controversy, and has been used in the past to justify anti-Semitism.
Modern Christians do not blame the Jews for the death of Jesus.
The Jewish authorities had several reasons for being angry with Jesus:
- Jesus had challenged their authority - earlier in the week Jesus had gone to the Temple and protested against the moneychangers, as a symbolic denunciation of all the injustices the Temple stood for.
- Jesus was reinterpreting Jewish Law
- Jesus was breaking the laws concerning the Sabbath
- Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, a claim which the authorities thought blasphemous
- The claim to be Messiah suggested that Jesus was preparing some sort of rebellion - probably against the Roman colonial government. Such a revolt would endanger the relationship between Roman and Jewish authorities. (In those days the Messiah was expected to be a royal figure who would defeat the enemies of God and cleanse or rebuild the temple, and perhaps also bring God's justice to the world.)
Jesus is tried by Pilate
Jesus is tried by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, on a charge of treason. The Jewish authorities were not authorised to execute people, so they needed to transfer the case to the Roman authorities.
Pilate is not convinced that Jesus is guilty of a capital crime and suggests that it would be sufficient to flog him.
The crowd objects to this and demands that Jesus be killed. Pilate gives in and sentences Jesus to be flogged first and then executed by crucifixion.
Although the Gospels paint Pilate as a weak man who ignores justice rather than stand against the crowd, other sources say that he was tough and authoritarian, and unlikely to have been pushed around by anyone.
Purple was a royal colour, so the robe and crown mocked the claim that Jesus was King of the Jews ©
Pilate was eventually ordered back to Rome and tried for the cruel way he treated the people under his government.
There is a Christian tradition that Pilate and his wife eventually converted to Christianity.
The crucifixion
Jesus is whipped and then, to mock the claim that he is 'King of the Jews', given a crown of thorns and dressed in a purple robe. Jesus carries his cross to the place of crucifixion, helped by Simon of Cyrene.
The crucifixion takes place at a location called Calvary or Golgotha.
Jesus is stripped and nailed to the Cross. Above his head is placed a sign that says 'King of the Jews'. Two criminals are crucified alongside him.
After some hours the soldiers check that Jesus is dead by stabbing him in the side. Blood and water gush out.
Jesus' body is taken down and buried.