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PASSION NARRATIVES

Accounts of the suffering and death of Jesus. Both the Passion narratives and references to the passion of Christ that are preserved in canonical and extrabiblical early Christian writings are testimony to the importance of the Passion narratives in the early life of the Church. The first preserved written reference to the oral tradition of the Passion in early Christianity is Paul’s rhetorical question in Gal. 3:1, “O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you — before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly set forth as having been crucified?” Paul’s impassioned remark points to the central theme of his preaching, but it indicates that Paul proclaimed more than that Jesus Christ was crucified (a possible understanding of texts such as 1 Cor. 2:2) or, taking one small interpretive step, that Christ died for the sins of humanity (e.g., 15:3). The striking reminiscence of Jesus Christ’s having been publicly set forth crucified before the eyes of the Galatians employs verbs and the metaphor of seeing which denote vivid, even graphic portrayal beyond the mere statement of fact or the terse character of creedal formulation. Unfortunately, Paul neither amplifies nor illustrates this preaching of Jesus Christ’s being crucified, so that one is unable to reconstruct the apostle’s preaching of the Passion. At other points in his writings, however, we do learn of certain events of the Passion of which Paul had knowledge, and which he could (and likely did?) narrate in his preaching. These include that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23-26), was betrayed — at night (v. 23), was crucified (Gal. 3:1), died (1 Cor. 11:26), and was buried (Rom. 6:4). Thus, in what are likely the earliest preserved pieces of Christian writing one finds evidence of the oral tradition of the passion of Christ.

Thus, from the advent of form criticism interpreters contended that prior to the composition of the first written Gospel there existed a fairly wellformed, perhaps even definitely set, version of the Passion narrative. The expanse of time between the death of Jesus in a.d. 30/33 and the writing of the first Gospel in the mid-60s to 70 required a process of oral transmission of tradition. Comparison of the Passion narrative to the other stories and sections of the Gospels found the Passion narrative to be an extended, logically progressive sequence of scenes which were interconnected and even dependent upon one another in forming a larger coherent account. By contrast the portions of the Gospels prior to the Passion narrative were short, seemingly independent units which could be, and perhaps were, arranged in whatever order the Evangelists desired. Moreover, whereas the pericope composing the account of Jesus’ ministry prior to the Passion could stand alone and communicate a purposeful message, certain elements of the Passion narrative had no discernible function outside of the larger account and seemed unlikely ever to have existed independently. Although there has never been consensus about where the pre-Gospel Passion narrative began, items seemingly incapable of an independent existence included the brief memory of Judas’ agreement to betray Jesus, the mention of the young man who fled naked from Jesus’ arrest, Simon Peter’s denials of Jesus, the Barabbas incident, and the reference to Simon of Cyrene. In isolation from the other Passion narrative material interpreters did not believe that such items would have been preserved.

The contentions of the early form critics have undergone serious criticism by scholars attempting to disprove the existence of a pre-Gospels Passion narrative. Yet, there are many scholars who, although dubious about the numerous and different, but precise, reconstructions of the pre-Gospels Passion narratives, still find the basic logic of the argument for a pre-Gospels Passion narrative persuasive. While this important interpretive issue may never be settled finally, one should not miss the central agreement by all parties in this controversy, that all agree there were Passion narrative traditions in early Christianity prior to the composition of the Gospels; otherwise we would seek to identify the author of the Passion narrative fiction.

Without attempting to settle the issues of the existence and shape of a pre-Gospels Passion narrative or narratives, one may ask whether there is evidence in the Gospels Passion narratives of the oral tradition(s) from the period prior to the writing of the Gospels. Analysis of five prominent early Christian Gospels reveals a plethora of special materials in each of the works that comprehensively suggests an active interest in the passion of Jesus and implies steady elaboration of the most basic story. When one encounters a story element in a single Gospel, it is possible that the item is a mere invention of the Evangelist; however, from observing several such features in each of the Gospels, one suspects that the Evangelists are drawing upon more than their imaginations. Volume of particularity is no guarantee of dependence on oral tradition(s), but the more unique features an Evangelist incorporates into the Passion narratives, the more likely he is to be relying upon some external stimulus rather than sheer inventiveness. That many story items are preserved in a single Gospel is not by itself a forceful argument for the influence of oral tradition on the Evangelists, but when coupled with additional evidence this phenomenon may enhance the strength of a case for the existence and influence of oral tradition on the formation and transmission of the Passion narratives.

In Matthew’s account (Matt. 26:1–27:66) one finds Jesus’ questioning of Judas after he is kissed, the story of the death of Judas, the story of Pilate’s wife, Pilate’s washing of his hands and the accompanying cry of the people, the offer of wine mixed with gall, the signs after Jesus’ death, and the posting of a guard at the tomb.

In Mark’s Passion narrative (Mark 14:1–15:47) alone one reads of the young man who fled nude from Jesus’ arrest, the offer of wine mixed with myrrh (similar to Matthew, but not exactly the same), and Pilate’s confirmation of Jesus’ death.

Luke (Luke 22:1–23:56) offers still other items, including Jesus confronting Judas and apparently preventing the kiss, the presence of the Jewish leaders at Jesus’ arrest, Jesus’ healing of the man whose ear was cut off, Jesus being mocked as he waits at the home of the high priest, the morning assembly of the Jewish leaders to consider Jesus’ fate, Jesus before Herod Antipas, Jesus and the daughters of Jerusalem, two or three words of Jesus from the cross, the report of the exchange between Jesus and those with whom he was crucified, the reaction of the assembled crowds who watch and see Jesus’ death, and the mention of the acquaintances being present with the women and seeing the Crucifixion.

John’s narrative (John 18:1–19:42) is even more distinguished by its special materials: the exchange between Jesus and the crowd that came to arrest him, including his saying “I am” (Gk. egṓ eími) and their falling to the ground; the details that Simon Peter wielded the sword and that Malchus lost his ear; the soldiers’ seizing Jesus; another disciple’s accompanying Peter to the house of the high priest; Jesus’ being interrogated by the high priest, Annas; the officer striking Jesus for his answer to the high priest and Jesus’ words to the officer; Annas’ sending Jesus bound to Caiaphas; conversations between Jesus and Pilate; Pilate and the Jews in dialogue; the declaration by the Jews, “We have no King but Caesar”; Jesus’ bearing of his own cross; three words of Jesus from the cross; the Jews’ request that Jesus’ legs be broken, but since he is already dead his side is pierced; and Nicodemus’ bringing 100 pounds of spices to use in burying Jesus.

The Gospel of Peter, though a fragment, offers a Passion narrative plot with elements similar to those of the canonical accounts. However, this Gospel contains many striking ideas and additional story elements: Herod is cast as a law-observant Jew; he is also a king, who seems to have authority over Pilate; the people execute Jesus; Jesus, both as subject and object throughout this narrative, is referred to as “the Lord”; as he is mocked, Jesus is challenged, “Judge righteously!”; the placard over Jesus reads, “This is the King of Israel,” and seems to be posted by the people; the crucified Jesus “holds his peace, as if he feels no pain”; one malefactor rails at those crucifying the Lord, because he does not deserve it; the darkness causes the executioners anxiety, since Jesus is still alive, and if the sun sets they are in violation of the law; giving Jesus gall with vinegar completes the Jewish sin, but it is not related to the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy in the narrative; Jesus cries, “My power, O power, thou has forsaken me”; the earth quakes when Jesus’ body is placed upon it; the Jews hand the body over to Joseph; the Jews and the leaders lament their evil and relate it explicitly to “the [forthcoming] end of Jerusalem”; the reader is informed, as if by Peter, that the disciples hide, fast, mourn, and weep; the leaders ask Pilate for a guard for the tomb because they know “he” was righteous and now they fear the wrathful remorse of the people; “Petronius the centurion with soldiers” watches the tomb; they all roll a great stone over the tomb’s entrance; seven seals are set on the tomb; and the guards pitch tents at the site.

No firm conclusion comes from observing these items in the Gospel Passion narratives. But whatever theory of Synoptic interrelatedness one holds, clearly there is additional material incorporated into the Passion narrative by the subsequent Evangelists; in turn, whatever, if any, the relationship of the Fourth Gospel and the Gospel of Peter to the Synoptics, their authors offer a wealth of additional Passion narrative material. While each of these unique items in the earliest Passion narratives would require individual analysis to determine whether the material is more likely to result from the influence of oral tradition or from the author’s own meditation and composition, it seems highly unlikely that all of these added traditions were the results of the authors’ meditations.

Furthermore, examination of materials beyond these documents of earliest Christianity — ranging from the 2nd through the 5th century (including Eusebius citing Papias [HE 3.39.2-4], Barnabas, Ignatius [Trall. 9.1], Odes Sol. 28, , Justin Martyr [Apol. 35; Dial. 98-106], Melito of Sardis [Homily on the Passion], the Ascents of James [Ps.-Clem. 1.41.3], Asc. Isa. 11, , Tertullian [Apol. 21.15-26; Adv. Marc. 4.42.5], Didascalia 21.5.17-19, Julius Africanus [Epistle to Aristides 18.1], and the Gospel of Nicodemus [containing the Acts of Pilate]) — shows that a marked tendency to add details and even scenes to the Passion narrative became the normal manner of recounting the story of Jesus’ death. The Passion narrative was told often.

Given the tendencies observed in these writings and given the natural restrictions related to ancient written materials, throughout the early centuries of the Church, one can safely conclude that the Passion narrative was more often told than written, more often heard than read, more often known than physically held. The process of elaboration was normal. The difficulty of the interpreter confronting the evidences of this process is twofold and sets the agenda for future studies: scholars must determine whether the additions are creations of the authors or reflections of oral traditions; and they must assess the antiquity of the traditions when these are present in Passion narrative accounts.

Bibliography. R. E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, 2 vols. ABRL (New York, 1994); J. T. Carroll and J. B. Green, The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity (Peabody, 1995); J. D. Crossan, The Cross That Spoke: The Origins of the Passion Narrative (San Francisco, 1988); J. R. Donahue, Are You the Christ? The Trial Narrative in the Gospel of Mark. SBLDS 10 (Missoula, 1973); D. Senior, The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of John (Collegeville, 1991); The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (Collegeville, 1989); The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark (Collegeville, 1984); The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (Collegeville, 1985); H. Wansbrough, ed., Jesus and the Oral Tradition. JSNTSup 64 (Sheffield, 1991).

Marion L. Soards

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PASSION NARRATIVES

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)