THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
PART VII: THE PASSION AND THE RESURRECTION
Lesson 26, Chapters 27:27-28:20
The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ
Father,
Through the death and resurrection of Your eternal Son,
heaven has been opened to Your human children. No longer are we bound in
slavery to sin and death. Your Son's physical resurrection from death is a
sign and a promise of the gift of eternal life that is now available for all
who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. As those of us here on earth
continue to battle against the enemy of our salvation, continue to strengthen
and unite us, Father, through the spiritual gifts of faith, the Sacraments,
good works and our prayers. Most Holy Spirit, come and guide us in our last
lesson as we study the Passion and Resurrection of the Christ and His
commission to all Christians to spread the Gospel of salvation to the ends of
the earth. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
Now there was
about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he
was a doer of wonderful works; a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the
Gentiles. He was the Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him
at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third
day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful
things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not
extinct at this day.
Flavius Josephus
(37-100 AD) Antiquities of the Jews, 18.3.3
"When Jesus had
cried out with a loud voice, he yielded up the spirit." This refers to what he
had earlier said: "I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take
it again," and "I lay it down of myself." So for this cause he cried with the
voice, that it might be shown that the act is done by his own power.
St. John Chrysostom
(344/354-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 88.1
Friday, Nisan the 15th
The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, reluctantly condemned Jesus to death on the charge of sedition/treason against the Roman state. Jesus is not condemned for the Sanhedrin's charge of blasphemy but for the political crime of posing a threat to Caesar's sovereignty in claiming to be the "King of the Jews." Most of what we know about Pontius Pilate from the writings of the Jewish historians Josephus [37-100AD] and Philo of Alexandria [d.50AD] is not very favorable. They portray him as autocratic, excessive and dishonest, but he must have been an able and effective governor because he held his post for ten years, the second longest ruling Roman governor of Judea. Josephus confirms the slaughter of the Galileans during his rule that is mentioned in Luke 13:1, and the Roman historian Tacitus records Pilate's action against Jesus in Annals XV, 44 where he reports: The Christ had been executed in Tiberius' reign by the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Of all the existing documentation on Pilate, the Bible gives the most favorable account of this man. In fact, in the writings of the early Church Fathers, he is regarded as a man who cooperated in God plan of salvation. After condemning Jesus to death, Pilate handed Jesus over to the Roman soldiers in charge of the crucifixion detail.
Matthew 27:27-31 ~ The Condemned Christ is Mocked by
Roman Soldiers
27 Then the soldiers
of the governor took Jesus inside the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort
around him. 28 They stripped off
his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. 29 Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it
on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they
mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30 They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on
the head. 31 And when they had
mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and
led him off to crucify him.
The Praetorium was a Latin term that originally designated the praetor's (officer who administered justice) tent in a military camp but later came to designate the residence of a Roman official where he heard civil cases. The term could also refer either to a select military unity of Roman soldiers that served as personal body guards for the emperor (Praetorian Guard), or other officials, or simply to the military personnel attached to a Praetorium of the official. Verse 27 suggests that the soldiers attached to Pilate's household took Jesus into the judgment hall associated with Pilate's residence in Jerusalem.
... and gathered the whole cohort around him. A cohort was composed of 600 men and formed a tenth part of a legion. Matthew may not intend to suggest 600 men gathered around Jesus but rather that all those men of a particular cohort who were present in the hall gathered around Jesus to torment Him.
Question: What three objects did the soldiers place
on Jesus?
Answer: A scarlet military cloak, a crown made of
thorns, and a reed.
Matthew describes the cloak as the typical scarlet cloak of a soldier, but Mark records that they dressed Jesus in a purple cloak. Purple was the most expensive die and was the color of royalty; however, the dye used for the Roman soldier's cloak was a reddish-purple/scarlet color. It is difficult to see where common soldiers would have come by expensive purple cloth, but the intention was to dress Jesus like a king since He was charged with sedition against the empire by claiming to be "King of the Jews" (Mt 27:29 and 37). The thorn spikes in the crown of thorns they made for Jesus was probably intended to represent the radiant crown of the emperor depicted on Roman coins, and the reed was probably intended to represent a king's scepter, a sign of royal authority.
Question: What is ironic about the soldiers' cruel
treatment in dressing Jesus this way and greeting Him "Hail, King of the Jews,"
the traditional greeting for the Roman Emperor?
Answer: Jesus really is the king of the Jews and in
fact, the King of kings.
The symbolism of the Crown of Thorns for Christians:
For Christians, Jesus's Crown of Thorns represents that Jesus came to rule over a different kind of Kingdom in which
He willingly suffered for those who would be welcomed into His Kingdom of the Church upon their baptism.
Jesus is indeed a true King. One day the entire universe will bow before Jesus as "King of kings and Lord of lords"
(Rev 19:16). Also, the He wore the crown of thorns shows us that
He was willing to endure the pain, insults, and shame all for us and our sins, and now He wears a crown of glory:
"But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because
of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" (Heb 2:9).
In addition, there is symbolism embodied in the crown of thorns related to the Fall of Adam and Eve. When they sinned in the Garden of Eden, bringing the curse of evil upon the world, part of the curse on humanity was "cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you" (Gen 3:17-18). Not understanding the symbolism of what they were doing, the Roman soldiers took an object of the curse and fashioned it into a crown for the One sent by God to deliver all humanity from that curse: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (Gal 3:13). Jesus, in His perfect atoning sacrifice, has delivered us from the curse of sin and death, of which thorns were an excellent symbol of what He came to accomplish.
Matthew 27:31 ~ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
Question: The soldiers' mistreatment of Jesus,
including mocking Him, spitting in His face and striking him, recalls what
parts of the prophecy of God's suffering servant by the 8th century
BC prophet Isaiah? See Is 53:1-12 and the chart Isaiah's Suffering Servant fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
Answer: The entire passage describes Christ's
Passion, but two verses that are especially close to the suffering Jesus
endured at the hands of the Roman guards are verses 3 and 7-8: He was
spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of
those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem (Is 53:3) and Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his
mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was
silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away ... (Is 53:7-8a).
Question: What prophecy that Jesus made concerning His
Passion is fulfilled in His trial by the Roman governor and His crucifixion?
What is significant concerning the fulfillment of this prophecy? See Mt 20:17-19.
Answer: In the third prophecy of His Passion, Jesus
told the Apostles that the chief priests and scribes would condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified. The
fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy once again demonstrates that He is fully in
control of His destiny.
The Crucifixion
It was the third
hour [9 AM] when they crucified him.
Mark 15:25
Matthew 27:32-44 ~ Jesus is Crucified
32 As they were
going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service
to carry his cross. 33 And when
they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), 34 they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with
gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. 35 After they had crucified him, they divided
his garments by casting lots; 36 then
they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. 38 Two
revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his
left. 39 Those passing by reviled
him, shaking their heads 40 and saying,
"You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself,
if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!" 41 Likewise the chief priests with the scribes
and elders mocked him and said, 42 "He
saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if
he wants him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" The revolutionaries who
were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.
Those condemned to crucifixion were usually tied to a wooden crossbeam and were forced to carry it to the site of the execution. Perhaps Jesus had become too weak from His scourging to carry His crossbeam the entire distance. The Roman soldiers impressed a man who was probably a Jewish pilgrim into public service, a man named Simon who was a native of the city of Cyrene. The city of Cyrene was in North Africa and is located today in the modern state of Libya. The Gospels of Mark and Luke include the information that Simon lived in the "countryside," presumably of Judea (Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26).(1) Luke relates that a large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented Him, and that two criminals who were also condemned to death were led away with Him.
Matthew 27:33-34 ~ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
In the Temple that morning, the unblemished, yearling male Tamid lamb was led from the chamber called the Lamb Office to the site of its execution near the altar: They gave the lamb which was to be the daily whole offering a drink from a golden cup (Mishnah: Tamid, 3:4B).
Golgotha is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic name of the crucifixion site that was called gulgulta, meaning "skull." The identification of the crucifixion site as Golgotha is found in Mathew 27:33, Mark 15:22 and in John 19:17. St. Luke gives the name of the site as Kranion (Lk 23:33), the Greek word for "skull." The name Calvary comes to us from the Rheims New Testament translation of the Latin Vulgate, calvariae locus, which is the Latin translation of the Greek kraniou topos, "place of the skull;" in Latin the word for skull is calvaria. Matthew 27:32 and Mark 15:21 explicitly state the site lies outside the city; the Gospel of John says it is near the city (19:20). We know it was close enough to the city for the on-lookers to read the trilingual plaque that Pilate ordered to be place on Jesus' cross, probably as they looked down upon scene of Jesus' crucifixion from the top of the city wall.(2) Excavations beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulcher revealed burials that were centuries older than when Jesus was crucified and suggest that the name "skull" was given to the site because it was an ancient graveyard.(3)
... they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. Wine mixed with myrrh was prepared to dull the prisoner's pain (Mk 15:23). The historicity of the Gospel account is confirmed by the 1st AD century historian Josephus who recorded that wealthy women of Jerusalem provided wine mixed with narcotics for those destined for crucifixion. But according to Matthew, the Roman soldiers continued their abuse of Jesus by mixing gall into the treated wine. Gall is a bitter discharge from the liver or the gall bladder, but it can also refer to any bitter substance or even poison. That Matthew includes this information may be an allusion to the fulfillment of Psalms 69:22: Instead they put gall in my food; for my thirst they gave me vinegar. "Vinegar" was cheap red wine. Jesus will be given cheap wine/vinegar to drink just before He surrenders His life (Mt 27:48; Jn 19:28-30).
Question: Why does Jesus taste the wine when He has
sworn at the Last Supper that He will not drink the fruit of the vine until He
comes into His kingdom (Mt 26:29; Lk 22:18)?
Answer: He only tastes the wine but does not drink
it. This may be to further connect Jesus' perfect sacrifice to the sacrifice
of the morning Tamid at the Temple that was given a drink prior to sacrifice.
The Tamid was a sacrifice that had for centuries prefigured the sacrifice of
Jesus as the true Tamid "standing" (as in continual) Lamb of sacrifice.
St. Mark is the only Gospel writer who records the time Jesus was placed on the Cross: It was the third hour [9 AM] when they crucified him (Mk 15:25). The "third hour" Jewish time was also when the first Tamid lamb was sacrificed in the Temple and its blood splashed against the sacrificial altar as the Levites blew the silver trumpets and the Temple doors were opened for the morning worship service (Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 108). That morning was a compulsory Sacred Assembly and all religious Jews would be in attendance at the Temple, this includes the majority of Jesus' supporters who had no idea concerning the events unfolding at Golgotha.
As Jesus was suffering on the cross, the morning liturgy of the Tamid lamb continued in the Temple. The sacrifices for the first Sacred Assembly of Unleavened Bread and the individual hagigah peace offerings could not be brought forward until after the offering of the Tamid lamb on the altar fire along with people's offering of fine flour mixed with incense, the priestly wafer of unleavened bread and a libation of red wine. The priestly unleavened bread wafer always accompanied the sacrifice of the Tamid lambs: This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall present to the LORD ... one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for the established cereal offering, half in the morning and half in the evening [afternoon]. It shall be well kneaded and fried in oil on a griddle when your bring it in. Having broken the offering into pieces, you shall present it as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD (Lev 6:12-14).
Question: The offering of the Tamid lamb included a
wafer of unleavened bread (Lev 6:12-14) and red wine (Ex 29:40-42; Sir 51:14-15). The officiating priest elevated the wafer above the altar and broke
it before laying it on the altar fire. Is that Old Covenant ritual reminiscent
of any New Covenant ritual you have witnessed? What happens in the New
Covenant ritual?
Answer: In the sacrifice of the Mass, unleavened
bread and wine are offered on the altar, but instead of being destroyed with
the victim of sacrifice on the altar fire, the bread, elevated and broken
before the altar, and wine are transformed into the victim of sacrifice. Jesus
Christ becomes present on the altar.
Matthew 27:35-36 ~ After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. It was the custom for the soldiers overseeing executions to divide the possession of the condemned. The Roman soldiers "kept watch" over Jesus and the other two men in order to prevent any attempt to rescue them.
Psalms 22, written by King David in the 10th century BC, is a description of David's sufferings but also a prediction of Jesus' crucifixion long before the Persians ever invented crucifixion as a form of capital punishment. Included in the psalms is the prediction that lots would be casted for Jesus garments, an event that was not part of David's history. In verses 17-19 David wrote: Many dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. So wasted are my hands and feet that I can count all my bones. They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.
Question: In the Gospel of John a detail is given
about one of Jesus' garments that was not included in the other Gospels. What
was unique about Jesus' tunic and what is significant about the action of the
Roman soldiers in regards to it? This is the same tunic Jesus wore to the Last
Supper. See Jn 19:23-24.
Answer: Jesus' tunic was seamlessly woven from one
piece of cloth. It was obviously expensive so the soldiers cast lots to see
which one would possess it. The Gospel of John says this was to fulfill what
was written in Psalms 22:19.
Jesus' seamless tunic recalls one of the vestments of the anointed High Priest of Israel (Ex 28:1-5; Lev 21:10) which, according to Josephus, was seamless (Antiquities of the Jews, 3.7.4 [161]; The Jewish Wars, 5.5.7 [231]) and which was only worn during a liturgical service in the Temple (Ez 42:14).
Question: Why is it significant that Jesus wore the
seamless garment of a high priest at both the Last Supper and His crucifixion?
Answer: That Jesus wore this high priestly garment at
the Last Supper implies that it was a liturgical worship service at which Jesus
officiated as the New Covenant High Priest of the sacred meal. That He wore
this garment at His crucifixion implies that Jesus was acting as the New
Covenant High Priest officiating at the offering of His sacrifice on the altar
of the Cross for the atonement sanctification of all people.
You will recall that at the Last Supper the disciples washed their hands (part of the ritual of the meal) and feet (washed by Jesus in Jn 13:5). Josephus records that before performing their ministerial duties, priests washed both their hands and feet (Antiquities of the Jews, 3.6.2 [114]), information that adds another liturgical element to the events of the Last Supper.
Matthew 27:37 ~ And they placed over his head the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. It was a common Roman practice to post the crime for which a person was being executed and the name of the condemned man. Such a plaque was called in Greek a titulus. Pilate himself ordered the wording of the sign, much to the displeasure of the chief priests.(4)
Question: What additional information is included in
the Gospel of John concerning Jesus' titulus? See Jn 19:20.
Answer: The inscription was written in Hebrew, Latin
and Greek and could be easily read by the crowds.
Matthew 27:38 ~ Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.
All four Gospels agree that Jesus was crucified between two criminals (also see Mk 15:27; Lk 23:33; Jn 19:18). As Jesus is situated between two men on an elevation with His arms outstretched on the Cross, commanding the climactic battle between good and evil, the scene is reminiscent of Moses standing on a hill with outstretched arms between Aaron and Hur in the Israelite's battle with the wicked Amalekites (Ex 17:8-13; CCC 440). However, unlike the temporal consequences of Moses' battle, the outcome of Jesus' battle has cosmic and eternal implications.
Matthew 27:39-43 ~ Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!" 41 Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, 42 "He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, I am the Son of God.'"
These actions by Jesus' tormentors are also described in Psalms 22. In verses 8-9 David wrote: All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me. "You relied on the LORD "let him deliver you if he loves you, let him rescue you."
The scene in Matthew 27:39-42 and the enmity against Jesus by the chief priests, Pharisees and elders also recalls the condemnation of the righteous by the wicked described in Wisdom 2:12-24: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD ... He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him" (Wis 2:12-13, 16a-20).
Question: What kinds of taunts or challenges do the people, the chief priests, scribes and elders make?
Answer:
St. Luke records that Jesus prayed for His persecutors from the Cross, saying Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). This is the first of seven statements Jesus will make from the altar of the Cross. Two of His statements are quotations from the Psalms of David.
| Jesus' Last Seven Statements from the Cross | |
| Statement | Scripture |
| 1. "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." | Lk 23:34 |
| 2. "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." | Lk 23:42 |
| 3. "Woman, behold, your son"... "Behold, your mother." | Jn 19:26-27 |
|
4. "Eli, Eli lema sabachthani," "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." ~ Hebrew "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani," "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me." ~ Aramaic* |
Mt 27:46 (*Ps 22:1a quoted in Hebrew) Mk 15:34 (Jesus quoted from Ps 22:1/2a in Aramaic) |
| 5. "I thirst." | Jn 19:28 |
| 6. "It is fulfilled."+ | Jn 19:30 |
| 7. "Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit."+ |
Lk 23:46 (Ps 31:5/6 quoted) |
| Michal E. Hunt © copyright 2012 | |
*Jesus has alluded to Psalms 22 in Mt 27:35, 39 and 43.
Matthew records the Hebrew as it would have been written in the Hebrew scroll
of Psalms 22, while Mark records Jesus' actual Aramaic statement.
+It is hard
to know which of these two statements are His last words from the Cross were.
Question: The first statement is a petition on behalf
of those who are persecuting Him. What teaching that Jesus gave in His Sermon
on the Mount does this petition recall? See Mt 5:43-48.
Answer: He taught that His followers are to imitate
the example of their heavenly Father in freely giving their love and
forgiveness, even to enemies.
Matthew 27:43b ~ The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention the two men crucified on either side of Jesus (Mk 15:27, 32; Lk 23:33, 39-43), but Luke records the change of heart of the man to the right of Jesus (Lk 23:39-43).
Question: What is Jesus' response to the man's
righteous deed in defending Jesus against the verbal abuse of the crucified man
to Jesus' left and his profession of faith in Jesus by asking to be remembered
when Jesus comes into His kingdom? See Lk 23:39-43.
Answer: His good work in defending Jesus and his
profession of faith in Jesus by his petition "Jesus, remember me when you come
into your kingdom" is rewarded by Jesus' promise of eternal salvation when
Jesus tells the man "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
This is Jesus' second statement from the altar of the Cross. The Gospel of John also records Jesus' words to His mother and the beloved disciple (believed to be St. John Zebedee) in which He makes John responsible for the care of His mother. This would have been unthinkable if Mary had other sons and daughters and supports 2,000 years of Church teaching and tradition that Jesus was Mary's only child (CCC 499-500). Jesus' exchange with His mother and the beloved disciple is Jesus' third statement from the Cross.
Matthew 27:45-56 ~ The Death of the Redeemer-Messiah
45 From noon [the
sixth hour] onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon [the ninth hour]. 46 And
about three o'clock [the ninth hour] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli, eli,
lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken
[abandoned] me?" 47 Some of the
bystanders who heard it said, "This one is calling for Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;
he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, "Wait, let us see if
Elijah comes to save him." 50 But
Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was
torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, 52 tombs were opened, and the bodies of many
saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53
And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered
the holy city and appeared to many. 54 The
centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly
when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, "Truly,
this was the Son of God!" 55 There
were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.
56 Among them
were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of
the sons of Zebedee.
While the Gospels of Matthew and Mark mention the total darkness that began at noon, St. Luke identifies the darkness as a total eclipse of the sun: It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon [the third hour] because of an eclipse of the sun... (Lk 23:44-45). This is a miracle that cannot be explained away by some coincidence of nature. The liturgical calendar was a lunar calendar and the day of Jesus' crucifixion on the 15th of Nisan was during a full moon cycle: And this feast is begun on the fifteenth day of the month in the middle of the month, on the day on which the moon is full of light, in consequence of the providence of God taking care that there shall be no darkness on that day [Philo, Special Laws II, 155]. Total or partial eclipses do not occur during full moon cycles, and they only last for minutes not for hours. Both Christian and non-Christian writers recorded the phenomena.(5)
This cosmic event and its aftermath fulfill the prophecy of the 8th century BC prophet Amos: On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations. I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth and make every head bald. I will make them mourn as for an only son, and bring their day to bitter end (Am 8:9-10; emphasis added). Wearing sackcloth and shaving one's head is a sign of affliction and mourning in the ancient Middle East (Is 15:2; Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).
As Jesus suffered on the altar of the cross, the Temple was in darkness, but the liturgical ceremony and sacrifices for first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread continued by the light of the altar fire. At noon the second lamb of the Tamid sacrifice was led out and tired near the altar before it was inspected one last time by the High Priest Joseph Caiaphas. Declared "without fault," it was given a last drink (Mishnah: Tamid, 3:4B; 4:1); this may be the point at which Jesus was offered a second drink (Lk 23:35-36); the first offer was before He was crucified (Mt 27:34-35; Mk 15:23-24). You may recall that Pilate declared Jesus "without fault" (Jn 18:38; 19:4, 6).
Matthew 27:46 ~ And about three o'clock [the ninth hour] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli, eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken [abandoned] me?"
Jesus last four statements come very close together. At is about three in the afternoon. This is Jesus' fourth statement from the Cross. St. Matthew records Jesus' statement in Hebrew either to draw His Jewish audience to the passage in the Hebrew Scriptures of Psalm 22:1a or because this is one element that has been retained from his Gospel that was originally written in Hebrew (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.1.1). St. Mark records Jesus' statement in the Aramaic that Jesus' would have spoken aloud (Mk 15:34).
Psalms 22:1a reads: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish? Jesus' quote from this Psalms is not as some have wrongly interpreted a cry of utter despair and hopelessness; far from it. If one reads the entire Psalms 22, David's cry of distress ends in a shout of joy and his confidence that God has heard his prayer, will rescue him from his enemies, and future generations will be told of his deliverance. Such psalms are called toda psalms (the Hebrew word toda means "thanks" or "thanksgiving"). Again, it is also important to note that this psalms, attributed to David and therefore written sometime in the early 10th century BC, is a description of a crucifixion centuries before the Persians invented this form of capital punishment.
Matthew 27:47-49 ~ Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "This one is calling for Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him."
The crowd mistook the words "Eloi," "my God," for the name of the prophet Elijah who they evidently recall was prophesied to be a precursor to the coming of the Messiah (Mal 3:23/4:5) and whose mission they may have confused with the passage in Malachi 3:1 that speaks of God's messenger who will "prepare the way" by suddenly coming to the Temple "which Jesus did in His Temple cleansings.
The Gospel of John records that it is at this time that Jesus utters the words "I thirst" (Jn 19:28); this is Jesus' fifth statement from the Cross. John 19:29-30 ~ A jar full of sour wine stood there; so putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a hyssop stick, they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the wine he said, It is fulfilled [or finished = literally in the Greek text, "Teltelestai"]; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit (emphasis added). "It is fulfilled/finished" is Jesus sixth statement from the Cross.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John record that Jesus was given a final drink of wine. However, only the Gospel of John mentions that Jesus requested the drink, saying "I thirst," that the Roman soldier extended the drink of wine to Him on a hyssop branch, and that Jesus spoke the words "It is fulfilled" "the same last words as those of the host of the Passover meal when the 4th Cup, the Cup of Acceptance, has been consumed.
Question: Why does the Gospel of John draw our
attention to the fact that it is a hyssop branch that the Roman guard used to
give Jesus the drink of sour wine? What was the symbolic importance of this
detail? Hint: see Ex 12:22; Ex 24:8; Lev 14:6, 49, 51-52; Num 19:11-21; Ps 51:7; Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; and Heb 9:18-22. Use each of these
passages in your answer.
Answer:
*The Fathers of the Church spoke of the Christian's double resurrection in baptism (spiritually raised to new life) and in the final bodily Resurrection at the time of Christ's Second Advent.
In the climax of Jesus' crucifixion, the hyssop branch was symbolically used in the ratification of the New Covenant in the blood sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. It is His Precious Blood that transforms and unites the New Covenant people into God's Holy Covenant family - the Universal Church!
John 19:30 ~ After Jesus had taken the wine he said, It is fulfilled.'
In the prescribed ritual of the sacred meal of the Passover victim, there was a 4th ritual cup that closed the meal and sealed the covenant for another year. This cup was called the Cup of Acceptance. It was after consuming this final communal cup that the host of the Passover supper would cry out: "It is fulfilled" "Teltelestai" in Greek. Since Jesus made an oath that He would not drink wine until He came into His kingdom (Mt 26:29; Mk 14:25; Lk 22:17), He could not have taken the 4th cup at the Last Supper. Therefore, He could not have officially, according to custom, closed the Passover sacrificial meal in the Upper Room. The Gospel of John records Jesus' words in Greek and not in Aramaic, perhaps to draw our attention to the Greek which was also an accounting term that was written over the ledger recording a debt, meaning the debt was paid in full.
Question: Why did Jesus ask for a drink and why did
He drink the wine offered to Him when He swore He would not drink wine again
until He came into His kingdom? What condition did Jesus make for drinking
wine again? See Mt 5:17-18; 26:28; Mk 14:25; Lk 22:17.
Answer: The condition for which He swore not to
drink wine had passed. He prepared to give up His life; He was coming into His
Kingdom. All "these things" that had to take place before the Sinai Covenant
was fulfilled had now taken place (Mt 5:17-18).
Question: What was fulfilled and what is the
connection to the "cup" Jesus spoke of in His prayer to the Father at
Gethsemane (Mt 26:39, 42; Jn 18:11), the cup He asked John and James Zebedee if
they could drink (Mt 20:22-23), and the cup in the symbolic images of the
prophets (see the chart)?
Answer:
Mathew 27:50 ~ But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.
When Jesus willing gave up His life, He breathed out His life force upon the face of the earth.
St. Luke gives us the last words of Jesus from the Cross; it is His seventh statement: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Lk 23:46). His statement is a quote from Psalms 31:5/6: Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, LORD, faithful God. It is another toda psalm that begins as a prayer of distress in which the psalmist cries out: I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead; I am like a shattered dish. I hear the whispers of the crowd; terrors are all around me. They conspire against me; they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands; rescue me from my enemies, from the hands of my pursuers (Ps 31:13-16). But the cry becomes a prayer of thanksgiving and praise for God's mercy and loving care in the psalmist's hour of need and a message of hope to the faithful: Yet you heard my plea, when I cried out to you. Love the LORD, all you faithful. The LORD protects the loyal, but repays the arrogant in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD" (Ps 31:23b-25).
Question: Why did Jesus shout out this quote from Psalms
31 in His last words from the Cross?
Answer: His shout demonstrates that by the force of
His will He gave up His Spirit. Jesus' self-sacrificial death and willingness
to give up His Spirit wasn't a defeat - it was a victory that he will share with
the faithful!
In the offering up of His perfect sacrifice, Jesus came into His Kingdom. What He spoke of figuratively in His agony in the garden of Gethsemane was now symbolically fulfilled as He drank the wine of God's wrath as well as the wine of the 4th Cup of the ritual meal that He did not pass at the Last Supper. All was "fulfilled," as He promised in Matthew 5:17-18 and announced in John 19:28. Therefore, He accepted on behalf of all people the cup that sealed the covenant with God in a New and eternal covenant which offered mankind the purification of sins through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1:29). Through His Passion the debt of sin is paid in full and the New Covenant is inaugurated in the sacrificial blood of the Christ which will become the Eucharistic cup of Acceptance for the restoration of fellowship with God in the New Covenant Church. He willingly gave up His spirit for the sake all mankind and for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth that was to be the vehicle to lead all members of the human family to salvation.
The Synoptic Gospel accounts agree that it was the ninth hour Jewish time, or three in the afternoon Roman and modern time, that Jesus died (see the chart on the Tamid sacrifice and the Passion of Christ). At the Temple it is the same hour that the second Tamid lamb was sacrificed (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.3[65]). Jesus' death on the altar of the Cross, offering up to the Father in a single perfect sacrifice His humanity and His divinity, has been uniquely prefigured in the centuries old Tamid ("standing") sacrifice "the single sacrifice of two unblemished male lambs.
More evidence to Jesus' unique link to the Tamid is found in the Book of Revelation where St. John describes the glorified Messiah in His priestly role before the throne of God when the elders announced that the "Lion of the tribe of Judah," the "root of David" has triumphed: Then I saw, in the middle of the throne with its four living creatures and the circle of elders, a Lamb standing that seemed to have been sacrificed (Rev 5:5-6, RSV St. Joseph's edition; emphasis added). The Greek words for Christ the Lamb in Revelation 5:6 are Arnion Hestekos(6), literally "Lamb Standing," using an archaic Greek term for "lamb" (arnion). The only place the archaic term arnion is found in the Gospels is in John 21:15 where it is used for the faithful New Covenant people of God when after the Resurrection Jesus commands St. Peter to "Feed my lambs [arnion]," and an amazing twenty-nine other times in the book of Revelation where arnion is used to identify Jesus in His glorified state as "the Lamb."
John's "standing" Lamb of sacrifice in Revelation 5:6 is an odd way to express Christ's presence in the heavenly Sanctuary. Slain lambs don't stand. But if John is using Greek to express a Hebrew concept, then what he is describing is a reference to Jesus as the Tamid, the "standing" Lamb of the Old Covenant perpetual daily sacrifice that prefigured the perpetual sacrifice of Jesus Christ. While all the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant were prefigured in Jesus' one sacrifice, in St. John's description of Jesus offering His perfect sacrifice before the throne of God in the book of Revelation, Jesus is uniquely identified as the unblemished "Lamb Standing," in Greek the Arnion Hestekos.
The connection between the unusual and archaic form of the Greek word arnion
for "lamb" in John 21:15, used for believers in Jesus Christ and its use twenty-nine times in the book of Revelation for Jesus Himself may be that in St. John's interpretation of Jesus' resurrected and glorified state that He is no longer the amnos (the typical word for lamb in the Gospel of John except for 21:15) but is now the glorified Arnion (Lamb) of God who is One with the arnion of His Church (Jn 21:15; 1 Cor 12:20-27). But there may also be a more profound connection to the Greek words in Revelation 5:6 which identify Jesus as the Arnion Hestekos, the "Lamb Standing as though it had been slain" since this "Lamb Standing" takes center stage in the divine Heavenly Liturgy. The key to this profound mystery is the lamb who took center stage in the Old Covenant Temple liturgy, the "standing lamb" of the Tamid.
Unlike the Hebrew word for "standing," which like our English word has the double meaning of "standing" as in "upright" and standing as in "continual" or "perpetual," the Greek word hestekos only means "standing" in the literal sense. Bible scholar Philip Carrington suggests that St. John is writing in Greek but is thinking in Hebrew, using hestekos as, he writes, "a rough Greek translation of the Hebrew word tamid that means standing' as in continual/perpetual,' and refers to the daily whole burnt offering in the Temple." Carrington suggests since there was no Greek word to adequately convey the meaning of this unique sacrifice that Arnion Hestekos (the "Lamb Standing" in Rev 5:6) became the technical term of the Jewish Temple hierarchy for the Tamid lamb of the daily sacrifice. It is likely that this was also the Greek term used in the catechesis of Greek speaking Gentiles who sought instruction in understanding the obligations of the Sinai Covenant.
According to rabbinic teaching, the Tamid was destined to end with the coming of the Messiah at which time the only sacrifice to continue in the Messianic era would be the Todah, , the peace offering of "thanksgiving," the "Eucharistia" (Levine, JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus, page 43; Joseph Ratzinger, Feast of Faith, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1986, page 58). This prediction has literally been fulfilled in the "Thanksgiving" sacrifice of the Eucharist. However, in the heavenly liturgy, Jesus continues to offer Himself as the true Tamid, the "Lamb Standing."
Like all previous Old Covenant high priests, in His role as the divine High Priest Jesus has a sacrifice that He must offer: He has taken his seat at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true tent which the Lord, and not any man, set up. Every high priest is constituted to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this one too must have something to offer (Heb 8:1-3; emphasis added). The sacrifice that Jesus offers is the sacrifice of Himself. Jesus Christ is the true Tamid of the heavenly Sanctuary which the earthly Tamid and the earthly Temple only prefigured (Col 2:16-17).
Christ's Passion unfolded in the same time frame as the Tamid: at dawn when the Tamid was brought out to the altar He was condemned (Mt 26:66-75); at nine in the morning when the first Tamid lamb was sacrificed Jesus was sacrificed (Mk 5:25-6); at noon when the second Tamid lamb was led out to the altar the sun turned dark (Mt 27:45); and at three in the afternoon as the second Tamid lamb was sacrificed and the gates of the Temple opened for the afternoon worship service, Jesus died on the altar of the Cross (Mt 27:46-50) as the gates of heaven were opened to begin receive the righteous dead. In the Old Covenant, the Tamid was the symbol of God's presence with Israel (Ex 29:38-46; Dan 8:11-14). In the New Covenant it is Jesus the Lamb who is the Emmanuel, the "God with us" perpetually to the end of time (Is 7:14; Mt 28:20).
| Passion of the Christ | Tamid Sacrifice |
| Peter denies Christ a third time at the time of the "cockcrow" at 3 AM. | The chief priests are awakened to begin their duties for the morning sacrifice at the signal of the "cockcrow." |
| Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin and taken to Pilate at dawn (sixth hour Roman time in Jn 19:14 and 6 AM our time). | The first Tamid lamb is led to the altar at dawn. |
| Pilate pronounces Jesus "without fault." | The chief priest or his representative announces the morning Tamid "without fault." |
| Jesus is offered a drink prior to crucifixion. | The Tamid lamb is offered a drink. |
| Jesus is crucified at the third hour/9 AM (Mk 15:25). | The Tamid lamb is sacrificed at the third hour/9 AM. |
| The eclipse occurs at noon (sixth hour Jewish time). | The second Tamid lamb is taken out to the altar at noon. |
| Jesus is given a drink. | The second Tamid lamb is offered a drink. |
| Jesus gives up His life at the ninth hour/3 PM. | The second Tamid lamb is sacrificed at the ninth hour/3 PM. |
| Michal E. Hunt © copyright 2012 | |
See the charts on the Tamid sacrifice and the division of day and night hours in the handouts.
Matthew 27:51 ~ And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split...
There were two "veils" in the Temple. One covered the entrance to the Temple's Holy Place and the second inner veil was the covering across the entrance to the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was where God's presence resided in the midst of His people and a sacred space in which the heavenly and earthly Sanctuaries were linked (Ex 25:8, 40; Ex 26:31-35; 35:12; 39:34; Lev 24:3; 2 Chr 3:14). Matthew is referring to the inner veil. The word "veil" gives the wrong impression of this barrier. It was a textile that hung from a height of about 30 feet and was the thickness of a man's hand. Since the sin of the Golden Calf (Ex 32) only the anointed High Priest had access to the Holy of Holies once a year on the feast of Atonement/Yom Kippur (Lev 16:1-18). At the ninth hour (three in the afternoon), the assigned chief priests had entered the Holy Place as the afternoon Tamid lamb was slain to trim the wicks of the golden Menorah and to cleanse the ashes from the golden Altar of Incense that stood in front of the veil that shielded the Holy of Holies in preparation for the burning of incense at the conclusion of the afternoon liturgy. Imagine the shock of the chief priests as the earth shook and the veil was torn as though by invisible hands from the top to the bottom.
Question: What does the supernatural act of the
ripping of the covering that barred the way to the presence of God in the Holy
of Holies symbolize? See Gen 3:15; CCC 536 and 1026.
Answer: The ripping of the veil symbolized the
fact that God had accepted His Son's perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind
and was giving everyone access to the most holy place of all "the heavenly
Sanctuary that had been barred to man since the Fall of Adam. Christ conquered
the serpent and became the promised Mediator between man and God (Gen 3:15).
Question: What sign should all faithful Jews have
read in the tearing of the veil and the earthquake? See Ps 68:9; 77:19; Mt 24:7-8.
Answer: These were the signs the prophets predicted
in the coming of the Final Age of Man.
Matthew 27:52-53 ~ 52 tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Only Matthew records the appearance of saints in association with Jesus' resurrection. This event is the first expression of faith in the liberation of the dead by Christ's descent into Sheol/Hades (see 1 Pt 3:19-20; 4:16). The Catechism teaches: Scripture calls the abode of the dead to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" "Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek ... It was precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord deliver when he descended into hell." Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him (CCC 633).
We do not know what became of these saints. Jesus prohpesied this event in John 5:25-28. We do not know if they continued to live out their lives on earth as a reminder of the Resurrection and as an encouragement to the fledgling New Covenant Church like the resurrected Lazarus (Jn 11:38-44; 12:1-2), or perhaps they ascend to the Father with Jesus forty days later.(7)
Question: What would the resurrection of holy Jewish
saints have meant for the Jews who witnessed the event? See Is 26:19; Ez
chapter 37; Dan 12:2-3.
Answer: For the Jews, the "resurrection of the
righteous ones" was a sign of the Last Age of Man and the coming of the
Messianic Era.
Question: What does this event mean for Christians?
See 1 Thes 4:16; Rev 21:1-4.
Answer: For Christians, this event prefigures our
promise of a bodily resurrection when Christ returns. It is also evidence that
the effect of Jesus' resurrection changed the whole balance of nature. He came
to redeem mankind from the effects of sin but also to redeem the natural world
which had been wounded, like humanity, by the corrupting power of sin. That is
why, in His Second Advent, all of creation will be transformed into the new
heaven and new earth.
Matthew 27:54 ~ 54 The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"
Question: What is significant about the declaration
of the Roman officer and his men?
Answer: They are the first Gentiles to proclaim Jesus
"the Son of God." They may not have completely understood what they were
saying, but it will be a declaration that will be carried into the Gentile
nations of the earth.
Matthew 27:55-56 ~ There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
According to the Gospels, the only male disciple at the Cross was the "beloved disciple" who the Church Fathers identify as St. John Zebedee. Isn't it ironic that it is the women who stayed with Christ to the end? They will be rewarded for their faithfulness.
Question: How many faithful women disciples can you
name who are mentioned in Scripture other than Jesus' Blessed Mother?
Answer:
| The Seven Women Disciples | Scripture |
| Mary Magdalene: cured of demon possession |
Mt 27:56, 61; 28:1; Mk 15:40, 47; 16:1, 9; Lk 8:2; 24:10; Jn 19:25, 20:1, 18 |
| Joanna: wife of Cuza the steward of Herod Antipas | Lk 8:3; 24:10 |
| Mary: Cleopas/Cleophas (wife or sister?) and mother of James and Joses (Joseph) |
Mt 27:56, 61; 28:1; Mk 15:40, 47; 16:1; Lk 24:10; Jn 19:25 |
| Salome: probably the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John |
Mt 22:20-21; 27:56; Mk 15:40; 16:1 |
| Mary of Jerusalem, mother of John-Mark* and kinswoman of the disciple Barnabas (Col 4:10) | Acts 12:12 |
| Mary of Bethany |
Lk 10:39, 42; Jn 11:1, 2, 19, 20, 28, 31, 32, 45; 12:3 |
| Martha of Bethany |
Lk 10:38, 40, 41; Jn 11:1, 5, 19, 20, 21, 24, 30, 39; 12:2 |
| Michal E. Hunt © copyright 2012 | |
*her home was the place the Apostles regularly met in Jerusalem and may have been the site of the Upper Room.(8)
It is important to remember that the Jews collectively are not responsible for Jesus' death. No human agency had power over Jesus. This was God's plan. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: The Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus' death: The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. The personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles' calls to conversion after Pentecost. Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept the ignorance' of the Jews of Jerusalem and even their leaders. Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: "His blood be on us and on our children!" a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence. As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council: Neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion.... The Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from Holy Scripture.' All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion (CCC# 597).
Matthew 27:57-61 ~ The Burial of Jesus
57 When it was
evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a
disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to
Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed
over. 59 Taking the body, Joseph
wrapped it in clean linen 60 and
laid it [in] his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge
stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. 61 But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
St. Mark includes the information that Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin and that the day Jesus died was Preparation Day (Friday) for the coming Sabbath. It became the Sabbath at sundown; therefore, Jesus' body was removed from the Cross prior to sundown in accordance with the Law (Dt 21:22-23). Placing Jesus' body in this rich man's tomb was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9 in the Septuagint translation: And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich of his death; for he practiced no iniquity, nor craft with his mouth.
The body of Christ was wrapped in a clean linen shroud which many Christians believe is the Shroud of Turin (Mk 15:46; Lk 23:53; Jn 19:40). There is no mention of washing Jesus' body in any of the Gospel accounts, which was the typical practice in a natural death (see Acts 9:37). However, not washing Jesus' body is in accordance with Jewish customs for one who died a violent death since the blood, which gives life, must not be removed from the body. This is the practice in Israel today for those killed by suicide bombers. The Shroud of Turin not only has the negative image of a man who died from crucifixion, but the blood of the victim is on the Shroud. However, even a victim of violent death would have his body prepared with herbs and spices, and this was the case with Jesus' body (Jn 12:7; Lk 23:53; 19:40), and there is ample evidence of this practice on the Shroud of Turin.
Mary Magdalene and Mary (probably) the mother of James and Joseph, kept watch over the location of the tomb.
Saturday, Nisan the 16th
Matthew 27:62-66 ~ Guards are placed at Jesus' Tomb
62 The next day, the
one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees
gathered before Pilate 63 and said,
"Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, After three days
I will be raised up.' 64 Give
orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples
come and steal him and say to the people, He has been raised from the dead.'
This last imposture would be worse than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "The guard is yours; go
secure it as best you can." 66 So
they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the
guard.
This day was the Great/High Sabbath of the holy week of the feast of Unleavened Bread (Jn 19:31).
Question: What is ironic about the guards the members
of the council wanted placed on Jesus' tomb to prevent His disciples from
stealing His body and fostering the belief that His missing body was
resurrected?
Answer: The presence of the guards and the officially
sealed tomb, which Jesus' disciples would have observed, only served as more
proof that Jesus' Resurrection was a supernatural event.
Chapter 28 ~ Jesus Arises from the Dead
He will revive us
after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his
coming, and his judgment shine forth like the light of day! He will come to us
like the fain, like spring rain that waters the earth.
Hosea 6:2 (8th
century BC)
Behold, we are
going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief
priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over
to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised
on the third day.
Jesus' third prophecy
of His Passion ~ Lk 23:53; Mathew 20:18-19
Sunday, Nisan the
17th ~ the Feast of Firstfruits
~ the offering of the first fuits if the barley harvest
The LORD said to
Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you come into the land
which I am giving you, and reap your harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the
first fruits of your harvest to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before the
LORD that it maybe acceptable for you. On the day after the Sabbath the priest
shall do this. On this day when your sheaf is waved, you shall offer to the
LORD for a holocaust an unblemished yearling lamb. Its cereal offering shall
be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as a sweet-smelling
oblation to the LORD; and its libation shall be a fourth of a hin of wine ... This
shall be a perpetual statue for you and your descendants wherever you dwell.
Lev 23:10-14
But now Christ has
been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Lk 23:53; 1 Corinthians 15:20
Matthew 28:1-10 ~ The Resurrection of the Christ
28:1 After the
Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And
behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his
clothing was white as snow. 4 The
guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. 5 Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do
not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised just as
he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, He has been raised
from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.'
8 Behold, I have told you." They
went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce
this to his disciples. 9 And
behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached,
embraced his feet, and did him homage. 10
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go
to Galilee, and there they will see me."
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Question: What day of the week is it according to our
names for the days of the week?
Answer: It is Sunday, the first day of the week.
The Jews only gave a name to one day of the week, and that was the Sabbath (the other days were numbered day one, day two, etc.). The day of Jesus' Resurrection was on the Jewish feast of Firstfruits which, according to the Law was to fall in the day after the Sabbath of the holy week of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:9-13) and was designated a "perpetual" feast to be observed for all generations (Lev 23:14). The communal sacrifice for this feast day, in addition to each of the single Tamid lambs of the morning and afternoon worship service, was a single unblemished male lamb that was to be offered with unleavened bread and red wine. The morning and afternoon Tamid worship services and the feast of Firstfruits were the only communal sacrifices that required a single yearling male lamb offered with unleavened bread and red wine. The date of the Jewish feast of Weeks/Pentecost was determined by counting fifty days from the feast of Firstfruits. As the ancients counted, this feast also always fell on a Sunday. Today the Church celebrates the feast of Firstfruits as Easter Sunday and the date of the feast of Pentecost is determined in the same way by counting fifty days, as the ancients counted, always falling on a Sunday.(9)
Question: What other significant event occurred on
the first day of the week, which we call Sunday, in the Creation event, and
what is the connection to Resurrection Sunday? See Gen 1:1-2:3. Hint: what
was the seventh day of the Creation event?
Answer: Sunday, the first day of the week, was the
first day of the Creation event and it is now the first day of the new creation
in the resurrected Christ Jesus.
The second Mary who went with Mary Magdalene is probably the mother of James (as in Mt 27:56); Mark records that Salome also came to the tomb Sunday morning with these two other women (Mk 16:1). St. Luke records that those present at the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna (the wife of Cuza), Mary the mother of James, and others (Lk 24:10).
Matthew 28:2-2 ~ And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow.
The description of the angel is similar to other descriptions of heavenly beings in Scripture (i.e., Dan 8:15; 10:5). This is the fourth time Matthew has used the Greek word seismos, "earthquake." This fourth time signifies the resurrection of Jesus as an apocalyptic event.(10)
Question: How did Jesus reward the women for their
faithfulness by staying with Him as He hung on the Cross?
Answer: Before He appeared to the men, He first appeared
to His women disciples.
Matthew 28:10 ~ Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."
The Jesus' consoling words, "Don't be afraid" are typical of a heavenly being (i.e., Gen 21:17; 26:24; Tobit 12:17; Lk 1:30; 2:10). Jesus will eventually meet with the Apostles in the Galilee where their adventure started, as He promised them in 26:32, but first He will visit with them in Jerusalem (Lk 24:36-49 and John 20:19-29).
Matthew 28:11-15 ~ The Suppression of the Testimony of
the Roman Guard
11 While they were
going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that
had happened. 12 They assembled
with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the
soldiers, 13 telling them, "You are
to say, His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.' 14 And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy [him] and keep you out of trouble." 15 The soldiers took the money and did as they
were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present
[day].
Instead of recognizing the "sign" of resurrection that Jesus promised them (Mt 13:39-40), the religious leaders conspire with the guards to deceive the people.
Question: Why do they tell the guards that they will
protect them from Pilate?
Answer: The penalty for a Roman soldier who was
caught sleeping on guard duty was death.
Matthew 28:16-20 ~ The Resurrected Christ gives the Great
Commission
16 The eleven
disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they
doubted. 18 Then Jesus approached
and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until
the end of the age."
In Matthew 28:7 when the women disciples discovered the empty tomb, the angel of God told them to go and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead and "now he is going ahead of you to the Galilee; that is where you will see him." They meet Him at the Galilee by the sea (Jn 21:1-23) where Jesus begins His instructions to them that will last for forty days as He appears and disappears to His faithful. It is at the meeting at the Sea of Galilee/Sea of Tiberius that He gives Peter and the disciples their "marching orders" in establishing His Kingdom of the Church.
Matthew 28:19-20 is called "The Great Commission."
Question: What is the scope of the mission Jesus has
given His disciples in every generation? See Dan 7:13-14; Jn 20:21-23 and CCC
730.
Answer: The mission is universal for the emissaries
of the One who has universal power over all the earth. From the time of Jesus'
Resurrection, the mission of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit becomes the
mission of the Church, as Jesus told the Apostles in John 20:19b ~ As the
Father has sent me, so I send you.
Question: What is the significance of the command to
baptize with the formula: "In the name of the Father, and of he Son, and of the
holy Spirit"? See Jn 3:3-5 and CCC 1257, 1272-3.
Answer: Rebirth through water and the spirit in Christian
baptism is the means Jesus has given for entrance into the community of the New
Covenant. In the Sacrament of Baptism, the baptized person is configured to the
risen Savior and incorporated into the Body of Christ which is His Church. The
formula Jesus gives for the Sacrament of Baptism defines the Trinity and
designates baptism as the union of the one baptized with the life of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The union of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the central mystery of Christian faith. Indeed, the faith of all who call themselves Christians rests on belief in the union of the Most Holy Trinity (CCC 232-34, 237).
Do not miss that baptism is linked to teaching the newly baptized to observe "all that I have commanded you." Simply acknowledging Christ is not enough and the old Law no longer defines righteousness "it is the Gospel of salvation preached in the New Law that defines the path of salvation for Christians.
Question: How is Jesus' promise And behold, I am
with you always, until the end of the age a fulfillment of Matthew 1:23 and
Isaiah 7:14? Also see CCC 1374-77.
Answer: The name Emmanuel means "God with us," which
is what Jesus promises His faithful. It is also the promise of His real but
invisible presence in the Eucharist from the time of His Ascension until His
return at the end of the Age of Man.
Jesus' promise reminds the faithful that we do not have to struggle through life alone, relying on our own strength, as St. John Chrysostom wrote: Do I dare to try to rely on my own strength? I have his written word in my hands. It is my staff, my security, and my safe harbor. Though the whole world be turned on its head, I read the word that I carry with me always because it is my wall and my defense. What is this written word? "I am with your always, even to the end of the world" (Sermo antequam iret in exilium, 2). The post-Resurrection Jesus used similar words to encourage St. Paul when He told His servant in a vision: Be fearless, speak out and do not keep silence: I am with you (Acts 18:9-10a, emphasis added). And Jesus' words of assurance may have inspired the writer of Hebrews when he wrote: God himself has said: I shall not fail you or desert you, and so we can say with confidence: With the Lord on my side, I fear nothing: what can human beings do to me? (Heb 13:5-6).
Jesus will teach the Church for forty days prior to His Ascension to the Father (Acts 1:3), appearing and disappearing at will. During the time between His Resurrection and Ascension, He continually visited with His Apostles and disciples:
In His death and resurrection, Jesus has ushered in a new and everlasting covenant that fulfills and surpasses all previous covenants (see the chart "Yahweh's Eight Covenants"):
| Old Covenants | Fulfilled in Christ |
| 1. The covenant with Adam | Jesus is the "new Adam" who has atoned for the sin of the first Adam, conquering sin and death and bringing forth His Bride, the Church, from His pierced side as Eve was born from the side of Adam (Rom 5:14-21; 1 Cor 15:20-45; CCC 359, 411, 504, 766). |
| 2. The covenant with Noah | Jesus' gift of the Sacrament of baptism has restored man, through water and the Spirit to renewed life (Jn 3:3, 5; 1 Pt 3:21, CCC 628, 1094). |
3. The three-fold Abrahamic covenant:
|
Jesus has fulfilled the three promises made to Abraham
(CCC 59, 706, 762-66):
|
| 4. The Covenant at Sinai | Jesus has fulfilled all the blood rituals and purification rituals of the old Law in His one perfect sacrifice on the altar of the Cross, having made atonement for the sins of man and offering continual purification through the Eucharist and the other Sacraments of His Church (Heb 9:15-28; CCC 577-582). In His self-sacrifice and fulfillment of the Sinai Covenant, Jesus has freed God's people from the curse of failing to keep the old Law (Dt 28:15; Rom 3:21-26; Gal 3:13-14). |
| 5. The Aaronic Covenant of a ministerial priesthood | Jesus has established the New Covenant priesthood: A universal priesthood of all believers and a ministerial priesthood that is no longer based on heredity but on the call of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19-20; CCC 1141-43). |
| 6. The Perpetual Priesthood of Phinehas | Jesus Christ is the eternal High Priest of the New and Everlasting Covenant (Heb 4:14-15; 8:1-3; CCC 1137). |
| 7. The Davidic Covenant | God's promise to David that his throne would endure forever is fulfilled in Christ who is the heir of David and the King of the Universal Church (Lk 1:32-33; Heb 1:1-4; CCC 786, 2105). |
| Michal E. Hunt © copyright 2012 | |
Questions for group discussion:
Question: What has Christ's death merited for us?
See CCC 613-618.
Question: When did the Apostles and disciples take
the 4th Cup and when do we willing submit our selves to God and take
up the 4th Cup of Acceptance? See Mt 10:38; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23; 14:27
and CCC 2015.
Answer: All New Covenant believers, past, present,
and future take the 4th Cup of Acceptance when, in obedience to the
will of God, we follow His commandment to take up our own crosses and follow
the Savior: The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no
holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle (CCC # 2015).
You will recall that in Matthew 20:20-23 Jesus asked James and John Zebedee: Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? When they replied that they could, Jesus' response which must have been given with much tenderness was: Very well; you shall drink my cup.... The brothers did indeed drink the cup of suffering in faith and obedience. James was martyred about the year 42 AD and John valiantly "carried his cross" for Christ until his death when he was a very old man. St. Polycarp, disciple of the beloved St. John, who was Bishop of Smyrna (one of the seven churches in Revelation) spoke of this same "cup" when facing martyrdom in his 86th year. He prayed: O Lord God almighty, the Father of Your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of You, the God of angels and powers, and of every creature, and of the whole race of the righteous who live before You, I give you thanks that You have counted me worthy of this day and this hour, that I should be counted in the number of Your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life ... (Jurgens, The Fathers of the Church, vol. I, page 73; emphasis added).
But we also take up the Cup of Acceptance in the Eucharistic cup of the blood of Christ. In the Eucharist we actively live out of the bond of covenant fidelity that we have sworn from the time of our Christian baptism and which is completed in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Endnotes:
1. It is assumed that Simon of Cyrene became a believer in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Mark names his two sons, Alexander and Rufus, who were presumably well-known members of Mark's Christian community (Mk 14:21). Cyrenian Christians were important members of the Christian community in Antioch (Syria). Some of the Cyrenians were among the first to preach to the Gentiles in Antioch (Acts 11:20) and Lucius of Cyrene was listed as a prophet or teacher at Antioch (Acts 13:1).
2. At the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Golgotha was located outside the walls of the holy city of Jerusalem. It was forbidden to contaminate the sanctity of the holy city by the presence of the dead. Therefore no one could be buried or executed inside the walls of Jerusalem, which was considered to be "the camp of God" (Leviticus 24:14-23). In the years that followed Jesus' crucifixion and the subsequent destruction of the city walls in 70 AD, new walls were built that expanded the size of the city. The current city walls were built in the 16th century AD by order of the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. Today the Crucifixion site and the tomb of Jesus are enclosed within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is a church that was originally constructed in the 4th century AD after Queen Helena, the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor, had visited Jerusalem and with the help the Bishop of Jerusalem identified the sites of Jesus' birth, death and burial. During the course of Jerusalem's turbulent history, the church was destroyed and rebuilt several times.
3. It has long been a Christian tradition that Golgotha was Adam's burial site. This is an ancient tradition dating back as far as the 3rd century AD Christian biblical scholar, Origen and St. Ephraim the Syrian (4th century AD). St. Jerome (the 4th century AD) rejected this story as mere legend. However, St. John Chrysostom, the 4th century Bishop of Constantinople who was born in Antioch, the home church of Sts. Paul and Barnabas wrote: And He came to the place of a skull.' Some say that Adam died there, and there lieth; and that Jesus in this place where death had reigned, there also set up the trophy. For He went forth bearing the cross as a trophy over the tyranny of death; and as conquerors do, so he bare upon His shoulders the symbol of victory" (Homilies on the Gospel of John, LXXXV.1, St. John Chrysostom). If you visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, below the site of Jesus' crucifixion, you will be shown a large rock streaked with red, and you will be told that this small cave was Adam's tomb and the blood of Christ dripped from above on to Adam's bones so that he too could be redeemed from his sins.
4. According to legend and tradition, in the 330's AD Queen Helena, the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, claimed to have rediscovered the true cross of the Crucifixion, as well as the crosses of the two robbers, and the titulus that hung over Jesus' head. The crossbeam of one of the robber's cross, a fragment of the true cross, and the titulus were taken back to her palace in Rome. Through the misadventures of time, the location of the titulus was lost. Queen Helena's palace became the Church of the Holy Cross [Santa Croce] in Rome. But during a renovation of the church in the Middle Ages, the titulus was rediscovered hidden in a recess in one of the walls in the Sanctuary where it can be seen on display today. Only a potion of the titulus survives. An analysis of the titulus has revealed:
5. During a full moon the earth is between the moon and the sun. A full solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun with the moon blocking the sun's light on that portion of the earth in the shadow of the moon as the moon's disk fully covers the sun. In the cycles of the moon, it is the new moon that passes between the earth and the sun and as the moon progresses in its cycle; the full moon is on the opposite side of the earth, with the earth between the sun and the moon (with the moon reflecting the sun's light). Therefore, it is impossible to have a solar eclipse during a full moon cycle, as it was on the 15th of Nisan in 30 AD. Lunar eclipses occur when the earth is between the moon and the sun, but lunar eclipses are only partial eclipses. The description of total darkness in the Gospel accounts is the darkness of a solar eclipse (Goldsmith, The Astronomers, page 294). Dionysius the Areopagite claimed to be an eyewitness observer of the eclipse from the city of Heliopolis at the time of Christ's crucifixion. Julius Africanus quoted a pagan Roman scholar named Phlegon who wrote a history in the 2nd century AD in which he commented on the rare phenomenon at the time of Christ's crucifixion during a full moon cycle, attributing the event to a solar eclipse: During the time of Tiberius Caesar an eclipse of the sun occurred during the full moon (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1). The third century AD, Christian scholar and apologist Origen also referred to Phlegon's comments on the total eclipse event that defied nature (Celsum, 2.14, 33, 59) as did the sixth century writer Philopon (De.opif.mund. II, 21), and Roman lawyer turned Christian priest Tertullian (c. 155-240 AD) challenged doubters to go and see the evidence recorded in the Roman achieves concerning the unexplained eclipse during the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
6. The only other time the complete term Arnion Hestekos is found is in Rev 14:1 when St. John sees the Arnion Hestekos as Christ the King on Mount Zion: Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing [Arnion Hestekos] on Mt. Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads It is a vision that is the fulfillment of Psalms 2:6: I myself have anointed my king on Zion my holy mountain ...
7. St. Augustine, St. Jerome and St. Thomas Aquinas leaned toward the interpretation that these were dead holy men and women who arose in the way Lazarus did, and then died again later. They embraced this interpretation because they felt it best supported the testimony of Sacred Scripture and did not lead to theological difficulties (see St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, III, question 53, a3). This is also the interpretation proposed by the Catechism of St. Pius V, 1.6.9.
8. It is believed that the Jewess Mary of Jerusalem was married to a Roman. Her son, John, surnamed Mark (a Roman name), traveled with St. Paul and his kinsman St. Barnabas, became Peter's secretary in Rome, wrote the second Gospel that bears his name, and founded the Church in Alexandria, Egypt.
9. Today most Jews no longer celebrate Firstfruits on the day after the Sabbath of the holy week of Passover. Instead they have moved the day to Nisan the 16th which means the day of the week changes with every year. Only the Kararite Jews and the Samaritans keep the traditional day on the Sunday of the holy week of Passover/Unleavened Bread and celebrate Weeks/Pentecost fifty days later on a Sunday. The feast was known by its Greek name "Pentecost" (50th day) in the 1st century AD. Josephus records that the days of the feasts were changed sometime in the 1st century AD (Antiquities of the Jews, 13.8.4 [252]).
10. The first time was in the great storm that Jesus stilled (Mt 8:24); the next time was in His apocalyptic discourse (Mt 24:7); the third time was in the resurrection of the holy ones (Mt 27:54); and His resurrection is the fourth earthquake.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2012 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Primary resources used in this lesson:
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2012 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Catechism references for this lesson (*indicates that Scripture is quoted or paraphrased in the citation).
|
585* |
Mt 28:10 |
654 |
|
|
Mt 27:48 |
515* |
640* |
|
|
Mt 27:51 |
586* |
857*, 1444* |
|
|
633* |
645* |
||
|
Mt 27:54 |
441* |
Mt 28:17 |
644 |
|
Mt 27:56 |
500* |
Mt 28:18020 |
1120* |
|
Mt 28:1 |
500, 2174* |
2, 767*, 849, 1223, 1257*, 1276 |
|
|
Mt 28:6 |
652* |
Mt 28:19 |
189, 232-37, 543*, 691*, 730*, 831*, 1122, 2156 |
|
641* |
Mt 28:20 |
80, 788*, 860*, 2743 |
|
|
Mt 28:9 |
645* |