Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Matthew 28: A Rumor of Life

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."

When the greatest miracle of all history occurs, the immediate eyewitnesses are soldiers standing guard outside Jesus' tomb. The earth shakes, an angel appears, bright as lightning, and the guards tremble and faint dead away. When they recover, they flee to the authorities to report what they have witnessed. But here is an astounding fact: Later that afternoon the soldiers, who have seen overpowering proof of the resurrection, change their story. The resurrection of the Son of God does not seem nearly as significant as, say, stacks of freshly minted silver.

A few women, grieving of Jesus, are next to learn of the miracle of miracles. Matthew reports that they hurry away, "afraid yet filled with joy." Fear is the reflexive human response to a supernatural encounter. Yet they are filled with joy- the news they hear is the best news of all, news too good to be true, news so good it has to be true.

Jesus is back! He has returned, as he promised. The dreams of a Messiah all come surging back as the women run on legs of fear and joy to tell the disciples. Even as the women run, the soldiers are rehearsing an alibi, their part in an elaborate cover-up. Like everything else in Jesus' life, his resurrection draws forth two contrasting responses. Those who believe are transformed. Meanwhile, those who choose not to believe find ways to ignore evidence they have seen with their own eyes.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Mark 15: Removing the Barrier

"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!"

Everyone, it seems, is demanding a miracle. At the trial before the Sanhedrin, the priests slap Jesus and challenge him, saying, "Prophesy to us Christ. Who hit you?" (Matthew 26:68) Pilate and Herod, who have heard rumors about Jesus' powers, beg for a show. The grieving women who have followed Jesus all the way from Galilee yearn for a miracle of rescue. The disciples, cowering in fear, ache for one.

On the cross, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus taunts him, saying, "Aren't you the Christs? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39) The crowd milling about the site takes up the cry: "Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him...Let God rescue him now if he wants him" (Matthew 27:42-43) But there is no rescue, no miracle. There is only silence. The Father has turned his back, or so it seems, letting history take its course, letting everything evil in the world triumph over everything good. For Jesus to save others, quite simply, he cannot save himself.

Why must Jesus die? Theologians who ponder such things have debated various theories of "the atonement" for centuries, with little agreement. Somehow it requires love- sacrificial love- to win what cannot be won by force. One detail that Mark includes may provide a clue. Jesus has just uttered the awful cry, "My Go, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He, God's Son, identifies so closely with the human race- taking on their sin!- that God the Father must turn away. The gulf is that great. But just as Jesus breathes his last, the curtain of the temple is "torn in two from top to bottom" (verse 38).

That massive curtain has served to seal off the Most Holy Place, where God's presence dwells. As the author of Hebrews later notes (see Hebrews 10), the tearing of that curtain shows beyond doubt exactly what Jesus' death on the cross accomplished. No more sacrifices will ever be required. Jesus has won for all of us- ordinary people, not just priests- free access to God's presence. By taking on the burden of human sin and bearing its punishment, Jesus removes forever the barrier between God and us.

Matthew 27: No Justice

"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.

Because the Jews live under the occupying power of Rome, Jesus must go through several levels of justice. The Romans allow the Jews to have their own court, the Sanhedrin, before which Jesus first appears. When he identifies himself as the Messiah, the members of the Sanhedrin convict him of the religious charge of blasphemy, a capital offense under Jewish law.

Since the Romans do not permit the Sanhedrin to carry out a death sentence, the religious court must now seek the sanction of the Roman government, so Jesus' opponents send him to Pilate, the Roman governor. Aware that the charge of blasphemy will likely not impress the unbelieving Pilate, the accusers instead emphasize the political threat Jesus poses to Rome. They portray him as a dangerous revolutionary who has declared himself king of the Jews in defiance of Roman rule.

Pilate has grave misgivings about the charge, and his wife's premonitions compound his sense of uneasiness. He seeks a way out of his dilemma by referring the case to Herod, the ruler over Jesus' home district, who has come to town for the festival. Herod, disappointed by Jesus' silence and his refusal to perform miracles, ultimately returns the prisoner to Pilate.

As Pilate tries to get the religious leaders to release their prisoner, the fury of the crowd only swells. At last, facing a mob scene, the canny governor gives in, but only after showily washing his hands of innocent blood. Through all these legal proceedings, Jesus maintains an almost unbroken silence.

Pilate seems to recognize, at some level, not only the enormity of the injustice he allows, but also his role in it. (Luke 23:4 records that Pilate initially declares Jesus innocent, despite pressure from the crowd.) He eventually has a notice of Jesus' "crime" prepared and fastened to the cross. It reads, in three languages, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." When the chief priests protest that it should read only that Jesus claimed to be king, Pilate answers, "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:22).

Matthew 26: Appointment with Destiny

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

In a stroke of bitter irony, the intimate scene of the Last Supper butts up against the brutal scene of betrayal in Gethsemane. The ordeal begins with Jesus praying in a quiet, cool grove of olive trees, with three of his disciples waiting sleepily outside. Inside the garden, all is peaceful; outside, the forces of hell are on the loose.

An armed mob makes its way toward the garden to seize and torture Jesus. He feels afraid and abandoned. Lying face down on the ground, he prays for some way out. The future of the human race- more, the universe- comes down to this one weeping figure whose "sweat (is) like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44) Blustery Peter is prepared to fight evil in the traditional way- by force. When he hacks off a guard's ear, however, Jesus stops the violence and performs, notably, his final miracle: He heals the guard (Luke 22:50-51).

Although Jesus has the power to defend himself- he could dispatch squadrons of angels to fight his battles- he will not use it. When the disciples realize that they can expect no last-minute rescue operations from the invisible world, they all flee. Fear extinguishes their last flicker of hope. If Jesus will not protect himself, how will he protect them?

Matthew's account of what transpires in Gethsemane and before the Sanhedrin shows that, in an odd inversion, the "victim" dominates all that takes place. Jesus- not Judas, not the mob and not the high priest- acts like the one truly in control. "Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God," the high priest demands. Jesus finally answers, simply, "Yes, it is as you say."

That single admission condemns Jesus to death, for the members of the Sanhedrin have a different expectation of the Messiah. They want a conqueror to set them free by force. Jesus knows that only one thing- his death- will truly set them free. For that reason he has come to Earth.

Mark 14: A Scent of Doom

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

The Passover, an annual commemoration of the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt, is a high point of the Jewish calendar. In Jesus' day, all males older than 12 years of age travel to Jerusalem for the holiday, filling the city with many thousands of pilgrims. Passover festivities culminate in a solemn meal at which family and close friends remember the Exodus, the time of liberation. They taste morsels of food, sip wine, and read aloud the stories from the Hebrew Scriptures. They also select a lamb to take to the temple and offer as a sacrifice to God.

Jesus has entered the city in a moment of triumph on Palm Sunday, but soon a sense of doom steals in. Death is on Jesus' mind. When a woman splashes him with expensive perfume, he calls it a form of burial preparation.

Outside the room where Jesus celebrates the Passover, his enemies are stalking, waiting for an occasion to seize him. Inside, the disciples swear loyalty to their leader, even as he insists that all of them will soon forsake him. It is at this somber meal that Jesus makes a profound declaration. "This is my blood of the covenant," he says as he pours the wine. "Take it, this is my body," he says, breaking the bread.

Though the disciples do not fully understand, a dream is dying, their dream of a mighty nation. Jesus is announcing a new covenant, sealed not with the blood of lambs, but with his own blood. The new kingdom, the kingdom of God, will be led not by Jewish generals and kings, but rather by this scared band of disciples gathered around the table.

Today, virtually all Christian churches continue the practice of Communion (or Mass, the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper) in some form. This solemn ceremony dates back to the Passover meal when Jesus instituted the practice.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

John 17: Commissioning

"I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours."

Something seems to settle in Jesus' mind as he hears the disciples' response to his words. "You believe at last!" he says with obvious relief (16:31) and then concludes the intimate get-together with his longest recorded prayer. In it, Jesus sums up his feelings and his plans for the tight circle of friends gathered around him.

The famous prayer represents a kind of commissioning or graduation. In it, Jesus hands over his mission to the disciples and, by extension, to all believers who will come after them. Their previous missions, the preaching and healing excursions in the countryside, have been mere warm-up exercises. Now he is turning everything over to them.

Using language full of mystery, Jesus tells them that he must leave the world but that they must remain in it to proclaim him. They will now attract the hatred and hostility that have previously been directed toward him. Although they live "in the world," they are not quite "of the world." Something sets them apart from the world and binds them together to him in unity with God- a unity so close as to defy all explanation.

Jesus prays, too, for the unity of believers who will join them, stretching in an unbroken chain throughout history. "I pray...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." And then he leads the frightened little band toward his appointment with death.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

John 16: Grief into Joy

"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."

Good-byes are always sad, and for the disciples, this farewell speech is especially so. They have staked their lives on Jesus, and without him they can see no future. Jesus turns from word pictures and speaks directly about what will happen to the disciples. Some of it they comprehend; some of it they do not. John shows them whispering to each other, trying to figure out Jesus' meaning.

Perhaps the strangest words of all are these: "It is for your good that I am going away." Good? How could it possibly be good for Jesus to abandon them, thus dashing their hopes of a restored kingdom?

Jesus' analogy of childbirth gives a clue. Although childbirth may involve great pain, the pain is not a dead end. The effort of giving birth produces something- new life!- and results in joy. In the same way, the great sorrow he and the disciples are about to undergo will not be a dead end. His pain will bring about the salvation of the world; their grief will turn to joy.

Jesus concludes with a ringing declaration, "Take heart! I have overcome the world." How hollow this statement will seem the next evening when his pale, abused body hangs on an executioner's cross and the disciples slink away into the darkness. As the Book of Acts shows, only after Jesus' departure do these confused disciples fully grasp the meaning of his death and resurrection and begin to proclaim it joyfully to everyone around them.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

John 15: Vital Link

"No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine."

A sense of urgency intensifies inside the stuffy, crowded room. Jesus has just a few more hours to prepare his disciples for the tumult that lies ahead. These are his closest friends in the world, and he is about to leave them. What will happen to Jesus' little band after his departure? He foresees fierce opposition and hatred, beatings and executions. The disciples will face all these trials on his behalf, without his physical presence to protect them.

As he has done so often before, Jesus reaches for an allegory, a parable from nature, to drive home his point. Just outside Jerusalem rows of vineyards cover the hills- probably, he and his disciples have walked through them on their way to the city- and Jesus summons up two images from those vineyards.

First, he uses the image of lush, juicy grapes. Not long before, the disciples were drinking the product of those grapes while listening to Jesus' deeply symbolic words about the blood of the covenant. In order to bear fruit, Jesus says, one thing is essential: They must remain in intimate connection with the vine. Jesus also reminds the Twelve that he has handpicked them for a specific mission: "to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last."

Then Jesus mentions one more image: a pile of dead sticks at the edge of the vineyard. Somehow these branches have lost their connection with the vine, their sole source of nourishment. A farmer has cut them off and thrown them in a heap to be burned. They no longer have a useful function.

Most likely, Jesus' disciples do not understand everything this night. But the symbolism, with its abrupt contrast between juicy grapes and withered branches, will stay with them. The spectacular history of the early church- the fruit of Jesus' work- gives certain proof.

Mark 13: A Day to Dread

"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come."

Fast-forward a few days beyond the events of Mark 13 to the time when Jesus is prodded by Roman soldiers toward the place of execution. A group of women follows behind, hysterical with grief. Suddenly Jesus turns and silences them with these words, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children...For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" (Luke 23:28, 31).

As chapter 13 spells out in grim detail, Jesus does not expect the war against God's kingdom to end with his own death He predicts that evil will only intensify until, after on final spasm of rebellion, the earth gives way to God's full restoration. This chapter echoes, and quotes from, the Old Testament prophets. At the end of time, God will take off all the wraps. And when Jesus returns, he will appear in a new form: not as a helpless babe in a manger, not nailed to a crosspiece of wood, but as "the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory."

Some of Jesus' dire predictions find fulfillment in A.D. 70 when Roman soldiers break through the walls of Jerusalem and demolish Herod's temple- the same temple Jesus' disciples are admiring when Jesus first speaks these words. Other predictions apparently have not yet been fulfilled.

Just a few decades after Jesus' death, scoffers mock the notion of the second coming of Christ. "Where is this 'coming' he promises? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4). For all such scoffers, Jesus and the prophets have two ominous words of advice: Just wait. God will not let you go on scoffing forever. One day, the earth and the sky will flee from his presence.

Mark 12: Baiting Jesus

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Mark believes this observation about Jesus' enemies: "Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them" (verse 12). The rest of chapter 12 records skirmishes between Jesus and the groups seeking to trap him and erode his popularity.

First, representatives from a political party cynically praise Jesus and then spring on him a loaded question about taxes. If Jesus says the Jews should pay taxes, he may lose popular support, for the Jews despise the Roman occupation forces who control the government. If he says "Don't pay, " he risks arrest for encouraging lawbreaking. Next, a small but powerful religious group tries to stump Jesus theologically. The Sadducees, who do not believe in an afterlife, propose a complicated riddle about life after death.

Finally, Jesus' perennial enemies, the Pharisees, take their turn. Rabbis of the day have detailed 613 commandments in Moses' law, and various splinter groups bicker over which ones are most important. A teacher of the law asks Jesus to select just one as the greatest commandment, knowing his choice will surely offend some of these groups.

Jesus fends off these attacks so impressively that Mark concludes, "And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions." His replies combine brilliance, wit and common sense in a way that turns the tables on his critics and leaves them speechless. In all these skirmishes, Jesus does not try to placate his adversaries. Instead, he uses these conflicts to warn his disciples and the watching crowds against these adversaries, whose fury only increases.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Mark 11: Opposition Heats Up

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

As the group reaches Jerusalem, Jesus permits one rare display of public celebration. Always before, he has hushed up his identity and shrunk back from the crowds that tried to coronate him. In the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, he lets people honor him as the true Messiah.

In some ways, this procession is a slapstick affair compared to the lavish processions of the Romans- Jesus rides into town on a donkey, after all, not in a gilded chariot. But the event, foretold by the prophets, has deep meaning for the Jews. Jesus is openly declaring himself the Messiah, and the Triumphal Entry sets all of Jerusalem astir. Religious leaders raise an alarm, and even the Romans take note of a man claiming to be a king. The next few chapters demonstrate how tragically short-lived public acceptance proves to be.

The last few weeks of Jesus' life show a mounting sense of urgency, as seen in several dramatic confrontations at the temple. In the spirit of the Old Testament prophets, Jesus brands greedy profiteers at the temple "robbers" and forcibly drives them out. Furthermore, Jesus does nothing to temper his harsh message. On the contrary, he parries the demand to explain what gives him the right to behave so aggressively, and he proceeds to tell a parable that seems deliberately provocative (12:1-12). He presents himself as the last resort, God's final attempt to break through humankind's' stubborn resistance.

Battle lines are drawn. One one side is Jesus, kept safe only by his widespread popularity. On the other side are leaders of the religious and political establishments. Threatened by Jesus' radical message of repentance and reform, they determine to find a way to trap Jesus and turn the crowd against him.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Mark 10: Servant Leadership

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus uses no false advertising in attracting disciples. He states the cost of following him in the bluntest terms. As the height of his popularity, as throngs of people are tailing him, Jesus talks about his forthcoming suffering and death. Such talk baffles his disciples, whose image of a Messiah includes no such dark notions. Showing incredible insensitivity, they lapse into petty disputes about status. They cannot embrace the message Jesus patiently repeats for them: in his kingdom, the greatest is the one who serves.

No matter how many times Jesus explains the way of the cross, it never seems to sink in. He uses curious techniques to gain recruits for his kingdom. He uses words like cross and slave, rather like a modern Marine Corps recruiter displaying photos of war amputees and dead soldiers. How can the ugly image of an executioner's cross fit the nation's dream of a new kingdom?

Jesus' own disciples- let alone the admiring crowds- are wholly unprepared for his type of kingdom. Its demands are too hard, its rewards too vague. Although Jesus makes a point of mentioning his resurrection whenever he talks about his death, the disciples grasp neither concept- until he dies and then comes back.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Mark 9: Slow Learners

"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

At first, Jesus' disciples do not distinguish themselves- to put it mildly. Their most obvious trait is denseness: "Are you so dull?" Jesus asks more than once. Mark 9 shows the disciples bungling a work of healing, misunderstanding Jesus' hints about his coming death and resurrection, squabbling about status and trying to shut down the work of another disciple. Obviously, there is much in Jesus' mission they fail to understand.

In spite of the disciples' erratic performance, Jesus devotes much of his time to them. Outsiders still gather to watch and listen, but Jesus concentrates on training the Twelve, preparing them to carry on his work after his departure.

How do the disciples handle the increased attention? If anything, they prove even more inept. When Jesus refers to his coming death, they either miss the point or foolishly protest his plans. Sometimes they bicker over who deserves the most favored position. They obviously do not understand the dazzling events going on around them. In short, the disciples amply demonstrate the mixture of good and bad present in all of us. Sadly, after Jesus' arrest, despite vigorous pronouncements of loyalty, each one of the Twelve sneaks quietly and ashamedly away from Jesus in his moment of deepest need.

One event, however, will dramatically alter the Twelve. Something passes through their lives like a flame: Jesus' resurrection. After that incredible event, Jesus' patient hours of training seem to bear fruit at last. The disciple's change in behavior is astonishing. Of the proofs for the resurrection of Jesus, one of the most compelling is simply to compare these cowering disciples as portrayed in Mark with the bold, confident figures in the book of Acts. There, in a remarkable irony, we see the incredible advance of the early church being led by the two disciples who earned Jesus' strongest reprimands: John and Peter.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Mark 8: Turning Point

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things.

Chapter 8 shows Jesus exasperated with his disciples. "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" he asks reproachfully. After seeing him feed 5,000 people and then 4,000 more, they still worry about their next meal. Still, for all their slow-wittedness the disciples have grasped something important about Jesus. The crowds see him as a reincarnation of a prophet- Elijah, perhaps, or John the Baptist. But Peter boldly pronounces Jesus "the Christ," the Messiah long predicted by the prophets (verse 29).

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the word Christ to first-century Jews. Ground down by centuries of foreign domination, they are staking all their hopes on a Messiah who will lead their nation back to glory. Matthew 16:17-19 records that Jesus, pleased by Peter's impulsive declaration, lavishes praise on him. Yet Peter's brightest moment barely precedes one of his worst- a few paragraphs later Jesus identifies Peter with Satan. What transpires between these two scenes marks an important turning point in the story of Jesus' life.

To Peter and the other disciples, the Messiah stands for wealth and fame and political power- the very temptations Jesus consistently resists during his ministry. The true Messiah, Jesus knows, must endure scorn, humiliation, suffering and even death. He is the suffering servant prophesied by Isaiah. He will end up in Jerusalem on a cross, a symbol of shame rather than honor.

Peter may have grasped Jesus' identity, but he has much to learn about Jesus' mission. Not comprehending the Messiah's ultimate goal, he wants Jesus to avoid suffering. Jesus knows otherwise. From this moment on, Jesus makes a strategic turn, leaving Galilee to head toward the capital of Jerusalem, where he will meet his fate.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

John 10: No Secrets

The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Every few years an author or scholar or even a movie maker raises new questions- or the same old questions- about Jesus' identity. Often such portrayals show him wandering around the earth in a daze, trying to figure out why he came and what he is supposed to be doing.

Nothing could be further from the account given us by John, Jesus' closest friend. According to John, Jesus was a man on a mission who knew exactly what he had come to Earth to accomplish. John states his purpose in writing very clearly: to get people to believe in Jesus the Messiah (20:31). His book selectively features incidents from Jesus' life to demonstrate who Jesus is.

"I am the gate," Jesus says in chapter 10; "I am the good shepherd." Jews who hear these words undoubtedly think back to Old Testament kings like David, who were fondly thought of as the shepherds of Israel. Unlike modern-day shepherds, who use dogs to drive their flocks, shepherds in Jesus' day walked ahead of the sheep, calling them to follow; the sheep would respond only to a familiar voice.

In the Old Testament, God is also called the "Shepherd of Israel" (Psalm 80:1). In claiming to be the good shepherd, Jesus is asserting his leadership over a flock he is willing to die for. When some challenge him bluntly, "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly," Jesus answers them with equal bluntness, saying, "I and the Father are one" (verse 30).

The pious Jews, understanding Jesus all too well, pick up stones to execute him for blasphemy. Not even these hostile reactions surprise Jesus, though. He expects opposition, even execution. As he explains here, a truly good shepherd, unlike a hired hand, "lays down his life for the sheep." This chapter explains why he makes that choice.

Lenten Tour of the Gospels

Matthew 18: Out of Bondage

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Legalists, people who follow strict rules of conduct, at first glance seem righteous. But Jesus warns against the subtle dangers of legalism. Oddly, legalism tends to lower a person's view of God. If I manage to meet all the requirements of a strict rule book, I may begin to feel secure about my goodness. In fact, I may even think I have earned God's approval through my own efforts.

Both Jesus' enemies (the Pharisees) and his friends (the disciples) seek a precise list of rules so they can feel they have fulfilled their obligations to God, which then gives them a sense of satisfaction. To such people, Jesus shouts a loud, "No!" We never outgrow our need for God; we never arrive in the Christian life. We survive spiritually only by constantly depending on God for mercy and for strength.

Jesus' disciple Peter tries almost ludicrously to reduce forgiveness to a mathematical formula. Let's see, exactly how many times must I forgive someone? Six? Seven? (verse 21) Jesus parries the question and tells a profound story about God's forgiveness- forgiveness so great and all-encompassing that it defies all mathematics.

The Pharisees continue along the same line in chapter 19 by trying to pin down a formula for divorce. Once again Jesus avoids the answer they want to hear and points instead to the principles that undergird all marriages. Later, in chapter 19, Jesus doesn't tell a rich person to give away 18.5% of his belongings; he says to give them all away. He doesn't restrict adultery to the act of intercourse; he connects it to lust, adultery of the heart. Murder? In principle, anger is no different.

In short, Jesus always refuses to lower the sights. He opposes every form of legalism, every human attempt to accumulate a list of credits. The credit goes to God, not us. The chief danger facing legalists is that they risk missing the Good News of God's grace, a gift freely given by God to people who don't deserve it.