The Passion of Jesus Christ

The Passion of Jesus Christ; God’s Supreme Act of Love

by Rev. Tad Stanson

In these diffi cult times where it seems God’s light is fading from our world, we must hold to the truths found in the most sacred and important book ever written, the Bible. Within its sacred pages are the answers to life’s deepest questions, among its words we fi nd hope and ultimate truth. Th e Bible tells of a God who loved His supreme act of creation so much that when they sinned against Him, He sent His only begotten Son into a dark and fallen world to save them.

God’s love for a fallen humanity was perhaps most profoundly demonstrated in the events of a single week nearly two thousand years ago. We will begin that Holy Week this year on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021 and will celebrate its triumphant culmination on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021. Between these two glorious Sundays, we with solemn hearts will contemplate the great and important events of Jesus’ Passion.

Passion is derived from the Latin patior which means to su er. Th ese suff erings of our Lord began in the Garden of Gethsemane and ended on the Cross of Golgotha with His horrible yet triumphant death.

After Jesus ate for the last time with His disciples, before His crucifi xion, He went to pray in a garden on the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem. He withdrew a few feet from His disciples who accompanied Him, and began to pray, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not my will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). When our Lord fi nished this prayer, Luke tells us, an angel came and strengthened Him. Jesus then prayed even more earnestly and His agony was so great that His sweat became as great drops of blood. Jesus fully understood what horrors were to come and what terrors He was soon to suff er.

Th e Jewish authorities feared the favor Jesus had with the common people, and they saw Him as a political threat to their authority and power; thus, while he was still in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was then taken by force to face trial before the Sanhedrin. Th e ruling religious authorities, lead by the High Priest Caiaphas, tried to bring false testimonies against Jesus in an attempt to condemn Him to death. When faced with false accusations, Jesus remained silent. Finally, the high priest asked Jesus a direct question, ‘“I put You under oath by the living God; Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven”’ (Matthew 26:63-64). With that affi rmation, the high priest tore his clothes and proclaimed that Jesus had spoken blasphemy. Th e crowed that was present shouted that Jesus deserved death and began beating our Lord.

Although the Jewish religious authorities could charge Jesus with an off ense deserving in their minds of the penalty of death, they could not actually execute him. Execution of prisoners was the exclusive domain of the supreme ruling authority in Judea at that time, Rome. “When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor” (Matthew 27:1-2).

As Jesus stood before Pilate, the Roman offi cial was deeply impressed with this man who was so hated and reviled by the Jewish religious ruling class. While the priests and elders had condemned Jesus of blasphemy within their own religious community, they now charged Jesus with the political crime of claiming to be the king of Judea which would be a very serious off ense in the minds of the Romans. “Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you say’” (Matthew 27:1).

From the Gospel accounts, it is clear Pontius Pilate did not want to execute Jesus, so he employed a local custom of releasing one prisoner to the people during the Passover Feast. “Th erefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, ‘whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ’” (Matthew 27:17)? Much to Pilate’s dismay, the people chose Barabbas to be freed and called for the crucifi xion of Jesus. Pilate then “released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucifi ed.”

After Pilate washed his hands of Him, the passion of our Lord continued with ever increasing levels of humiliation and pain. Th e soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and the entire garrison gathered around Jesus to witness the humiliation and abuse. Th ey stripped Him of his clothes and in mockery placed a scarlet robe over His bleeding shoulders. Th ey gathered thorns and twisted them into a makeshift crown, pushing it down upon his tortured brow, piercing His sacred fl esh. A reed was placed in His right hand as a scepter and the soldiers bent down on one knee, proclaiming, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

When Jesus left the Praetorium, His own cross was placed upon His bleeding and bruised body to be carried by Him. Eventually Jesus became so weak and exhausted on His torturous journey to Golgotha that the Roman soldiers compelled an onlooker, Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ instrument of torture and death. When they fi nally arrived at the site of the crucifi xion, Jesus was stripped of His clothes, His body placed upon the cross and his hands and feet nailed into the wood.

While suff ocating and bleeding to death upon the Cross, Jesus was mocked and ridiculed by many of the onlookers. Yet, in the midst of such suff ering and humiliation, Jesus showed kindness, compassion and love. To those who mocked Him and placed Him upon the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). To a thief who was crucifi ed with him and who asked Jesus to remember him, Jesus comforted him by saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). And, caring even while in His own terrible

agony, Jesus showed concern when, “He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Th en He said to the Disciple, ‘behold your mother”’(John 19:26-27)!

After enduring such horrible suff ering and humiliation, and carrying upon Himself the sins of the whole world, the Passion of Jesus Christ ended when He said “It is fi nished” (John 19:30). And bowing His head, he gave up His spirit.

Th e quintessential attribute of the one true God is love. For the Christian, his or her supreme qualities of character are charity, compassion, empathy and kindness. Th ese were the personality traits so evident in Jesus when He dwelt among us, and they are the signifi cant signs which make the Christian diff erent from so many who live in darkness in our world. If we are to truly follow Jesus Christ, we must understand what love truly is and how we must live in its light. We must be willing to sacrifi ce for the benefi t of others, and even suff er for the cause of Christ.

Perhaps no other passage in Scripture so clearly defi nes the true nature of love than the 13th chapter of First Corinthians. Th e Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul shares in great detail love’s many facets. Th e great leader of the early church wrote, “love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suff ered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

Oh how our world would be heaven on earth if only love were allowed to reign supreme in the hearts of men and women. During this time when we remember the suff erings of Jesus Christ who endured such horrible pain for you and me, may each of us live in the eternal hope of God’s love; His love for us, our love for Him and our love for each other.

Before He died that we might have eternal life, Our Savior, Jesus Christ gave his disciples and us a new commandment, “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). May each of us love one another as Jesus Christ loves us in this holy time when we remember the passion of our Lord. By doing so, we and our world will become a much brighter place, full of hope and the sweet joy of God’s holy presence made possible by the suff erings of Jesus.

Rev. Tad Stinson is pastor in Moses Lake, Washington.