Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Does the way Jesus died matter?

Does the way Jesus died matter?

Last updated on: November 5, 2014 at 10:50 am by Billy Kangas

Does the way Jesus died matter? 2014-11-01T22:04:04-04:00 Billy Kangas

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Jesus’ death matters.

How did Jesus Die I think very few Christians would disagree with that statement. For nearly all believers, the death of Jesus is one the primary points upon which their theology turns. How one understands the death of Jesus underscores how we view God, salvation, human destiny, love and Christ himself.

This has certainly been true in my own life. In fact one of the primary reasons I became catholic is because of my own struggles answering the question, “why did Jesus die?”

However, in spite of the importance that many people put on the death of Jesus, for many Christians there has been little effort made into seeing how each of the four evangelists articulated Christ’s death differently in each of the four Gospels. Here are a few of the more significant variances:

In Matthew

– Pilot washes his hands of Jesus death and the crowd utters that Jesus’ blood should be on their hands and on the hands of their children.

– There is a mysterious dream that Pilate’s wife has, and she warns him to have nothing to do with Jesus

– Is the only account to have the dead come out of the tombs

– Jesus tasts the wine, but does not drink (Mark make no mention of tasting)

In Mark

– The wine offered to Jesus is mixed with myrrh (Matthew says it was mixed with gall, Luke and John don’t mention it)

– Is the only gospel to mention the names of Simon of Cyrene’s children (Alexander and Rufus)

– Is the only one where Jesus wears a purple cloak (Matthew has a crimson robe; Luke and John don’t mention it).

In Luke

– It is the only account where Jesus is not given a crown of thorns

– It is the only account where Jesus turns to the wailing women and tells them to weep for themselves

– Is the only passage where Jesus asks the father to forgive his executioners

– It is the rulers (not the scribes and chief priests) that mock Jesus (like in Matthew and Mark)

– Only in Luke does one of the robbers rebuke the other, and receive the promise of paradise

– Luke is the only Synoptic to omit the calling of “my God my God why have you forsaken me.”

– The centurion does not say Jesus was the son of God in this gospel, but instead says he is innocent.

– The multitudes beat their breasts and go home at the end in this gospel

– In this gospel the people watch, but don’t mock

In John

– Is the only account without a Barabbas narrative (though in Luke Barabbas is not named)

– Jesus is not helped by Simon of Cyrene

– Only in this gospel does Jesus talk to John and his mother, and give his mother into John’s care

– John does not even include the mockers while Jesus is on the cross

– Only in this gospel is the account of the pierced side told

– Only here is the narrative about the dispute between Pilate and the Chief Priests about Jesus being called “king of the Jews” given.

Not only are there these significant valences in the count of Jesus death, but there are also major differences in the accounts of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, burial and resurrection.

I find these discrepancies fascinating.

They are a powerful reminder that Jesus death has been seen in different ways, even within the scriptures. When we think of the story it is important that we don’t simply conflate all the stories together. The common composite of all the elements removes each element of the story from its original narrative context.

Although we will never know for certain what each evangelist was thinking, it is valuable to take the time to at listen to each of the four gospels on their own terms. This is also true of each of the four gospels in their entirety.

I believe that the way Jesus died is very important, but I also believe that it is important to remember the different ways he died. We have four lenses in our Bibles that each see Jesus’ death differently. When we fail to read each gospel on it’s own terms we simply create a fifth gospel of our own devising, and that can be quite dangerous,

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU

Sit down and read through each of the four gospels straight through. You can do it in multiple sittings, but try to get through a whole gospel in a day so that you get the full force of what each evangelist is trying to do. I have done this a few times myself and have found it to be an incredible experience, and a powerful way to get to know Jesus better through the scriptures.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 4, 2014

How to Vote for the Perfect Candidate, Every Time

Next Post

November 6, 2014 Quiz: The 5 Dimensional Political Compass

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Bible Books CCC Prayer Christmas Current Events Family Film Free Photo Fridays Humor hunger liturgical calendar liturgy Music Photos pope Prayer Prayerful Leader questions Quotes Review Saints Satire Scripture SYNOD SYNOD FOR THE FAMILY teaching Uncategorized video Weekly Round Up

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 April 2026 February 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 February 2025 January 2025 September 2024 June 2024 May 2024 February 2024 December 2023 August 2023 May 2023 February 2023 November 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 September 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 August 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 October 2008 August 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many years did it take Solomon to build his palace?

Select your answer to see how you score.

13 years 7 years 10 years 15 years