LORD'S PASSION 3 - Passion Sunday (Cycle A)

Homily for the Passion Sunday (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 26:14 – 27:66(Gospel),Is 50:4-7(First Reading) and Phil 2:6-11(Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

LORD’S PASSION 3

The Gospel reading for this Passion Sunday (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 26:14 – 27:66.  The first title under “Judas betrays Jesus” has parallel texts that are:

1.       Mk 14:10-11 - Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, approached the chief priests with an offer to hand Jesus over to them (v. 10). They were delighted to hear it, and promised to give him money; and he looked for a way of betraying him when the opportunity should occur (v. 11).

2.       Lk 23:3-6 - The day of the Unleavened Bread came round, the day on which the Passover had to be sacrificed, and he sent Peter and John saying, ‘Go and make the preparations for us to eat the Passover’. They asked, ‘Where do you want us to prepare it?’ He said, ‘Listen, as you go into the city you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house he enters And tell the owner of the house, “The Master has this to say to you: ‘Where is the dining room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?’ The man will show you a large upper room furnished with couches. Make the preparations there”. They set off and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover

Chapter 26, verses 14, 15 and 16 say: Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty  silverpieces,^c and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.Footnote^c  says “Thirty shekels – and not thirty denarii as is commonly said. It was the price the Law fixed for a slave’s life, Ex. 21:32.

Parallel texts for verse 15 are:

1.       Mt 27:3f -When he found that Jesus had been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with remorse and took the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders.

2.       Gn 37:28 - Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelite for twenty silver pieces, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

3.       Zc 1:12 - When that time comes I will search Jerusalem by torchlight, and punish the men who are stagnating on their lees, those who say in their hearts, ‘Yahweh has not power for good or for evil’.

The second title “Preparations for the Passover” has the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 14:12-16 - Preparations for the Passover supper. On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the passover?" (v. 12).So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him (v. 13), And say to the owner of the house which he enters, 'The Master says: Where is my dining room, in which I can eat the passover with my disciples?'  (v. 14).He will show you a large upper room, furnished with couches, all prepared. Make preparations for us there (v. 15)." The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything just as he had told them, and prepared the Passover (v. 16).

2.       Lk 22:7-13 - The day of the Unleavened Bread came round, the day on which the Passover had to be sacrificed, and he sent Peter and John saying, ‘Go and make the preparations for us to eat the passover’. They asked, ‘Where do you want us to prepare it?’ He said, ‘Listen, as you go into the city you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house he enters And tell the owner of the house, “The Master has this to say to you: ‘Where is the dining room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?’ The man will show you a large upper room furnished with couches. Make the preparations there”. They set off and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.

Verses 17, 18 and 19 say: Now on the first day of the Unleavened Bread^d the disciples came to Jesus to say, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the passover?’  He replied,  ‘Go to so and so in the city and say to him, “The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am  keeping Passover with my disciples”’ The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover. Footnote ^d says “The ‘first day’ of the week during which unleavened loaves (azymes) were eaten, cf. Ex. 12:1+; 23:14+, was normally that which followed the Passover supper, i.e. the 15^th of Nissan; the Synoptics however give this title to the preceding day, thus attesting the wider use of the term. Further, if we take account of Jn 18:28 and of other details connected with the Passion, it is fairly certain that in this particular year the Passover supper was celebrated on the evening of Friday (or ‘Preparation Day’, Mt 27:62; f. Jn 19:14,31,42). Christ’s Last Supper, which the Synoptics put on the day before, i.e. on the Thursday evening, must therefore be explained in one of two ways: either a whole section of the Jewish people thus anticipated the rite, or (and this is referable) Christ anticipated it on his own initiative. In this second hypothesis Jesus, unable to celebrate the Passover on the Friday (though, indeed, he celebrated it in his own person on the cross, Jn 19:36+; 1 Co 5:7), instituted his new rite in the course of a supper which, in consequence, became endowed with the characteristics of the old Passover. Nisan 14^th (the day of the Passover supper) fell on a Friday in 30 and 33 AD; interpreters therefore take one or other of these years as the date of Christ’s death according as they assign his baptism in 28 or to 29 and reckon a longer or shorter public ministry. Note: the Dead Sea scrolls have recently revealed a community which, following a solar calendar, always celebrated the Passover supper on a Tuesday evening> it is possible that Jesus did the same. If so, the Synoptics have fitted into a few hours juridical processes which in fact took days.”

Parallel texts for verse 17 are:

1.       Jn 13:1 - It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father.^a He had always loved^b  those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.^cFootnote^a  says“According to a Jewish tradition the  word “Passover’ (pesah): cf. Ex. 12:11+) mean a passing, or crossing over’, referring it to the crossing of the Red Sea, Ex 14, Christ (and we with him) will pass from the world, which is enslaved by sin, to the Father’s company, the true Land of Promise. Cf. Jh 1:21+.”; Footnote ^b  says “Here, for the first time, Jn clearly states that Christ’s life and death are an expression of his love for his disciples. The impression given is one of a secret kept for these last moments, 13:34; 15:9,13; 17:23; 1 Jn 3:16; Ga 2:20; Rm 8:35; Ep 3:19; 5:2,25.”; Footnote ^c says “Lit. ‘ he loved  them to the end’, i.e. utterly”.

2.       Jn 18:28 - They then led Jesus from the house of Caiphas to the Praetorium.^d It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves or they would be defiled^e and unable to eat the passover.Footnote^d  says“The Roman procurator’s judicial court.”; Footnote ^e says“To enter a pagan house was to incur legal impurity, cf. Ac 11:2f.”

3.       Jn19:14 - It was Passover Preparation Day^e about the sixth hour^f.Footnote^esays “In the course of this day, the Passover supper was made ready (it was eaten after sunset, cf.  Ex 12:6+) and everything necessary prepared so that the feast could be celebrated without violating the rest prescribed by the Law.”; Footnote ^f says“About noon, the time by which all leaven had to be removed from the house; during the Passover unleavened bread (‘azymes’) was to be eaten, cf. Ex 12:15f. It is possible that the evangelist wishes to call attention to this coincidence; cf. 1 Co 5:7.”

4.       Jn 2:4 -Jesus said, ‘Woman,^c why turn to me?^d My hour^e has not come yet.Footnote^c says“Unusual address from son to mother; the term is used again in 19:26 where there may be a reference to Gn. 3:15,20: Mary is the second Eve , ‘the mother of the  living’.”; Footnote ^d says“Lit. ‘What to me and to thee’, a semitic formula not frequent in OT, Jg 11:12; 2 S 16:10; 19:23; 1 K 17:18; etc. and in NT, Mt. 8:29; Mk 1:24; 5:7; Lk 4:34; 8:28. It is used to deprecate interference or, more strongly, to reject overtures of any kind. The shade of meaning could be deduced only from the context. Here Jesus objects that his hour has not yet come.”; Footnote ^e  says “The ‘hour’ of his glorification and of his return to the Father’s right hand. Its approach is noted by the evangelist, 7:30; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1.This ‘hour’  is determined by the Father and cannot be anticipated, though the miracle worked through Mary’s intervention is a prophetic symbol of it.”

The third title is “The Treachery of Judas” foretold” that has the following parallels:

1.       Mk 14:17-21 - When Evening came, he arrived with the Twelve (v.17) and while they were at table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me, one of you who is eating with me now (v. 18).”They were distressed and asked him, one after another, “Not I, surely?” (v. 19). He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve, one who is dipping into the same dish with me (v.20). Yes, the Son of Man indeed is going to his fate as the scripture say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Better for that man if he had never been born” (v. 21).

2.       Lk 22:14, 21-23 - When the hour came he took his place at table, and the apostles with him (v. 14). And yet, here with me on the table is the hand of the man who betrays me (v. 21). The Son of Man does indeed go to his fate as it has been decreed, but alas for that man by whom he is betrayed!” (v. 22) And they began to ask one another which of them it could be who was to do this thing (v. 23).

3.       Jn 13:21-30 - Having said this, Jesus was troubled and declared, “I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me (v. 21).”The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant (v. 22).The disciples Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus(v.23). Simon Peter signed and said, ‘Ask who it is he meant (v.24), so leaning back on Jesus’ breast he said, “Who is it, Lord?” (v. 25). “It is the one’ replied Jesus ‘to whom I give a piece of breadⁿ that I shall dip in the dish.” He dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas son of Simon the Iscariot (v.26).At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, “What you are going to do, do quickly (v. 27). None of the others at table understood the reason he said this (v.28). Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought  Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or telling him to give something to the poor (v.29)As soon as he had taken the piece of bread he  went out. Night had fallen  (v. 30).Footnote ⁿ says“Lit. ‘morsel’. This particular ‘morsel’ is not the Holy Eucharist; nevertheless, a comparison of 13:2,18 with 6:64,70 seems to show that there was some connection between the institution and Judas’ act of treachery. Cf. Lk 22:21.”

Verses 20, 21, 12 and 23 say: When evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating,^e he said, “I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, “Not I, Lord,  surely?” Footnote^e  says “The fifth course: it preceded the Passover supper properly so called.”

Parallel text is Ps 55: 13-14 that says: But you, a man of your own rank, a colleague and a friend, to whom sweet conversion bound me in the house of God.

Verse23 says: He answered, “Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, will betray me.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ps 41:9 - Even my closest and trusted friend, who shared my table, rebels^f against me. Footnote^f says “Lit. ‘lifts the heel against me’. Jesus applied this text to Judas”.

2.       Jn 13:18 - I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled: Someone who shares my table^l rebels against me.Footnote ^l says“Lit. ‘has lifted his heel against me’.”

Verses 24 and 25 say: The Son of Man is going to his fate, as scripture say he will, but alas to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born”. Judas, who was to betray him, asked in his turn, ‘Not I, Rabbi,  surely?’ ‘They are your own words,’ answered Jesus.

Footnote

Parallel texts of verse 24 say:

1.       Jb 3:3 - May the day perish when I was born, and the night that told of a boy conceived.^a Footnote ^a says “Two parallel curses: one of the day of birth, the other of the night of conception.”

2.       Jn 17:12 - While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one who chose to be lost,^k and this was to fulfill the scriptures. Footnote ^k says “Lit. ‘the son of perdition’.”

The fourth title “The institution of the Eucharist” has the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 14:22-25 - And as they were eating he took some bread, and when he has said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. He said, ‘Take it, this is my body (v. 22).’Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it (v. 23). And he said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many (v. 24).

2.       Lk 22:19-20 - The institution of the Eucharist^g. Then he took some bread and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them saying, ‘This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of me (v. 19)’. He did the same with the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you (v. 20)’ ^h Footnote ^g  says “Note the affinity between Luke’s text and Paul’s.”; and Footnote  ^h  says “Or alternatively ‘which has to be given’ and ‘which has to be poured out’”.

3.       1 Co 11:23-25 - For this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread (v. 23) and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you;ⁱ do this as a memorial of me (v.24).  In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, “This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it,  do this asa memorial of me (v.25).”Footnote^I says “Var. ‘This is my body, broken for you.’”

4.       Jn 6:51-58 - I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone one who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,ⁿfor the life of the world.’^o Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said (v. 52). Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you (v. 53). Anyone who does  eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day (v. 54). For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink (v. 55). He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him (v. 56). As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me.^p (v. 57). This is the bread come down from heaven; not like the bread our ancestors ate;^q they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live forever (v. 58). Footnote ⁿ  says “Add ‘that I shall give’; the phrase is, in any case, to be understood.”; Footnote ^o  says “Jesus is the true bread because he is God’s Word, vv. 32f, and also because he is a victim whose body and blood are offered in sacrifice for the life of the world, vv. 51-58, cf. 6:22+. The word ‘flesh’ suggests a connection between the Eucharist and incarnation: the Word made flesh, 1:14, is the food of man.”; Footnote ^p  says “The life that the Father communicates to the Son passes to the faithful through the Eucharist.”; and  Footnote ^q says  “Add. ‘the manna’ or ‘in the desert’.”

Verses 26 and 27 say: Now as they were eating,^f Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to the disciples. He said, ‘Take it and eat; this is my body’. Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them. He said, ‘Drink all of you from this. Footnote ^f says “They have come to the Passover supper itself. The rubrics for this solemn blessing of bread and wine are laid down exactly; on to this ceremony Jesus grafts the sacramental rites of the new religious order of things which he institutes.”

Parallel text for verse 27 is1 Co 10:16 that says: The blessing-cup^h that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ and the bread that we break is a communion in the body of Christ. Footnote ^h says “I.e. the cup of wine for which we thank God, like Christ at the Last Supper.”

Verse 28 says: For this is my blood, the blood of the^g covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins^h. Footnote ^g  says “Add (Vulg.) ‘new’, cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Co 11:25.”; and Footnote ^h  says “As at Sinai, the blood of victims sealed the covenant of Yahweh with his people, Ex. 24:4-8+, so on the cross the blood of Jesus, the perfect victim, is about to seal the ‘new’ covenant, cf. Lk. 22:20, between God  and man - the covenant foretold by the prophets, Jr 31:31+. Jesus takes on himself the task of universal redemption that Isaiah assigns to the ‘servant of Yahweh’, Is. 42:6; 49:6; 53:12, cf. 41:8+. Cf. Heb 8:8; 9:15; 12:24.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ex 24:8 - Then Moses took the blood^c and cast it towards the people. ‘This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that Yahweh has made you, containing all these rules.’Footnote^c says “Moses is the mediator between God and the people; he unites them symbolically by sprinkling the blood of a single victim first on the altar, which represents Yahweh, and then on the people. In this way the pact is ratified by blood, cf. Lv 1:5+, just as the New Covenant is ratified by the blood of Christ.

2.       Zc 9:11 - As for you. Because of the blood of the covenantⁿ I am sending your prisoners from the pit (in which there is no water).Footnote ⁿ  says“ Allusion either to the ceremony at Sinai, Ex. 24:5f, or to the sacrifice offered in the temple.”

3.       Mt 20:28…just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom^g for many.^h’ Footnote ^g says “By sin man incurs, as a debt to the divine justice, the punishment of death demanded by the Law, cf. 1 Co. 15:56; 2 Co. 3:7,9; Ga. 3:13; Rm. 8:3-4, with notes. To ransom them from this slavery of sin and death, Rm. 3:24+. Christ is to pay the ransom and discharge the debt with the price of his blood, 1 Co. 6:20; 7:23; Ga. 3:13; 4:5, with notes, By thus dying in place of the guilty, he fulfills the prophesied function of the ‘servant of Yahweh’ (Is. 53). The Hebr. word translated ‘many’, Is. 53:11f, contrast the enormous crowd of the redeemed with the one Redeemer: it does not imply that the number of redeemed is limited, Rm. 5:6-21. Cf. Mt. 26:28+.”; and Footnote ^h says“At this point some authorities insert the following passage, derived probably from some apocryphal gospel ‘But as for you, from littleness you seek to grow great and from greatness you make yourselves small. When you are invited to a banquet do not take one of the places of honor, because someone more important than you may arrive and then the steward will have to say, “Move down lower”, and you would be covered with confusion. Take the lowest place, and then if someone less important than you comes in, the steward will say to you, “Move up higher”, and that will be to your advantage.’ Cf. Lk. 14:8-10.”

4.       Is 53:12 - Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute, he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, for surrendering himself to death and letting himself be taken for a sinner while he was bearing the faults of many, and praying all the time for sinners.

Verse 29 says: From now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom of my Fatherⁱ.  Footnote ⁱ says “Allusion to the eschatological banquet, cf. 8:11; 22:1f. Jesus and his disciples will never meet at table again.”

Parallel text is  Mt 8:11 that says: And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast^c in the kingdom of heaven…Footnote^c says “Basing their idea on Is 25:6, the Jews often described the joyous messianic era as a banquet (cf. 22:2-14; 26:29p; Lk 14:15; Rv 3:20; 19:9).”

The fifth title is “Peter’s denial foretold”.

Verse 30 says: After psalms had been sung^j they left out for the Mount of Olives. Footnote ^j  says “The psalms of the Hallel, Ps 113-118, with which the Passover meal closed.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 14:26-31 - After psalms had been sung they left out for the Mount of Olives (v. 26). And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all lose faith, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered (v. 27), however after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee (v. 28)’. Peter said, ‘Even is all lose faith, I will not’ (v. 29). And Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, this day, this very might, before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned me three times’ (v. 30). But he repeated still more earnestly, ‘If I have to die with you, I will never disown you’. And they all said the same (v. 31).

2.       Lk 22:31-34 -“Simon, Simon! Satan, you must know, has got his wish to sift you all like wheat (v. 31);but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and once you have recovered, you in turn must strengthen your brothers (v. 32)’. ‘Lord,’ he answered, ‘I would be ready to go to prison with you and to death (v. 33)’. Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, by the time the cock crows today you will have denied three times that you know me (v. 34).

3.       Jn 13:36-38 - Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later’^u (v. 36). Peter said to him,^v “Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you (v. 37).”“Lay down your life for me?’’Jesus answered ‘I tell you solemnly, before the cock crow you will have disowned me three times (v. 38).’ Footnote ^u says “A cryptic prophecy of Peter’s martyrdom.”; and Footnote ^v says “Add ‘Lord’.”

4.       Jn 16:32 - Listen; the time will come-in fact it has come already-when you will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

Verse 31 says: Then Jesus said to them, “You will all lose faith in me this night,^k for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’; Footnote^k says “Lit. ‘brought down’; it will be an obstacle for their faith when they see the one they believe to be Messiah, 16:16, and whose approaching triumph they expect, 20:21f, passively yield to his enemies. For a time it will make them lose courage and even faith, cf. Lk 22:31-32.”

Parallel text is Zc 13:7 that says:Awake, sword, against my shepherd and against the man who is my companion- it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks. I am going to strike^e the shepherd so that the sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the weak. Footnote^e that “‘I am going to strike’ conj., cf. some Greek MSS and Mt 26:31; ‘Strike’ Hebr.”

Verses 32, 33 and 34 says: but after my resurrection, I shall go before you to Galilee”.  At this Peter said, “Though all lose faith in you I will never lose faith.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you solemnly, this very night before the cock crows, you will have disowned me three times.”

Parallel text for verse 32 is Mt 28:7 that says:...then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Verse 35 says: Peter said to him, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the disciples said the same.

Parallel text is Mt 26:69-75 that says: Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean (v.69).”But he denied it in front of them all. “I do not know what you are talking about’, he said (v. 70). When he went out to the gateway another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene^w’(v.71) And again, with an oath, he denied it. ‘I do not know the man(v. 72)’. A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You are one of them for sure! Why, your accent^x gives you away (v.73).’ Then he started calling down curse son himself and swearing, “I do not know the man.” At that moment the cock crew, (v.74) and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, “Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times’. And he went outside and wept bitterly (v.75). Footnote ^w says “Nazoraios, var. (cf. Vulg.) Nazarenos.”; and Footnote ^x  says“The Galilean accent.”

The sixth title is “Gethsemane”. For this title, the parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 14:32-42 - They came to a small estate called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Stay here while I pray’(v. 32) Then he took Peter and James and John  with him. And sudden fear came over him,  and great distress (v.33) And he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to the point of death. Wait here, and keep awake (v.34)  And going on a little further he threw himself to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, this hour might pass by him(v. 35); “Abba, (Father)!’ he said  ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me.But let it be as you, not I, would have it (v.36)” He came back and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Had you not the strength to keep awake one hour (v. 37). You should be awake, and praying not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (v. 38).” Again, he went away and prayed, saying the same words. (v. 39). And once more he came back and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy; and they could find noanswer for him (v.40) He came back a third time and said to them, “You can  sleep on now and take your rest. It is all over. The hour has come. Now the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners (v.41). Get up!Let us go!My betrayer is close at hand already (v. 42).”

2.       Lk 22:40-46 - When they reached the place he said to them, ‘Pray not to be put to the test (v. 40).’Then he withdrew from them, about a stone’s throw away, and knelt down and prayed (v. 41).“Father,’he said ‘if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine (v. 42). Then an angel appeared to him,  coming from heaven to give him strength (v. 43). In his anguish he prayed even more earnestly, and his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood (v. 44)^lWhen he rose from prayer he went to the disciples and found them sleeping for sheer grief (v. 45). ‘Why are you asleep?’ he said to them. ‘Get up and pray not to be put the test (v. 46).’Footnote^l   says “Om.Vv. 43-44.”

3.       Jn 18:1 - After he had said all this Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kedron valley. There was a garden there, and he went into it with his disciples (v. 1).

4.       Jn12:27-30 - Now my soul is troubled.^fWhat shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour (v.27) Father, glorify your name!’^g A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’ (v. 28).People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, ‘It was an angel speaking to him’ (v. 29). Jesus answered, “It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours (v. 30).^hFootnote^f says “This episode and Gethsemane have many details in common; the anguish of the ‘hour’ draws near, the appeal to the Father’s pity, the acceptance of death, the comfort from heaven (cf. Lk.). But we should note the dissimilarities: in Jn, Christ’s prayer for pity remains unuttered; nor does he ‘fall to the ground’ (Mt. Mk.) or ‘kneel’ (Lk).  Cf. Jn 18:4-6; 10:18+.”;Footnote^g  says“Var. ‘your Son’. The Father’s name is his person. Jesus worked for the Father’s glory; his death, now freely offered, is the completion of that work because it shows how great is the Father’s love for men, 17:6+.”; and Footnote^h says“Christ’s coming death is divinely and publicly sanctioned.”

5.       Heb 5:7-10 - During his life on earth,^a he offered up prayers and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to one who had the power to save him out of death,^b and he submitted so humbly that ^c that his prayer was heard (v. 7). Although, he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering (v. 8). But having been made perfect,^d he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation (v. 9). and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of  Melchizedek (v. 10).Footnote^a  says“Lit. ‘in the days of his flesh’ (on the word ‘flesh’ cf. Rm. 7:5+). The emphasis of this section is on humanity; a priest must be human  since he represents human beings and he must share their sufferings since he must feel compassion for them, CF. 2:17-18 ; 4:15 Jesus  suffered in this way all through his life on earth, and especially in his agony and death.”; Footnote ^b  says“Not saved from dying. Since that was the purpose of his life, Jn 12:27f, but rescued from death after dying, Ac 2:24f. God transformed his death by raising him to glory after it, Jn 12:27f; 13:31f; 17:5; Ph 2:9-11; Heb. 2:9.”; Footnote ^c says“Lit. ‘because of his eulabela’ (i.e, religious awe). It was because the prayers of Christ in Gethsemane was a prayer of total submission to the will of his Father, Mt. 26:39,42, that it was heard and answered.”; and Footnote ^d says “Having totally succeeded in his task of being priest and victim.”

Verses 36, 37, 38, and 39  say: Then Jesus came with them to a small estate called Gethsemane;^l and he said to his disciples, ‘Stay here while I go over there to pray’. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And sadness came over him,  and great distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful to the point of death.^m Wait here and keep awake with me’. And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed. ‘My Father,’ he said ‘if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it’ⁿ.Footnote ^l says “The name means ‘oilpress’. It lies in the Kedron valley at the foot of the Mt. of Olives”; Footnote ^m says “The turn of phrase recalls Ps. 42:5 and Jon 4:9”; and Footnoteⁿ  says “Jesus feels the full ‘force of the human fear of death; he feels the instinctive urge to escape, gives expression to it and then stifles it by his acceptance of the Father’s will.”

Parallel texts for verse 39 are:

1.       2 Co 12:8 - About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me…

2.       Mt 6:10 - your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Verse 40 says: He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So you had not the strength to keep awake with me one hour?

Parallel texts are:

1.       Jn 4:34 - But Jesus said: ‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.

2.       Jn 6:38…because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of the one who sent me.

3.       Rm 5:19 - As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.^m Footnote ^m says “Not only at the Last Judgment (for Paul regards justification as a present condition, cf. 5:1, etc.)’ but progressively as each individual becomes reborn in Christ.”

4.       Ph 2:8 - he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross…

Verse 41 says: You should be awake and praying not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’

Parallel text is Ps 69:20b that says:…are past cure;^g I had hoped for sympathy, but in vain, I found no one to console me. Footnote^g says “‘ are past cure’ corr.; ‘I tremble’ Hebr.”

Verse 42 says: Again, a second time, he went away and prayed: ‘My Father,’ he said ‘if this cup cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done!’

Parallel texts are:

1.       Rm 7:5 - Before our conversions our sinful passions, quite unsubdued by the Law, fertilized our bodied to make them give birth to death.

2.       2 Co 12:8 - About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me…

Verse 43 says: And he came back again and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy.

Parallel text is Heb 10:9 that says:…and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second.

Verses 44 and 45 says: Leaving them there, he went away again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words. Then he came back to the disciples and said to them, “You can sleep on now and take your rest.^o Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Footnote^o  says  “Gently ironical reproach. The hour you should have stayed awake with have slipped by. Now the testing time had begun and Jesus must go through it alone; the disciples may go on sleeping if they wish.”

Parallel text for verse 45 is 2 Co 12:8 that says:About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me…

Verse 46 says: Get up! Let us go. My betrayer is already close at hand.

Parallel text is Jn 14:30-31 that says:I shall not talk with you any longer,^u because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me (v. 30), but the world must be brought to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father told me. Come now, let us go (v. 31).

The seventh title is “The arrest” with the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 14:43-52 - Even while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came up with a number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders (v.43). Now the traitor had arranged a signal with them,  “The one I kiss’ he had said ‘he is the man; take him in charge, and see he is guarded when you lead him away” (v. 44). So when the traitor came, he went straight up to Judas and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him (v.45). The others seized him and took him in charge (v.46). Then one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear (v.47). Then Jesus spoke, “Am I a brigand’ he said ‘that you had set out to capture me with swords and clubs? (v. 48). I was among you teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me. But this to fulfill the scriptures’ (v.49). And they all deserted him and ran away (v.50).

2.       Lk 22:47-53 - He was still speaking when a number of men appeared, and at the head of them the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, who went up to Jesus to kiss him (v. 47).Jesus said, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (v. 48). His followers, seeing what was happening, said, “Lord, shall we use our sword?” (v. 49). And one of them struck out at the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear (v. 50). But at this Jesus spoke. “Leave off!’ he said that will do!” And touching the man’s ear he healed him (v. 51). Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests and captains of the Temple guards and elders who had come for him, ‘Am I a brigand‘ he said ‘that you had set out with swords and clubs? (v. 52). When I was among you in the Temple  day after day, you never moved to lay hands on me. But this is your hour; this is the reign of darkness (v. 53).

3.       Jn 18:2-11 - Judas the traitor knew the place well,since Jesus had often met his disciples there (v. 2). And he brought a cohort^a to this place together with adetachment of guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with lanterns, torches and weapons (v. 3). Knowing everything that was going to happen to him, Jesusthen came forward and said, “Who are you looking for?” (v. 4)They answered him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said, “I am he.” Now Judas the traitor was standing among them v. 5). When Jesus said, “I amhe,” they moved back and fell to the ground (v. 6). He asked them a second time, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazarene (v. 7).’ “I told you that I am he’repliedJesus,‘If I am the one you are looking, let these others go.” (v. 8). This was to fulfill the words he had spoken, “Not one of those you gave me have I lost.” (v. 10). Simon Peter, who carried a sword, drew it and wounded the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus (v. 11). Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back in the scabbard;  am I not drink the cup that the Father gave me? (v. 11). Footnote^a  says “A detachment from the Roman garrison in Jerusalem.”

Verses 47 to 52 say: He was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, and with him a large number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the elders of the people.Now the traitor had arranged a sign with them. “The one I kiss’ he had said ‘he is the man.Take him in charge.”So he went straight up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi’, and he kissed him.Jesus said to him, “My friend, do what you are herefor.”^p Then they came forward, seized Jesus and took him in charge.At that, one of the followers of Jesus grasp his sword and drew it; he struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear.Jesusthen  said to him, “Put your sword back,  for all who draw the sword will die by the sword (v.  52).Footnote^p says“Lit. ‘Friend, for what you are here’. To a question (‘Why are you here!’) one may prefer or a reproach (‘For what purpose are you here!) one may prefer to see in this a stereotype phrase meaning ‘do what you are here for’, ‘to your work!’ Jesus cuts short the empty show of greeting it is time for action. Cf. Jn 13:22.”

Parallel texts for verse 49 are:

1.       Pr 27:6 - From one who loves, wounds are well-intentioned; from one who hates, kisses are ominous.

2.       Mt 26:23 - He answered, “Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, will betray me.

Verse 53 says: Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father who would promptly send more than twelve legions of angels to my defense? (v. 53).

Parallel text is Jn 18:36 that say:‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’

Verse 54 says: But then, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that say this is the way it must be?” (v. 54).

Parallel text is Lk 24:26-27 that say: Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory? (v. 26)’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself (v. 27).

Verses 55 and 56 say: I was at this time that Jesus said to the crowds, “Am I a brigands that you had to set out  to capture me with swords and clubs? I sat teaching in the temple  day after day and you never laid hands on me (v.55). Now all this had happened  to fulfill the prophecies of the scriptures.” Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.

Parallel text is Jn 18:20 that say: Jesus answered, ‘I have spoken openly for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together: I have said nothing in secret.

The eight title is Jesus before the Sanhedrin^r, with a footnote ^r that says “The accounts of Luke and of John enable us to distinguish: a preliminary trial before Annas, at night time, and a solemn session of the Sanhedrin on the following morning, Mt 27:1. Matthew and Mark describe the night episode in terms of the morning one which was the only formal and decisive meeting. But for an alternative chronology, cf. 26:17+” and  the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 14:53-65 - They led Jesus off to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes assembled together (v.53). Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the high priest’s palace, and was sitting with the attendants warming himself at the fire (v.54).The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus on which they might pass the death-sentence. But they could not find any (v.55). Several, indeed, brought false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting (v. 56). Some stood up and submitted this false evidence against him(v. 57), “We heard him say, ‘I am going to destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days build another, not made with hands.’” (v. 58).But even on this point their evidence were conflicting (v.59).  The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?” (v. 60)  But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?” (v. 61) ‘I am,’ said Jesus ‘and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven(v. 62).The high priest tore his robes, “What  need of witnesses  have we now? (v. 63).You have heard the blasphemy. What is your finding?” And they all gave their verdict: he deserved to die (v.64).

2.       Lk 22:54-55, 66-71 - When day broke there was a meeting of the elders of the people,^p attended by the chief priests and scribes. He was brought before their council (v. 66),and they said to him, “If you are the Christ, tell us.”  “If I tell you,’he replied ‘you will not believe (v. 67),and if I question you, you will not answer (v. 68). But from now on, the Son of Man willbe^q seated at the right hand of the power of God (v. 69).’Then they all said, “So you are the Son of God then?” He answered, “It is you who say that I am (v. 70).”‘What need of witnesses have we now?’  they said, ‘We have heard it for ourselves from his own lips (v. 71).”Footnote^p says “‘elder’ here means the whole Sanhedrin, not merely one of its three component bodies (the elders); of these, Lk names the two most influential (chief priests and scribes).”; and Footnote^q says “Lk omits the ‘you will see’ of Mt and Mk and also the allusion to Dn.”

Verses 57 and 58 say: The men who had arrested Jesus led him off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.Peter followed him at a distance, and when he reached high priest’s palace, hewent in and sat down with the attendants to see what the end would be.

Parallel text is Jn 18:13-16,18, 24 that say:They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year (v. 13).  It was Caiaphas who had suggested to the Jews, ‘It is better for one man to die for the people’ (v. 14). Simon Peter, with another disciple^b followed Jesus. The disciple who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace (v. 15), but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple,  the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who was keeping the and brought Peter in (v.16). Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood there too, warming himself with the others (v. 18). Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiphas the high priest (v. 24).^c Footnote^c  says “The Jewish leaders, Caiaphas in particular, 11:51f; 18:14, but also Judas who betrayed him to them, 6:71; 13:2,11,21; 18:2,5.”

Verses 59, 60 and 61 say:The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were for evidence  against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the death sentence. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward, and made a statement, “This man said, ‘I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up ^s.’” Footnote ^s says “What Jesus had in fact foretold was the destruction of the Temple and of the Jewish cult of which it was the symbol, ch. 24. A new Temple was to be substituted for the old one, and this was to be, in the first place, his own body risen after three days, 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Jn. 2:19-22, but beyond that, it was to be the Church.”

Parallel texts for verse 59 are:

1.       Ps 35:11 - Lying witnesses take the stand, questioning me on things I know nothing about...

2.       Jr 26 - Jeremiah’s discourse against the Temple: his arrest and condemnation^a. Footnote^a  says“The biographical passages may be attributed to Baruch: here he summarizes the discourse against the Temple, 7:1-15, and tells of what followed it.”

3.       Ac 25:7 - As soon as Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, making many serious accusations against him which they were unable to substantiate.

Verse 62 says: The high priest then stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence  these men are bringing against you?”^t.Footnote^t says “Vulg. Presents this as one question ‘Do you make no answer to the evidence these men are bringing against you?’.

Parallel texts for verse 62 are:

1.       Jn 2:19 - Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up’^h. Footnote ^h says “In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus frequently uses terms which, in addition to their obvious meaning appreciated by the audience, possess a metaphorical and higher sense; cf. 2:20 (Temple); 3:4 (new birth); 4L15 (living water); 6:34 (bread of life); 7:35 (to depart); 11:11 (to awaken); 12:34 (to lift up); 13:9 (to wash); 13:36f (to depart); 14:22 (to show oneself). Consequent misapprehensions provide an opportunity for explanatory developments, cf. 3:11+.”

2.       Ac 6:14 - We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ⁱFootnoteⁱsays“The ‘false witnesses’ at the trial of Jesus similarly objected that he ‘would destroy the Temple’. There also a similarity in the climax of the two trials, Ac 7:56-57; Mt 26:62-66. The allegations concerning Mosaic practice will be made in Apostle Paul’s case also, Ac 15:1,5; 21:21,28; 25:8; 28:17.”

Verse 63 says: But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I put you on oath by the living God  to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 27:14 - But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply him of the charges.

2.       Is 53:7 - Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughterhouse, like a sheep dumbed before its shearers, never opening his mouth.

3.       Mt 4:3 - and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,^ctell these stones to turn into loaves’.Footnote^c  says“The biblical title ‘Son of God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22, Ws. 18:13), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho. 2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk. 3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk. 23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration (17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant, and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his ‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17 and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21, etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27). These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank (22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of  man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm. 9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

Verses 64, 65 and 66 say: “Your words are your own’, answered Jesus, ‘Moreover I tell you that from this time onward you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’^u.At this, the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed.^vWhat need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy. ‘What is your opinion?” They answered, “He deserves to die!Footnote^u  says“‘The Power’ is equivalent to ‘Yahweh’. At the critical moment Jesus abandons his policy of the ‘messianic secret’, cf. Mk 1:34+, and unequivocally acknowledges - as he had already acknowledged to his intimates, Mt 16:16 - that he is the Messiah. But he goes further and reveals himself, not as the human Messiah of traditional expectation but as the Lord of Ps 110, cf. Mt 22:41f, and the mysterious personage of heavenly origin whom Daniel had seen in vision, cf Mt 8:20+. Henceforth the Jews will not see him except in his glory which will be manifested first in the victory of the resurrection and subsequently in the victory of the Church. Cf 23:39 and 24:30”; and Footnote ^v  says “The ‘blasphemy’ lay not in Jesus’ claim to be Messiah but in his claim to divine rank.”

Parallel texts for verse 64 are:

1.       Mt 8:20 - Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man^h has nowhere to lay his head.’ Footnote ^h says “ With the exception of Ac 7:56, Rv 1:13; 14:14; this title appears only in the  gospels. There is no doubt that Jesus used it of himself, and indeed preferred it to others. At times he uses it to express his lowly state, 8:20; 11:19; 20:28, especially the humiliation of the Passion, 17:22, etc. At others times it is used to proclaim the definitive triumph of his resurrection, 17:9, of his return in glory, 24:30; of his coming in judgment, 25:31. That this title, Aramaic in flavor, could bring together these seemingly  opposed qualities is clear from the following considerations. The phrase originally meant ‘man’, Ezk. 2:1+, and by reason of its unusual and indirect form it underlined the lowliness of man’s state. But the title suggested glory, too. It was used in Dn 7:13+, and later in the Jewish apocalyptic Book of Enoch, to indicate the transcendent figure, heavenly in origin, who was to receive from God’s hand the eschatological kingdom (the kingdom ‘at the end of times’). In this way therefore the title both veiled and hinted at (cf. Mk. 1:34+; Mt. 13:13+) the sort of Messiah Jesus was. Moreover, the explicit avowal in the presence of the Sanhedrin, 26:64+, should have removed all ambiguity.”

2.       Mt 24:30 - And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven;^o then too all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.^p Footnote ^o  says “For the Fathers this ‘sign’ was Christ’s cross but possibly it is Christ himself proving by the triumph of his kingdom on earth that he has truly risen and is in glory.”; and Footnote ^p  says “In these words Daniel foretold the establishment of the messianic kingdom by a Son of Man coming on the clouds. The cloud is the usual accompaniment of both OT and NT theophanies: Ex. 13:22+; 19:16+; 34:5+; Lv 16:2; 1 K 8:10-11; Ps 18:11; 97:2; 104:3; Is 19:1; Jr. 4:13Ezk 1:4; 10:3f; 2 M 2:8. For NT, cf. Mt 17:5; Ac 1:9,11; 1 Th 4:17; Rv 1:7; 14:14.”

3.       Ps 110:1 - The Messiah: king and priest^a . Yahweh’s oracle to you, my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand^b and I will make your enemies a footstool^c  for you. Footnote ^a  says “The prerogatives of the Messiah, worldwide sovereignty and perpetual priesthood, cf. 2 S 7:1+; Zc 6:12-13, are no more conferred by earthly investiture than were those of the mysterious Melchizedek (Gn 14:18+. V. 1 is accepted in the NT epistles and elsewhere as a prophecy of the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father.”; Footnote ^b  says “The risen Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, Rm 8:34, Heb 10:12, 1 P 3:22.”; and Footnote ^c  says “Cf. Jos 10:24; Dn 7:14.”

4.       Dn7:13 -‘I gazed into the vision of the night. And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man.^k He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence. Footnote ^k  says “Like the Hebrew ben adam, the Aram. Bar nasha used here, has the primary meaning ‘man’, cf. Ps 8:4. In Ezk. God addresses the prophet thus. But here in Dn the expression signifies a man who is mysteriously more than human. That it indicates an individual is attested by early Jewish apocryphal writings (Enoch, 2 Esd) inspired by this passage, as also by rabbinical tradition from the 2^nd to the 9^th centuries, and most particularly by Jesus, who applies it to himself, cf. Mt 8:20+. That it has a collective sense also is deduced from v. 18 (and v. 22) where the ‘son of man’ and the saints of the Most High’ seem more or less identified. But the collective (and equally messianic sense is an extension of the individual sense; the ‘son of man’ being leader, representative and exemplar of the saints of the Most High. It was with this in mind that St. Ephraim believed that the prophecy applied first to the Jews (the Maccabees), but beyond this, and perfectly, to Jesus.”

5.       Ac 2:33+ - Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand,^s he has received from the father the Holy Spirit, who was promised,^t and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit. Footnote ^s says “Words borrowed from Ps. 118 (v.16 LXX ‘The right hand of the Lord has raised me up’) used in their preaching by the apostles who took it to be messianic: Ac 4:11, 1 P 2:7, Mt 21:9p,42p, 23:39, Lk 13:35, Jn 12:13, Heb 13:6. But it is possible to translate. ‘ Having raised up to the right hand of God’ and to se in this an introduction to the quotation (v.34) of Ps. 110); which is another name of Apostolic preaching: Mt. 22:44p,26:64p, Mk 16:19, Ac 7:55,56, Rm 8:34, 1Co. 15:25, Ep. 1:20 Col. 3:1, Heb. 1:3,13, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, 1 P.3:22.”; and Footnote ^t  says “According to the prophets, the gif of the Spirit would characterize  the messianic era, Ex. 36:27+. Peter explains the miracle his bearers have witnessed as the ‘pouring out’ of this spirit, foretold in Jl 3:1-2 by the risen Christ.”

6.       Ac 7:55 - But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.^q. Footnote ^q  says “Stephen’s vision is to be related to his transfiguration, 6:15+.”

Verses 67 and 68 say: Then they spat in his face and hit him with their fists; others said as the struck him, ‘Play the prophet, Christ! Who hit you then?’

Parallel texts for verse 67 are:

1.       Ws 2:19 - Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of  his and put his endurance to proof.

2.       Is 50:6- I gave my back to those who beat me,my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; My face I did not hide from insults and spitting.^e Footnote ^e  says “The description of the servant’s suffering recurs in the fourth song, 52:13-53:12.”

3.       Is 52:14 - As the crowds were appalled on seeing him^l, so disfigured did he look that he seemed no longer human^m. Footnote ^l  says “‘On seeing him’ Targ, and Syr.; ‘on seeing you’ Hebr.”; and Footnote ^m  says  “A DSIa variant suggests the translation ‘By my anointing I took his human appearance from him’.”

The ninth title is “Peter’s denials”, with the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 14:53-72 - They led Jesus off to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes assembled together (v.53). Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the high priest’s palace, and was sitting with the attendants warming himself at the fire (v.54).The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus on which they might pass the death-sentence. But they could not find any (v.55). Several, indeed, brought false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting (v. 56). Some stood up and submitted this false evidence against him(v. 57), “We heard him say, ‘I am going to destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days build another, not made with hands.’” (v. 58).But even on this point their evidence were conflicting (v.59).  The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?”^b  (v. 60)  But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?” (v. 61)^c ‘I am,’ said Jesus ‘and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven(v. 62).The high priest tore his robes, “What  need of witnesses  have we now? (v. 63).You have heard the blasphemy. What is your finding?” And they all gave their verdict: he deserved to die (v.64).Some of them started spitting at him and, blindfolding him, began hitting him with their fists and shouting, “Play the prophet.” And the attendants raised blows on him (v. 65). While Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s servant girls came up (v. 66). She saw Peter warming himself there, started at him and said, ‘You too were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth’ (v. 67).  But he denied it. ‘I do not know, I do not understand, what you are talking about’ he said. And he went out into the forecourt (v. 68)^d The servant-girl saw him and again started telling the bystanders, ‘This fellow is one of them’ (v. 69). But again he denied it. A little later the bystanders themselves said to Peter, ‘You are one of them for sure! Why, you are a Galilean’ (v. 70). But he started calling down curses on himself and swearing, ‘I do not know the man you speak of’ (v. 71). At that moment the cock crew for the second time, and Peter recalled how Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned me three times’. And he burst into tears (v. 72).  Footnote ^b says “Here, and in Mt 26:62, some translate ‘Do you make no reply to the charges these men are bringing against you?’”; Footnote ^c says “‘The Blessed One’ (cf. also ‘the Power’, v. 62) is a substitute for the name ‘Yahweh’ which the Jews would not pronounce.”; and Footnote ^d says “Add. (Vulg.) ‘and a cock crew’.

2.       Lk 22:54-62 - They seized him then^m and led him away; and they took him to the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance (v. 54). They had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and Peter sat down among them (v. 55). and as he was sitting there by the blaze a servant girl saw him, peered at him, and said, ‘This person was with him too (v. 56)’. But he denied it. “Woman,’ he said, ‘I do not know him (v. 57).”Shortly afterwards someone else saw him and said, ‘You are another of them.’ But Peter replied, ‘I am not, my friend.’ⁿ (v. 58). About an hour later another insisted, saying, “This fellow was certainly with him. Why,  he is a Galilean (v. 59).’ “My friend,’ Peter said, I do not know what you are talking about.” At that instant, while he was speaking, the cock crew (v. 60),and the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered what the Lord had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times’ (v. 61). And he went outside and wept bitterly (v. 62). Footnote ^m   says “In Mt and Mk Jesus is seized immediately after Judas’ greeting; the sword episode follows, and finally the discourse by Jesus. Lk makes the arrest follow the discourse, thus emphasizing the control Jesus has over what takes place. Cf for the same emphasis, Jn 10:18+; 18:4-6.”; Footnote ⁿ  says “Lit. ‘man’.”

3.       Jn 18:15-16,18,24-27 - Simon Peter, with another disciple^b followed Jesus. The disciple who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace (v. 15), but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple,  the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who was keeping the and brought Peter in (v.16) The maid on duty at the door said to Peter, “Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?” He answered, “I am not (v. 17).”Now it was cold, and  the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there were warming themselves; so Peter stood there too,  warming himself with the others (v. 18).As Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him, “Aren’t you another of his disciples?” He denied it saying, “I am not.”(v. 25).One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” And again Peter denied it; and at once a cock crew (v.27). Footnote ^b says “Probably the disciple of 20:2f, whom Jesus loved’, the evangelist himself.

Verses 69 and 70 say: Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.  ”But he denied it in front of them all. “I do not know what you are talking about’, he said.

Parallel text for verse 70 is Mt 8:10 that says: When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith^b like this. Footnote ^b  says “The faith that Jesus asks for from the outset of public life (Mk. 1:15) and throughout his subsequent career, is that act of trust and self-abandonment by which people no longer rely on their own strength and policies but commit themselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom they believe (Lk. 1:20,45; Mt. 21:25p,32). Christ asks for this faith especially when he works his miracles (8:13; 9:2p; 22p, 28-29; 15:28; Mk 5:36p;10:52p; Lk 17:19) which are not so much acts of mercy as signs attesting his mission and witnessing to the kingdom (8:3+; cf. Jn 2:11+), hence he cannot work miracles unless he finds the faith without which the miracle lose their true significance (13:58p; 12;38-39; 16:1-4). Since the faith demands the sacrifice of the whole man, mind and heart, it is not an easy act of humility to perform; many decline it, particularly in Israel (8:10p; 15:28; 27:42p; Lk 18;8), or are half-hearted (Mk 9;24; Lk 8;13). Even the disciples are slow to believe (8:26p; 14;31; 18;8; 17:20p) and are still reluctant after the resurrection (28;17; Mk 16:11-14; Lk 24;11,25,41). The most generous faith of all, of the ‘Rock’ (16:16-18), the disciples leader, was destined to the shaken by the outrage of the Passion (26:69-75p) though it was to triumph in the end (Lk 22:32). When faith is strong it works wonders (17:20p; 21:21p; Mk 16:17) and its appeal is never refused (21:22p; Mk 9:23) especially when it asks for forgiveness of sin (9:2p; Lk 7:50) and for that salvation of which it is the necessary condition (Lk 8;12; Mk 16:16, cf. Ac 3:16+).

Verses 71 and 72 say: When he went out to the gateway another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This man was with Jesus the Nazarene^w’ And again, with an oath, he denied it. ‘I do not know the man. Footnote ^w says “Nazoraios, var. (cf. Vulg.) Nazarenos.”

Parallel text for verse 71 is Mt 2:23 that say: There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets where to be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”^j Footnote says  “Nazoraios: this is the form used by Mt, Jn. and Ac. (translated Nazarene throughout this version). Nazarenos (‘of Nazareth’ in this version) is used by Mk. Lk. uses both forms. These two synonyms  were current transcriptions of an Aramaic adjective (nasraya) itself derived from the name of the town “Nazareth’ (Nasrath). Applied to Jesus, whose origin it indicated (26:69,71), and later to his followers (Ac. 24:5), the term became common in the semitic world for the disciples of Jesus; the name ‘Christian’ (Ac. 11:26) prevailed in the Graeco-Roman world. It is not clear  which prophetic oracles Mt. alludes to; possibly to the nazir of Jg. 13:5,7.”

Verses 73 and 74 say: A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You are one of them for sure! Why, your accent^x gives you away.’ Then he started calling down curses on himself and swearing, “I do not know the man.” At that moment the cock crew… Footnote ^x  says “The Galilean accent.”

Parallel text is Jg 12:6 that says: …they said, ‘Then say Shibboleth’.^c He would say ‘Sibboleth’, since he could not pronounce the word correctly. Thereupon they seized and slaughtered him by the fords of the Jordan. There perished in this way forty-two thousand men of Ephraim. Footnote ^c  says “Shibboleth means either ‘an ear of corn or a flowing stream’. The Ephraimites were betrayed by their mispronunciation.”

Verse 75 says: and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, “Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times’. And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Parallel text is  Mt 26:34 that says: Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you solemnly, this very night, before the cock crows, you will have disowned me three times’.

Tenth title is “Jesus is taken before Pilate”.

Chapter 27, verse 1 says: When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met in council to bring about the death of Jesus.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 15:1 - First thing I the morning, the chief priests together with the elders and scribes, in short the whole Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took him away and handed him over to Pilate.

2.       Lk 22:66 - When day broke there was a meeting of the elders of the people,^p attended by the chief priests and scribes. He was brought before their council… Footnote ^p says “‘elder’ here means the whole Sanhedrin, not merely one of its three component bodies (the elders); of these, Lk names the two most influential (chief priests and scribes).” 

3.       Lk 23:1 - The whole assembly then rose, and they brought him before Pilate.

Verse 2 says: They had him bound, and led him away to hand him over to Pilate,^a the governor.  Footnote ^a  says “Var ‘Pontius Pilate’, Cf. Lk 3:1+. In Judaea, as in all the provinces of the Empire, Rome reserved to itself power of life and death: the Jews had to approach this magistrate for confirmation and execution of the sentence they had promulgated.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 26:57 - The men who had arrested Jesus led him off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

2.       Jn 18:28 - They then led Jesus from the house of Caiphas to the Praetorium.^d It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves or they would be defiled^e and unable to eat the passover. Footnote ^d  says “The Roman procurator’s judicial court.”; and Footnote ^e  says “To enter a pagan house was to incur legal impurity, cf. Ac 11:2f.”

3.       Lk 3:1 - The preaching of John the Baptist. In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign,^a when Pontius Pilate^b was governor of Judaea, Herod^c tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip^d tetrarch of the land of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias^e tetrarch of Abilene…Footnote ^a  says “Here, as in 1:5 and 2:1-3, Lk dates his narrative by secular events. Tiberius succeeded Augustus, 2:1, on 19 August 14 AD. The 15^th year, therefore, is from 19 August 28 AD to 18 August 29 AD. Alternatively, if the Syrian method of calculating the year of a reign is being followed, the 15^th year is from Sept-Oct 27 AD to Sept-Oct 28 AD. At that time, Jesus was at least 33 years old, possibly 35 or 36. The indication of v. 23 is approximate, and perhaps it only means that Jesus was old enough to exercise a public ministry. The mistake in calculating the ‘Christian Era’ results from taking 3:23 as an exact figure: the 15^th year of Tiberius was 782 ‘after the foundation of Rome’; Dionysius Exiguus subtracted 29 full years from this, arriving at 753 for the beginning of our era. Actually, it should have been 750 or even 746.”;  Footnote ^b  says “Procurator of Judaea (including Idumaea and Samaria) 26-36 AD.”; Footnote ^c  says “The Herod referred to is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and Malthake; he was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea from 4 BC to 39 AD.”; Footnote  ^d  says “Son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra, tetrarch from 4 BC to 34 AD.”; and Footnote ^e  says “Known from two inscriptions. Abilene was in Anti-Lebanon”.

The eleventh title is “The death of Judas.”  

Verses 3 and 4 say: When he found that Jesus had been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with great remorse and took the thirty  silver pieces back to the chief priests and elder. “I have sinned’, he said ‘I have betrayed innocent blood.”^b ‘What is that to us?’ they replied ‘That is your concern.’ Footnote ^c  says “Thirty shekels – and not thirty denarii as is commonly said. It was the price the Law fixed for a slave’s life, Ex. 21:32.”; and Footnote  ^b says “Var. ‘righteous blood’, cf. 23:35.”

Parallel text is Mt 26:15 that says: and said, “What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty  silver pieces,^c Footnote ^c  says “Thirty shekels – and not thirty denarii as is commonly said. It was the price the Law fixed for a slave’s life, Ex. 21:32.”

Verses 5 to 10 say: And flinging down the  silver pieces in the sanctuary he made off and went and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the  silver pieces and said, ‘It is against the law to put this into the treasury; it is  blood money’. So they discussed the matter and bought the potter’s field with it as a graveyard for foreigners, and this is why the field is called the Field of Blood^c today. The words of the prophet Jeremiah^d were then fulfilled: And they took the thirty  silver  pieces, the value at which the precious One was priced by the children of Israel, and they gave them the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.^e Footnote ^c says “In Aramaic Hakeldama (cf. Ac 1:19 and Vulg. In this place). A 4^th Century tradition, probably reliable, locates it in the Valley of Gehinnom”; Footnote ^d says “Om. ‘Jeremiah’. Actually this is a free quotation from Zc 11:12-13 combined with the idea of the purchase of a field, an idea suggested by Jr 32:6-15. This, plus the fact that Jeremiah speaks of potters (18:2f) who lived in the Hakeldama district (19:1f), explains how the whole text could by approximation be attributed to Jeremiah.”; and Footnote ^e  says “Yahweh complained that, in the person of his prophet Zechariah, he had received from the Israelites a wage that was nothing but an insult. The sale of Jesus Christ for the same paltry sum appeals to Matthew as a fulfillment of this oracle of the prophet.”

Parallel text is  Ac 1:18 that say: As you know, he bought a field with the money he was paid for his crime. He fell headlong and burst open, and all his entrails poured out.

The twelfth title is  “Jesus before Pilate”.

Verse 11 says: Jesus then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put this question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “It is you who say it^f. Footnote ^f  says “By these words Jesus acknowledges as correct, at least in a sense, what he would never have said on his own initiative. See above 26:25,64; and cf. Jn 18:33-37+.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 15:2-5 - Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”“It was you who say it” he answered (v. 2). And the chief priests brought many  accusations against him (v. 3). Pilate questioned him again, “Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are brining against you (v . 4).But to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply (v. 5).

2.       Lk 23:2-5,13-25 - They began their accusation by saying, ‘We found this man inciting our people to revolt, opposing payment of the tribute to Caesar and claiming to be Christ, a king (v. 2).’Pilate put to him this question, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ‘It is you who say it,’ he replied (v. 3). Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no case against this man (v. 4).”But they persisted, ‘He is inflaming the people with his teaching all over Judea; it has come all the way from Galilee, where he started, down to here (v. 5).’Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the leading men and the people (v. 13).“You brought this man to me,’ he said ‘as apolitical agitator. Now I have gone the matter myself in your presence and not found no case against the man in respect of all the charges you have bring against him (v. 14).Nor has Herod either, since he sent him back to us. As you can see, the man has done nothing that deserves death (v. 15),So I shall have him flogged and then let himgo.^d (v. 16).But as one man they howled, “Away with him! Give us Barabbas!” (v. 18).(This man had been thrown into prison for causing a riot  in the city and for murder) (v. 19).Pilate was anxious to set Jesus free and addressed them again (v.,20).but they shouted back, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (v. 21).And for the third time^e he spoke to them, “Why? What harm has this man done? I have found him no case against him that deserves death, so I shall have him punished and then let himgo.”^f (v. 22).But they kept on shouting at the top of their voice, demanding that he should be crucified. And their  shouts were growing louder (v. 23).Pilate then gave his verdict: their demand was to be granted (v. 24). He released the man they asked for, who had been imprisoned for rioting and murder, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they pleased (v. 25). Footnote ^d  says “Add v. 17 ‘He was under obligation to release one man for them every feast day’; this seem to be an explanatory gloss, cf Mt 27:15p.”; Footnote ^e says “Lk, like Jn, emphasizes Pilate’s wish to let Jesus go free, and mentions the procurator’s  declaration of Christ’s innocence three times, cf. Jn 18:38; 19:4,6.”; and Footnote ^f says “Cf. v. 16. Lk does not say what the punishment was: in Mt. 27:27-31p it is scourging. Unlike Mt. and Mk, but like Jh, Lk regards the punishment as a conciliatory measure designed to avert a sentence not yet pronounced.”

3.       Jn 18:28-40; 19:4-16 - And with that he went out again to the Jews and  said,  “I find no case against him (v.38b) But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover, would you like me, then,  to release the King of the Jews?” (v. 39). At this they shouted: “Not this man,’ they said ‘but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a brigand.19:1Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged (v. 1); and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe (v. 2). They kept coming up to him and saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’;and they slapped him on the face (v.3). Pilate came outside again and said to them, “Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case.”^a (v. 4).  Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, “Here is the man (v. 5). When  they saw him the chief priests and the guards shouted, “Crucify him! crucify him!” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I can find no case against  him (v. 6)” “We have a law,’ the Jews replied, ‘and according to that Law he ought to die, because he had claimed to be the Son of God (v. 7). When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased (v. 8). Reentering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?”^b But Jesus made no answer (v. 9). Pilate then said to him, “Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you? (v. 10) [him], “You would have not power over me’ replied Jesus ‘if it had not been given to you from above;  that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.”^c (v. 11) Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” (v. 12). When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha (v. 13). It was Passover Preparation Day^e about the sixth hour^f (v. 14).They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar (v.15)”Then he handed him over to them to be crucified (v. 16).

Footnote

4.       Mt 27:29 - And having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’

Verses 12 and 13 say: But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him, “Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?”.

Parallel text is Ws 2:19 that says:  Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of  his and put his endurance to proof.

Verse 14 says: But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply him of the charges.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 26:63 - But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I put you on oath by the living God  to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’

2.       Is 53:7 - Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughterhouse, like a sheep dumbed before its shearers, never opening his mouth.

Verse 15 to 24 say: At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now there was^g at that time a notorious prisoner whose namewas  Barabbas.^h So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them, “Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?”. For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was  seated in the chair of judgment, his wife sent him a message, “Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.” The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowds to demand the release of Barabbas and  the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” they said, “Barabbas!”. ‘But in that case,’ Pilate said to them, ‘what am I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”. “Why? He asked ‘What harm has he done?” But they shouted all  the louder, “Let him be crucified!” (v.  23). Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his handsⁱ in front of the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.^j It is your concern.” Footnote ^g   says “Vulg. ‘he had’.”; Footnote ^h   says “Here and in v. 17, var. ‘Jesus Barabbas’, which would give peculiar point to Pilate’s question but appears to have its origin in apocryphal tradition."; Footnote ⁱ says “The significance of this gesture must have been well understood by the Jews, cf. Dt 21:6f; Ps 26:6; 73:13.”;  and  Footnote ^j  says “Var. ‘of the blood of the just man”.

Parallel text for verse 15 is Jn 18:39 that says: But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover, would you like me, then,  to release the King of the Jews?”

Verse 25 says: And the people, to a man, shouted back, “His blood be on us and on our children^k” Footnote ^k  says “Traditional OT phrase, 2 S 1:16; 3:29, cf. Ac 18:6, by which they accept responsibility for the death they demand.”

Parallel text is Ac 18:6 that says: When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak in front of them^g saying, “Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the pagans”. Footnote ^g  says “Symbolically breaking off relations. The following sentence is biblical, cf. Lv. 20:9-16; 2 S 1:16, and means that the Jews must accept full responsibility for the consequences. Their ‘blood’, i.e., their punishment, is not Paul’s affair; his conscience is clear (lit. ‘I am clean’).”

Verse 26 says: Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus  to be scourged,^l and then handed over to be crucified. Footnote ^l says “In Roman practice the normal prelude to crucifixion.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 23:35…and so you will draw down on yourselves the blood of every holy man that has been shed on earth, from the blood of Abel the holy blood of Zachariah son of Barachiahⁿ whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Footnote ⁿ says The one referred to is probably the Zechariah of 2 Ch 24:20-22. His murder is the last one to be described in the Bible (2 Ch being the last book of the Jewish Canon) while Abel’s, Gn 4:8, is the first. It is possible that ‘son of Barachiah’ is a result of confusion with another Zechariah, cf. Is 8:2 (LXX); Zc 1:1. Alternatively, the words may be a copyist’s gloss.”

2.       Ac 5:28 - “We gave you a formal warning’ he said ‘ not to preach in this name.ⁱ You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt of this man’s death on us.” Footnote ^I says “Western text ‘Did we not forbid you to preach I that name? and no…’ Then Peter answered, ‘Which must we obey, God or man? ‘God’ he said. And Peter then replied, ‘The God of our ancestors..’”

The thirteenth title is “Jesus is crowned with thorns”  with the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 15:16-20 - The soldiers led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together (v. 16). They dressed him up in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on him (v. 17). And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews! (v. 18). They struck his head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to him homage (v. 19). And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes (v. 20).

2.       Jn 19:1-3 - Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged (v. 1); and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe (v. 2). They kept coming up to him and saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’; and they slapped him on the face (v.3).

Verses 27, 28 and 29 say: The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium^m and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak,ⁿ

And having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt t him saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’. Footnote ^m says “The Praetorium, or residence of the praetor, was probably the former palace of King Herod the Great in which the procurator used to reside whenever he went up from Caesaria to Jerusalem. This palace situated in the W. quarter of the city, was not the family residence of the Hasmonaeans: this was near the Temple and in it Herod Antipas probably received Jesus, sent to him by Pilate, Lk 23:7-12. Some commentators think that the Praetorium was in the fortress called Antonia, to the N. of the Temple.”;  and Footnote ⁿ says “The Roman soldier’s cloak (sagum); being red it suggested the imperial purple to the mocking soldiery.””

Parallel text for verse 29 is Is 52:14 that says: As the crowds were appalled on seeing him^l, so disfigured did he look that he seemed no longer human^m. Footnote ^l says …Footnote ^m  says “A DSIa variant suggests the translation ‘By my anointing I took his human appearance from him’.”

Verses 30 and 31 says: And they spat upon him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 27:11 - Jesus then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put this question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “It is you who say it^f. Footnote ^f  says “By these words Jesus acknowledges as correct, at least in a sense, what he would never have said on his own initiative. See above 26:25,64; and cf. Jn 18:33-37+.”

2.       Is 50:6 - I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; My face I did not hide from insults and spitting.^e Footnote ^e  says “The description of the servant’s suffering recurs in the fourth song, 52:13-53:12.”

The fourteenth title is “The crucifixion” with the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 15:21-27 - They enlisted a passer-by, Simon of  Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus^a who was coming in from the country,  to carry his cross (v.21). They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which is means the place of the skull (v. 22).  They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it (v.23). Then they crucified him and shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get (v.24). It was the third hour^b when they crucified him (v. 25). The inscription giving charge against him read, “The King of the Jews” (v. 26). And  they crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left^c (v. 27). Footnote ^a says “Alexander and Rufus were doubtless known to the Roman circle in which Mark wrote his gospel. Cf. Rm 16:13.”; Footnote ^b says “9 a.m. or, more vaguely, sometime between 9 a.m. and noon.”; Footnote ^c says “Add. V. 28 ‘And the text of scripture was fulfilled that says: He was taken for a criminal’ (Is 53:12). CfLk 22:37.”

2.       Lk 23:26-34, 38 - As they were leading him away they seized on a man, Simon from a Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and made him shoulder the cross  and carry it behind Jesus (v. 26). Large numbers of people followed him, and of women too,^g who mourned and lamented for him (v. 27). But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children (v. 28). For the days will surely come when people will say, ‘Happy are those who are barren, the wombs that never borne, the breasts that never suckled (v. 29).’At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us! (v. 30) For if men use the green wood like this, what will happen when it is dry?^h (v. 31). Now with him they were also leading out two other criminals to be executed (v. 32).The crucifixionⁱ . When they reached the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left (v. 33). Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” Then they cast lots to share out his clothing (v. 34). Above him there was an inscription: “This is the King of the Jews (v. 38). Footnote ^g says “The Talmud records that noblewomen of Jerusalem were accustomed to give soothing drinks to condemned criminals.”; Footnote ^h  says “If greenwood is burnt that is not meant for burning (allusion to Christ’s condemnation), what is to happen to the dry wood (the truly guilty).”; and Footnote ⁱ says “A comparison with Mk and Mt shows how Lk has softened the harshness of Calvary: Lk’s crowd, vv. 27,35,48, is more inquisitive than hostile, and repents in the end, v. 48; Jesus does not utter the seemingly despairing cry. ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’; Christ’s ministry  of forgiveness goes on to the last, vv. 34, 39-43; he dies committing his spirit into the hands of his Father, v. 46.”

3.       Jn 19:17-24 - They then took charge of Jesus,^h and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull, or, as  it is called in Hebrew, Golgotha (v.17),where they crucified him with two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle (v.18). Pilate  wrote out a notice and had it fixed on the cross; it ran, “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews (v. 19) ‘. This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was now far from the city, and the writing  was in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (v.20). So the  Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, “You should not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but ‘This man said: I am the King of the Jews’ (v. 21).  Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written” (v.  22). When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus, they took his clothing and divided them into four shares, one for each soldier.  His undergarment was seamless,ⁱ woven in one piece, from neck to hem (v.23);so they said to one another, “Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it”. In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: “They shared out my clothing among them. They cast lots for my clothes.”  This is exactly what the soldiers did (v. 24). Footnote ^h  says “Add. ‘and led him away.’”; and Footnote ⁱ - Possible allusion to the priesthood of the crucified: the high priestly robe was without seam.

Verse 32, 33 and 34 say: On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross when they had reached a place called Golgotha,^o that is, the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall,^p which he tasted but refused to drink. Footnote ^o says  “Approximate transliteration of the Aramaic word Golgotha, ‘a place of the skull’, in Lat.  Calvaria (whence Calvary).”; and  Footnote ^p says “A narcotic which sympathetic Jewish women (cf. Lk 23:27f) used to offer the condemned to diminish their sufferings. The wine was mixed with ‘myrrh’ (cf. Mk 15:23) rather than with ‘gall’. The ‘gall’ in Mt (like the correction of ‘wine’ to ‘vinegar’ in the Antiochene recension) is due to a reminiscence of Ps 69:21. Jesus refuses the palliative.”

Parallel texts for verse 34 are:

1.       Ps 69:21 - They gave me poison to eat instead, when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.

2.       Pr 31:6 - Procure a strong drink for a man about to perish, wine for the heart that is full of bitterness:

Verse 35 and 36 say: When they had finished crucifying him, they shared out his garments by casting lots^q; and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him. Footnote ^q says “Add. ‘that the saying of the prophet might be fulfilled: they divided my garments between them and for my robe they cast lots’ (Ps 22:18) a gloss taken from Jn 19:24.”

Parallel text is Ps 22:18 that says: They divided my  garments among them and cast lots for my clothes.

Verses 37 and 38 say: Above his head was placed the charge against him; it read: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. At the same time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 53:9,13 - They gave him a grave with the wicked, a tomb with therich^g, though he had done no wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth. Footnote ^g  says “With DSIa, Hebr. ‘in his death he is with the rich man’. Early Christian preaching seems to have had this text in mind when recording the burial of Jesus in the tomb of Joseph Arimathea, ‘a rich man’, Mt 27:57-60. It is possible to correct to ‘in his death he is with the evil-doers’, Lk. 22:37 which, however, refers rather to v. 12.”

2.       Lk 23:37 - they said, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”

The fifteenth title is “The crucified Christ is mocked,” with the following parallel texts:

1.       The passersby jeered him; they shook their heads and said, “Aha! So you who would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days (v. 30)! Then save yourself and come down from the cross” (v.  31). The chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves in the same way. “He saved others, ’they said he cannot save himself (v.32). Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.”(v. 32a).

2.       The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. “He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God,  the Chosen One (v. 35).” The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer him vinegar(v. 36), they said, “If you are king of the Jews, save yourself (v. 37).

Verses 39 to 42 say: The passersby jeered at him; they shook their heads and said, “So you who would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way. “He saved others’ they said ‘he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ps 22:7…all who see me jeer at me, they toss their heads and sneer…

2.       Jr 18:16 - They will make their country desolate, everlastingly derided: every passer-by will be appalled at it and shake his head.

3.       Lm 2:15 All who pass your way clap their hands at the sight; they whistle and shake their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem. ‘Was this the loveliest of all,^h this, the joy of the whole world?’ Footnote ^h  says “Text corr.; Hebr. ‘Is this the city that was called the loveliest’.”

4.       Mt 26:61- and made a statement, “This man said, ‘I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up ^s.’” (v. 61).

Footnote ^s

Verse 43 says: He puts his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the son of God”’.

Parallel texts for verse 43 are:

1.       Ps 22:8 - He relied on Yahweh, let Yahweh save him! If Yahweh is his friend, let Him rescue him!’

2.       Ws 2:18-20 - If the virtuous man is the God’s son, God will take his part and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.

Verse 44 says: Even the robbers who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.

Sixteenth title is  “The death of Jesus”, with the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 15:33-41 - When the sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth  hour (v.33) And at the ninth hour  Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,^d lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ (v. 34) When some of those who stood by heard this, they said, “Listen, he is calling on Elijah (v.35). Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down (v. 36). But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last (v. 37).  And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v. 38). The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, ‘In truth this man was a son of God’ (v. 39)^e.  There were some women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary of Magdala. Mary who was the mother of James the younger and Joset, and Salome.^f(v. 40). These used to follow him and look after him when he was in Galilee. And there were many other women there who had come up to Jerusalem with him (v. 41). Footnote ^d says “Jesus must have used the Aramaic Elahi: the transliteration Eloi has probably been influenced by the Hebr. Elohim.”; Footnote ^e says “For the Roman officer, this admission would not have its full Christian content, but Mk clearly sees in it a pagan’s acknowledgement that Jesus was more than a man.”; and Footnote ^f  says “Probably the woman whom Mt (27:56) calls ‘the mother of the sons of Zebedee’.”

2.       Lk 23:44-49 - It was now about the sixth hour and, with the sun eclipsed, a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (v. 44). The veil of the Temple was torn right down the middle (v.45); and when Jesus had cried out in a loud voice, he said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’. With these words he breathed his last (v. 46). When the centurion saw what had taken place, he gave praise to God and said, ‘This was a great and good man’ (v. 47). And when all the people who had gathered for the spectacle saw what had happened, they went home beating their breasts (v. 48). All his friends stood at a distance; so all did the women who accompanied him from Galilee, and they saw all this happen (v. 49).

Verses 45 and 46 say: From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until  the ninth hour^r. And about ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”^s Footnote ^r  says “From noon to three in the afternoon.”; and Footnote ^s says “A cry of real distress but not of despair: this lament which Jesus takes from the scriptures is a prayer to God and is followed in the Psalm by an expression of joyful confidence in final victory.”

Parallel text for verse 46 is Ps 22:1 that says: My God, my God, why have you deserted me? How far from saving me, the words I groan!

Verses 47 and 48 say: When some of the those who stood there heard this, they said, “The man is calling on Elijah^t and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar^u, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink …Footnote ^t  says “Malicious play on words based on the expectation of Elijah as the Messiah’s precursor, cf. 17:10-13+.”; and Footnote ^u says “Sour drink of the Roman soldier. Probably the gesture was sympathetic, cf. Jn 19:28f; the Synoptics regard it as malevolent (Lk 23:36) and describe it in terms that recall Ps 69:21.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Lk 23:36 - The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer him vinegar.

2.       Jn 19:29 - A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in eth vinegar on a hyssop stick^m they held it up to his mouth. Footnote ^m says “Conj. ‘on a spear’.”

Verses 49 and 50 say: ‘Wait,’ said the rest of them ‘let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.

Parallel text for verse 49 is Ps 69:21 that says: They gave me poison to eat instead, when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.

Verses 51, 52 and 53 say: At that, the veil of the Temple^v  was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; rocks were split;^w. The tombs opened, and the bodies of many holy man rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to number of people.  Footnote ^v says “Either the curtain which hung in front of the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, cf. Ex 26:31f. Following Heb9:12; 10:20, Christian tradition saw in this tearing of the veil the abrogation of the old Mosaic cult and the way opened up by Christ into the messianic sanctuary.”; and Footnote ^w says “This remarkable phenomena, like the darkness mentioned in v. 45, were foretold by the prophets as unmistakable sign of the ‘days of Yahweh’, cf. Am 8:9+.”

Parallel texts for verse 51 are:

1.       Heb 6:19 - Here we have an anchor for our soul,^g as sure as it is firm, and reaching right through beyond the veil. Footnote  ^g says “Anchor: symbol of stability in the classical world, adopted in Christian iconography of 2^nd c. as a symbol of hope.”

2.       1 P 3:19 - And in the spirit, he went to the spirits in prison^h. Footnote ^h says “Probably alludes to the descent of Christ to Hades, cf. Mt. 16:18+, between his death and resurrection, Mt. 12:40; Ac. 2:24.31; Rm. 10:7; Ep. 4:9; Heb. 13:20. He went there ‘in spirit’, cf. Lk. 23:46, or (better) ‘according to the spirit’, Rm. 1:4+, his ‘flesh’ being dead on the cross, Rm. 8:3f. The ‘spirits in prison’ to whom he ‘preached’ (or proclaimed) salvation are identified by some writers are the chained demons mentioned in the Book of Enoch (some texts are corrected so as to make Enoch, and not Christ, preach to them). This spirits have thus been put under the authority of Christ as Kyrios v. 22, cf. Ep. 1:21f; Ph. 2:8-10; and this subjection to him is to be confirmed later on, 1 Co. 15:24f. Other writers suggest these the spirits of people who were drowned in the Flood as a punishment but who are now summoned by God’s ‘patience’ to eternal life’, cf. 4:6. Mt. 27:52f is a similar episode of liberation by Christ between his death and resurrection, only here it is the saints, the holy ones who were waiting for him, that are liberated, cf. Heb. 11:39f, 12:23; and are given the freedom of the holy (the heavenly) city. The descent of Christ to Hades is one of the articles in the Apostle’s Creed.”

Verse 54 says: Meanwhile, the centurion, together with others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said, “In truth this was the Son of God!”.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 4:3 - and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,^c tell these stones to turn into loaves’. Footnote ^c says “The biblical title ‘Son of God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22, Ws. 18:13), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho. 2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk. 3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk. 23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration (17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant, and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his ‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17 and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21, etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27). These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank (22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of  man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm. 9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

2.       Mk 15:39 - The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, “In  this man was a son of God!”^e Footnote ^e says “For the Roman officer, this admission would not have its full Christian content, but Mk clearly sees in it a pagan’s acknowledgement that Jesus was more than man”.

3.       Lk 8:2-3…as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary, surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out (v. 2). Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources (v. 3).

4.       Jn 19:25 - Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother^j and his mother’s sister,^k Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

Footnote

Verses 55 and 56 say: And many women were there, watching from a distance, the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee, and looked after him. Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Parallel text for verse 55 is Mt 13:55 that says: This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude?

Seventeenth title is “The burial”, with the following parallel texts:

1.       Mk 15:42-47 - It was now evening, and since it was the Preparation Day (that is, the vigil of the Sabbath) (v. 42), there came Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council,^g who himself lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God, came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus (v. 43). Pilate, astonished that he shouldhave  died so soon, summoned the centurion and inquired if he was already dead^h (v.44). Having been assured of this by the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph (v.45), who bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb (v.46). Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching and took note of where he was laid (v.47). Footnote  ^g says “i.e. the Sanhedrin.”; and  Footnote ^h says “Var. ‘if he had been dead for some time.’”

2.       Lk 23:50-55 - Then a member of the council arrived, an upright and virtuous man named Joseph (v. 50). He had not consented to what the others had planned and carried out. He came from Arimathea, a Jewish town, and he lived in the hope of  seeing the kingdom of God (v. 51).This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus (v. 52). He then took it down, wrapped it in a shroud and put him in a tomb  hewn in a rock in which no one had yet been laid (v. 53). It was Preparation Day  and the sabbath was imminent (v. 54). Meanwhile the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus were following behind. They took note of the tomb and the position of the body (v. 55).

3.       Jn 19:18-42 - After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was  a disciple of Jesus-though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews- asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they^w came and took it away (v.38). Nicodemus came as well- the same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time-and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred pounds (v. 39) They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloth, following the Jewish burial custom (v.40). At the place where he had been crucified, there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried (v.41). Since it wasJewish  Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there (v. 42).  Footnote  ^w  says “Var ‘he’”

Verses 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 say: When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate thereupon ordered it to be handed over. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean shroud and put it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulcher.

Parallel text for verse 59 is Is 53:9 that says: They gave him a grave with the wicked, a tomb with the rich^g, though he had done no wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth . Footnote  ^g says “With DSIa, Hebr. ‘in his death he is with the rich man’. Early Christian preaching seems to have had this text in mind when recording the burial of Jesus in the tomb of Joseph Arimathea, ‘a rich man’, Mt 27:57-60. It is possible to correct to ‘in his death he is with the evil-doers’, Lk. 22:37 which, however, refers rather to v. 12.”

Eighteenth title is  “The guard at the tomb.”

Verses 62 to 66 say: Next day, that is, when Preparation Day^x was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate and said to him, ‘Your Excellency, we recall that this imposter said, while he was still alive, “After three days I shall rise again”.  Therefore give the order to have the sepulcher kept secure until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, “He has risen from the dead”. The last piece of fraud would be worse than what went before.’ ‘You may have your guard’^y said Pilate to them. ‘Go and make all as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the sepulcher secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard. Footnote ^x says “Greek parakeue (‘preparation’) meaning Friday, i.e. the day when preparations were made for the Sabbath.”; and Footnote ^y says “Lit. ‘You have a guard’, i.e., I now put one at your disposal.”

Parallel texts for verse 64 are:

1.       Mt 16:21 - From that time^k, Jesus began to make clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders, and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to  be raised on the third day. Footnote ^k says “Jesus has just elicited from his disciples the first explicit profession of faith in him as Messiah. At this crucial moment he tells them for the first time of his coming Passion: he is not only the glorious Messiah, he is also the suffering servant. Within the next few days this teaching method will be pursued in a similar situation: the glorious transfiguration will be followed by an injunction to silence and a prediction of Passion, 17:1-12. It is Christ’s way of bracing the disciples’ faith for the approaching crisis of death and resurrection.”

2.       Jn 7:12 - People stood in groups whispering^f about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man’; others, ‘No, he is leading the people astray’. Footnote ^f says “Lit. ‘There was whispering (var. much whispering) about him in the crowds’.”

3.       Ac 10:40…yet three days afterwards God raised him to life^m and allowed him to be seen… Footnote ^m  says “Lit. ‘raised him on the third day’; stereotype formula of the Christian preaching and faith. It appears as early as 1 Co. 15:4 (a first stage of the creed) with the addition ‘according to the scriptures’. The formula echoes Jon 2:1 (cf. Mt 12:40): see also Ho 6:2. It recurs in Mt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Lk 9:22; 18:33; 24:7,46.”

The First Reading is taken from Is 50:4-7.

Verse 4 says: The Lord Yahweh has given me a disciple’s tongue. So that I may know how to reply^c  to the wearied he provides me with speech. Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple.

Parallel is Jn 3:11 that says: Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.

Verse 5 says: The Lord GOD opened my ear;^d I did not refuse, did not turn away. Footnote^d  says“The servant, cf. 42:1+, is here not so much a prophet as a sage inspired by Yahweh.”

Parallel texts are:

1. Ps 40:6 - You, who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, opened^b my ear, you asked no holocaust or sacrifice for sin; then I said, ‘Here I am! I am coming!”Footnote ^b  says “Lit ‘dug out’. God sees to it that his servant knows his will, cf. Is 50:5. A Greek variant, ‘you have fashioned a body for me, was interpreted messianically and applied to Christ, Heb 10:5.”
2. Is 52:-53:12 - Fourth Song of the Servant of Yahweh^k See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights (v. 13).As the crowds were appalled on seeing him^l, so disfigured did he look that he seemed no longer human^m(v. 14),So will the crowds be astonished at himⁿ, and kings stand speechless before him; for they shall see something never told and witness something never heard before (v. 15); Who could believe what we have heard and to whom has the power of Yahweh revealed? (Chapter 23, v. 1). He grew up in front of us^a like a shoot^b in arid ground; without beauty, without majesty (we saw him), no looks to attract our eyes (v. 2), a thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, a man to make people screen their faces^c; he was despised and we took no account of him (v. 3). And yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried. But we, we thought of him as someone punished, struck by God, and brought low (v. 4).Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed (v. 5). We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way; and Yahweh burdened him with the sins of us all(v. 6). Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughterhouse, like a sheep dumbed before its shearers, never opening his mouth (v. 7). By force and by law, he was taken^d, would anyone plead his cause? Yet, he was torn away from the land of the living; for our^f faults struck down in death (v.8).They gave him a grave with the wicked, a tomb with the rich^g, though he had done no wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth (v.9). Yahweh had been pleased to crush him with suffering^h. If he offers his life in atonement, he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life, and through him what Yahweh wishes will shall be done(v.10).His soul’s anguish over he shall see the light;^I and be content;^j By his sufferings shall my servant  justify many, taking their faults on himself (v. 11). Hence I will great whole hordes his tributes, he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, for surrendering himself to death, and letting himself be taken for a sinner while he was bearing the faults of many, and praying all the time for sinners (v.12). Footnote ^k  says “On the meaning of this song, cf. 42:1+. The poem is apparently in dialogue form. First Yahweh delivers an oracle, v. 13, then the kings of the nation speak, vv. 14 f, and next the people; the poem ends with a further oracle, 53:11-12. It is difficult to decide, however, precisely where the speaker changes.”; Footnote ^l says  ‘On seeing him’ Targ, and Syr.; ‘on seeing you’ Hebr.; Footnote ^m  says “A DSIa variant suggests the translation ‘By my anointing I took his human appearance from him;’ Footnote ⁿ says ‘will be astonished’ following Greek and Lat.; ‘he will come to leap’ Hebr.; Is 53:1 -12; Footnote  ^a  says “‘in front of us’ corr,; ‘in front of him’ Hebr.; Footnote ^b  says “In 11:1,10, Immanuel is a ‘root’. Footnote ^c says “The expression was used of lepers.; Footnote ^d  says “Suggesting that the servant has been condemned by process of law; Footnote ^e  says ‘cause’ corr.; ‘generation’, ‘descent’ Hebr. Interpretation uncertain. The ‘who will explain his descent?’ of the Greek and Lat. Has been taken by Christian tradition to refer to the mysterious origin of Christ; the Hebr. dor( a generation) cannot however bear this sense. Footnote ^f  says ‘our’ corr.; ‘of my people’ Hebr. Footnote ^g  says “With DSIa, Hebr. ‘in his death he is with the rich man’. Early Christian preaching seems to have had this text in mind when recording the burial of Jesus in the tomb of Joseph Arimathea, ‘a rich man’, Mt 27:57-60. It is possible to correct to ‘in his death he is with the evil-doers’, Lk. 22:37 which, however, refers rather to v. 12. Footnote ^h  says ‘with suffering’ corr., cf. versions; ‘he has pierced him’ DSIa, cf. v. 5.; Footnote ^I says “‘the light’ Greek, DSIa and DSIb; absent from Hebr.; Footnote ^j  says ‘By his suffering’ corr. following one  Hebr. MS; ‘By his knowledge’ Hebr. Before ‘servant’ Hebr. inserts ‘the just one’.

Verse 6 says: I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; My face I did not hide from insults and spitting.^e Footnote  ^e  says “The description of the servant’s suffering recurs in the fourth song, 52:13-53:12.”

Verse 7 says: The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; Therefore I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

Parallel texts are:

1. Ezk 3:8-9 - But now I will make you as defiant as they are, and as obstinate as they are; I am going to make your resolutions as hard as diamond, and diamond is harder than flint. So, do not be afraid of them, do not be overwhelmed by them, for they are a set of rebels (vv. 8-9).
2. Ps 25:3 - No, those who hope in you are never shamed, shame awaits disappointed traitors.

The Second Reading is from Phil 2:6-11.

Verse 6 says: His state was divine,^e  yet he did not cling to his equality with God^f . Footnote ^e - Lit. ‘Who subsisting in the form of God’: here ‘form’ means all the attributes that express and reveal the essential ‘nature’ of God; Christ, being God, had all the divine prerogatives by right; and Footnote ^f says “Lit. ‘did not deem being on an equality with God as something to grasp’ or ‘hold on to’. This refers not to his equality by nature ‘subsisting in the form of God’, and which Christ could not have surrendered, but to his being publicly treated and honored as equal to God which was a thing that Jesus (unlike Adam, Gn 3:5,22, who wanted to be seen to be like God) could and did give up in his human life.”

Parallel texts  are:

1. Jn 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word,^athe Word was with God and the Word was God (v . 1). He was in the beginning with God (v.2).Footnote^a says “The O.T. speaks of the Word of God, and of his wisdom, present with God before the world was made, cf. Pr. 8:22+; Ws. 7:22+, by it all things were created, it is sent to earth to reveal the hidden designs of God; it returns to him with its work done, Is. 58:10-11, Pr. 8:22-36, Si. 24:3-22, Ws. 9:9-12.  On its creature role, cf. also Gn. 1:3,6 etc.: Is 40:8,26, 44:24-28; 48:13, Ps. 33:6, Jdt. 16:14, Si.42:15; on its mission, cf. Ws. 18:14-16, Ps.107:20; 147:15-18.  For John, too, 13:3, 16:28, the Word existed before the world in God, 1:1-2, 8:24+, 10:30+. It has come on earth, 1:9-14, 3:19, 12:46, cf. Mk 1:38+, being sent by the Father; 3:17,34,5:36, 43, 6:29, 7:29, 8:42, 9:7, 10:36, 11:42, 17:3,25,cf. Lk 4:43, to perform a task, 4:34+, namely, to deliver 3:11+, 8:21, 12:35, 13:3, 16:5, 17:11, 13, 20:17.  The incarnation enabled the N.T. and especially John, to see this separately and eternally existent Word-Wisdom as a person.”

2. Jn 17:5 - Now, Father, it is time to glorify me with the glory I had with you^f before ever the world was.Footnote^f  says“Var. ‘the glory which was with you’ or ‘the glory with which I was’ or ‘the glory with you’.
3. Col 1:15-20 - Christ is the head of all creation^e He is the image of the unseen God, and the firstborn of all creation (v. 15), for him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers - all things were created through him and for him (v. 16). Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity (v.17). Now the church is his body, he is the head, ^f As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way(v.18). Because God wanted all perfection to be found in him^g(v. 19), and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,^h everything in heaven and everything on earth,ⁱ when he made peace by his death on the cross ( v. 20).Footnote ^e  says “In this poem Paul introduces two ways in which can claim to be the ‘head’ of everything that exists:1. He is the head of creation, of all that exists naturally, vv. 15-17; 2. He is head of the new creation and all that exists supernaturally through having been saved, vv. 18-20. The subject of the poem is the pre-existent Christ, but considered only in so far as he is manifest in the unique historic person that is the Son of God made man, cf. Ph 2:5+. It is as the incarnate God that Jesus is the ‘image of God’, i.e. his human nature was the visible manifestation of God who is invisible, cf. Rm 8:29+, and it is as such, in this concrete human nature, and as part of creation, that Jesus is called the ‘first born of creation’ - not in the temporal sense of having been born first, but in the sense of having been given the first place of honor.”; Footnote ^f says “On the church a Christ’s body, cf. 1 Co. 12:12f, he is called the ‘head’ of his own body both in a temporal sense (v. 18, i.e., he was the first to rise from the dead) and in a spiritual sense (v. 20, i.e. he is the leader of all the saved).”; Footnote ^g  says“Lit. ‘because (God) wanted the pleroma to dwell in him”. The exact meaning of the word ‘pleroma’ (i.e. the thing that fills up a gap or hole, like a patch, cf. Mt. 9:16) is not certain here. Some writers have thought it must mean the same as in 2:9 (the fullness of divinity that filled Jesus) but since vv. 15-18 have already dealt with the divinity of Jesus, it seems likely that the reference here is to the biblical concept of the entire cosmos as filled with the creative presence of God, cf. Is. 6:3, Jr. 23:24, Ps. 24:1, 50:12, 72:19, Ws. 1:7, Sir. 43:27, etc. The concept was also widespread in the Graeco-Roman world. Paul teaches that the incarnation and resurrection make Christ head not only of the entire human race, but of the entire created universe (cosmos), so that everything that was involved in the fall is equally involved in salvation, cf. Rm. 8:19-23, 1 Co. 3:22f, 15:20-28, Ep. 1:10, 4:10, Ph. 2:10f., 3:2f, Heb. 2:5-8, Cf. 2:9+.; Footnote  ^h says“i.e. through and for  Christ, cf. the parallel ‘though him and for him’ of v. 16. Alternatively, it could read “God wanted everything…to be reconciled to himself, though him who made peace…’ cf. Rm 5:10; 2 Co 5:18f.”; and Footnote ⁱ  says “This reconciliation of the whole universe (including angels as well as human beings) means not that every single individual will be saved, but that all who are saved will be saved by their collective return to the right order and peace of perfect submission to God. Any individual who do not join this new creation through grace will be forced to join it, cf. 2:15; 1 Co 15:24-25 (the heavenly spirits) and 2 Th 1:8-9; 1 Co 6:9-10; Ga. 5:21; Rm 2:8; Ep 5:5 (men).”

4. Heb 1:3 - He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature,^c sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. Footnote^c  says  “These two metaphors are borrowed from the Sophia and logos theologies of Alexandria, Ws 7:25-26; they express both the identity of nature between Father and Son, and the distinction of person. The Son is the brightness, the light shining from its source, which is the bright glory, cf. Ex. 24:16+, of the Father (‘Light from Light’). He is also the replica, cf. Col 1:15+, of the Father’s substance, like an exact impression made by a seal on clay or wax, cf. Jn 14:9.”

Verse 7  says: but emptied himself^g to assume the condition of a slave,^h and became as men areⁱ; Footnote ^g  says ‘He emptied himself’; this is not so much a reference to the fact of the incarnation, as to the way it took place. What Jesus freely gave up was not his divine nature, but the glory to which his divine nature entitled him, and which had been his before the incarnation, Jn 17:5, and, which ‘normally’ speaking would have been observable in his human body (cf. the transfiguration, Mt 17:1-8). He voluntarily deprived himself of this so that it could be returned to him by the Father, cf. Jn 8:50,54, after his sacrifice, vv.9-11.”; Footnote ^h says ‘slave’ as opposed to ‘Kyrios’ v. 11, cf. Ga 4:1; Col 3:22f. Christ as man led a life of submission and humble obedience, v. 8. This is probably a reference to the ‘servant’ of Is 52:13-53:12, cf. Is 42:1.; and Footnote ⁱ says “Not just ‘a human being’ but a human being ‘like others’; sharing all the weaknesses of the human condition apart from sin.”

Parallel texts  are:

1. 2 Co 8:9 - Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was:^b  he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. Footnote ^b  says“Lit. ‘the generosity (or perhaps ‘grace’) of the Lord Jesus’.”
2. Rv 5:12 - …shouting, ‘The Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy to be given power, riches,ⁱ wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.’ Footnote ⁱ  says“Vulg. ‘divinity.’
3. Mt 20:28…just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ^g for many.^h’ Footnote ^g says “ By sin man incurs, as a debt to the divine justice, the punishment of death demanded by the Law, cf. 1 Co. 15:56; 2 Co. 3:7,9; Ga. 3:13; Rm. 8:3-4, with notes. To ransom them from this slavery of sin and death, Rm. 3:24+. Christ is to pay the ransom and discharge the debt with the price of his blood, 1 Co. 6:20; 7:23; Ga. 3:13; 4:5, with notes, By thus dying in place of the guilty, he fulfills the prophesied function of the ‘servant of Yahweh’ (Is. 53). The Hebr. word translated ‘many’, Is. 53:11f, contrast the enormous crowd of the redeemed with the one Redeemer: it does not imply that the number of redeemed is limited, Rm. 5:6-21. Cf. Mt. 26:28+.”; and Footnote ^h says “At this point some authorities insert the following passage, derived probably from some apocryphal gospel ‘But as for you, from littleness you seek to grow great and from greatness you make yourselves small. When you are invited to a banquet do not take one of the places of honor, because someone more important than you may arrive and then the steward will have to say, “Move down lower”, and you would be covered with confusion. Take the lowest place, and then if someone less important than you comes in, the steward will say to you, “Move up higher”, and that will be to your advantage.’ Cf. Lk. 14:8-10.”
4. Rm 8:3 - God has done what the Law, because of our unspiritual nature, was unable to do.^c God dealt with sin by sending his own Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body^d God condemned sin. Footnote ^c  says “The mosaic Law, imposed from without, could not be an inward principle of salvation, 7:7+. Christ alone, who by his death destroyed our unspiritual nature (lit. ‘flesh’) in his own person, could destroy sin whose domain the ‘flesh’ was. Man formerly carnal is now, though union with Christ, spiritual”; Footnote ^d says “Lit. ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh and in that flesh…’
5. Ga 4:4 - But when the appointed time ^c came, God sent his son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law. Footnote ^c  says “Lit. ‘fullness of time’; the phrase indicates how when the messianic age comes it will fill a need felt for centuries, rather like filling up a jug. Cf. Ac 1:7+ and Mk 1:15; 1 Co 10:11; Ep 1:10; Heb 1”2; 9:26; 1 P 1:20.”
6. Heb 2:17 - It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so  that he could be a compassionate  and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins

Verse 8  says: and being as all men are,^j he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross

Footnote^j- says“Lit. ‘And in fashion found as man’.”

Parallel texts  are:

1. Is 49:4 - While I was thinking,‘I have toiled in vain, I have exhausted myself for nothing, and all the while my cause was with Yahweh, my reward with my God.
2. 1 P 5_6 - Bow down, then before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day;^gFootnote ^g says “Add (Vulg.) ‘of the coming;’, cf. 2:12”.
3. Mt 26:39 - And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed. ‘My Father,’ he said ‘if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it’ⁿFootnoteⁿ  says “Jesus feels the full ‘force of the human fear of death; he feels the instinctive urge to escape, gives expression to it and then stifles it by his acceptance of the Father’s will.”
4. Rm 5:19 -As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.^mFootnote^m says “Not only at the Last Judgment (for Paul regards justification as a present condition, cf. 5:1, etc.)’ but progressively as each individual becomes reborn in Christ.”
5. Heb 5:8 - Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering.
6. Heb 12:2 - Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right hand of God’s throne.

Verse 9  says: But God raised him high^k and gave him the name^l which is above all other names^m Footnote^k says “Lit ‘super-raised him’; by the resurrection and ascension”; Footnote ^lsays “Named him ‘Lord’, v. 11; or, at a deeper level, gave him an ineffable and divine name which, through the triumph of the risen Christ, can now be expressed by the title Kyrios, Lord, cf. Ac 2:21; 3:16+.”; and Footnote ^m says “Greater even than the angels, cf. Ef 1:21; Heb 1:4; 1 P 3:22.”

Parallel texts  are:

1. Is 52:13 - See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights
2. Mt 23:12 - Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
3. Jn 10:17f - The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again
4. Ep 1:20-23…at work  in Christ when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven (v. 20), far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power or Dominion,^t or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come (v. 21) He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church (v. 22), which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation^u (v. 23)Footnote ^t  says “Names traditional in Jewish literature for angelic hierarchies.”; and  Footnote ^u – Lit. ‘fills all in all’. The Church, as the body of Christ, 1 Co. 12:12f, can be called the fullness (pleroma); cf. Infra 3:19, 4:13) in so far as it includes the whole new creation that shares (since it forms the setting of the human race) in the cosmic rebirth under Christ its ruler and head, cf. Col. 1:15-20f. The adverbial phrase ‘all in all’ is used to suggest something of limitless size, cf. 1 Co. 6, 15:28, Col. 3:11.

Verse 10 says: so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and the underworld,ⁿshould bend the knee at the name of Jesus…Footnoteⁿ says “The three cosmic divisions that cover the entire creation, cf. Rv 5:3,13.

Parallel texts  are:

1. Ep 4:10 - The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things^g is not other than the one who descended. Footnote ^g  says “By ascending through all the cosmic spheres and taking possession of them all one after another, Christ became the head of the whole pleroma or total cosmos, 1:10+, and makes the entire universe acknowledge him as ‘Lord’; cf 1:20-23; Col 1:19; Ph 2:8-11.”
2. Is 45:23 - By my own self, I swear it; what comes from my mouth is truth, a word irrevocable: before me  every knee shall bend, by me every tongue shall swear.
3. Rm 14:11 - For scripture says: By my life- it is the Lord who speaks- every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God.”

Verse 11 says that:  and that every tongue should acclaim ^o Jesus Christ as Lord, ^p to the glory of God the Father. ^q

Footnote^o  says“ Var. ‘and every tongue shall acclaim’”; ^p – Om. ‘Christ’. This proclamation is the essence of the Christian creed, Rm. 10:9, 1 Co. 12:3, cf. Col. 2:6. The use of Is. 45:23 (in which this homage is addressed to Yahweh himself) is a clear indication of the divine character that is meant to be understood by the title Kyrios, cf. Jn. 20:28, Ac. 2:36; and Footnote^q  says“Vulg. Interpretation is ‘proclaim that Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father’.”

Parallel texts  are:

1. Ac 2:36 - For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.
2. Rm 1:4 - It is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that is in him, was proclaimed^c Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.^dFootnote ^c  says “Vulg. ‘predestined’.; and Footnote ^d  says “For Paul Christ rose only because God raised him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm. 4:24; 10:9; Ac. 2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4; Rm. 6:4; Ph. 3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16;  and because God raised him to life through the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11. Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph 2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9, deserving anew, this time in virtue of his messianic work, the name he had from eternity, ‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf. Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”
3. Rm 10:9 - If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, ^e then you will be saved.Footnote ^e  says “Profession of faith, such as is made at baptism, is the outward expression of the inward commitment of the ‘heart’.”
4. 1 Co 12:3 - It is for that reason that I want you to understand that on the one hand no one can be speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit and say, ‘Curse Jesus’, and on the other hand, no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

 While going through the exercise of preparing  this article, I was very much made aware of the murder of innocent people that went on since the beginning of human history and up to now. This concerns, in particular, the murder of the servants of the Most High, the prophets , beginning with Abel, Jeremiah, Zachariah son of Barachiah, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the Waldenses, the Annabaptists, the victims of the Inquisition, the Knight Templars, etc. These people have chosen the hard path to life by standing up for the truth and the murderous crowd have done the service of completing their work of witnessing to the truth by murdering all of them.