A Prayer of Trust in God Hear me! Save me now! Be my refuge to protect me; my defense to save me.
You hate those who worship false gods, but I trust in you.
Everyone has forgotten me, as though I were dead; I am like something thrown away. I hear many enemies whispering terror is all around me. They are making plans against me, plotting to kill me.
I am always in your care; save me from my enemies, from those who persecute me. Look on your servant with kindness; save me in your constant love. I call to you, Lord; don't let me be disgraced. May the wicked be disgraced; may they go silently down to the world of the dead.
- PSALMS 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Jesus the Great High PriestLet us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God -- Jesus, the Son of God. Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.
In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him. But even though he was God's Son, he learned through his sufferings to be obedient. When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him, and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
- HEBREWS 4:14-16, 5:7-9
The Arrest of JesusJesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders. The traitor had given the crowd a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him and take him away under guard."
As soon as Judas arrived, he went up to Jesus and said, "Teacher!" and kissed him. So they arrested Jesus and held him tight. But one of those standing there drew his sword and struck at the High Priest's slave, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus spoke up and said to them, "Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw? Day after day I was with you teaching in the Temple, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must come true."
Then all the disciples left him and ran away.
A certain young man, dressed only in a linen cloth, was following Jesus. They tried to arrest him, but he ran away naked, leaving the cloth behind.
Jesus before the CouncilThen Jesus was taken to the High Priest's house, where all the chief priests, the elders, and the teachers of the Law were gathering. Peter followed from a distance and went into the courtyard of the High Priest's house. There he sat down with the guards, keeping himself warm by the fire. The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some evidence against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they could not find any. Many witnesses told lies against Jesus, but their stories did not agree.
Then some men stood up and told this lie against Jesus: "We heard him say, 'I will tear down this Temple which men have made, and after three days, I will build one that is not made by men.'" Not even they, however, could make their stories agree.
The High Priest stood up in front of them all and questioned Jesus, "Have you no answer to the accusation they bring against you?"
But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?"
"I am," answered Jesus, "and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!"
The High Priest tore his robes and said, "We don't need any more witnesses! You heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?"
They all voted against him: he was guilty and should be put to death.
Some of them began to spit on Jesus and they blindfolded him and hit him. "Guess who hit you!" they said. And the guards took him and slapped him.
Jesus before PilateEarly in the morning the chief priests met hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the Law, and the whole Council, and made their plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "So you say."
The chief priests were accusing Jesus of many things, so Pilate questioned him again, "Aren't you going to answer? Listen to all their accusations!"
Again Jesus refused to say a word, and Pilate was amazed.
Jesus is Sentenced to DeathAt every Passover Festival Pilate was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the people asked for. At that time a man named Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder in the riot. When the crowd gathered and began to ask Pilate for the usual favor, he asked them, "Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?" He knew very well that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask, instead, that Pilate set Barabbas free for them. Pilate spoke again to the crowd, "What, then, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?"
They shouted back, "Crucify him!"
"But what crime has he committed?" Pilate asked.
They shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Make Fun of JesusThe soldiers took Jesus inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace and called together the rest of the company. They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown out of thorny branches, and put it on his head. Then they began to salute him: "Long live the King of the Jews!" They beat him over the head with a stick, spat on him, fell on their knees, and bowed down to him. When they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Jesus is CrucifiedOn the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means "The Place of the Skull." There they tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but Jesus would not drink it. Then they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The notice of the accusation against him said: "The King of the Jews." They also crucified two bandits with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left.
People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: "Aha! You were going to tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days! Now come down from the cross and save yourself!"
In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law made fun of Jesus, saying to one another, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let us see the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him!"
And the two who were crucified with Jesus insulted him also.
The Death of JesusAt noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours. At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout,
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?" which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?"
Some of the people there heard him and said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah!" One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick. Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said, "Wait! Let us see if Elijah is coming to bring him down from the cross!"
With a loud cry Jesus died.
The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. "This man was really the Son of God!" he said.
Some women were there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, and Salome. They had followed Jesus while he was in Galilee and helped him. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there also.
The Burial of JesusIt was toward evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the Council, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was Preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the presence of Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus.
Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He called the army officer and asked him if Jesus had been dead a long time. After hearing the officer's report, Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought a linen sheet, took the body down, wrapped it in the sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body of Jesus was placed.
- MARK 14:43065; 15:1-47
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