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Lenten Study Series
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2005 Lenten Study Series

Matthew's Passion of Christ

Lent is the forty days, plus Sundays, leading up to Easter. Through the centuries the church has set aside this time of year to focus on Christ’s passion for us and our passion for Christ. Becoming like Jesus means sharing his conviction about the unique meaning of the Cross. It also means following his path to the Cross. All that we have to say about cross-bearing is by way of response to what God in Christ has done for us on the Cross. The death we die in him is different in kind than the death he died for us. Only Christ can atone for our sins. But what Christ does for us radically changes our lives and the way we live our lives.

This year we will examine the stories that surround the final days leading up to Christ’s passion: the anointing in Bethany, the Last Supper, the experience in Gethsemane, the trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate. We will meditate on Matthew’s description of the passion of Christ, his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We want all of these vivid scenes to be interpreted in our imagination according to Matthew’s Spirit-inspired description.

In Matthew’s Passion emotions of devotion and hatred run deep as human conspiracies and divine destiny converge. Jesus takes the initiative, always leading with the spoken word. Nothing happens apart from his word. Only after Jesus speaks of being handed over do the religious leaders conspire against him. His interpretation of a woman’s act of devotion makes the difference between scornful rejection and an enduring testimony. His directions for celebrating the Passover set everything in motion. Jesus reveals his betrayer, explains the meaning of his death, predicts Peter’s denial, and prays in Gethsemane. Everything depends on Jesus. Even his silence before the Sanhedrin sends a message of profound significance.

The verbal and visual impact of each scene in Matthew’s Passion of Christ reveals a distinctive meaning, designed by the Spirit to deepen our personal passion for Christ, inspire our real time obedience in Christ and thrust us into the mission of Christ. The story is not told for our aesthetic appreciation or for our intellectual curiosity, much less for our religious entertainment. This material is not intended for Christians to discuss aimlessly in living room

Bible studies. Everyone in Matthew’s Passion account is on trial: Judas, Peter, the Jewish leadership, the Roman leadership, the crowds, and the disciples. Everybody is on trial, then and now, and everybody fails except one person. The challenge today is for the followers of Christ to become passionate about worship and mission because of Christ’s passion for them.

Doug Webster
Lent 2005

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