More than any other section of the gospels, the stories of Jesus’ arrest, trial, condemnation, execution, and burial have captured the attention and imagination of dramatists (passion plays), artists, musicians, and moviemakers (Mel Gibson’s The Passion). The passion narratives are the centerpieces of the most sacred time in the church year, Lent and Holy Week. They contain the keys to understanding the Christian hope of justification, redemption and salvation for all.

The stories in each of the four gospels however, offer somewhat different pictures of Jesus’ trial and execution. We studied the passion narratives Sundays, March 14 through April 4, 2004, using A Crucified Christ in Holy Week. Essays on the Four Gospel Passion Narratives, Raymond E. Brown, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1986, ISBN 0-8146-1444-2, supplemented with some information from Fr. Brown's two volume commentary The Death of the Messiah. From Gethsemane to the Grave: A Commentary on the Passion Narratives in the Four Gospels (Volumes 1 and 2), Raymond E Brown, Doubleday, New York, 1994. ISBN 0-385-49448-3 (Vol. 1) and 0-385-49449-1 (Vol. 2).

Also see our series during Lent 2007, A Crucified and Risen Christ.