First Person Passion Narrative
According to St. Mark
Mark 14:1--15:47
Six Characters:
Woman Who Anointed Jesus
Peter
Pilate
Centurion
Woman Who Anointed Jesus
I love the smell of the alabaster oil. When I streak it
through my hair and smooth it out over my skin, the
fragrance fills the air. It is expensive oil imported from
India, so I use it for only the most important of
occasions.
I was among the crowd when Jesus came into Jerusalem. It was
like a great festival or parade with Jesus leading the way.
How excited we were because he was a great man--a teacher, a
healer, a preacher, perhaps even a king. And so we cut
branches from the fields and put them on the road and
shouted "hosanna" because we believed he was the chosen one
from God.
A few days later, I learned that Jesus was visiting the home
of Simon. Simon used to be a leper, but Jesus healed him. I
found Jesus seated at a table, and because I knew Jesus was
a special man, I thought it was appropriate to give him a
special gift. So, I took my vial of expensive oil and I
gently poured some on his head. It was the finest gift I
could give him.
Little did I know that I would cause such a ruckus! Some
were very angry that I was "wasting" such expensive ointment
when I could have sold it and given the money to the poor. I
was about to run away in shame, when Jesus said, "Leave her
alone. You will always have the opportunity to show kindness
to the poor, but I will not always be with you. She
has done a beautiful thing for me--she has anointed my body
beforehand for burial. For her kindness to me this day, she
will be remembered by all."
My heart soared! He appreciated my gift! I didn't know what
this talk of anointing his body for burial was about, but it
was clear that he appreciated me. I do believe he is
God's anointed one and I'm glad we shouted, "Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord!"
Peter
I am among the closest to the Lord. He is my master; he
is my friend. My name is Peter.
Jesus instructed us to make arrangements so that we could
celebrate the Passover. We gathered in a large, second-level
room, and there we ate the meal of remembrance of how God
saved the Hebrews of old from Egyptian bondage. How good it
was to eat and drink and celebrate the deliverance of God
with our Master.
Jesus was greatly troubled that night, however. He said that
one of us would betray him. We ignored him at first. He
broke bread and said, "This is my body." He had us all drink
from a cup and said, "This is my blood of the covenant." And
then he said it again, "You will all desert me."
I decided that was enough of that kind of talk. We were his
trusted disciples and friends. We would stand with Jesus
through thick and thin, so I tried to assure Jesus, "I will
never desert you, Lord."
He replied, "No Peter, this very night, before the rooster
crows, you will deny me three times."
I promised I would not deny him; the other disciples said
the same.
We then went to the garden. Jesus was quite troubled, so
he told us to stand watch while he went off by himself to
pray. Well, we had just eaten, my stomach was full, it had
been a long day, and I and my companions dozed off.
Out of a sound sleep, Jesus shook me and said, "Simon, could
you not keep awake even one hour?" I was so embarrassed. But
it happened a second time--we fell asleep and Jesus had to
wake us again. But this time, we awoke to a crowd with
swords and clubs. Judas walked up to Jesus, addressed him as
"Teacher," and kissed him.
Immediately, they grabbed Jesus. One of our men took a sword
and whacked off the ear of the high priest's slave, but
Jesus stopped the emerging battle and submitted to the
arrest. Deprived of a fight, fear filled us all and we ran
away.
While Jesus was being questioned before the high priest and
beaten by the guards, I was trying to blend in with the
night, but people kept asking me if I knew Jesus. "No," I
said repeatedly--I was scared, defensive, and I didn't want
to be arrested too!
When the rooster crowed, I remembered what Jesus said,
dropped to my knees, and wept.
Pilate
It was early Saturday morning when I was rudely awakened.
As governor of Judea, I, Pilate, should be able to set my
own hours. But the priests, elders, and scribes demanded a
trial for a man whom they accused of claiming to be Messiah
and King.
Now look, I didn't care if Jesus claimed to be a
Messiah--that's a religious concern that the Council of the
Jews would have to deal with. But if Jesus claimed to be
king, this would be a serious matter because only Caesar
determines who is to be a king in his domain. If Jesus
claims to be a king, he is a traitor and subject to the
charge of treason.
So, I asked him straight out, "Are you the King of the
Jews?" But Jesus didn't give me a direct answer in return,
he said, "You say so." And then he wouldn't say another
word.
Because it was the Passover festival, and because I wanted
to find favor with my subjects, it was my practice to
release a prisoner to show the good will and mercy of their
governor. But this year, I decided to have a little fun. I
knew that the religious authorities hated Jesus, but that he
was very popular with the people, so I shouted out to the
crowd, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the
Jews?"
I was surprised at the resourcefulness of the chief priests
and at the fickleness of the crowd. The religious leaders
walked through the people and got them all stirred up so
that they started shouting to release a thief named Barabbas
instead of Jesus. And when I asked what I should do with the
one called "King of the Jews," they screamed out in a
frenzy, "Crucify him!" I challenged them by asking what evil
Jesus had done to deserve death, but they screamed out all
the more, "Crucify him!"
So, seeing that I could please the whim of the crowd, I had
Jesus whipped and ordered
him to be crucified.
The Centurion
I am a professional soldier, a centurion, and it was my
job to carry out Pilate's orders.
In battle, 100 men serve under me. I also get special
assignments such as carrying out the death penalty. My men
typically torture those condemned to death, and Jesus was no
exception. He was whipped repeatedly as Pilate had ordered,
and because he was known as the King of the Jews, a crown
was made of thorns and crushed into his skull; a purple
cloak was draped around his bloodied back. He was the object
of taunting, and my men bowed before him in mockery when
they weren't spitting on him or striking him.
Like the others put to death, Jesus was made to carry his
own cross. Jesus was so weak, however, that a man from the
crowd was forced to carry the cross for him. On the
outskirts of town is Golgatha, a hill that resembles a
skull. There Jesus was nailed to a cross between two
criminals.
Those who passed by laughed at Jesus and cried out, "Save
yourself and come down from the cross!" The religious
leaders joined in the mocking too, "Let the Messiah, the
King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may
see and believe."
It was a long day as we waited for those condemned to suffer
and die. At noon when the sun is the highest overhead, the
sky became very dark. It was eerie and unnatural. I had
heard about this Jesus--how he was wise in the ways of God,
how he taught with authority, how he worked miracles and
proclaimed God's kingdom. I wondered, what the darkness
might mean. I wondered how Jesus could remain silent in the
face of jeering and ridicule. I wondered if the rumors of a
special relationship with God that I had heard about Jesus
were true.
After six hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus cried out,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" There amid
mocking, darkness and loneliness, Jesus gave out a loud cry
and breathed his last. There in his death, I could see his
innocence.
I'm told that at that very moment, the curtain of the temple
was torn in two, from top to bottom. I was overcome with a
power that was greater than myself. In the silent power of
death, another power arose within me and I said, as a man
possessed by something holy: "Truly this man was the Son of
God."
And I believe it.
When I reported to Pilate that Jesus was in fact dead,
the governor gave a man named Joseph permission to take the
body. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched as
the body of Jesus was placed in a rock-hewn tomb.
So much happened in just one week--from the time Jesus
entered Jerusalem amid shouts of "hosanna," to the time
Jesus was placed in a tomb. But there's more to the story,
more that confirms that my confession at the foot of the
cross is absolutely true: "Truly this man is the Son
of God."
For the tomb would not hold this Jesus for very long.
Pastor Duane Pederson
First Lutheran Church, 1005 Oxford Avenue, Eau Claire,
Wisconsin 54703-54703
www.First-Lutheran.org
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