Yeshua withdrew to pray saying,You will let me down, all of you. You will deny you know me before the night is over, not once but three times.
He told the students to stay at the edge of Gethsemane while he prayed, but he took Peter, James and John with him. When they were out of earshot of the others, he lamented and grieved in heart, but he said to them, Wait here on watch, while I pray.
Going off to be alone, he knelt and prayed, Holy one, all is possible with you; please save me from this ending, if it is your will.
When he returned to the others, they were asleep. Waking them, he said, You could not wait on watch for one hour?To Peter, he said, Stay on watch and hope that you are not put to the test; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Then he went off to pray again, and returned to find them asleep again. Admonishing them, he prayed one more time, with the same result. It was as though they had all drunk a draught of valerian.
He could only forgive them; the hour had come.
Judas came with an armed group sent by the chief priests, canon lawyers and elders. Yeshua was seized and taken away. Some of the deputized questioned the students, looking for others to arrest. Peter was questioned three times and three times denied knowing Yeshua. The cock crowed at dawn, and Peter wept because he remembered what Yeshua had said.
The temple court questioned many, looking for evidence against Yeshua. Many people told many stories; some people perjured themselves, seeking notoriety. Few of the stories were matched; none seemed chargeable.
The high priest asked Jesus, Are you the Son of the Most Blessed?
Yeshua answered, I am the son of humanity. I will be seated at the right hand of power.
The high priest called him a blasphemer and the court judged against him. Yeshua was tied up and led away to Pilate.
Pilate, having heard the charges, said, You’re the king of the Jews?
Yeshua said, That is what you are calling me.
Pilate, knowing envy was at the heart of the charges, said, You know what they are charging you with. Have you nothing to say in your defense?
But Yeshua did not answer him.
Pilate’s wife said, Do not have anything to do with this innocent man. I had a nightmare where I suffered on his account.
The crowd pressed and yelled, calling Crucify him!
Pilate took water and washed his hands in full sight of the mob, saying, I am innocent of this man’s blood.See to this yourselves.
Soldiers took his clothes from him and marched him away. People along the way spit at him and hit him with rods. A man named Simon was ordered to carry a cross in this procession toward death. Someone had plaited thorns into a crown, and this was jammed onto Yeshua’s head.
Yeshua was crucified. The written charge was nailed at the top of the cross, This is Yeshua, King of the Jews. Soldiers gambled for his clothing. Two thieves were crucified with him, one to his right and one to his left. They cursed him, as they were led to their punishment. One taunted him, saying, If you’re the son of the holy one, come down off your cross.
The officials also derided him saying, He saved others, but he can’t save himself.
From noon to about three o’clock, the sun was eclipsed. Then, Yeshua cried out, Eli, eli, lema sabachthani.
Some in the crowd jeered, Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.
But Jesus cried out, and breathed his last.
And then an earthquake hit. Everyone was frightened.
The Roman captain called out, He really was the son of the holy one!
As evening wore on, Joseph of Arimathea, one of the students, appealed to Pilate to take the body away. Pilate granted his wish. Yeshua’s body was wrapped in clean linen and laid in a tomb. A stone was put over the tomb, and a guard posted, lest the body be stolen.
© 2020 by Elisabeth T. Eliassen and songsofasouljourney.blogspot.com
A brief note about my literary exploration of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth: I have undertaken this exercise having read, sung (in several languages), meditated and prayed on the contents of the Synoptic Gospels (as well as the Non-Synoptic Gospels) for at least 45 years. In that time, I’ve accumulated a bit of a library (which comes as no surprise to those who know me), and I try to follow modern scholarship. Here is a partial list of the authors and books that come to mind as I write these episodes:
Ballentine, Debra Scoggins, The Conflict Myth & the Biblical Tradition; Oxford University Press 2015
Erdman, Bart, various titles
Gaus, Andy, The Unvarnished New Testament; Phanes Press, 1991
Herzog, William R., Parables as Subversive Speech; Westminster John Knox Press, 1991
Louden, Bruce, Greek Myth and the Bible; Routledge, 2019
Tatian, Diatesseron; www.earlychristianwritings.com/diatessaron.html
Wajdenbaum, Philippe, Argonauts of the Desert, Routledge, 2011
Ward, Keith, The Philosopher and the Gospels, Lion Hudson, 2011
Yosef ben Maityahu (Titus Flavius Josephus), various writings
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