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This study is an attempt to investigate the shaping stratum of the Markan passion narrative (PN). The ultimate focus is on discovering the factors behind the text of Mark that influenced the shaping of the passion account. Since early form criticism, there has been an assumed tradition of an early existing passion account prior to the Markan narrative, to which we do not have access in our contemporary world. However, this study argues that the PN is shaped not only by a tradition to which we do not have access, as argued by previous form critics but also perhaps by how one would describe any crucifixion in antiquity. As we possibly know, this could be true of any early tradition, including the PN in Mark. In other words, this paper is thus proposing a shift from a possible oral source (tradition) to general literary influences that shaped the Markan PN. This means we can see possible influences that determine what would be part of a narrative of a noble death from within Graeco-Roman and Jewish literary influences despite the fact that we cannot get hold of Mark's traditional sources. This paper utilises historical criticism as the method to investigate the shaping stratum of the Markan PN. Contribution: So, an access to these literary influences serves as an adequate tool to aid the contemporary reader to adequately understand Mark's PN as the death and resurrection of Jesus are the integral part in the whole story of Christianity. An understanding of this remarkable account is very significant for churches in Africa and worldwide too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how early Lutheran authors transformed three pedagogical strategies prominent in late‐medieval passion books: the use of Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene as models for feeling in relationship to Christ; graphic depiction of Christ's wounded body; and the practice of "composition of place," that is, imagining oneself in the scene of the crucifixion. It argues that early Lutheran authors transformed these strategies to equip lay Christians to endure temporal setbacks and persecution; they were to find Christ's body in the present, in themselves and their neighbors, and to discern invulnerability and triumph underneath the apparent opposite. This article commends practices of imagined relationship to Christ and of reading the present through the passion for Christians and the church today. Equally important are the warnings about human vulnerability to deceit found in these texts, which insist on the interconnection of discernment, feeling, and relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on reflecting on the Passion Narratives, engaging with the emotional dimensions of faith, and seeking a deeper connection to Christ's presence and teachings. Topics include: renewing the biblical understanding of the Stations of the Cross, addressing the emotional aspects of Christian devotion, and reflecting on the transformative power of Christ's resurrection. It mentions theological meditations on "The Way of the Cross" are offered as spiritual nourishment.

One of the grand scenes of the Passion narratives can be found in John's Gospel where Pilate, presenting Jesus to the people, proclaims "Behold the man": "Ecce Homo" But what exactly does Pilate mean when he asks the reader to "Behold"? This paper takes as its point of departure a roughly drawn picture of Jesus in the "Ecce Homo" tradition and explores the relationship of this picture to its referent in John's Gospel, via its capacity as kitsch devotional art. Contemporary scholarship on kitsch focuses on what kitsch does, or how it functions, rather than assessing what it is. From this perspective, when "beholding" is understood not for what it reveals but for what it does, John's scene takes on a very different significance. It becomes a scene that breaks down traditional divisions between big and small stories, subject and object as well as text and context. A kitsch perspective opens up possibilities for locating John's narrative in unexpected places and experiences. Rather than being a two-dimensional departure from the grandeur of John's trial scene, kitsch "art" actually provides a lens through which the themes and dynamics of the narrative can be re-viewed with an expansiveness somewhat lacking from more traditional commentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the poetic texts in the sacred oratorio "St. Matthew's Passion," written by Johann Sebastian Bach, from a new perspective. Topics covered include the template for each of the six divisions of the Matthew narrative as outlined by German hymnwriter Johann Olearius, a list from author Elke Axmacher of attributions of sources for texts in Core Modulus in Matthew Passion librettos, and a systematic study of the Passion sermons of the late 17th century.

In the Johannine passion narrative, the Fourth Evangelist is concerned primarily with the unfolding drama of the revelation of God's love for humankind. The process of Jesus' glorification is presented as a five-act drama across as many geographical locations. In the third of these acts, Jesus faces "the Jews" and Pilate through seven scenes as his earthly destiny is determined. This central moment of the passion drama becomes the focus for the audience, as Jesus turns the tables and challenges Pilate with the truth that is his gift to the world. This article explores the performance features embedded in this text in terms of the staging of these seven scenes as Pilate moves outside and inside the praetorium to speak with "the Jews," who refuse to enter, and Jesus, who has been handed over to Pilate for crimes against the state. Jesus' passion turns on Pilate's inexorable decision. This act is thus the core of the drama by way of this distinctive set of dialogues between Jesus, Pilate, and "the Jews." As Pilate investigates the crime set before him and wavers between the accusers and the accused, he is stopped momentarily by his own question on the nature of truth. Leaving this question unanswered seals both Jesus' and Pilate's fate. At the same time, the audience is incited to step in, stop the vacillating, and offer its own answer, thereby also determining its own destiny in faith and the glory of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any Christian who speaks about Matthew 27.25 needs to be aware of how it has been used to promote Christian anti-Judaism. Various approaches have emerged to reading it in such a way that this connection is broken. One is to argue that it does not reflect the true circumstances of Jesus’ trial and death but rather the conflicts of the communities in which it was written. Another depends less on such historical scepticism and instead puts clear limits around the responsibility of ‘the whole people’ conveyed by the text. Finally, it is possible to seek a meaning in the words that transcends the immediate intentions of the speakers and draws us as it did them into the saving mystery of the Passion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]