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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]

The article focuses on the Lutheran theologians Abraham Calov and Johann Olearius explain that Christ has brought about peace not only between God and mankind and the marking of "Due Chori in unisono." It mentions that the autographs score of Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer and musician of the Baroque period, to have both choruses present this short passage. It also mentions that theological implications of the passion narrative and to inform his compositional choices.

The article discusses the extended speech of Apostle Stephen in Act 7 of the Acts of the Apostles. It states that the speech takes on literary, theological, and rhetorical poignancy in the Sitz im Text. It notes that the speech picks up the motif of rebellion against the prophets and saviors of God by pointing out the repeated acts of rebellion against the great leader of Israel. It mentions that the final part of his speech is the reaction of the defendants and plaintiff in narrative sequence.

This paper looks at Tom Kilroy's play Talbot Box, and argues that it resorts to the tropes of the Passion narrative, revisited by ex-centric mystic Matt Talbot, to expose the homogenising, normalising and exploitative efforts of the Catholic Church, a powerful institution which is shown to work in collusion with the forces of capitalism. Using a grotesque, often farcical dramaturgy, the play displays the joint attempts of ecclesiastical and temporal powers to appropriate Matt Talbot's private performance of the Christian Passion for their own purposes, as well as the ways in which he resists instrumentalization by submitting himself to a radical form of bodily exposure. The play thus invents its own version of a theatre of cruelty in order to accommodate a mystical experience which lies beyond the reach of realistic representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper undertakes a theological and ecclesiological reading of St John's Passion and Resurrection narrative inspired by the typological presuppositions of Didymus the Blind. I argue that paying particular attention to Didymus' baptismal typology makes us alert to an important narrative argument in John's Gospel about the Holy Spirit and the Church. Namely, the mortifying activity of the Spirit on the Church's behalf in John 19 is the necessary prequel to the abundant giving of the Spirit to the Church in John 20. This activity is signalled by the Son's enigmatic handing over of the Spirit for the Church's sake at the crucifixion. In highlighting the Trinitarian and typological dimensions of the Johannine Passion and Resurrection account, this paper contributes an interpretation of the latter as a narrative of the Church's birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article, the author discusses the outcomes of the gospel of inconvenience in relation to the gospel of familiar comfort. He mentions that small moments of familiarity can be helpful as they navigate their new world. He further discusses the need to understand the various narratives of convenience and expedience in the places where we live. He also discusses a system or network of conveniences built in an interdependent fashion.

Copyright of Soter: Journal of Religious Science / Religijos Mokslo Žurnalas is the property of Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Theology-Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An essay is presented on the special value of Psalm 22 in a litany of psalms as it serves an interpretive and structuring guide to the passion narrative in Matthew and Mark. It explores the significant textual difficulties of the psalm. It also mentions the significant theological movements in the psalm based upon its structural analysis.

The study commences with the five major ways of dividing the gospels in Christian history, after which the focus falls on the hermeneutical significance of the Old Greek Divisions. The most defining characteristic of the Divisions is their tendency to demarcate chapters on the basis of the miracles and parables of Jesus. In lieu of miracles or parables, major units of Jesus' teaching also determine Old Greek Divisions. The Synoptic passion narratives, and particularly Matthew's, display the greatest precision and organization among the Divisions. Titles of divisions aided in locating specific passages, identified corresponding material in the gospels by the same title, and when read or memorized in sequence offered an overview of the gospel narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analysed the different narratives implied in Philemon by utilising the narrative therapeutic approach, as developed by Epston and White (1990). A dominant narrative (the harsh treatment of slaves in the early Christian environment) and a challenging narrative (a more humane conduct of slaves) were clearly distinguished. The article showed Paul's attempt to bridge the gap between these two narratives by using certain pointers, possibly taken from mystery religions and Jesus' example. In conclusion, the narrative therapeutic approach proved to be a new and unique way of looking at Philemon's narrative world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical method continues to be a challenge for investigations into Jesus' life. One aspect of that challenge is addressed here: how we decide when information contained in sources is relevant for understanding what actually occurred. It is proposed that there are three fundamental questions to consider: what are the sources of the account, when was the account written, and why was the account written. The timing of the execution of Jesus, for which there exists a general consensus as to when it occurred, will be used as a test case. When the three questions are examined, the references to the timing of Jesus' death in the gospel accounts do not have credence as records of when Jesus was actually executed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Martyrdom passages highlight complicated webs of power relationships to which both martyrs and oppressors contribute. This article focuses upon one aspect of the nexus of martyrdom and power that is important for the analysis of torture: the failure of communication between martyr and oppressor. It applies the concept of barbarism to ancient and contemporary presentations of martyrdom (2 Maccabees 7 and the movie Paradise Now) as well as the New Testament passion narratives. Barbarism holds within itself a double tension: it carries a persistent dichotomist logic and sustains existing power-relations; at the same time barbarism also disrupts power-relations, as it also implies acts of misunderstanding, confusion, stuttering, and thereby registers and produces processes of "discursive slippage, the repetitions and doublings, that the articulation of binaries can never completely close up" (Neilson 1999). The article focuses on the prominent feature of dialogues in martyrdoms and passion narratives, which are non-dialogues at the same time. The oppressor fails to communicate his goals, scorns his victims and uses excessive force. The martyrs despise their oppressors, refuse to talk to them and revile them, address their opponents in a foreign language, and sometimes even announce a terrible punishment for them. Torture is an important tool for the oppressors in the power game with their victims, but the martyr's sustaining the tortures seems to reverse the power relationship between the two. Finally, the martyr figure itself may be considered barbaric, because being commemorated as a martyr legitimates the protagonist's actions and elevates him/her to a level that cannot be criticized. [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]

An essay about the importance of images of Christ and indigenous elite protagonists of miracle narratives to colonial society in New Spain is presented. It places the European Catholic tradition of miracle narratives within the ethnohistorical cultural context of indigenous political, literary, and territorial experiences. It presents a background of the religion of the pre-Hispanic Nahuas. The essay also explores the roots of Franciscan devotion to the Passion in New Spain as well as the two interlocking traditions that produced the Sacromonte.

The article discusses the design of the Passion of the Christ in accepting the wronged suffered that leads to healing and forgiveness. According to the author, the Passion of the Christ is a reminder that to recall the wrongs suffered is in part remembering the pains through Christ's death and resurrection. Moreover, Christ's death in the cross is a profound manifestation of healing and forgiveness for both the wronged and the wrongdoers that Christians should emulate.

In the Greek text of Mt. 16.18 Peter's name is π′ϵρoς, while the ‘rock’ is π′ϵρα. Many have assumed an Aramaic substratum to the text whereby the same Aramaic term ... underlies both Greek words. An alternate view posits that while ... lies behind π′ϵρoς, a different Aramaic term was most likely rendered by π′ϵρα. This article examines the Aramaic and Syriac evidence afresh and at the same time proposes a methodology for studying such issues. It concludes that ... is a strong candidate for an original Aramaic background for π′ϵρα. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

G. Horsley and C. Hemer noted, on the basis of statistical comparison, that the large quantity of direct speech in Acts is atypical of ancient historiography. This study builds upon their research by expanding the repertory to include representatives of ‘popular fiction’. Quantitative analysis reveals that direct speech is one characteristic of popular literature and that, in this respect, Acts is more like popular narrative than learned historiography. This finding contributes to, but does not resolve, the question of the genre of Acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerning Lk. 24.26 and 44, a scholarly consensus agrees that Luke's reference to a 'scriptural' suffering Messiah is an oxymoron; some hold that Luke's overt reference to psalms is a consequence of his use of them in his Passion Narrative; most urge that Luke's ‘Messiah must suffer’ is probably a meld of Davidic Messiah and Isaianic servant motifs. However, because the underlying logic is questionable and its use of Lukan evidence problematic, this consensual case for an Isaianic Servant concept controlling Luke's passion narrative is flawed. Replying to this consensus, a sixfold, cumulative argument demonstrates that Luke's statement—that the Messiah must suffer and be raised—more probably emerges from a single David-model derived from the book of Psalms. This cumulative argument begins from Luke's appeal by name to the book of Psalms, establishes the frequency and density of Luke's use of psalms, examines occurrences of ‘David’ and ‘Messiah’ in relation to Luke's using psalms, explores a Davidic autobiography implied in those psalms featuring in Luke's subtext, reveals that apostolic speeches are arguments textured from psalms and rooted in a comparative biography of David and Jesus, and demonstrates that distinctive elements in Luke's Passion Narrative are associated with the context-fields of psalm allusions in his portrayal of Jesus' death and burial. Luke was right; his critics mistaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the widespread fusion of the seemingly contradictory concepts of crucifixion and exaltation of Jesus Christ in the passion narratives of the Gospels. Preservation of the idea of crucifixion as coronation in other Gospels such as the extension of the conversation between Jesus and Pilate in the Gospel of John; Link between the elevation on a cross with high social aspirations; Discussion of the parodic elements in other Roman punishments.

This article deals with two details of the passion narratives: the wine mixed with myrrh (Mk 15.23) and the breaking of the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus (Jn 19.31–32). It is written jointly by a botanist (Kirsi Nisula), a physician (Jorma Toppari) and an exegete (Erkki Koskenniemi). Most scholars believe that the wine mixed with myrrh was used as analgesic and refer to b. Sanh. 43a. However, this passage does not deal with myrrh, which, moreover, has no strong analgesic effect. A small amount of myrrh in wine preserves it, but if it is used excessively, it makes the wine impossible to drink, and offering it to a man suffering from strong dehydration would be a form of torture. Breaking the legs was used widely as a deterrent punishment for the slaves, also without crucifixion, and it could lead to death. It was apparently common to break the legs of the crucified, which added to the deterrent effect, but also hurried their death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflects on several Bible verses for lectionary, including Matthew 9:35-10:23 and Romans 5:1-11.

Reflects on several Bible verses for lectionary. Matthew 10:34-42; Isaiah 2:10-17; Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89.

Reflects on several Bible verses for lectionary after Pentecost. Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26; Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Hosea 5:15-6:6.

In the Roman world, torture, conceived as a mechanism to extract truth from flesh, was used in judicial interrogation, most commonly in interrogation of slaves and other low-status persons. The flogging of Jesus in John 19:1-3, a flogging that occurs in the midst of the trial before Pilate, is best read as an instance of such judicial torture. If understood as an act of judicial torture, the flogging is also an act of witnessing to the truth: the flesh of the Johannine Jesus is flush with truth (John 1:14). And because Jesus' flesh is flush with truth, the Johannine passion narrative is an account of torture, torture as defined in Roman law: "By torture we mean the infliction of anguish and agony on the body to elicit the truth" (Dig. 48.10.15.41). As I trace the lineaments of truth in Jesus' corpus, I ask how the Fourth Gospel implicates the project of torture. Confronted by the horror of a U.S. policy of distilling truth from foreign bodies, I ask this question urgently. Is it possible to embrace flesh as a locus of truth and still to condemn the practice of torture? Through my carnal reading of the Johannine passion narrative, I attempt to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of John 13 presents us with the fundamental key in order to understand Johannine accounts of the passion of Christ. On the one hand the washing of the Apostles' feet is within the "rites of investment" through which the figure of Jesus as the Servant of Yahweh is highlighted. On the other hand the betrayal of Judas and his exit from the Cenacle marks the beginning of the glorification of Christ. Thus, John 13 and 17 become the chapters which mark the beginning and the culmination of the Portico of Glory to the passion and death of Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]