Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
(John 18:1-19:42)
During Holy Week we always hear the story of Jesus’ passion and death twice. On Palm Sunday we listen to the passion according to Matthew, Mark or Luke depending on the year. Last Sunday, of course, we heard Matthew’s passion account. Today, Good Friday, we always hear the passion according to John. If we listen carefully, we will realize that the passion accounts read Palm Sunday and Good Friday have very different tones. They have many of the same elements, for sure, but they present Jesus’ suffering in very different perspectives. Let us take a close look at a few of the differences from Matthew’s and John’s passion accounts to see what they are saying to us.
In Matthew’s passion account Jesus is somewhat anxious in the garden of Getsemaní. He actually prays to God lying on the ground that his Father deliver him from the trial that is coming. In John, on the other hand, Roman soldiers lie in the ground as they face Jesus. They are powerless before the great “I AM” that Jesus uses to identify himself.
We all remember how Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus is so weary from the scourging and abuse that he can barely get himself to Calvary. John’s gospel, however, makes no mention of Simon. Rather, it states that Jesus carries the cross himself. Jesus said earlier in this gospel, “I have the power to lay (my life) down, and power to take it up again” (10:18). Here he demonstrates that power.
Once again Matthew and John describe the crucifixion in very different ways. In John darkness does not cover the earth as in Matthew. Jesus, after all, is the light of the world; where he is, lightness reigns. Jesus’ last words in either account differ significantly. In Matthew, of course, we hear the anguished cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In John Jesus can calmly say at the end, “It is finished.” He has accomplished what his Father commissioned him to do and may now return to Him.
Sometimes we become unsettled when we hear of differences in the gospels like the ones we just reviewed. We ask, what really happened when Jesus died? This question, however, is not likely what the evangelists had first in mind when they wrote their accounts. Rather, weaving together the stories they heard of Jesus’ death a generation or two earlier, they composed their accounts to testify to the faith of their distinct faith communities in Jesus. Their different perspectives help us at different moments in our lives. Sometimes we feel quite alone in our suffering. Then we can turn to Jesus on the cross in Matthew’s passion account, crying out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” and feel assured that he knows our situation. Sometimes, however, we confidently face the trials life hurls at us. Then, in the solidarity of faith we look to the triumphant Jesus on the cross in the John’s passion. The different passion accounts show us that Jesus is always there for us no matter our need. We can always turn to him, the light of the world, to clear up any difficulty.
Showing posts with label Passion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passion. Show all posts
Homilette for March 14, 2008
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
(John 10:31-42)
Reading the Passion according to Matthew on Palm Sunday and the Passion according to John on Good Friday, we will notice several differences between the two narratives. Most striking will be the way Jesus dies. In John he calmly bows his head and says, “It is finished.” In Matthew, after crying out almost desperately, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Jesus shrieks again and gives up his spirit.
A subtler difference between the two is the way the so-called Jewish trial of Jesus in John’s gospel is truncated. The narrative pictures only Annas, a former high priest, and some temple guards with Jesus. No one presents testimony regarding Jesus although Annas is said to question him. Matthew’s account, by contrast, pictures a crowded room of Jewish leaders along with the sitting high priest Caiaphas judging Jesus. Two evidently false witnesses accuse Jesus of threatening to destroy the Temple, and Caiaphas directly asks Jesus if he is the son of God. How might we explain these discrepancies?
Since we have no transcripts of the proceedings, we cannot say what exactly took place at the proceeding. However, we can note a few things that will aid our appreciation of the gospel traditions. On reason John’s account does not speak of normal trial procedures if that throughout the gospel Jews come forward with similar accusations and questions that we find in Matthew’s proceeding before the Jewish council. In today’s gospel passage, for example, the Jews accuse Jesus of making himself to be God. Also to be noted today is Jesus’ testimony that the Father has consecrated him as if he were a temple. This statement relates to his famous prediction that when the Jews destroy “this temple,” meaning his body, in three days he would raise it up (cf. John 2:19) – the crux of the charge that Jesus threatens to destroy the temple in Matthew’s Jewish trial. Thus, we see that both gospels attest to the same basic accusations against Jesus although at different times and in different ways.
The breadth of meaning offered by Jesus’ passion and death exceeds our ability to understand the events. Yet we may appreciate them more by attentively listening to the gospel readings on Palm Sunday and Good Friday. We will notice certain similarities and subtle differences. The similarities assure us that our belief in the events’ power to save has solid foundation. The differences indicate the manifold ways that salvation touches us.
(John 10:31-42)
Reading the Passion according to Matthew on Palm Sunday and the Passion according to John on Good Friday, we will notice several differences between the two narratives. Most striking will be the way Jesus dies. In John he calmly bows his head and says, “It is finished.” In Matthew, after crying out almost desperately, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Jesus shrieks again and gives up his spirit.
A subtler difference between the two is the way the so-called Jewish trial of Jesus in John’s gospel is truncated. The narrative pictures only Annas, a former high priest, and some temple guards with Jesus. No one presents testimony regarding Jesus although Annas is said to question him. Matthew’s account, by contrast, pictures a crowded room of Jewish leaders along with the sitting high priest Caiaphas judging Jesus. Two evidently false witnesses accuse Jesus of threatening to destroy the Temple, and Caiaphas directly asks Jesus if he is the son of God. How might we explain these discrepancies?
Since we have no transcripts of the proceedings, we cannot say what exactly took place at the proceeding. However, we can note a few things that will aid our appreciation of the gospel traditions. On reason John’s account does not speak of normal trial procedures if that throughout the gospel Jews come forward with similar accusations and questions that we find in Matthew’s proceeding before the Jewish council. In today’s gospel passage, for example, the Jews accuse Jesus of making himself to be God. Also to be noted today is Jesus’ testimony that the Father has consecrated him as if he were a temple. This statement relates to his famous prediction that when the Jews destroy “this temple,” meaning his body, in three days he would raise it up (cf. John 2:19) – the crux of the charge that Jesus threatens to destroy the temple in Matthew’s Jewish trial. Thus, we see that both gospels attest to the same basic accusations against Jesus although at different times and in different ways.
The breadth of meaning offered by Jesus’ passion and death exceeds our ability to understand the events. Yet we may appreciate them more by attentively listening to the gospel readings on Palm Sunday and Good Friday. We will notice certain similarities and subtle differences. The similarities assure us that our belief in the events’ power to save has solid foundation. The differences indicate the manifold ways that salvation touches us.
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