3: Suffering, Death
and Resurrection of Jesus

Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd

Task Mk 1

Read Mark chapter 14, 32-52

Summarise this passage.

Task Mk 2

Read Mark 14, 33-72

What were the false accusations made against Jesus? How did the council treat Jesus after he was accused of blasphemy?

An account of Jesus’ confession before the high priest is found in the section on the title Son of God. It will be useful to re-read this section.

The events in Gethsemane are of great importance. Jesus went there to pray with his disciples, seemingly because he drew strength from prayer. He needed strength to face the ordeals which he was to face. When Jesus prayed he asked his father to spare him but submitted himself to his Father’s will. This willingness to do God’s will is the expression of his total devotion to his Father. The fact that the disciples fell asleep is the gospel’s way of showing that they had not the inner strength that Jesus had.

After Jesus’ prayer Judas and an armed crowd arrive, and Jesus is shown to have the strength not to run from his destiny but to accept it. There is mention of the fact that one of Jesus’ followers cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear, but this gospel does not say that Jesus healed the man, as Luke’s Gospel does. The apostles then flee. The identity of the young man who fled away naked is unknown.

Jesus was then taken before the Sanhedrin, the high council of the Jews, composed of the high priest and the chief priests, the elders (the heads of the various tribes) and the scribes, the Jewish wise men. This council had the power to punish but not to pass the death sentence, which had to be passed by the Roman procurator. A procurator was an official below the rank of governor. The high priest’s tearing of his garments was a customary sign of anger, shock and horror.

Christians see in Jesus’ decision not to run away but to face his destiny the supreme example of self-sacrificing love, which means a love which is so strong that its possessor will endure pain for the sake of the loved one. They believe that Jesus knew that his death and resurrection were a necessary part of God’s plan for the well-being of humanity, and was willing to suffer death and humiliation for our salvation.

Task Mk 3

Why did the Sanhedrin send Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Procurator?

Task Mk 4

How is Jesus’ courage and dedication shown in the events in Gethsemane?

Task Mk 5

Read Mark 15, 1-20

In your own words write down a list of the main events in this passage.

It seems that the Sanhedrin wanted Jesus dead on a blasphemy charge, but as blasphemy did not carry the death sentence under Roman law, they had to have him executed on a political charge, claiming to be a king, which was treason against Rome. Pilate, however, attempted to work a trick on the chief priests. In prison he had the zealot Barabbas under sentence of death. Zealots were a Jewish terrorist group who plotted to overthrow Rome by violence. There is mention here of a custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover. So Pilate, thinking that the crowd would ask for Jesus, presented them with the choice of the popular Barabbas or the even more, so he thought, popular Jesus. Pilate’s ruse went wrong, when the crowd demanded freedom for Barabbas. Pilate responded by freeing Barabbas, and when he asked the crowd what should be done with Jesus he was told that he should crucify him. Pilate then had Jesus scourged (flogged). Jesus was then mocked by being dressed in purple, the colour of kingship and crowned with thorns. It is likely that this mocking was routine treatment for condemned prisoners.

In the events in this passage Christians see many evils which are still current in our world. They see in Pilate’s actions an example of injustice. In his willingness to satisfy the mob they see an example of how people in power allow injustices rather than take the trouble or the risk involved in correcting them. In the crowd’s preference for Barabbas Christians see an example of how humans often choose the worst leaders and prefer violence to peace. In the torture of Jesus Christians see an example of the torture of political prisoners which still goes on in our world. An important Christian belief which can be linked to this passage is that when you hurt someone you hurt Christ.

Task Mk 6

How far would it be true to say that Jesus’ treatment is an example of evils which still happen in the world today? (This is an open-ended question and you are not confined to evils which are mentioned in the above passage. It might be helpful if you discussed this in groups)

Task Mk 7

Read Mark 15,21-41

Before he died Jesus spoke some words in Aramaic. Write down these words and their meaning. How were some people confused by what he said?

Task Mk 8

What events happened as Jesus died. What did the centurion say?

Task Mk 9

What did the inscription above Jesus’ say?

Task Mk 10

How did the chief priests mock Jesus?

In this passage certain apparently insignificant people stand out. There is Simon of Cyrene, who is conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus, who, later became Christians. There is the centurion, a pagan who makes a confession of faith in Jesus, although how exactly he understood the term Son of God is unclear. This is a confession of faith by a Gentile, a non-Jew, and is a sign that the faith will be spread to Gentiles. There are the women who stood and watched the crucifixion from afar. These women have a critical role in the story. At a time when women were not considered very important, these women were crucial witnesses to the fact that Jesus died. Without the witness to Jesus’ death there can be no credible witness to the resurrection.

Read Mark 15:42-47.

The role played by the women comes through here. They observe Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus down from the cross and they follow him to the tomb, probably as mourners in the burial party, a customary role for women at that period of history. They see him wrap Jesus in a shroud and roll a heavy stone in front of the tomb to seal it. Thus they are witnesses to the fact that Jesus died, that the body interred in the tomb actually was Jesus and that the tomb was sealed. Of critical importance is that they knew which tomb it was, so that no one could say that the apostles found the wrong tomb empty.

It was Preparation Day, the day before Passover, which that year fell on a Sabbath. It was important that the bodies be not hanging on a Sabbath, especially not such an important Sabbath, which is why the burial was performed so quickly. However, it seems that there was no time for the customary anointings to be carried out, as Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday, so the women left the body to return on the Sunday morning.

Task Mk 11

Why did the women not anoint Jesus’ body when they buried it?

Task Mk 12

What was the important role played by the women at the crucifixion and burial of Jesus?

The Passion and death of Jesus are of immense significance for Christians. Yet they are a mystery whose depths Christians have never fully explored. Any exploration of the meaning of this mystery must begin with what Jesus said. In the prophecies of the Passion he said that he was offering his life as ransom, which means a payment for sin. Christians have attempted to uncover the full meaning of this claim. These include:

that as man had sinned God demanded a payment from man. Only a truly innocent victim could make the necessary payment for sin, and only God is innocent, so God sent his Son into the world as man to make the necessary amends. As Christ was sinless so payment was made;
that death is evil’s greatest weapon, but Christ faced death and overcame it. Evil had done its worst and failed. Now Christ lives on as victor over evil, and is finishing his work by guiding and helping humanity in the struggle against evil.
that Christ learned obedience, and achieved perfection through suffering, and thus earned his position as Lord of humanity (Letter to the Hebrews).

It is safe to say that Christians see the crucifixion as a necessary part of God’s plan, but have not fully plumbed the depths of the mystery of the mystery of the cross and passion.

Read Mark 8:34-38.

You see here that the cross is the pattern for the Christian life. Christians are to take up their crosses to follow Jesus. This means that just as Jesus accepted his responsibilities even though they meant suffering and death, so Christians must accept their responsibilities in a similar way. The principle is that we grow as persons by tackling difficulties and problems rather than running away from them. The Christian way of the cross is the principle that we should tackle our problems in a Christian way, one that is loving, kind, gentle and just, rather than one which is violent, selfish and merciless. Not all Christians are called to suffer death for their faith, but they are called to confront the difficulties and temptations found in their own lives and overcome them. This involves sacrifice, the giving up of something good for a higher purpose. Christians might give up their time to help the poor or work for their faith, and they might give money or gifts to charity.

Task Mk 13

What meaning do Christians see in the crucifixion of Jesus?

Task Mk 14

"You cannot expect ordinary Christians to sacrifice their lives as Jesus did." Do you agree with this statement?

Task Mk 15

Describe at least three ways in which Christians might make sacrifices to help the needy or to work for their faith.

Task Mk 16

Research the life of a Christian person who has made great sacrifices for their faith or for others. You might think of Maximillian Kolbe, Damian of Molokai, Katherine Drexel or any others living or dead.

Read Mark 16:1-8.

I find that many students confuse the accounts of different gospels, causing them to lose marks. To help you to avoid this difficulty I will identify the main points:

On Sunday morning the women go to the tomb.
The stone is already rolled away. They do not see it being moved.
On entering it they find a young man in white ( an angel).
He tells them not to be afraid, but that Jesus has risen.
He tells them to tell his disciples and Peter,
That he is going to Galilee, where they will see him.
The women fled, as they were afraid and told no one.

At this point there comes a break in the text, and it is the opinion of scholars that the ending of the gospel was lost. The list of appearances which follow seems to have been drawn from well-known resurrection appearances of Jesus. It is likely then that the original ending was lost.