Opening Prayer: Prayer of Abandonment by Charles de Foucauld
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
Introduction
In our previous lesson we examined the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the cleansing of the temple, and the Last Supper. In this lesson we are going to examine the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, his arrest, trial before the Sanhedrin, trial before Pilate, crucifixion, and death. As we did last week we will use video clips from various movies about Jesus to reflect upon these events preceded by an explanation of the clip.
There are 4 important questions that we will ask in this lesson about the Passion and death of Jesus:
There are 4 important questions that we will ask in this lesson about the Passion and death of Jesus:
- Why did God the Father ask his son to die the cross,
- Why did Jesus accept death on the cross,
- Why was Jesus condemned to death? What was the Jewish and Roman charge against him?
- What are the ways that Jesus suffered during his passion and crucifixion
Why did Jesus die on the Cross?
In the words of blessing that Jesus said over the bread and the wine at the Last Supper, He understood his death the following day on the cross as a sacrifice that would bring about a new covenant relationship between God and humanity.
On the cross his body will be “given up” in sacrifice. The shedding of his blood on the cross will be the “blood of the covenant” “on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” Just as the covenant between God and the Israelites on Mt Sinai was sealed with sacrifice so the new covenant that God made with all humanity through Jesus was sealed with his sacrifice on the cross. This new covenant is a union between God and humanity in which the risen Jesus lives with us. We as baptized Christians are the dwelling place of Christ on earth. We are a living tabernacle of the Lord and of His Spirit. |
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Following the last Supper Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane which was a grove of Olive trees at the foot of the Mount of Olives. It is not a surprise that Jesus went there because during Holy Week he slept in caves on the Mount of Olives.
This night Jesus was not able to sleep because he knew that his arrest was at hand. Instead he prayed to God: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me”. We believe that Jesus was fully human as a result of the incarnation, and we see his humanity in his fear of suffering and death. But he also prayed “but not what I will but what you will.” Despite his fear of suffering and death Jesus was obedient to the Father even to the point of death. How similar this is to the Our Father: “thy will be done.” We see in the prayer of Jesus in the Garden why he allowed himself to be killed by the authorities. Jesus knew that the Father was asking him to embrace the cross to complete his mission as the messiah. Out of obedience to the will of his Father and to his mission as the messiah, he accepted his death on the cross even if he didn’t understand why it was necessary. |
Jesus Encouraged his Disciples to Pray as Well
Jesus also asked his closest friends Peter, James, and John to stay with him in his moment of anguish. Don’t we all do this with our friends when we are having a difficult time? This desire for companionship shows the humanity of Jesus as well.
He also encouraged all of the disciples to pray: “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Jesus knew that his passion would be a time of testing for his disciples as well. They must pray for the strength to stay true to their vocation as disciples as he is praying for the strength to stay true to his vocation as the messiah. How similar this is to the final petition of the Our Father: “Lead us not into temptation”. Peter, James, and John failed to stay with Jesus, and they all of them failed to pray. Instead they fell asleep. Too much wine at Passover. |
Judas Betrays Jesus & All the Disciples Abandon Him
Judas as a disciples knew that Jesus stayed the night on the Mount of Olives. Judas had left the Last Supper early to betray Jesus. He led the high priest and the guards to where Jesus was on the Mount of Olives. Judas also knew that Jesus would not be protected there by the crowds. It would be the perfect place to arrest him.
It was the custom for a disciples to greet his teacher with a kiss which is how Judas betrayed Jesus. |
The Disciples Abandon Jesus Once Jesus had been arrested by the high priest all of his disciples abandoned him out of fear of being arrested as well. Earlier they did not pray as Jesus had instructed them to do; thus during this moment of testing they lacked the strength to stay true to their vocation as disciples of Jesus. The only one who didn’t fully abandon Jesus was Peter who followed him at a safe distance to the home of the High Priest.
The Trial Before the Sanhedrin
Following his arrest, Jesus was brought to the home of the High Priest in the upper city where the wealthy lived. The Last Supper was celebrated in this same area. The Sanhedrin, the council of Jewish leaders, gathered at the home of the High Priest for a trial. They had already decided that Jesus must die, and now had to find a reason to put him to death.
Peter followed far behind and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire |
The Jewish charge against Jesus was blasphemy, a sin in which one attributes divine power to oneself which was punishable by death. In the Jewish culture witnesses were necessary to prove a charge. In the trial before the Sanhedrin no witnesses could agree on their witness.
The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?” Jesus answered, “I am.” When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?”They all said that Jesus was guilty and should be killed. (Mark 14: 64-65)
The next slide shows a clip from the movie Jesus of Nazareth. It shows Jesus in the garden, his arrest, trial before the Jewish Council, and the 3 fold denial of Peter.
The following video is taken from the movie Jesus of Nazareth. To watch it fully screen click on "Watch on youtube".
The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?” Jesus answered, “I am.” When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?”They all said that Jesus was guilty and should be killed. (Mark 14: 64-65)
The next slide shows a clip from the movie Jesus of Nazareth. It shows Jesus in the garden, his arrest, trial before the Jewish Council, and the 3 fold denial of Peter.
The following video is taken from the movie Jesus of Nazareth. To watch it fully screen click on "Watch on youtube".
Trial Before Pilate
The Jewish charge against Jesus was blasphemy, a sin where one claims divine powers for oneself. It was punishable by death in the Jewish faith, but the Jewish leaders did not have the power to put anyone to death. Judah and Jerusalem was controlled by the Romans and only Roman military governor, Pontius Pilate, had the power to condemn someone to death.
The Jewish religious authorities brought Jesus to Pilate, and asked him to put Jesus to death. The roman would not put Jesus to death for blasphemy, a Jewish sin. Instead the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of treason against the emperor. They told Pilate that Jesus called himself “the king of the Jews”. The Jewish authorities could produce no witnesses to prove that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews. Pilate asked Jesus if he was the “king of the Jews”, and Jesus refused to answer him. We read about the sentence of death against Jesus in Matthew 27: 15-24 |
Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called [Jesus] Barabbas. So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release to you, [Jesus] Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over. The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus. Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.” |
Jesus is Flogged
Crucifixion
Crucifixion was a form of capital punishment reserved for people that the Romans wanted to make an example of. Crucifixion sent the message: “don’t do what this person did.” For this reason crucifixions were done in a public place so that many people would get the message.
Jesus was crucified in an abandoned rock quarry just outside the walls of Jerusalem. He was crucified on a large rock in the shape of a skull hence the area was called Golgotha in Aramaic which means skull, Calvary in Latin. Jesus had carry the cross beam through the streets of Jerusalem to the place of crucifixion. The vertical part of the cross was already in the ground. He only carried the cross beam. A person was nailed to the cross through their heels and wrist so that the nails would not pull out. Most people who were crucified died of suffocation. A person who is hanging on a cross with their full weight cannot breathe. At first the crucified person could hold themselves up to breathe, but after a few days they would not have the energy, hang down, and suffocate. Crucifixion was a slow death. According to the gospels Jesus was crucified at 9:00am, and died at 3pm. He died quickly perhaps because of the severe loss of blood and trauma from the flogging. |
The Burial of Jesus
Following his death he was taken down from the cross, and buried a tomb that belonged to a wealthy follower. According to the gospels, the tomb was in a garden close to the place of crucifixion.
Jesus was buried according to Jewish burial customs. He was not buried in the ground, but in a small room cut into solid rock. A ledge or a nitch was carved into the rock, and the body was placed on the ledge. A large round stone was rolled in front of the entrance to protect the body from animals & robbers. |
The Jewish custom was to wrap the body in a burial cloth, and the head with a separate cloth. They would also anoint the body with oils and spices before being wrapped.
The body of Jesus was not anointed before burial because there was no time. The Jewish Sabbath was about to begin, and he had to be buried before the start of the Sabbath. The photos on the left show the rolling stone. They also show a nitch in the stone into which a body was placed. |
The next video shows a clip from the movie Jesus of Nazareth. It shows Jesus carrying the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, his crucifixion, and death. The movie is graphic. The scene of Mary holding her dead son is very powerful.
After you watch the video click here for the review questions.
After you watch the video click here for the review questions.