Before the procession the Gospel of the Entry into Jerusalem is read from Matthew 21:1-11.
A reading from the prophet Isaiah (50:4-7)
The Lord God has given me a disciple’s tongue,
to know how to comfort the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he sharpens my ear
to listen like a disciple.
The Lord God has opened my ear
and I did not rebel or turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
I did not turn away my face from insult and spitting.
The Lord God comes to my help:
therefore no insult has touched me,
therefore I have set my face like flint.
I know that I shall not be shamed.
The section of the Book of Isaiah known as ‘Second Isaiah’ (Isaiah 40-55) contains four poems probably from the exilic period which are known as the Songs of the Servant. All four are proclaimed during Holy Week, the last and longest on Good Friday, for they are understood by Christians as foreshadowing the sufferings of Christ. Today we hear the third of these songs, in which the Servant is subjected to abuse for speaking words of comfort. The subjection to ‘insult and spitting’ is reminiscent of the treatment of Jesus during the night before he died. But the Servant knows he shall not ‘be shamed’.
Psalm 22 (21) The psalm has many connections with the story of the Passion. The suffering man cries out to God, and the passers-by deride him.
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians (2:6-11)
Christ Jesus, being in the form of God,
did not count equality with God
something to be grasped.
But he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
born in human likeness,
and found in human shape;
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient unto death, death on a cross.
And therefore God highly exalted him,
and granted him the name above every name
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend
of beings heavenly, earthly and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
This Christian hymn was probably inserted by St Paul in his letter to the people of Philippi, a community for whom he had a high regard and great affection. The hymn explains the paschal mystery of the humiliation and death of Christ and his being raised up by God. The hymn claims divine status for Jesus for ‘every knee shall bend’ and Jesus shall be declared ‘Lord’. All this is ‘to the glory of God the Father’.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (26:14 – 27:66)
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 settled with him for thirty silver pieces, and from then onwards he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ He said, ‘Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, “The teacher 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. When evening came he was at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating he said, ‘Amen I say to you, one of you is about to betray me.’ They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, ‘Not me, Lord, surely?’ He answered, ‘Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me. The Son of man is going to his fate, as it is written about him, but alas for that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!’ Judas, who was to betray him, asked in his turn, ‘Not me, Rabbi, surely?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is you who said it.’
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and giving it to the disciples he said, ‘Take it and eat, this is my body.’ Then taking a cup, after giving thanks he handed it to them saying, ‘Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I shall never again drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom of my Father.’
Having sung the psalms they left for the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away from me tonight, for it is written, I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after I have been raised up I shall go before you into Galilee.’ At this, Peter said to him, ‘Even if all fall away from you, I will never fall away.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Amen I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.’ And all the disciples spoke similarly.
Then Jesus came with them to a plot of land called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And he began to feel sadness and anguish. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and stay awake with me.’ And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Only not as I want, but as you.’
He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, ‘So you had not the strength to stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake, and pray not to enter into temptation. The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if this cup cannot pass by unless I drink it, your will be done!’ And he came back again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down. 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, ‘Sleep on now and have your rest. Look, the hour is near when the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! Look, my betrayer is near.’
And suddenly, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came, and with him a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. Now the traitor had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I kiss, he is the man. Take charge of him.’ So he went up to Jesus at once and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi,’ and kissed him. Jesus said to him, ‘My friend, do what you are here for.’ Then they came forward, laid hands on Jesus and took charge of him. And suddenly, one of the followers of Jesus grasped his sword and drew it; he struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said, ‘Put your sword back into its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, who would promptly send more than twelve legions of angels to my defence? But then, how would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?’ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to capture me as though I were a bandit? Day by day I sat teaching in the Temple and you did not lay hands on me.’ Now all this happened so that the scriptures of the prophets should be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
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 right to the courtyard of the high priest, and he went inside and sat down with the attendants to see what the end would be. The chief priests and the whole council were looking for false evidence against Jesus, on which they might have him executed. But they could not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Eventually two came forward and said, ‘This man said, “I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up.” ’ Then the high priest rose and said to him, ‘Have you no answer to the evidence these men are bringing against you?’ 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 Messiah, the Son of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is you who say it. Only, 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.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed. Why do we still need witnesses? See now! You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They said in answer, ‘He deserves to die.’ Then they spat in his face and hit him with their fists, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit you?’
Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him saying, ‘You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it in front of them all, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you mean.’ When he went out into the gateway another servant-girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.’ And again, with an oath, he denied it, ‘I do not know the man.’ A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘You are certainly one of them too! Why, your accent gives you away.’ Then he started cursing and swearing, ‘I do not know the man.’ And at once the cock crowed, and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ‘Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met in council to bring about the death of Jesus. They bound him, took him off and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was filled with remorse and took the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ They replied, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ 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 not permissible to put this into the treasury; since it is blood-money.’ So they discussed the matter and with it bought the potter’s field as a graveyard for foreigners, and this is why the field has been called the Field of Blood till this day. The word spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was then fulfilled: And they took the thirty silver pieces, the sum at which the precious One was priced by the children of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.
Jesus, then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put to him this question, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus replied, ‘You say so.’ But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he did not answer. Pilate then said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many accusations they are bringing against you?’ But he did not answer a single word to him, so that the governor was amazed.
At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Which do you want me to release for you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over.
Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous man; I have been extremely upset today by a dream that I had about him.’ The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowds to ask for 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.’ Pilate said to them, ‘What, then, am I to do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ He asked, ‘What evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then Pilate, seeing that he was making no impression, but rather that a riot was imminent, took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood. You see to it.’ And the whole people shouted back, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released Barabbas for them. After having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet cloak round him, 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!’ And they spat at him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucifixion.
On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, called Simon, and enlisted him to carry his cross. When they had reached a place called Golgotha, which is called the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall, which he tasted but refused to drink. When they had crucified him they shared out his clothing by casting lots, and then, sitting down, they guarded him there. And they placed above his head the charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ Then they crucified two bandits with him, one on his right and one on his left. The passers-by jeered at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the Temple and in three days rebuild it, save yourself, if you are God’s son, and come down from the cross!’ The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way, with the words, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He has put his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he said, “I am God’s son.” ’ In the same way even the bandits who were crucified with him taunted him.
From noon onwards there was darkness over all the land until mid-afternoon. And at that time, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders there heard this, they said, ‘He is calling on Elijah,’ and one of them at once ran to get a sponge which he filled with vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink. But the rest of them said, ‘Wait! Let us see if Elijah comes to save him.’ But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
And suddenly, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people. The centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said, ‘In truth this man was son of God.’
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 of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a large stone to the doorway of the tomb and went away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre. Next day, that is, when Preparation Day was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said to him, ‘Sir, we recall that this deceiver said, while he was still alive, “After three days I shall rise again.” Therefore give the order to have the sepulchre kept secure until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead.” This last fraud would be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go and make all as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone with the guard.
Each gospel narrative of the passion and death of Jesus has its own particularities, for each evangelist seeks to emphasise different aspects of the story. Our narrative from Matthew begins with Judas’ betrayal, and this evangelist alone gives the detail of ‘thirty silver pieces’, thus indicating with a reference from the prophet Zechariah (11:12) the paltry sum at which the Messiah was valued. Matthew emphasises the tragic role of Judas, and alone reports his words at the supper ‘Not me, Rabbi, surely?’ Jesus poignantly addresses Judas as ‘friend’ when he comes with the arresting party to Gethsemane, and Matthew will end the story of Judas with the detail of his despair and suicide. Matthew seems to have a particular interest in Pontius Pilate too. Pilate’s wife, a Gentile, warns Pilate to have nothing to do with ‘that righteous man’, but Pilate simply ‘washed his hands’ of Jesus, allowing the crowds to have their way. Only in this gospel do we hear the fearful cry ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’ The events after the death of Jesus are particularly significant in this gospel. The earth quakes and the rocks split and the saints rise from their tombs to be seen by many in the holy city. The Roman centurion, a pagan, and ‘the others guarding Jesus’ assert with one voice their faith in his identity: ‘In truth this man was son of God.’ While on the one hand Matthew stresses the people’s guilt for the death of Jesus, he also suggests that pagans are drawn to him in faith.
Matthew shows that, while the religious leaders plot against Jesus, the Gentiles are open to his mystery.
Pray for harmonious relations between Jewish and Christian believers.