The PASSION of Jesus Christ

The “passion” refers to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

The narrative is read during Palm Sunday Mass.  It is also sung, chanted, read aloud, acted out in stage plays and street dramas, made into movies and immortalized in all forms of cultural expression as part of Christian tradition.

As we enter the Holy Week, the most solemn and intense period of worship in Christian faith,  Cebu Daily News invites readers  to relive the final days of Jesus, bringing us through his agony and  sacrifice, in preparation for the joy and triumph of life over death on Easter Sunday.

Part 1

After a final supper with disciples, Jesus is betrayed and arrested

N — Narrator

J — Jesus

C — Crowd

O — Other speaker

N — When the hour came Jesus took his place at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to  them,

J — I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer because, I tell you, I shall not  eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

N — Then, taking a cup. He gave thanks and said,

J — Take this and share it among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine  until the kingdom of God comes.

N — Then he took some bread, and when he has given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying,

J — This is the body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial me.

N — He did the same with the cup after supper, and said,

J — This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you.

And yet, here with me on the table is the hand of the man who betrays me. The Son of  Man does indeed go to his fate even as it has been decreed, but alas for that man by whom  he is betrayed!

N — And they began to ask one another which of them it could be who was to do this thing.

A — dispute arose also between them about which should be reckoned the greatest, but he said to  them,

J — Among pagans it is the kings who lord it over them, and those who have authority over  them are given the title Benefactor. This must not happen with you. No, the greatest  among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one who  serves. For who is the greater: the one at table or the one who serves? The one at table,  surely? Yet here I am among you as one who serves!

You are the men who had stood by me faithfully in my trials; and now I confer a kingdom  on you, just as my Father conferred one on me: you will eat and drink at my table in my  kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

Simon, Simon! Satan, you must know, has got his wish to sift you all like wheat; but I have  prayed for you, Simon, that your faith my not fail, and once you have recovered, you in  your turn must strengthen your brothers.

N — He answered

O Lord, I would be ready to go to prison with you, and to death.

N — Jesus replied.

J — I tell you, Peter, by the time the cock crows today you will have denied three times that you  know me.

N — He said to them,

J — When I sent you out without purse or haversack or sandals, were you short of anything?

N — They answered,

C — No.

N — He said to them,

J — But now if you have a purse, take it: if you haversack, do the same; if your have no sword,  sell your cloak and buy one, because I tell you these words of scripture have to be fulfilled  in me: He let himself be taken for a criminal. Yes, what scripture says about me is even  now reaching its fulfillment.

N — They said,

C — Lord, there are two swords here now.

N — He said to them.

J — That is enough!

N — He then left the upper room to make his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, with the disciples  following. When they reached the place he said to them,

J — Pray not to be put to the test.

N — Then he withdrew from them, about a stone’s throw away, and knelt down and prayed, saying,

J — Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done,  not mine.

N — Then an angel appeared to him coming from heaven to give him strength. In his anguish he  prayed even more earnestly and his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

When he rose from prayer he went to the disciples and found the sleeping for sheer grief. He  said to them,

J — Why are you sleep? Get up and pray not to be put to the test.

N — He was still speaking when a number of men appeared, and at the head of them the man called  Judas, one of the Twelve who went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said,

J — Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?

N — His followers, seeing what was happening, said,

C — Lord, shall we use our swords?

N — And one of them struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. But at this Jesus  spoke,

J — Leave off! That will do!

N — And touching the man’s ear he healed him.

Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests and captains of the Temple guard and elders who had come  for him. He said,

J — Am I a brigand that you had to set out with swords and clubs? When I was among you in  the Temple day after day you never moved to lay hands on me. But this is your hour; this  is the reign of darkness.

N — They seized him then and led him away, and they took him to the high priest’s house. Peter  followed at a distance. They had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and Peter sat down  among them, and as he was sitting there by the blaze a servant-girl saw him,  peered at him and  said,

O — This person was with him too.

N — But we denied it, saying,

O — Woman, I do not know him.

N — Shortly afterward, someone else saw him and said,

O — You are another of them.

N — But Peter replied,

O — I am not, my friend.

N — About an hour later, another man insisted, saying,

O — This fellow was certainly with him. Why, he is a Galilean.

N — Peter said,

O — My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.

N — At that instant, while he was still speaking, the cock crew, and the Lord turned and looked  straight at Peter, and Peter remembered what the Lord had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows  today, you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.

(To be continued)