The victorious rejected King
AS our gospel reading for Passion or Palm Sunday, St. Mark’s long passion narrative (14:1-15:47) appears to have been fashioned by him before anything else and supplemented only with the accounts of Jesus’ ministry. Its apologetics and Christological motifs stand out.
The plot, the arrest and the trial THE rejection of Jesus by the chief priests and scribes plotting to kill him and the betrayal by Judas (14:111) are in dramatic contrast to the faith in Jesus by the woman who anointed his head with expensive oil, recalling the practice of anointing Israel’s kings (1 King 1:39; 2 Kings 9:3). This anointing in Bethany sandwiched between the details of the plot manifests Jesus as truly the anointed one of God, the messiah, but Jesus himself linked it to his burial indicating that he would accomplish his messianic mission through suffering. The account of the Passover meal with his disciples (14:12-25) recalls the tradition that the household head blesses, breaks and explains the symbolism of the bread of affliction (Deuteronomy
16:3), revealing therefore that in Jesus’ gift of his body and blood in the bread and wine he was already beginning his own Passover as he entrusted to his followers the food of the new Passover and of the everlasting covenant.
Jesus at the beginning of his ministry wrestled with the devil in the loneliness of the desert, so now at the end he was alone again in his agony in Gethsemane as his non-comprehending disciples were asleep. Instead of friends, the betrayer with a kiss and a crowd with swords and clubs came to pick him up. The young man who was seized together with Jesus but managed to run off naked leaving behind his linen wrap-around appears intended by Mark to signal the connection between the arrest and the empty tomb of the resurrection where the young man and the linen cloth would again be featured. Jesus may be arrested but he could not be seized by death, for he would leave his burial cloths behind and rise from the dead. The trials of Jesus by the Jewish officials and by the Roman authorities were a travesty (14:53-65 – 15:1-15). Jesus’ silence was directly opposite to the vociferous accusation against him of many things cooked up by his enemies. The preference by the people for Barabbas the murderer to Jesus the life-giver was total antipodes. And again sandwiched between the trials was the denial by Peter (14:66-72), the juxtaposition contrasting the fidelity of Jesus to the Father and the disloyalty of Peter to Jesus. Also, the affirmation by Jesus of his messianic titles and his tacit acceptance of his status as a king poignantly differ to the unwillingness by Peter to be known as his follower.
The cross, the death and the victory THE account of the torture and execution of Jesus is full of irony (15:1647). He had done no evil, but he was handed over to be crucified. The soldiers mocked him, dressed him in royal garments and hailed him as a king, while in truth he was king and deserved their homage. He who helped many had nobody to help him except one forced to do so, Simon from Cyrene. He gave his everything for others, now even his garments were divided as spoils by the soldiers. The non-violent was crucified between two revolutionaries. He was reviled and taunted into taking back his sacrifice by the passers-by, his enemies and also those crucified with him.
Everything that happened was in accord with the divine plan. It was prophesied of the suffering servant that lots would be cast for his garments (Psalm 22:19), that he would be counted among the wicked (Isaiah 53:12), and mocked by the on-lookers (Lamentations 2:15). The detail of the time of his crucifixion showed that it was not haphazard. His cry to God expressed his confidence in his Father (Psalm 22:2). And the “loud cry” as he breathed his last signified the final victory over evil, the end of the reign of death and the irruption of the reign of God. Jesus died on the cross in triumph, and his real identity, the messianic secret, was dramatically revealed as the centurion concluded, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Alálaong bagá, in the paradox of the cross, Jesus revealed himself as our savior in victory, even as we are given the pledge that fidelity to God and goodness will never be overcome by evil.