Matthew 21.1-11; Isaiah 50.4-7; Philippians 2.6-11; Matthew 26.14—27.66 or 27.11-54
Officials and bystanders mocked Jesus. “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel. Let’s see him come down from that cross, then we will believe in him. Even the insurgents crucified with him kept taunting him the same way. From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until midafternoon. About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud tone. “Eli, lema sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?”
A bystander commented, “He is invoking Elijah!” Another ran off, got a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and putting it on a stick, gave it to Jesus to drink. The crowd wanted to see whether Elijah came to his rescue. Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and gave up his spirit (Matthew 27.41-50).
Jesus’ passion is the reverse of the kingly life to which the devil tempted him early in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus does not jump off the temple to be caught by angels; on the contrary temple representatives and religious leaders successfully seek his death. Jesus does not rule the world, rather he is subject to the representative of Caesar, the Roman governor who knows he is innocent but allows him to be put to death.
The events of the passion test and manifest Jesus’ love for God, for the world, for his friends, and for the community that still gathers in his name. Jesus endures not only the pain and shame of crucifixion but one friend’s betrayal, another’s denial, and God’s seeming abandonment.
What has Jesus’ passion meant to you? When have you found Jesus with you in times of betrayal or suffering or seeming abandonment?
