Five Portraits of the Passion

 

The Evangelist John, in his writing, dedicates special attention to the passion narrative. We must not even call it by that name because John does not emphasize the aspect of the passion as much as the glory. The hour has come; it is the moment when the Father glorifies the Son, and therefore the Evangelist shows the glory of God in the hour of his death, at the moment of his death. For John, this is the moment in which Jesus offers his life and fully communicates the life of God to humanity. We have already indicated that the whole narration is structured in five moments.

The passion narrative beings in a garden and ends in a garden. Then there is a moment of interrogation at Annas, and at the center, there are seven scenes of interrogation in the praetorium of Pilate. In the end, Pilate yields and prefers to remain a friend of Caesar than of Jesus. He abandons Jesus in the hands of the Jews, and they welcome him. This is the only time the word ‘welcome’ is used with Jews as subjects, but it is a tragic moment in which they welcome him to kill him. The scene moves from the praetorium to Calvary. John does not narrate this movement which for us is the way of the cross. He simply writes that Jesus carrying the cross proceeds to the place called Skull, Golgotha in Hebrew, where they crucify him.

Jesus is in the middle, in an uncomfortable position, along with the other two on either side. The Evangelist underlines the name of the place and gives the name in Aramaic. Interestingly, what we call ‘in Hebrew’ is what today we call ‘Aramaic.’ Golgotha is the Aramaic word, meaning rocky mountain in the skull shape. Skull or Calvary in Latin, meaning bold head, a place kept apart, lacking vegetation sticks only remaining; probably posts of trees and branches were cut as solid support to hang those who were condemned to the torture of the cross. That rocky place is stripped bald and is called the ‘hill of the skull’ = Golgotha or Calvary. Jesus carries the cross by himself.

Some translations omit the pronoun as not necessary: ‘carrying the cross himself.’ It is a ‘dative’ of advantage. It is a small narrative insertion with which the Evangelist wants to emphasize that for Jesus, the cross is not a tool of torture or the infamous scaffold, rather a throne, a trophy, and a sign of victory. St. Thomas says that Jesus carries the cross as a doctor carries a lampstand to place the lamp of his doctrine. The lamp of the cross, the doctrine of the cross is offered as a sign of salvation.

John does not underline the painful side, does not mention the suffering of Jesus; instead, he shows the glorious dimension. He does not want to present the realistic portrait of the suffering of Jesus until death. Instead, according to his symbolic criterion, he wants to show the theological significance behind this painful tragedy. There are five scenes on the Calvary, and they can be considered as parallel to one another.

The Evangelist calls our attention repeatedly to five details: the writing, the tunic, the mother, the thirst, and water. With these simple names, we can characterize five scenes that represent the climax of the passion event of Christ. First, the writing on the Cross. John dwells on this detail, saying the title of condemnation was written in three languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. It is an emphasis on universalism. Pilate wrote – “Jesus of Nazareth, the king of Jews.” The king of Jews could be the reason for his condemnation. He was condemned to death because he was the king of the Jews. He wrote in Hebrew so that the Jews could read it; he wrote it in Latin, the language of the dominant Roman empire; he wrote in Greek because it is the common language well understood by everybody. It was written in these three languages so that the whole world will read that he is the king of the Jews. The leaders read this and protested to Pilate, saying: ‘You have to write that he said he is the king of the Jews, not that he is.’

The nuance here is important. Pilate has put in writing that Jesus is king. On the other hand, the chiefs of the Jews wanted the motivation for his death to be that he said to be the king of the Jews. He declared himself to be the king of the Jews and is condemned because he said what is false. Pilate refused to accept the request and sternly said: “What I have written, I have written.” It is just a detail. In the whole drama, it appears to be a minor and insignificant detail. Why, then, the Evangelist wants to underline this? Because he wants to show to the whole world that Jesus is truly the king. Pilate writes using the verb in the aorist, which corresponds to our remote past, which happened in the past. And when he takes up this matter again with the Jews, he uses ‘what I have written I have written’ using the perfect tense two times, which in Greek indicates an action that happened in the past but continues in the present, the effect is seen even now. John wants to say that what is written remains written. Jesus is truly king. Pilate recognized him, and all the inhabitants of the world can read it now.

The second scene is about his tunic. The Synoptics tell that the soldiers divided the clothes of the one condemned to death, but only John points out the difference. The clothes are divided, but the tunic is precious. The soldiers recognize the worth of the tunic because it was seamlessly woven in one piece, from top to bottom. This is a symbolic detail. The particular attention that John has reserved for this tunic of Jesus prompts us to think of its significance. This tunic, seamless, completely one, is not divided by the soldiers. It may not be correct to use the verb divide (break is the original meaning; John uses the verb ‘skitzo’): to tear up, to divide. He should use the verb’ σχίσωμεν – schisomen – tear up = meaning to divide. This is an important verb. From it comes the name schisma, i.e., division, breaking. There was a schism among the Jews.

The net at the sea of Tiberias did not break even as the catch was enormous. As the net, so is the tunic. It is the symbol of the unity of the Church. It is an image of the unity of humankind gained by the death of Jesus. He has already said, commenting on the sentence of Caiaphas, that Jesus must die to gather the scattered children of God. The fact that the soldiers did not tear up or divided the tunic of Jesus but cast lots alludes to the profound unity which no one can divide or destroy.

The third scene presents the mother and the disciple at the foot of the cross. We should not be using proper names. We should not say that there was John and Mary. We must learn to use the language of the Evangelist. If he has not used proper names, he has his motive. Even if we do not understand that motive, at least let us accept his way of narration. The mother is present at the foot of the cross. Jesus addresses her calling her ‘woman.’

We should return to the beginning; the first sign took place at Cana in the presence of the mother of Jesus. To her, Jesus addressed with the title, ‘woman.’ Again, the scene is repeated at the foot of the cross. This is a symbolic detail that an attentive reader must pay attention to. What at Cana was a sign was an anticipated prophetic sign; on the cross, it is realized. The mother represents faithful Israel, the people of the covenant. The beloved disciple represents the people to be born. This is the new reality of the disciples of Christ. The mother comes first, and the disciples come after. The mother preceded Jesus; the disciples will continue Jesus. Jesus unties the relation between the mother and the disciple. Jesus is the person who unites, who makes peace, and brings two into one.

“‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.'” From that moment, from that hour, the decisive hour, the disciple took the mother ‘in sua’ says the Latin, εἰς τὰ ἴδια – eis ta ídia in Greek = things. We must translate: ‘among his belongings.’ It is not proper to say ‘things,’ so we must add specific terms, some kind of treasure, goods. The disciple took the mother among his goods. The mother is the one entrusted to the disciple, and the disciple welcomes her into his house. There is much more than a simple entrusting the care of the mother to the disciple.

Only in the 12th century, we start to speak about the spiritual maternity of Mary. The traditional reading of this scene is, above all, a union of the Old Testament with the New Testament. It is the faithful Israel that is welcomed among the treasures of the disciple of the new Christian community. There is a relationship that creates unity. We are at the center of the five scenes on the Calvary. After the symbolism of the tunic, the relation between mother and the disciple; from the high of the cross, Christ creates unity and brings to completion the project of gathering the children of God to generate the people of those who are saved.

The fourth scene that follows immediately after entrusting the mother to the disciple is the thirst. Jesus expresses a desire. He says, “I thirst.” He has a thirst for water. Is it simply an expression of a physical need that he expresses? We have already learned to recognize a great depth in John. As in the case of the Samaritan woman, the thirst of Jesus is the desire to accomplish God’s project. They gave him vinegar to drink—a sponge with hyssop. The hyssop with the marjoram oregano cannot be used with a rod, a cane, but pulverized is placed on top of some food for adding taste. The reference to the hyssop alludes to the symbol of purification of the old Israel: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean” (Ps 51:9). In some translations, ‘hyssop’ is translated as ‘cane,’ rod.

It is symbolic detail. Jesus did not desire to drink just something; he expressed his desire to fulfill God’s designs. After taking the vinegar, Jesus said: ‘Τετέλεσται’ – ‘tetelestai’ – the Greek text of John simply presents this verb form. It is the perfect tense of the verb ‘teleo’ from where comes ‘telos’ – the end. After having loved his own in the world, he loved them ‘eis telos,’ till the end of the end (unto the arrival of the end) to complete his work. Now the last word that Jesus pronounces is “it is finished.” The story is not ended; he completed the project; he accomplished God’s design, the end is achieved. I desire to arrive at the end: “And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.”

This is a very vital phrase. In Greek, the verb ‘παρέδωκεν – ‘paredoken’ is used; it is the verb of the tradition. In Latin, it is faithfully translated as ‘tradidit spritum.’ Jesus transmits the Holy Spirit. Not meaning to die but meaning to transfer the Holy Spirit to humanity. This is the offering of the life of God. Jesus is the revealer not so much by teaching the doctrines of God, but because he communicates the life of God, and it is precisely at this moment of climax that Jesus gives up his life when he offers the Holy Spirit.

The fifth scene is what the eyewitness, the beloved disciple, the author of the narration, has seen with his own eyes. One soldier pierced the side of Jesus and from there came forth blood and water. That water from the side of Jesus is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. He has promised that he will give living water, that streams of living water would flow from his side. Now that promise is fulfilled. The blood represents the life of Jesus; the water is the Holy Spirit. The life of Jesus is closely united to the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus, the new temple flows streams that give life to humanity.

That is why the Evangelist intervenes at this moment and underlines the importance of his testimony. “An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth so that you also may come to believe.” Here he adds two biblical quotations that he remembered: as happened with the paschal lamb, so with Jesus, his legs were not broken. Jesus on the cross is the true lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The other phrase is from the prophet Zachariah saying: ‘They will look at the one they have pierced.’ Jesus was pierced on the cross. The spectators of the passion, the readers, those who intently look at Jesus, glorified on the cross, seated on the royal throne, authentic king, look at the pieced one. It is the moment when the Holy Spirit flows.

The last scene of the narration of the passion takes place in a garden, and it is the moment of the burial that creates an inclusion with the beginning of the narration. The handing over of Jesus happens in a garden, and in the same way, the burial also takes place in a garden.