Good Friday | Passion of John (18:1-19:42)
On Good Friday we focus on the cross. Although we are accustomed to seeing the cross displayed in art and even around our necks, for the first several hundred years of Christianity, followers of Jesus rarely, if ever, used the cross as a religious symbol. Crucifixions were still being carried out. To die on a cross was a humiliating and terrible prospect. It was meted out to those who rebelled against Rome, to deter others who might do the same. In fact, one of the earliest depictions of Jesus on the Cross was not created by a Christian. This is a piece of graffiti that was etched on the wall of a building on the Palatine hill in Rome, sometime around the year 200. This image depicts a young person worshipping a crucified man who has the head of a donkey. Beneath the image is a Greek inscription that reads, “Alexamenos worships [his] god”. Apparently, this graffiti was made to mock a Christian by the name of Alexamenos. Early Christians were ridiculed because the man they revered as God died the humiliating and terrible death of a criminal. At times it must have been difficult for Christians to see beyond the shame of the cross.
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| Tracing of the etched grafitto, c. 200 |
In the Passion account we hear on Good Friday, John the Evangelist presents a radically different perspective of how we should view the cross. Depending on what actions and words they focus on, each Gospel writer paints a different picture of Jesus on the cross in order to convey their understanding of the significance of Jesus’ actions. John, without denying the fact that Jesus’ Passion was terrible, wants us to see a deeper truth. John communicates the message that Jesus’ Passion is something glorious. Consider the following examples.
The arrest of Jesus (Jn 18:1-14) becomes a glorious event.Just as is the case now, at the time of Jesus, the arrest of someone was a humiliating spectacle. Today we occasionally see on TV a so-called “perp walk” when some high-ranking figure is put in handcuffs and paraded in front of the press. In the Passion account we find in John, Jesus’ arrest is anything but humiliating. There is no kiss of Judas recorded; Jesus is in full control of the situation (cf. v. 4). When the band of soldiers announce they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus replies “I AM” (v. 5), thereby calling himself by the name of God revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex 3). After Jesus says this, John tells us that the crowd fell to the ground (Jn 18:6), an action that people typically did in the presence of the Divine (cf. Gen 32:31; Ex 33:20). John, therefore, has transformed the arrest of Jesus, an event which should have been humiliating, into a theophany, a manifestation of God himself. It is something glorious.
In his crucifixion and death, John conveys the message that Jesus is like the Passover lamb.In doing this, John wants to convince us that the suffering and death of Jesus was not in vain but was part of God’s plan to save us. From the Exodus story, we remember that Moses was instructed to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the Israelite’s doorposts so that the angel of death would pass them by (Ex 12). The blood of the lamb, therefore, is the means by which the Israelites are liberated from death and slavery. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus is linked to this Passover lamb. At the start of the Gospel, John the Baptist points to Jesus and says, “behold the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29). In his telling of the passion and death of Jesus, John the Evangelist has left several clues that help us see that Jesus is the lamb of God. First, John has altered the chronology of Jesus’ death. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper is clearly a Passover meal (Matt 26:17). In John’s Gospel, however, when the Jewish authorities bring Jesus to Pilate – after the Last Supper – the Passover has not yet happened (Jn 18:28). In John’s Gospel, Jesus is dying around the time the Passover lambs are being slaughtered for the Passover. In addition, note the way that the sponge soaked with wine is conveyed to Jesus’ lips. It is put on a sprig of hyssop (19:29). In the Synoptic Gospels the sponge is conveyed to Jesus’ mouth using some kind of stick (Mk 15:35-36; Matt 27:47-48). Hyssop is not mentioned. So why does John make note of hyssop? Probably because in the story of the Exodus, a hyssop branch was used to apply the blood of the lamb to the doorposts (Ex 12:12). Finally, John tells us that, unlike the other soldiers, Jesus’ legs were not broken. This, John declares, was done to fulfill the scripture “not a bone of it will be broken” (Jn 19:36). The itin this passage refers to the paschal lamb (Ex 12:46). Instead, Jesus’ side is pierced and blood and water flow out. John wants us to realize that Jesus is some kind of new paschal lamb. As the blood of that lamb saved the Israelites from death, so the blood that Jesus shed on the cross liberates us from sin and death. Jesus did not die in vain. His death has a purpose.
In these and various other ways, John communicates that the Passion of Jesus is something glorious. In doing this, he is certainly not denying that Jesus suffered terribly. John, however, wants us to look beyond the pain and humiliation to see the deeper meaning of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross. When we see what Jesus did for us, we realize the depths of God’s love for us. That God loves like that is something glorious. By the blood he shed on the cross, Jesus, the new Passover lamb, liberates us from sin and death. The Cross has been transformed from an instrument of torture and violence into a victorious object that conquers death. This is something glorious.
The way in which John invites us to see the Passion of Jesus challenges us to view our own suffering in a different light. We all carry our own crosses. Health problems. Difficulties at work. Struggles in marriage or some other significant relationship. Jesus did not come to take away our suffering, but to be with us in our suffering and help give it meaning. We believe that when we unite our sufferings with that of Jesus, they can bring us and others closer to God. As St. Paul says in his letter to the Colossians: “in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24).
On this day, we have the opportunity to venerate the cross. When we look at the cross, we see first the pain and humiliation of Jesus. Like the early Christians, it can be difficult for us to look beyond this. In his Gospel, John invites us to take a leap of faith. He encourages us to see glory when we look at Jesus on the Cross. This challenges us to view our own sufferings differently. When you look at the cross today – Jesus’ and your own - can you take this leap of faith?
