All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth

 

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 

- Matthew 28:11-20 

 

Yesterday we read that after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  My study Bible calls this lie simply absurd, in that Christ's disciples were afraid and had gone into hiding.  Moreover, most of the disciples went on to suffer terrible persecution and martyrdom.  It is unthinkable, my study Bible says, that they would willingly endure such sufferings over a known fallacy.  

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  My study Bible notes that Christ declares that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now possessed by His glorified human nature.  This human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . . "  This is the Great Commission, and it is the Lord's final commandment given on earth.  It is to be lived out in the Church until He returns again.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus Himself, but we should understand it as given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

 

 " . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study Bible says that Christ Himself is present in each believer, and in the Church, always -- both personally and in the Holy Spirit, as neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age, ti says, does not by any means imply that we will be separated from Him at the end of the world.  As the Church's prayers so often indicate and remind us, Christ is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.  

Jesus tells the disciples, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  My study Bible notes something extraordinary and unexpected, but understood in the Church since ancient times:  that this authority that was always His by virtue of His divine identity as Son has now come to be shared even with the human Jesus, who has ascended in His full identity as Son of Man and Son of God, so that even His humanity is transfigured.  The implications for we human beings were never lost on the early Church, as it came to grips with the understanding of the implications of this ascent into heaven of both humanity and divinity in Christ.  My study Bible elaborates that this glorified human nature now means that Christ's power can work in us, in our lives, and in what we do:  in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit disciples can be made in the world.  The power of God is at work in and among human beings in its transforming and powerful capacities for healing and setting aright:  we can come to faith through grace, the power of Resurrection is at work for all of us, in all of us.  In a modern frame of mind, we tend to perceive these things only individualistically.  But the implication isn't just for believers as individuals, but for the body of the Church as a corporate entity.  The many saints and stories of God's glory at work in us and among us testify to a "great cloud of witnesses," a whole body of traditions that feed us, an ongoing expression of Resurrection through the myriad saints and saintly acts of grace and experiences of God's uplifting power in so many dimensions, ongoing into the future, and at work around the world.  Sometimes it seems that this "corporate" or "community" sense of who we are is lost in debates and dissension, and a very individualistic sense of faith that results.  But we should not forget that what each one does becomes a part of the whole and touches on the whole.  We are not saved alone, but our faith works through both love of God and love of neighbor, and grace does not just touch one, but ripples out in ways that we just don't know -- perhaps only in the love that touches our hearts so that we in turn may touch others through our own changes.  There really is no such thing as one person praying alone without those prayers somehow effectively serving the world, even if unknown to the one who prays.  In our dissension and disagreements with one another, in the midst of a world engulfed by strife and seemingly ever-growing conflict, let us believers consider that our faith does not make us alone, but a part of something, and that as we practice that faith it is also up to us to be concerned with how we create community as well.  A modern world seems to lose sight of Christ's great emphasis on humility and serving one another, and that the core of what we know of God is love.  St. Paul writes what is perhaps the greatest statement on love in his Epistle to the Corinthians (found at 1 Corinthians 13:1-13).  Among other things, he writes, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."  He reminds us that "love never fails" but that everything else we value will pass away, and that now we know in part, but in the fullness of the Resurrection, we will know just as we are also known.  So therefore, what abides is "faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."  In John's Gospel, Jesus gives a new command, that we love one another as He has loved us.  He taught, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (see John 13:34-35).  Let the transfiguring power of Resurrection be made clear in our understanding of love and community, and the great truth of Jesus Christ, God and human, who came to offer us all salvation.   Let us remember that He is with us always, and call upon Him to teach us His love.

 

 

 

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word

 

 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

- Matthew 28:1-10 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar at the Crucifixion, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.  Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.  On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'   Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.'  So the last deception will be worse than the first."  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. 

 

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  My study Bible comments that the earthquake is a sign of our Lord's great victory over death, which foreshadows the general resurrection of all humanity.  It asks us to note that the angel does not roll back the stone to let the Lord out, for in Christ's glory, He could pass through solid rock and so does not need the stone to be rolled away (see John 20:19).  Rather, this allows the witnesses in to see that Christ has already risen.  Note also how the brilliance of the angel is evocative of the language describing Christ's appearance as the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3, Luke 9:29).

 

And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  My study Bible comments that these women are the first witnesses of the supreme event in all history:  the Resurrection of Christ and the destruction of death.  The angel refers to Christ as the One who was crucified, teaching us not to shy away from Christ's death, but rather to glory in the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14), which is the weapon Christ used to destroy death and the trophy of Christ's victory.  In the liturgical services of the Orthodox Church celebrating the Resurrection, it is sung hundreds of times:  "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life."  St. Paul writes, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17).  

 

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."  Rejoice! is the same greeting given to Mary by Gabriel at the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-28); it is the same word given by Christ to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount in the plural (as here), when He says, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).  

 

 Look at this juxtaposition of words in response to the Resurrection, as the women run from the tomb to tell the disciples what has happened, and that He will meet them in Galilee:  they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy.   Such a mixture of emotions is rare for us to discern in a modern age:  simultaneously both fear and great joy!  We must discern that this combination tells us about the level of "awe" in this event which, if we had not heard the story so frequently already, would be an unimaginable outcome.    St. Paul said of the Crucifixion, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God," and, "For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-25).  This reaction, after witnessing the Crucifixion, and now receiving the message at the tomb, of fear mixed with great joy, is the power of the Cross at work in them -- the dawning of this great power and wisdom of God found in both the "foolishness of God" and the "weakness of God."  One experiences fear in the face of the unknown, but great joy is found in the loving gestures of God, in which God comes to be known to us, and thus is produced by the truth of Christ and the great good news of the gospel.  For, as St. Paul has said, without the fullness of this great revelation, we just don't have the full story of our faith.  In the fullness of the truth is found both fear and great joy.

 

 

 

And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar

 

 And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'   Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.'  So the last deception will be worse than the first."  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

 

- Matthew 27:55-66 

 

Yesterday we read that, when Jesus was crucified, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"   

 

  And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.  The Gospel gives us a partial picture of what takes place at Christ's crucifixion, and the witnesses there who've ministered to Him since His ministry in Galilee.  My study Bible comments that Mary the mother of James and Joses is seen by most patristic writers as the Virgin Mary, as she was in fact the stepmother of James and Joses (see Matthew 13:55, compare Mark 15:40, 47).  Theophylact summarizes the teaching of the Church Fathers thus:  "James and Joses were sons of Joseph by his first wife.  And since the Theotokos was called the 'wife' of Joseph, she is rightly called the 'mother' of his children, meaning 'stepmother'."  It is notable, also, that it is the women who remain faithful witnesses here, while the male disciples fled and remain hidden.  It is considered a sign of the divine order restored to a fallen world, in which a woman companion led a man to sin (Genesis 2:18, 3:6). 

Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.  My study Bible comments that to ask for the body of Jesus is a bold public act for this wealthy man, showing that his faith has overcome any fear.  Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the Council (see Mark 15:43, Luke 23:50-54), and together with Nicodemus, his action in the Gospels tells us that there were members of the ruling religious parties who did not side with the decisions of the authorities and were followers of Jesus.  My study Bible also comments that Christ is buried in a new tomb so that no suspicion might later arise that another had risen instead of Christ.  

On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'   Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.'  So the last deception will be worse than the first."  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.  The stage is set for what is to come.  There will be no doubt about what the women will witness.

The women wait and watch, looking on from afar, witnesses to all that has taken place.   They have been with Jesus since His ministry in Galilee, and have followed Him all the way to the Cross.  We get the image of a silent group, watching perhaps on a hill, waiting and staying with Him in their own way, faithful to the end.  It is these women who will be the ones to witness the almost unbelievable news that will follow at the tomb.  But for now, let us watch them, silent as they witness and observe.  What they have is their faith, and one imagines that this is what they hold fast to, what they cling to within themselves.  When there is nothing else to do or to say, this is what we can do:  we can witness and we can cling to our faith -- and that is still doing what we can do.  These women serve as an example today, because they teach us about what to do when it seems like there is nothing we can do.  It is Jesus who has repeatedly warned the disciples that the time is approaching when the best they can do is "watch and pray."  When we enter into times -- as most certainly is this time recorded for us in the Gospel -- in which all seems upside down, unstable, the unthinkable happens, times of great confusion, then it is time for us to consider what these women do.  They do not desert Christ, they do not desert their faith, but they do as they can do.  They watch and they pray and they witness.  They do not flee and do not panic.  They wait on the Lord and they wait in this time, as silent witnesses.  In contrast to the men, they keep their heads and their hearts in place, and do the one thing they can do.  They watch and wait, and witness.  There is a poem by Rudyard Kipling called "If--" (found at this link).  It used to be an oft-quoted poem, and is ostensibly about what it is to become a man.  It begins, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs . . ."  It seems to me that it is these women who exemplify in the Gospels what it means to "be a man" as described in the poem by Kipling.  They set us an example.  By their forbearance and tenacity they will become the ones who first witness what the men cannot, the ones to whom Christ first appears.  And notably, as my study Bible reminded us, in the story of Jesus Christ they are the ones who turn the story of the Fall upon its head.  They are the steadfast ones who resist temptation and struggle through this terrible time of testing, and they are the ones upon whose shoulders the rest of us will stand when the story of Christ is repeated and Resurrection proclaimed.  There are times in our lives when there is nothing that we can do but wait and watch.   In a modern world, this type of thinking seems sadly out of step with the endless encouragements to "be the change you want to see" or to be on board with a new slogan making the rounds.  But the Gospels, in their wisdom, remind us that there are times when we can but watch and pray, and the best we can do is witness and continue practicing the things we know are good while we await a new juncture, a new sense of where we are and what we need to do.  Forbearance and patience become assets and virtues, filled with meaning, at the Cross.  For there we find ourselves, even when the world would proclaim that the only thing that matters is decisive action and effort.  The power to bear pain properly, to endure, is something understood perhaps only with experience.  Wisdom teaches us at times that patience takes effort, and so does quiet strength, even silent witness of the time.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened

 

 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" 

 

- Matthew 27:45-54 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus and the Roman soldiers they came out of the Praetorium to walk to the place of crucifixion, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear the cross of Jesus.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."  Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:  THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. 

 

 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.   Much of what comes to pass at the events surrounding the Crucifixion is found in Biblical prophecy.  Regarding this darkness, see Zechariah 14:6-7; Amos 8:9.  

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  Those who hear Christ misunderstand Him.  He is praying Psalm 22, which is a foretelling of the very details of the Crucifixion.  If we do not understand this prayer and the fullness of the psalm, then Christ's cry of "Why have You forsaken me?" can be easily misinterpreted as a cry of despair.  But the whole of the psalm tells a different story.  As Jesus took on our human nature, He experiences our alienation from God in His humanity, knowing our suffering and distress.  But Christ does not despair.  My study Bible notes that He speaks these words in the name of humanity, completely identifying with us in our condition, for in His divinity He is never forsaken by the Father.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  My study Bible comments here that Christ's death was voluntary to the very end, for even on the Cross, His life could not be taken from Him against His will.  Christ accepts death on the Cross neither to receive the Father's punishment on our behalf, nor to satisfy the Father's need for blood-justice (as if God would demand such things), but so that by entering death as the divine Son of God, He can destroy this last enemy, which is death itself (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  See also Christ's words reported at Luke 23:46, quoting from Psalm 31 (verse 5). 

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split . . .   My study Bible notes that the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man.  Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for all people, giving people access to that which is most holy of all:  God.  In many Orthodox churches, there is a curtain between the altar and the nave which is drawn open during liturgical services in order to emphasize this communion with God, which was at one time sealed off from humanity, and is now available to all who approach in faith.

. . . and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  That the resurrection of the saints from the Old Testament is reported signifies the completeness of the salvation won by Christ.   My study Bible says that this guarantees the promise given to Ezekiel that God can and will one day open the graves of all humankind (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  The saints entering the holy city is an icon of resurrected humanity entering the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 11:10, 12:22-23; Revelation 21:2-22:5).  

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"  My study Bible says that this Roman centurion, a Gentile, realizes that Jesus has dominion over nature, and therefore acknowledges Him as the Son of God.  In the tradition of the Church we know this soldier as St. Longinos.  

I am intrigued with the picture of the saints of the Old Testament walking through the holy city and appearing to many.  Surely it seems to give us a picture of the fullness of reconciliation between heaven and earth through Christ and His transfiguring death upon the Cross.  Just as the veil of the temple is torn in two, so that human beings may now more fully share in communion with God, so these saints appear visibly to human beings, as if heaven and earth are united in the same place.  Indeed, there are many who experience something similar at the death of a loved one, a glimpse or vision of the one recently passed, as if to reassure us that all live to Christ, and that our continuing prayers for those who have passed live also and are heard by God.  In Luke 20:38, Jesus explains to the Sadducees, who do not believe in resurrection, that God "is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."   The veil of the temple torn in two, and the "thinness" of what is often called the veil between heaven and earth, affirm for us in additional ways the transfiguring power of Christ's voluntary death on the Cross, and its effect of reconciling God and humanity, bringing us into closer communion and therefore healing.  If hell is a state of separation of human beings from God, and if the problems of evil in our world are representative of the effects of separation, then Christ enters into death as both fully human and fully divine in order to conquer death and separation from God, for all of us.  This was the understanding of the early Church, and remains our powerful symbol of God's transfiguring love in the Cross.  In the Incarnation, all things are drawn into God's purview, even the gruesome events of the Crucifixion, even Christ's death on the Cross, so that all may be transfigured in the light of Christ, and so that we might have that veil torn in two, the curtain lifted for our own deep experience of God's love for us.  For Christ teaches us that despite the separation from God in our world and the evil that we experience, God is with us and asks us into a communion of love.  The early saints surely understood this, for in their own martyrdom they joined Christ as those who would live His faith in this world and become also those who transfigure death and suffering for the kingdom of God.  If this seems like too great a paradox to you, consider that walking through a hard or evil time with faith simply means that we bring God's love into it, for we seek Christ's way through it, thus gaining a spiritual victory for the kingdom of heaven, for which He instructed us to pray ("Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven").  The Cross of Christ runs more deeply within the realities of this world than anything and everything that will touch our lives; and just so, for this is its power for us.

If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross

 

 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear His cross.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

"They divided My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots."

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS

Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

 

- Matthew 27:32-44 

 

Yesterday we read that when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all as he tried to have Jesus released instead of Barabbas, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.   

 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear His cross.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:  "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."  This quotation is from Psalm 22:18.  If we read the entire psalm, we see it is a picture of the Crucifixion.

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:  THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.  Of today's entire reading, my study Bible comments that Jesus accepts mockery and endures the weakness of our body in His own in order to take upon Himself our sufferings.  This He accomplishes by uniting His divine nature to our human nature.  His humanity is indeed our humanity.  Although He has no sin, He was made to be sin for us, that through His flesh He might condemn sin itself (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9).  Of the two robbers, we know that one would later repent (Luke 23:39-43), but at first both criminals mock Jesus, as Matthew notes.

So why does Jesus endure all of this at the Cross?  Why has He gone through scourging and mocking and cursing and all the rest of it?  He has said Himself that He could pray to the Father and be given twelve legions of angels to stop what is happening to Him (Matthew 26:53).  In every way, the Gospels teach us that this is a voluntary place that Christ goes to, even this horrible miscarriage of justice, with intentional violations of the Mosaic law at every turn in His trial, from false witnesses to a night trial to all the rest of it.  Even to be "betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matthew 26:45) is part of what He voluntarily undergoes.  None of this takes away the sin of those who commit such acts (Matthew 26:24).  But the deliberate cruelty and injustice that Christ endures here tells us a story for all of us and for all time, about the power of God for transcendence and Resurrection, about divinity and goodness that are nonetheless not impaired through bad treatment, and especially about the power of God that goes first before us into a deeply sinful world and shows us the way through.  But even more powerfully, we are to understand holiness through Christ and through the gift of the Spirit.  Resurrection, for example, is a mystery far beyond some sort of rational explanation or moral aphorism.  It is the same with the Cross, and all of these aspects of Christ's Crucifixion.  Jesus as both God and Man enters into the territory of the worst of human sin and atrocities of injustice, unrighteousness.  As the Son of God He is blasphemed, tempted, mocked, scourged, derided, and treated to behavior meant to number Him among the lowest criminals, worthy only of cruelty and contempt.  But none of these actions change who Christ is.  There is no injustice or lie that can actually change the truth about Jesus Christ, that He is both divine in origin and sinless as human being.  This alone is a powerful lesson and inspiration to any of us who have experienced injustice in our lives, for we look to Him as the example of righteousness.  Rather, we look to Christ's faith as an example of how we ourselves should endure in a sinful world.  We hold fast to what is good.  It is the transforming power of the divine, of the very mission of Incarnate Christ, that turns the Cross into a way to redeem our lives and to fill even the worst of times with meaning and mission.  For what the divine has touched and endures through Christ sanctifies and heals our lives, even in the worst of what we do or what is done to us.  It is He who went to the Cross voluntarily who has the power to reach into our deepest places, and to teach us what needs to be changed and healed, to teach us what is properly love, to radically transform what needs transforming, and to teach us His love and redeem us through it.  Only through "becoming sin" -- this image of the worst of the worst, the One who was numbered among the transgressors, among the lowest criminals, who appears to the world as cursed (Galatians 3:13), and reviled, and all the rest of the things we see in today's reading -- can Christ's divinity touch us in all our most difficult and dark places.  For if He came to the world in the image of the all-powerful glorious majesty that is truly the Son of God, what would that have done to lift us up with Him?  What would that have done to make us come to Him and reveal our most shameful secrets so that they may be healed in His love?  The beloved disciple writes:  "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19), and that is what this story truly tells us today.  This is the answer to those who taunt Him to come down from the Cross.

Hail, King of the Jews!

 

 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. 

 

- Matthew 27:24-31 

 

On Saturday we read that Jesus stood before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.   Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"   

When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  My study Bible comments on the cry of the people, "His blood be on us and on our children."  It says that this verse has been used by certain groups to try to justify persecuting Jews, which is a grave and terrible sin.  What was seen by many as a curse here is actually, in fact, properly understood as a blessing which is unwittingly invoked, for it is the Lord's blood that is the source of our redemption.  Moreover, these words are implicitly spoken by anybody who sins.  St. John Chrysostom teaches that although this crowd stirred by the Jewish religious leaders "acted with such madness, so far from confirming a sentence on them or their children, Christ instead received those who repented and counted them worthy of good things beyond number."  He then notes the thousands who were converted in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41) as evidence of Christ's mercy.  

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.   My study Bible comments here that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention was mockery, it is another ironically prophetic act that Jesus should be crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor (see also John 11:49-51, where Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies of Christ's redemptive work).  This mockery, it says, shows Jesus as the One despised and rejected by human beings who bears the iniquity of all of us (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  Jesus is clothed in scarlet, which represents both His royalty and the sins of humanity which He has taken upon Himself.  

As we approach the Cross, the ironies build.  The looks that appear to deceive continue to build up.  We first had Barabbas, whose name means "son of the father" who was chosen by the crowd for mercy in the place of the true Son of the Father, Jesus, whom Pilate tried three times to save (see Saturday's reading and commentary).  In today's reading, the ironies multiply.  The crowd calls down on itself what is intended as a kind of curse.  But viewed through the lens of the Cross and through the faith of Jesus Christ, what they call out is a blessing.  We know that we are cleansed and redeemed through the blood of Christ which this crowd calls down upon itself, as my study Bible points out.  At the heart of Christianity is the understanding that the Incarnate Christ, both God and Man, heals all things precisely through this union in Himself of every component of our lives and our world with the divine.  He has taught us that in the Eucharist we mystically partake of His body and blood, and that this is done ultimately for our own healing, in every dimension, to cleanse what needs cleansing, to transform what needs transforming, to uplift what needs uplifting, to redeem and to bring ultimate peace and goodness.  This is the crux of our faith:  that all must be assumed by Christ for the purpose of salvation, of ultimate healing.  This is how we have to see our faith.  So the crowd inadvertently asks for His healing and salvation.  As the ironies continue, He is also treated as a king.  All of this is meant to mock, but it tells the truth in spite of those intentions.  For He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14).  So the Roman soldiers also inadvertently tell us a truth, despite their intentions to deride Jesus their prisoner destined for crucifixion.  In the compounding of ironies here, all of the intentions to subvert the truth are, in effect, displaying that truth in plain sight.  But, of course, one must know where to look -- and, most importantly, how to look.  One must look with the lens of faith.  For this is the only way to know revelation.  Hence, Christ's words are continually true as this story unfolds:  the one way to remain true to truth is to watch and pray (Matthew 26:41).  As Jesus said to Peter regarding our human condition, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We're subject to temptations such as fear and terror; the unthinkable images described in these scenes -- without faith -- would have doomed the Church to failure without it.  The greatest "irony" of all is to come, the Cross.  And yet it is the Cross that saves, the ultimate sign of the transfiguring healing power of God.

For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy

 

 Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.  

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" 

 

- Matthew 27:11-23 

 

Yesterday we read that, when morning came following Jesus trial at the home of the chief priest Caiaphas, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."  And they said, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"  Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself.  But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood."  And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

 

  Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.    My study Bible comments here that the chief priests hide their real charge against Jesus -- the claim or equality with God -- because this would do nothing to persuade the governor, Pilate, to sentence Christ to death.  Rather, they present a charge of treason:  that Jesus has called Himself the King of the Jews.  This crime would carry the death penalty, as it would be a direct challenge to Roman rule.  

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"   My study Bible notes that Barabbas means "son of of the father."  In one of the paradoxes of this time and this story, we know that it is Christ who is the true Son of the Father.  So, ironically, the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  Where is truth and where is falsehood and deception?  As they influence the crowds to choose Barabbas, these chief priests inicate to which father they belong -- the devil (see John 8:44).  

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"   Note again the irony in this passage.  Pilate's wife has been warned in a dream, and knows that Jesus is a just Man.  Both here and in other Gospels (see Luke 23:13-25) Pilate tries to release Jesus three times -- and three times the multitudes, persuaded by the chief priests and elders,  demand that Jesus be crucified. 

We note the deception, the uncanny "imitation" of what is good by what is actually evil.  The Son of the Father is to be replaced by Barabbas, the "son of the father," as the one who should be spared and uplifted instead.  The One who is to be "uplifted" will be lifted up upon the Cross, as He has said Himself (to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to learn from Him by night):  "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:14-17).  It is worth reading the verses that follow this quotation, for their illumination of good and evil, light and darkness, and their insights into the picture we get in today's reading (see John 3:18-21).  Pilate, the governor from Rome, is the one who is truthful and merciful in this picture, while it is the religious authorities who are ruthless, scheming, and without conscience seeking to destroy the Holy One of God, whom the unclean spirits have recognized (Mark 1:23-24).  These false imitations of the good -- and highly importantly, the ones who will call pure good "evil" -- give us pause to reconsider once again Jesus' scathing words against hypocrisy.  If we look back at Matthew's chapter 23, which contains Jesus' sermon of "woes" directed at the religious leaders, we see His most vehement words directed against hypocrisy, and especially hypocrisy in the places of the religious leaders.  For when we look at this scene in today's reading, of this horrible scene of crucifixion with Christ at its center and its target for execution and torture, we understand the depths of what constitutes the real hypocrisy Jesus rails against.  It is their very hypocrisy that leads to the scene here of placing under order of execution by the Romans the Christ, the very Messiah Himself, the foretold Son of God who has come into the world in human form in order to save the world.  He is the culmination of all of Jewish spiritual history from our perspective, and yet He is the one these hypocrites hate most of all.   Pilate, the patrician who has maneuvered the ranks of power and authority of the Roman state apparatus, understands this fully, as the text gives us the heart of the motivations here:  "For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy."  It is a deep and profound commentary on human society and the drive for power that these men who are the religious authorities seek to put to death the One who is not an imposter, who is the real deal, so to speak, that they are not.  They wish to be in His place, and the only way they can remain there in the face of Christ in their midst is by getting rid of Him.  Their ruthlessness and cruelty in so doing know no bounds, for what has been unleashed is quite simply evil, and that well, once entered, may be very deep and dark indeed.  Let us understand again for ourselves Jesus' constant words of warnings to the disciples not to be deceived, in His final teachings to them (for example, Matthew 24:24).  These words are meant for us every bit as much as they were meant for those disciples, for we live in the time when all grow together, the good and the bad, when evil will continue to seek to manufacture false imitation of the good.  It is up to us to follow His warnings and be mindful, to "watch and pray" as His final parables continued to emphasize to them, and as He urged Peter at the time of greatest testing (Matthew 26:41).  Our hope, despite this scene of Crucifixion, nonetheless remains in watchfulness and prayer, in the depth of our reliance upon Christ and His Kingdom and our participation in it, even as we live in this world.  Christ goes to the Cross, proving to us that no matter what we think we see, the truth of reality is different, and our faith teaches us differently.  For it is the one who would deceive the whole world who is defeated at the Cross.

 

 

 

 

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood

 

 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 

Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."  And they said, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"  Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself.  But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood."  And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

 

- Matthew 27:1-10 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was being tried in the house of the high priest,  Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"   Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.  

 

 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  While the religious Law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), and the high priest has declared Jesus to be a blasphemer (see Wednesday's reading), under Roman occupation, the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  Therefore, my study Bible explains, they had to get permission from the governor.

 

 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."  And they said, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"  Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself.    And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."  In contrast to Peter who repented in his sorrow, weeping bitter tears of recognition (Matthew 26:75), Judas is remorseful but does not repent.  My study Bible says that suicide is not a sign of repentance but rather of being self-absorbed.  There are two accounts of Judas' suicide given in the New Testament:  here and in Acts 1:16-19.  Both accounts name the purchased field the Field of Blood.  The prophecy is from Jeremiah 32:6-9; compare to Zechariah 11:12-13 (link).

We might ask, what is the difference between repentance and remorse?  If we look at these words in Greek, repentance is μετάνοια/metanoia.  The word translated here as remorseful is a verb, μεταμέλομαι/metamelomai, meaning that he became remorseful.   We can see one significant difference in these words in the fact that the first, for repentance, ends with -νοια, which comes from the Greek word νοῦς/nous.   Meta- is change, as in an effect of transforming; nous is often translated as mind, the root of words like "noetic."  But it is deeper than simply our understanding of "mind" as the place of daily thoughts that come and go.  The "nous" is also understood as the part of ourselves that can receive illumination and understanding from God, from the divine.  Therefore, the change that is repentance is a kind of total internal conversion, an inner orientation to God that transforms us deeply as persons.  Perhaps we could say it deeply or fundamentally changes our whole way of thinking or perceiving meanings in some sense.  But metamelomai is meta- plus -melo, which means "care" or "concern."  So the implication of remorse is regret for a bad outcome, rather than a deeply-felt change of heart.  It quite implies, to my way of thinking, an objectifying way of looking at Christ, rather than the personal loving relationship Christ offers to all.  Possibly the outcome of Christ's trial was not what Judas expected.  Perhaps this horrible outcome struck Judas with the reality which he had actually brought about through his betrayal.  Delivering Christ to the Romans for Crucifixion and death is a betrayal of the society in some sense, to deliver a fellow Jew for judgment.  At any rate, he has betrayed innocent blood, and now bears this burden of this great sin under the law, which the chief priests and elders do not help him alleviate, saying, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"   And these rulers clearly do not receive him with any kind of positive recognition or inclusion for what he's done in collaborating with them; instead he bears the brunt of this sin.  We don't really know the answers as to Judas' motivations and desires (John tells us that he was a thief), but the Gospels give us these words to think about.  Peter does not with forethought betray Christ; it is a kind of impulsive response to fear that prompted his denials, and a forgetfulness of Christ's warning.  His recognition of his own weakness serves to illuminate Christ's words to Peter that he must "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (see Monday's reading).  Judas' action, however, was more deliberate and considered, and he was given many instances in which Christ still sought to save him, to make him think about what he was doing in betrayal, to let him know the reality of his choice, even offering him friendship until the last moment ("Friend, why have you come?"); see Tuesday's reading.  Judas' remorse somehow comes short of restoring relationship with Christ, and the focus is still on the self, as my study Bible explains.  It is akin to a regret for something because it didn't turn out the way one expected.  With this sort of regret, one can go one way and another -- take it to a deeper place in recognition of the true harm one has caused and therefore to repentance, coming to Christ.  Or, the dwelling remains on the self only.  For the Eastern Orthodox, a morbid or excessive guilt is still a form of self-centeredness.  Repentance is finding salvation, coming to Christ for healing and for true transformation of the inner self, allowing oneself to be changed.  It is Christ who heals and transforms, who gives us the true perspective we need in life, and teaches us true reality -- and in that depth of relationship and communion, we are healed.  This is the foundation of our faith, and this is what Judas fails still to realize.  He does not come to Christ with his repentance, but only to the chief priests and elders with his regret.  Let us consider, then, when we think about this passage, the love of Christ that can remit sin, and in which we can truly find ourselves and what we need to heal -- even from our own self-inflicted damage.

 

 

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly

 

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"   Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.

 

- Matthew 26:69-75 

 

Yesterday we read that those who had laid hold of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"

 

 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  My study Bible comments that a girl being the first to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve in Genesis 3:6.  It says that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  

And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"   Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.  My study Bible comments that in this scenario in the courtyard, Peter is so overcome with fear that Christ's earlier prediction (see Matthew 26:31-35, especially verse 34) does nothing to make him aware of what he is doing until he hears the crowing of the rooster, and he remembers Christ's word.  In St. Luke's version of these events, it is only the gaze of Christ that calls Peter back to remembrance (Luke 22:61-62).  His remembrance causes him to weep bitterly.  St. Ambrose of Milan comments that nevertheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

Peter weeps, purging his sin in true repentance, and realizing the truth of what he had done.  We recall his words to Christ on the night Christ predicted all the disciples would be made to stumble because of Him:   "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble," and "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (Matthew 26:33, 35).  These declarations, although vehement, in the end did nothing to prevent just such a scenario from happening.  Peter's own weakness is on display to himself, his denial plainly a denial of his own vulnerability and fears, and thus he weeps bitterly at having realized what he's done.  But Peter is our picture of courage and strength nonetheless.  He is a leader among the apostles.  We know his weaknesses and his exuberance.  In John's Gospel, Peter first declares to Jesus at the Last Supper, "You shall never wash my feet!"  But when Jesus tells him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me," Peter changes altogether, and demands, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" (John 13:3-9).  When Jesus first predicts His own death, Peter declares, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  We understand Peter's denials in this case, but it simply leads to a stunning rebuke by Jesus:  "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (see Matthew 16:21-23).  In the end of John's Gospel, Peter is directed by Jesus what he should do, and even given a preview of his courageous death.  But then he goes on to ask what the beloved disciple, John, must do, saying, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus answers him by asking, "What is that to you?  You follow Me"  (see John 21:15-25).  In so many examples in the Gospels, Peter is the one, although a leader among the Twelve, and certainly a leader to come after Christ's death, who shows the weaknesses of human beings, our fallibilities, the one who stumbles through exuberance and emotion.  And yet, Peter is the one who comes to terms with his own failure in humility, recognizing how he has stumbled and disappointed himself.   In Peter we find both greatness and humility, the capacity for leadership of the fledgling Church that would soon spread to the entire known world, and yet the humility to be corrected.  And perhaps it is just this humility that gave Peter his greatest strength, for he is the one who could endure a rebuke of Christ and persist, and remain true to his calling despite Christ's prediction of Peter's own death by crucifixion (John 21:18-19).  I can speak for no one but myself, but I would venture to say that many (if not all) of us have parts of ourselves of which we're ashamed or embarrassed, aspects of weakness and vulnerability we'd not care to see nor to admit.  But Peter's strength is in acceptance of this truth about himself, even if accompanied by bitter tears.  For it enables him repeatedly to return to Christ, to find correction in repentance, to carry on and to manifest his position as leader in the early Church, "first among equals."  Let us find also his courage and humility, and his capacity for turning back to Christ, for it is a saving grace, the strength that restores us to our proper relation to Christ when we've stumbled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?"

 

 And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"

 

- Matthew 26:57-68 

 

Yesterday we read that while Jesus was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

 

 And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"   My study Bible explains that the people misunderstand the Lord's words which are reported in John 2:19-21.  It explains that there was a belief among some Jews that the temple would be destroyed and a new one built by the Messiah.  

 

  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"  Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 and Daniel 7:13 in giving His response to the high priest.  He confesses that He is the Messiah, fully Man and fully God, for only a divine One could sit at the right hand of the Power, sharing authority with the Father.  The priest clearly understands that it is a claim to equality with God the Father.  For a mere human being to claim this was punishable by death, my study Bible explains (see Leviticus 24:16), but Christ isn't a mere man, and therefore His declaration of equality is not blasphemy.

It is shocking to read that there are those who spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"   It is hard to imagine that a governing body should behave in this way toward One whom they know to have done good, to have preached and done good works.  Perhaps it is just shocking to see a kind of enjoyment of the use of power to treat another in a way so as to make them feel they are weak and nothing, and have no power to protect themselves.  Perhaps it is just the feeling of helpless injustice that One who has done so much good, and so many extraordinary things should be subjected to such small-mindedness by people who are supposed to be the wise heads of their society and the recipients of the Scriptures and spiritual knowledge of the history of Israel, that they would enjoy slapping Jesus and ridiculing His ministry and what He has done.  It really shows us the depths to which we are capable of sinking where power is concerned, a petty abuse that reflects the resentment that this Man, Jesus, could have authority of His own that they don't recognize, and authority among the crowds which they fear (Matthew 21:23-27; Mark 11:18; Luke 20:19, 22:2).  But to witness the majesty of Christ treated this way at the hands of those who should at least respect their own traditions of law is really quite shocking.  One can't help but understand the depth to which Christ humbled Himself in order to bring about our salvation, to live through these events as was prophesied and asked of Him.   For in the end, He does it all for us.  He subjects Himself to this abuse because of His love for us, for those who would be saved through His love.  And there is really no other way to look at this.  So when you think about the abuse that Christ endured, and the evils of the world and injustices that continue, don't look in frustration and ask why, because the answer is right here.  He is the Savior who became voluntarily the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), the One who goes to the Cross for us, who loves us to the point that He will lay down His life for us, and endure the abuse He endures here. He is the One who loves us that much (John 5:13).  He is the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:4) who goes before us and bears all that we might be asked to bear, and more:  despised, and rejected, and unesteemed (Isaiah 53:3).  Through this He makes intercession for us all, and more; He shows us the way of love and faith -- for what He assumes He heals, and so nothing is left out.  ("What has not been assumed has not been healed; it is what is united to his divinity that is saved. . ."  St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Epistle 101.)