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This article describes the Christian Passion. For other meanings, see passion.

The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering, both physical and mental, of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. The Crucifixion is an event central to Christian beliefs.

The etymological origins of the word lie in the Christian Latin passio, (stemming from patis- to suffer) OED and first appearing in the 2nd century precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context. The word passion has since taken on a more general application. The term the Agony of Jesus is sometimes used alternately, although is generally more specifically applied to Jesus' agony of mind while praying before his arrest. Those parts of the Gospels that describe these events are known as The "Passion narratives".

The "Passion" according to the Gospels

The narratives of the Passion are found in the four canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Three of these, known as the Synoptic Gospels, give closely matching accounts. The Gospel of John includes additional details and minor differences.

The Passion begins with Jesus at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and arrested. He was tried firstly by the Jewish authorities, and then taken and tried before Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. The Gospel of Luke states that Pilate sent Jesus to be judged by Herod Antipas because as a Galilean he was under his jurisdiction. Herod was excited at first to see Jesus and hoped Jesus would perform a miracle for him and asked Jesus several questions but Jesus did not answer. Herod then mocked him and sent him back to Pilate after giving him an "elegant" robe to wear.

All the Gospels have a man named Barabbas released by Pilate instead of Jesus. Matthew, Mark and John have Pilate offer a choice between Jesus and Barabbas to the crowd, but Luke lists no choice offered by Pilate, but has the crowd demanded his release.

Once condemned by Pilate, he was flogged before execution. The Canonical Gospels, except Luke, record that Jesus was then taken by the soldiers to the Praetorium where, according to Matthew and Mark say the whole contingent of soldiers was called together. They placed a purple robe on him, put a crown of thorns on his head, and according to Matthew, put a rod in his hand. They mocked him by hailing him as King of the Jews, paying homage and hitting him on the head with the rod.

According to the Gospel of John, Pilate had Jesus brought out a second time, wearing the purple robe and the crown of thorns, in order to appeal his innocence before the crowd. But the priests urged the crowd to demand Jesus' death. Pilate resigned himself to the decision, washing his hands before the people as a sign that Jesus blood was upon them.

Mark and Matthew record that Jesus was returned his own clothes, prior to being led out for execution. According to the Gospel accounts he was forced, like other victims of crucifixion, to drag his own cross to Golgotha (meaning place of a skull), the location of the execution. According to the Synoptic Gospels, while on the way to Golgotha, the soldiers forced a man passing by, Simon of Cyrene, to carry Jesus' cross for him. The Gospel of Mark gives the names of Simon's children, Alexander and Rufus. Luke adds that Jesus' female followers were following him, and mourning his fate, but that he responded by quoting .

The Synoptic Gospels state that on arrival at Golgotha, Jesus was offered wine laced with myrrh to lessen the pain, but he refused it. Jesus was then crucified, according to the Mark, at the third hour (9 AM), but according to John at the sixth hour (noon). Pilate had a plaque fixed to Jesus' cross inscribed, (according to John) in Hebrew, Greek and the Latin - Iesu Nazarati Rex Iudorum, meaning Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

The Gospels then state that Jesus' clothes they divided them between the soldiers except for one garment for which they cast lots. The Gospel of John claims that this fulfils a prophecy from . Some of the crowd who had been following taunted Jesus, saying "He trusts in God; let God deliver him now!", and suggested that Jesus might perform a miracle to release himself from the cross.

According to the Gospels, two theives were also crucified, one on each side of him. According to Luke, one of the thieves mocked Jesus, while the other recognised him as the Christ and begged that he might be remembered when Jesus came to his kingdom.

John records that Mary his mother stood by the cross as did a disciple, described as one whom Jesus loved. Jesus committed his mother to this disciple's care. According to Luke, the sky became dark at midday and the darkeness lasted for three hours, until Jesus death. The centurion standing by, heard Jesus words "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." The centurion recognised Jesus' righteousness.

John also says that, as was the custom, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the thieves, so that they would die faster, but that on coming to Jesus they found he had already died. A soldier pierced his side with a spear.

The various things that Jesus spoke during the Crucifixion are collected form the different accounts as the Last Words of Christ.

Other Passion narratives, traditions and scholarship

The pillar

By tradition, Jesus was tethered to a pillar while flogged.

Flagellation

Archeological evidence indicates that the whip used for such punishment may have been studded with small metal pieces.

Rufus and Alexander

The sons of Simon of Cyrene are named as if they might have been early Christian figures known to Mark's intended audience (Brown et al. 628). Paul also lists a Rufus in Romans 16:13.

The garments of Jesus

Most garments of the region were made of woven strips of material that were about 8 inches wide and included decorative braids from 2 to 4 inches wide. The garments could be disassembled and the strips of cloth were frequently recycled. A single garment might hold sections of many different dates. However, in Damascus and Bethlehem cloth was woven on wider looms, some Damascene being 40 inches wide. Traditional Bethlehem cloth is striped like pyjama material. Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, exhibition notes It would thus appear that Jesus' "seamless robe" was made of cloth from either Bethlehem or Damascus.

The Gospel of Peter

Further claims concerning the Passion are made in some non-canonical early writings. Another passion narrative is found in the fragmentary Gospel of Peter, long known to scholars through references, and discovered in Cairo in 1884.

The narrative begins with Pilate washing his hands, as in Matthew, but the Jews and Herod refuse this. Joseph of Arimathea, before Jesus has been crucified, asks for his body, and Herod says he was going to take it down to comply with the Jewish custom of not leaving a dead body hung on a tree overnight. Herod then turns Jesus over the people, who drag him, give him the purple robe, crown him with thorns, and beat and flog him.

There are also two criminals on each side of him and, as in Luke, one begs Jesus for forgiveness. The writer says Jesus was silent as they crucified him, "...as if in no pain." Miller 403 Jesus is labelled the King of Israel on his cross and his clothes are divided and gambled over.

As in the canonical gospels, darkness covers the land. Jesus is also given vinegar to drink. Peter has "My Power, My Power, why have you forsaken me?" as the last words of Jesus, rather than "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" as quoted in Mark. He is then "taken up", possible a euphemism for death or maybe an allusion to heaven. Miller 403 Peter then has a resurrection, also somewhat the same but somewhat different from the other books.

Serapion urged the exclusion of the Gospel of Peter from the Church because Docetists were using it to bolster their theological claims, which Serapion rejected. Brown 11 Many modern scholars also reject this conclusion, as the statement about Jesus being silent "as if in no pain" seems to be based on Isaiah's description of the suffering servant. . Miller 403

Old Testament prophecy of the Passion

Christians interpret at least three prophecies about Jesus’ Passion, in passages of the Old Testament.

The first and most obvious is the one from Isaiah 52: 13 – 53: 12 (either 8th or 6th century B.C.). This prophetic oracle describes a sinless man who will atone for the sins of his people. By his voluntary suffering, he will save sinners from the just punishment of God. Jesus perfectly fulfills this prophesy. E.g., “He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed” (53: 2-5).

The second, obvious prophecy of Christ’s Passion is the ancient text which Jesus himself quoted, while he was dying on the cross. From the cross, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” These words of Jesus were a quotation of the ancient Psalm 22 (written by David, Jesus’ forefather, 10th century B.C.). David, in Psalm 22, foretold the sufferings of the messiah. E.g., “I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people. All who see me, laugh me to scorn, they draw apart their lips, and wag their heads: ‘He trusts in the Lord: let him free him, let him deliver him if he loves him.’ Stand not far from me, for I am troubled; be thou near at hand: for I have no helper… Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet – I can count all my bones – they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots” (Psalm 22: 7-19).

The third main prophecy of the Passion is from the Catholic Old Testament (deuterocanonical) book of Wisdom. Protestant Christians do not accept this one, and they place it in the Apocrypha. But it was written about 150 B.C., and many have understood these verses (12-20 of chapter 2) as a direct prophecy of Jesus’ Passion. E.g., “Let us lie in wait for the just, because he is not for our turn… He boasteth that he hath the knowledge of God, and calleth himself the son of God…and glorieth that he hath God for his father. Let us see then if his words be true… For if he be the true son of God, he will defend him, and will deliver him from the hands of his enemies. Let us examine him by outrages and tortures… Let us condemn him to a most shameful death … These things they thought, and were deceived, for their own malice blinded them” (Wisdom 2: 12-20).

In addition to the above, it deserves to be mentioned that at least two other, less elaborate messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion. Namely, the following Old Testament passages.

“Many are the afflictions of the just man; but the Lord delivers him from all of them. He guards all his bones: not even one of them shall be broken” (Psalm 35: 20).

“And they shall look upon him whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son; and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn” (Zechariah 12: 10).

The Gospel explains how these old prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion.

“So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Jesus; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water… For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘Not a bone of him shall be broken.’ And again another scripture says, ‘They shall look on him whom they have pierced’” (John 19: 32-37).

New Testament prophecy of the Passion

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is described as prophesying his own Passion and his Resurrection three times:

  1. On the way to Caesarea Philippi, predicting that the Son of Man will be killed and rise within three days
  2. After the transfiguration of Jesus, again predicting that the Son of Man will be killed and rise within three days
  3. On the way to Jerusalem, predicting that the Son of Man will be delivered to the leading Pharisees and Sadducees, be condemned to death, delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, scourged, killed, and rise within three days

Christians argue that these are cases of genuine and fulfilled prophecy and many scholars see semitic features and old tradition in . Brown 140. Skeptics argue they are cases of postdiction (prophecy after the events have already occurred).

After the first prophecy, the Gospel of Mark states that Jesus was rebuked by Peter, eliciting the well known response by Jesus of "Get thee behind me, Satan". In particular Peter is criticised for having in mind the things of men not of God, and though many Christians interpret this as an assertion of Jesus' divinity, other scholars, and many early gnostics, argue that it is a rebuke of the Christian school of thought associated with Simon Peter, that which was to become the official Roman Catholic church. Sceptics argue that the events prophesied are inventions.

After the third prophecy, the Gospel of Mark states that the brothers James and John ask Jesus to be his left and right hand men, but Jesus asks if they can drink from the cup he must drink from. They say that they can do this. Jesus confirms this, but say that the places at his right and left hand are reserved for others. Many Christian see this as being a reference to the two criminals at Jesus' crucifixion, thus relating to the Passion. The cup is sometimes interpreted as the symbol of his death, in the light of Jesus' prayer at Gethsemane "Let this cup be taken from me!"

Instruments of the Passion

In Christian symbolism the Instruments of the Passion are the objects associated with Jesus' Passion. Each of the Instruments have become an object of veneration among many Christians and have been pictured in icons and supposedly recovered as relics. The Instruments of the Passion are:

Swearing

Until recent times, most English Language swearing was, like swearing in most other European Languages remains, of a religious nature. In particular, references the Passion were popular phrases for swearing. Due to sound change the original phrases became corrupted, and though many phrases are still familiar to many people, they are now considered mild and barely swearing at all since their religious connection is no longer obvious from the words alone:
  • Zounds was originally Gods wounds - in the 17th century this term was considered so offensive that in the UK it was prohibited by an act of parliament
  • Gadzooks was originally ''God's hooks

Stations of the Cross

In the Catholic Church, the Passion story is depicted in the Stations of the Cross (via crucis, also translated more literally as "Way of the Cross").

Musical settings of Gospel narratives

The reading of the Passion during Holy Week dates back to the 4th century. It began to be intoned (rather than just spoken) in the Middle Ages, at least as early at the 8th century. 9th-century manuscripts have "litterae significativae" indicating interpretive chant, and later manuscript begin to specify exact notes to be sung. By the 1200s different singers were used for different characters in the narrative, a practice which became fairly universal by the 15th century, when polyphonic settings of the turba passages began to appear also. (Turba, while literally meaning "crowd," is used in this case to mean any passage in which more than one speaker speaks simultaneously.)

In the later 15th century a number of new styles began to emerge:

  • Responsorial Passions set all of Christ's words and the turba parts polyphonically
  • Through-composed Passions were entirely polyphonic (also called motet Passions). Jacob Obrecht wrote the earliest extant example of this type.
  • Summa Passionis settings were a synopsis of all four Gospels, including the Seven Last Words (a text later set by Haydn and Théodore Dubois). These were discouraged for church use but circulated widely nonetheless.

In the 16th century settings like these, and further developments, were created for the Catholic church by Victoria, William Byrd, Jacobus Gallus, Francisco Guerrero, Orlando di Lasso, and Cypriano de Rore.

Martin Luther wrote, "The Passion of Christ should not be acted out in words and pretense, but in real life." Despite this, sung Passion performances were common in Lutheran churches right from the start, in both Latin and German, beginning as early as Laetare Sunday (three weeks before Easter) and continuing through Holy Week. Luther’s friend and collaborator Johann Walther wrote responsorial Passions which were used as models by Lutheran composers for centuries, and “summa Passionis” versions continued to circulate, despite Luther’s express disapproval. Later 16th-century passions included choral “exordium” (introduction) and “conclusio” sections with additional texts. In the 17th century came the development of “oratorio” passions which led to J.S. Bach’s passions, accompanied by instruments, with interpolated texts (then called “madrigal” movements) such as sinfonias, other Scripture passages, Latin motets, chorale arias, and more. Such settings were created by Bartholomeus Gesius and Heinrich Schütz. Thomas Strutz wrote a passion (1664) with arias for Jesus himself, pointing to the standard oratorio tradition of Schütz, Carissimi, and (later) Handel, although these composers seem to have thought that putting words in Jesus’ mouth was beyond the pale. The practice of using recitative for the Evangelist (rather than plainsong) was a development of court composers in northern Germany and only crept into church compositions at the end of the 17th century.

The best known Protestant musical settings of the Passion are by Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote two Passions which have survived intact to the present day, one based on the Gospel of John (the St. John Passion), the other on the Gospel of Matthew (the St. Matthew Passion). In more recent times, the 20th century Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki has written a St. Luke Passion, based on the Gospel of Luke.

A relative of the musical Passion is the custom of setting the text of Stabat Mater to music.

Passion plays

Non-musical settings of the Passion story are generally called Passion plays. One famous cycle is performed at intervals at Oberammergau. The Passion figures among the scenes in the English mystery plays in more than one cycle of dramatic vignettes. There have also been a number of films telling the passion story, with a prominent recent example being The Passion of the Christ.

Notes

References

  • Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0385247672
  • Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0136149340
  • Kilgallen, John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Paulist Press 1989 ISBN 0809130599
  • Miller, Robert J. Editor The Complete Gospels Polebridge Press 1994 ISBN 0060655879

External link

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