The Passion Reread
There is one aspect of the Passion Narratives that we do not tire repeating: that it is the result of the meditation of the early Church on the death of Christ in the light of the Resurrection. Without the experience of the Resurrection, the death of Jesus is a disappointing story, a tragedy, even the heroic tale of one who dared to dream an impossible dream. But the Resurrection changed the understanding of the first followers of Jesus who began -- in the light of that experience -- to understand the event of Good Friday's Cross as something salvific. In the light of the Resurrection then, they reread the events leading to the Resurrection backwards, that is, first, from the last supper until the burial, and then later the ministry of Jesus beginning with the baptism at the Jordan. This rereading involved the examination of Scriptures, but chiefly through those that were prayed, the psalms, and those read in the synagogues, the law and the prophets. The account of the suffering and death of Jesus therefore is the oldest layer of the gospel tradition. It was due to its incorporation into Mark's gospel that the historical narrative of Jesus' suffering and death has survived the centuries.
The passion of Jesus, originally existing in oral tradition was a response to a question raised on the basis of Deuteronomy 21:23 "cursed of God is one who hangs on a tree". Jesus' resurrection shows him to have been vindicated and therefore not cursed. Christian meditation on the cross of the Risen Lord resulted into a proclamation of the Paschal Mystery enriched by a new understanding of the Aqedah (the binding of Isaac, Gen. 22), Messianic psalms foretelling of a king who suffers but is later on raised to glory (cf. Psalm 8; 110) Servant passages in Isaiah, the story and words of Jeremiah the persecuted prophet and the prayers of the innocent and suffering man (e.g. Psalm 22 and 69). As it now appears in the gospel of Mark, the account not only describes the last moments of Jesus before his death, but also thematically presents the judgment of his disciples, the Jews and their leaders and Pilate, the Roman emperor's representative.
The Agony in the Garden and the Arrest (Mk. 14:32-52)
After the account of the last Supper, Jesus and his disciples go to Gethsemane, an orchard located in the Mount of Olives (14:26) where, as Luke adds, Jesus used to to go (Lk. 22:39). In the accounts of the Passion, two things are associated with the place: Jesus' struggle to make his own the will of God and his arrest. The first one is intertwined with the account of the "sleepiness" of the disciples while the second one is identified with the betrayal of a friend. In both these instances, Jesus' friends and disciples display their weakness in this dark hour while Jesus himself is handed over to the will of men, to do as they pleased. A symbol of this failed discipleship is given in the picture of a young man who runs away from the scene naked. The young man could have been Mark himself, a young boy at the time following Jesus' group at night in his bed clothes, and almost getting caught along with the others in the garden. But in prophetic language, a young man running away naked is a symbol of total defeat (cf. Amos 2:16). For young Mark and the other disciples, the victory of the Resurrection will restore them to the grace of discipleship. The following of Jesus is not something that one can carry out by one's own righteousness, as Paul would say. It is a gift that only the Risen Lord can give.
The Trial Before the Sanhedrin (Mk. 14:53-72)
The Christian rereading of the passion of the Lord also involved a review of the trial before the Sanhedrin. The fact that Jesus resurrected is in itself also a judgment on the process that led to his condemnation. Thus the irregularities of the trial before the Sanhedrin are also pointed out in the account of the passion: the hurried trial at night, the lack of two agreeing witnesses, the haste with which charges were prepared at dawn. In all these, Jesus appears as the lamb led to slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). At this point in the narrative of the Synoptics, Peter's denial is also highlighted. At the moment when Jesus is condemned, Peter who was just outside the area where the trial took place, denied his Lord three times. And what makes it worse is that he denied Jesus before a woman. Like the betrayal of Judas in the garden, the denial of Peter is presented in Mark (as well as in the parallel gospels) as a picture of failed discipleship. He who was closely associated with the Lord and the one who acknowledged him to be Messiah shows his weakness at the moment when his loyalty was required. For him, as well as for the other disciples, reconfirmation in the discipleship will be experienced as a gift from the Resurrected Lord.
The Trial Before Pilate (Mk. 15:1-15)
After the trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus is whisked early in the morning to Pilate. The purpose was for the death sentence to be imposed on him, a sentence that only Rome can give. But while the Sanhedrin had condemned Jesus for blasphemy (14:64), the charge laid before Pilate was treason. In Luke's version (23:2) the concrete charges given were: Jesus' inciting to rebellion and proclaiming himself Messiah. Pilate could not get a confirmation from Jesus himself and finding the accussed not guilty, tried to get around the pressure laid on him by the Jewish religious leaders by invoking the custom of releasing a prisoner during a feast. Thus, Pilate presented Jesus before the crowd with Barabbas, one in prison -- according to Luke -- because of murder and insurrection. Barabbas means "Son of his father". Thus, two sons were presented to the crowds. According to Mark, the chief priests "incited" the crowd to pick the rebel and murderer and succeeded. Thus, although it was Jesus who was brought for trial for rebellion, it was really the crowd and their religious leaders who showed their true color: they were the ones who wanted to rebel.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus (Mk. 15:16-20)
At the wish of the crowd, Pilate handed over Jesus to the soldiers for crucifixion. But before carrying out the sentence, the soldiers had fun with the condemned. This latter was not part of the sentence; it was an addition. Mark does not "dramatize" his account here; he simply describes what was done. Mark mentions the scourging (15:15b) followed by the mockery of the soldiers (15:16-20) inside their own private place, the Praetorium. They had their "own thing" with Jesus before following their orders. Jesus who entered Jerusalem some days before and acclaimed as Messiah (the cries for "Hosanna!" is a cry for deliverance directed to one who is seen as savior) is treated as a mock king by Roman soldiers. This mockery of Jesus' messiahship will be reflected on the charge that will be posted on his cross.
Golgotha (Mk. 15:21-32)1
In Mark, there is no protracted journey to Calvary, as in Luke. There is however the mention of a certain Simon of Cyrene who was conscripted to carry Jesus cross. When Mark mentions anyone by name in his gospel, it is because when the gospel was first read, those named were still alive. Thus, the mention of the sons of Simon of Cyrene, Alexander and Rufus was not casual -- these were known to the gospel's first audience, and indirectly presented as witnesses who can be asked for further information.
The account of the last hours of Jesus shows him as one who drank the Father's cup to the dregs: he refused the anesthetic given to him (wine mixed with myrrh), crucified , mocked not only by passersby but also by two others who were crucified with him, while below him, soldiers cast lots for his clothes.
Marks's account of the mockery of Jesus on the cross begins with the mention of the charge above his head: "The King of the Jews". Then the words of the passersby and the chief priests and scribes are recorded. The first group allude to the accussation during the trial before the Sanhedrin that Jesus had said he would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Those who do not know better understand it to be the boasting of one who ascribes to himself a power above that of God, thus it is followed up by the challenge "save yourself and come down from the cross." The group of the chief priests and scribes refer to Jesus' ability to cure people miraculously. They also challenge him to come down from the cross that they may believe. Both challenges ask for a show of power that would demonstrate in a convincing way the claim that Jesus is the Messiah. "The Jews ask for a sign (1 Cor. 1:22)" Paul would later on write, and they were given a sign of power in the weakness of the crucified, "a stumbling block to the Jews" (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23-24).
The Death of Jesus (Mk. 15:33-41)
Jesus hung on the cross from the third hour2 to the ninth hour, that is from 9 AM to 3 PM. Before he expires on the cross, he utters the first line of Psalm 22: "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" It was the evening prayer of a Jew. The first part of Psalm 22 expresses the utter desolation of a just man in a moment of difficulty. This first part has been alluded to early in Mark's gospel, where mention is made of the wild animals who were with Jesus in the desert. This first part also contains elements that resonate with what a bystander would have seen when Jesus was crucified: the pounding of nails (17b-18a), the casting of lots over the condemned man's clothes (19), the mockery (7-9). The second part of the psalm however is a cry of deliverance (vv. 23-32) and announces the vindication of the just man.
Jesus' Galilean accent and the difficulty of pronunciation brought about by the crucified's belabored gasping for air rendered the line from Psalm 22 difficult to understand. The bystanders hear the name of Elijah called. For the reader of Mark's gospel, the mention of Elijah would have recalled to memory the event of the Transfiguration, where the disciples were given a preview of the glory of the Resurrection. Thus, the prayer of Jesus on the cross, and the mention of Elijah anticipate the Resurrection.
When Jesus dies, Mark gives us a terse description: "and with a loud cry, he breathed his last". This last act from the Crucified receives two responses: the veil of the Holy of Holies is torn down from top to bottom and a centurion acknowledges him as "Son of God." It must be recalled that at Jesus' baptism, Mark records that the heavens were torn open and from the heavens, the Spirit came down and the Father's voice was heard. With the tearing of the Temple veil -- the one that separated the holiest part of the Temple from the rest of the world -- the opening in the heavens is now matched by an opening on earth. Henceforth, there will no longer be any barrier between man and God, whether in heaven or on earth. Paul will add that with the death of Christ, the barrier that divided Jews from Greeks has been taken away (Eph. 2:16).
If one looks for a voice that sounds of rebellion against Rome in the gospel of Mark, one would find it in the cry of the crowds for Barabbas and in the centurion who calls Jesus "Son of God". "Divi filius" was the title of the Cesars after Augustus. The centurion's confession lends voice to the belief of Christians regarding the Crucified: that it was on the Cross that he showed himself obedient to the Father and because of it received "the Name above every other Name" (cf. Phil. 2:9-10).
The Burial of Jesus (Mk. 15:42-47)
Mark 15:42-47 describes what happens to Jesus' body after the crucifixion, but we are also told other things about Jesus' death and the people around him. First, we are told that a member of the Sanhedrin -- Joseph of Arimathea -- asked for his body. He is described "existentially" as one who awaited the kingdom of God. We are told that it was this Joseph who had Jesus' body taken down from the cross, wrapped in linen cloth and lay in a tomb hewn out of stone. The males were the ones who took charge of burial. The absence of the disciples is starkly illustrated by this fact. They who had been with Jesus are not seen during his burial! Instead, we are given a glimpse of two women who followed Joseph and presumably his group and marked the site of Jesus' burial. Women were the ones who witnessed Jesus' death and his burial (15:40.47); they will also be the first witnesses of his resurrection.
Lastly, we are told of Pilate's consternation at the news that Jesus has died. He learns of it from the request of Joseph of Arimathea. His reaction stems from the fact that a crucifixion is normally a slow and painful death. It was normal for crucified criminals to hang for days before they died. Mark mentions this in his gospel because it is from an eye-witness, Joseph himself who, by the time the gospel was first read, was already a well-known member of the Church and still alive at that time. Like Simon of Cirene, Joseph of Arimathea would have been the one to ask if one wanted to verify the events that Mark narrates in the account of the Passion of Jesus.
- 1. Readers of modern translations of Mark's gospel would notice that in 15:27-29 there is no verse 28. This is due to textual critics discovering that at a certain point in the transmission of the gospel, a phrase intended to harmonize Mark's Passion narrative with that of Luke 22:37 was inserted: "And the writing was fulfilled which said and he was considered as one of the lawless (Is. 53:13). Abriol's translation breaks the original verse 27 into two and labels the second part verse 28.
- 2. For the Jews of this time, the third hour was the time of purification from sin.
