Jesus: All four say..

The four Gospels devote a considerable amount of space to Jesus’ final week, and the resurrection day. Following is a compilation extracted from information limited to that found in all of the accounts. This is a common ground glimpse of how each of the Gospel writers reported the reality of his death and resurrection.  Why these elements in all four? (The selections following do not connect together and should actually be taken in their original context.)

“It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread[a] into the bowl[b] with me (Mark 14:20, NRSVUE).**

this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you (Peter) will deny three times that you even know me” (Mark 14:30, NLT).

The high priest questioned Jesus about his followers and his teaching (John 18:19, CEV).

Peter denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed (John 18:27, CSB).

But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with (Jesus) this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (Luke 23:18, NIV)

Then he (Pilate) handed him (Jesus) over to be crucified.
Then they* took Jesus away.[a] Carrying the cross by himself, he went out (John 19:16-17a, CSB)

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (Luke 23:32, ESV).

Pilate ordered the charge against Jesus to be written on a board and put above the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (John 19:19, CEV)

Some women were watching from a distance (Mark 15:40a, NIV).

One of them (bystander) ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him (Jesus) on a reed stick so he could drink (Matthew 27:48, NLT).

breathed his last (Mark 15:37, NRSVUE).

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and took his body away (John 19:38, CSB).

He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used (Luke 23:53, CEV).

It seemed like everything was over? But there was more! So much more...

  

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they (Mary, Mary and Salome) were on their way to the tomb (Mark 16:2, NIV).

On the evening of the first day (the followers gathered in secret)... Jesus was standing there among them! (John 20:19, NLT)

That same Jesus! Their Jesus.

My minimalist compilation** of aspects must reflect something close to the core Good News story heard by the original listeners. It seems to me significant that there is so much common ground between these divergent accounts. Whichever of the Gospels you read you will encounter these elements. Remembering all four report these things, what do you see being emphasised in the above extracts?

Make your own list? It might look like this:

• Betrayal.
• The denial of Peter.
• Religious antagonism.
• A "whole crowd" sounding aligned with evil (did anyone differ there?)
• The central role of the "Powers that be" in an ordered execution.
• Jesus treated as a criminal.
• Kindness shown in a grim scene of rejection.
• That Jesus died a real death and the treatment of his body.
• Religious defilement accepted in honour of the dead Jesus, 
• The prominence of women(*) in the entire report is noteworthy, especially in their (and our) male-dominated eras.
• The incredible fact of Jesus, alive! 

Depending on where people were (who was their messenger), there were the many more details to hear, especially what happened on the day after the Sabbath, and on the following days... (For some of those following days, there is a useful summary in Acts, chapter 1.)

Did all those who joyfully welcomed an emergent king (See Jesus: Temple Time) change into those who rejected a saviour? In the welcoming crowd, were those in the vast majority, those dominant - were they wanting victory, not salvation? A "nailed Christ" many (most?) would not have. However, "crowd" is a collective word, and the same people are not necessarily involved, despite many a sermon!  

None of the four focus on Jesus' physical sufferings, which were real. The anguished cry (reported in Matthew and Mark) came from his heart: Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”[a] which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” (Mark 15:34, CEV).  Those are words quoted from Psalm 22 (see below), which so remarkably fit that day. He had prayed not long before: Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”(Matthew 26:39, NIV). After being nailed, Jesus did not expect to have the cup removed. He was devastated to experience the desertion of his Heavenly Father. 

Risen! ("Been raised" in some versions). For the first resurrection day I found little exact correspondence between the four, which are all in clear agreement about the fact.

So much to be told! So many old ideas to be challenged. Each Gospel has its own emphasis, its own striking way of telling the good news of Risen Jesus, Saviour and Lord.

How could the Christ have come to a "bad end"? Why did it matter? What did it all mean? That kind of question must have been in the forefront of many minds.

I think the above is the common essence of what was first told. For the meaning and significance I look to the earliest New Testament (NT) documents and the teaching of Jesus (see previous posts).

Above are only aspects from the last two days of the final week, which I found to be common to Matthew and Mark and Luke and John. In some cases their order is not common. The wording is usually not identical. I guess everywhere the news went in that Roman world, the above was heard. Again today, you have heard.

One, or usually more, of our four sources have other information on those final hours, for example:

• observance of Passover
• how to remember Jesus
• betrayal of Jesus to enemies
• disciples fleeing
• Peter's return
• Simon of Cyrene, the cross bearer; 
• detail of Jesus' mother(*) Mary, and her sister, and others by the cross
• John taking Mary into his home (and therefore, having returned)
• mockery by religious opponents and others;
• the time it took;
• darkness;
• Jesus’ cry;
• Pilate’s surprise;
• Soldiers' actions.

From later believer Paul, here is a brief summary of meaning: Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live (Galatians 1:4, NLT). He went on to explain: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, NIV).

"Loved me and gave himself for me". And all the rescued can say the same.

In Psalm 22 the author has terrible distress and yet is confident of God.

To the leader: according to The Deer of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night but find no rest.

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not human,
scorned by others and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they sneer at me; they shake their heads;
“Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.

Many bulls encircle me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my mouth[a] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death (NRSVUE).

 

 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;

an evil gang closes in on me.

They have pierced[a] my hands and feet.

I can count all my bones.

My enemies stare at me and gloat.

They divide my garments among themselves

and throw dice[b] for my clothing.

O LORD, do not stay far away!

You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!

Save me from the sword;

spare my precious life from these dogs.

Snatch me from the lion’s jaws

and from the horns of these wild oxen.

I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.[c]

I will praise you among your assembled people.

Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!

Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!

Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.

He has not turned his back on them,

but has listened to their cries for help.

I will praise you in the great assembly.

I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.

The poor will eat and be satisfied.

All who seek the LORD will praise him.

Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.

The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him.

All the families of the nations will bow down before him.

For royal power belongs to the LORD.

He rules all the nations.

Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.

Bow before him, all who are mortal,

all whose lives will end as dust.

Our children will also serve him.

Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.

His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.

They will hear about everything he has done (NLT).

We, who end as dust, know God's mercy - he, the one who rules, has not turned his back on us.

* The “they” who took Jesus away must have been the soldiers, standing by to carry out the

Governor’s orders.

** Above is a compilation using elements from the various Gospels. For example, for the first line, "dipping the bread", see Matthew chapter 26, Luke chapter 22, John Chapter 13, as well as Mark chapter 14. The Judas episode is not easily followed. The Gospels have their individual structures.

(*) John (alone) tells us Jesus' mother, Mary, and her sister, were among the women standing near his cross. They must have given each other support in this calamity and horror. I wonder how widely their identity was known. Long, long, before that day Mary had been warned of grief to come (Luke 2:35). 

God bless you!

Allen Hampton 

Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

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Note: I retain in the publishers' text where they occur the references [ ] to footnotes, but usually not the notes. You can check them out by viewing the text on-line. Often they are replicated in different translations.

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