BIBLE STUDY: February 5th

The meeting opened with prayer.
After a short introduction, we proceeded to consider the first two Stations.

The First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemane.

Mark 14:32-42

See also Matthew 26:36-46 and Luke 22:39-46.

We were reminded that the disciples had come from celebrating the Passover meal on the "first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread" (Mark 14:12), and Jesus had taken them into a small estate called Gesthemane on the Mount of Olives (Mount Olivet). Then, leaving the others behind, he went on with Peter, and with James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 26:37). These are the same three apostles that Jesus took with him when raised Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:37) and at his Transfiguration (Mark 9:2); they are now invited to witness his passion and to watch and pray with him (both Peter and James would later suffer martyrdom: Peter in Rome in 67 or 68 AD under Nero; James during the Passover of 44 AD under King Herod Agrippa I).

After telling the three apostles to wait and keep awake with him, Jesus went on, obviously in great distress, and prayed to his Father to "take this cup away" from him, adding: "but not what I will but what you will." Throughout the passage we noticed the anguish of Jesus, the man, who was distressed and not wanting to undergo the passion which, as God, the second person pf the Trinity, he knew he must face - 'not my human will be done but, Father, your divine will be done." One of our group reminded us that Luke records that in his anguish Christ 's sweat fell like great drops of blood (Luke 22):

In the moment of his Son's anguish, the Father sends an angel to comfort him, as not even his chosen apostles are able to stay awake and pray with him. The condition in which humans sweat blood is known as 'hematidrosis' (also called 'hematohidrosis') and is very rare, occurring only when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress, particularly when facing his or her own death. It has, for example, been reported of soldiers before a battle. Luke, as a physician, clearly thought it worth noting this condition. It shows the intense anxiety and stress in which Jesus, the Son of Man, was undergoing. (Some ancient manuscripts omit these two verses; this is probably because some people were scandalized at this 'weakness' displayed by Our Lord.)

The cup that Jesus asks to be taken from him if it were possible refers obviously to the passion which he is beginning to undergo; but it probably refers also to the fourth cup, 'the Cup of Consummation' at the end of the Passover meal, the 'Seder', which Jesus has not yet drunk but will do "in the kingdom of God" (Mark 14:25).

By the time of Jesus, the Seder, the meal eaten on the first night of the Passover, had already been formalized in a manner similar to the way it is still celebrated by Jews today. The meal was divided into four parts in each of which different cup was served;

• First Cup:
  Solemn blessing over first cup of wine, followed by a dish of bitter herbs (to remind Jews of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt);
• Second Cup:
  Passover narrative (Exodus 12) is read, followed by the singing of the 'Little Hallel' (Psalm 113 [112]^*), and the drinking the second cup.
• Third Cup:
  Passover meal - lamb and unleavened bread - is eaten. Followed by the drinking of the third cup, the 'Cup of Blessing.'
• Fourth Cup:
  Climax of the celebration is the singing of the 'Great Hallel' (Psalms 114-118 [113-11]^*), followed by the drinking of the fourth cup, the 'Cup of Consummation.'

^*The Hallel psalms are numbered 113 to 118 in the Hebrew Bible, and 112 to 117 in the Septuagint (Greek) and Vulgate (Latin) versions; Catholic liturgy traditionally uses the latter numbering.

It was at the third part that Jesus insituted the Eucharist. At the beginning of the meal of bread and lamb, "he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, 'Take it; this is my body'" (Mark 14:22,23); and at the end of the meal, he took the Cup of Blessing, "gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, 'This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the Kingdom ofGod'." (Mark 14:24,25).

We recalled also St Paul's words to the Church in Corinth: "The Cup of Blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16). It is surely significant that St Paul refers to it as the 'Cup of Blessing', the third cup of the Passover Seder.

The disciples must have been puzzled when Jesus said the bread was his body and, indeed, shocked at saying the wine they were drinking was his blood. It was (and is) strictly forbidden for Jews to consume blood in any form. Then when he added that he would not taste wine again until he drank it in the Kingdom of God, their confusion would surely have been compounded. There was a fourth cup to come, the Cup of Consummation. Was God's Kingdom about to come before the end of the meal?

The fourth part of the Seder began in the normal way. Jesus and the disciples sang the Great Hallel. But then, without anyone drnking the Cup of Consummation, "after singing psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives" (Mark 14:26). This was as though, say, the priest finished Mass without giving communion! The Seder was not complete. What was Jesus doing? To add to the confusion and growing anxiety, Jesus said, as they went: "All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be dispersed.' But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee" (Mark 14:27,28). It was in this confused, shocked and anxious state that the disciples went into the garden. They are too confused, shocked and exhausted to stay awake and pray. At least one of our group sympathized with these apostles. Even at the best of times we can find our attention straying at Mass; and when we are oppressed with concerns and anxieties we are even more inclined to lose focus.

We noted what Jesus said to Peter; "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Simon Peter was indeed soon to be put to the test and, as we know, he failed and denied Jesus. His spirit was certainly willing because he had already said to Jesus "Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you" (Mark 14:31); but his flesh was weak and gave into that weakness because of lack of prayer. But we felt that Jesus was also speaking of himself with the words "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak": his human flesh did not want to face death on a cross. But he prayed three times to his Father for strength to face the test.

The Second Station: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested.

Mark 14:43-52

See also Matthew 26:30-35 and Luke 22:54-62.

The incident of the boy who ran off naked is recorded only in Mark's Gospel. It is thought by many that the young boy was John Mark himself.

We noticed that the chief priests, who were Sadducees, and scribes and elders, all of whom did not always see eye to eye, joined forces to have Jesus removed, such was their fear and hatred of him. The account as given by Mark is well known. The writers of the other two synoptic Gospels give much the same account; but Matthew records that when the High Priest's servant's ear was cut, Jesus said: "Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?" (Matt. 26:52-54). Jesus thus reminds them all, both his disciples and the crowd that had come to arrest him, of his divine status and also makes it clear that what was happening and going to happen had already been foretold in the Old Testament scriptures. Luke's account adds that Jesus healed the servant's ear.

However, the fourth Gospel, that of St John, gives us significant extra information. We therefore read this account also:

John 18:1-11

John adds the information that a band of soldiers was with the party coming to arrest Jesus; this implies Roman collusion in the arrest. The 'band' may have been a cohort (i600 men, one enth of a legion), but was more likely to be maniple of 200 under their tribune.

The striking thing about the passage, however, is that Jesus answered "I AM" and that at this answer the crowd turned away and fell to the ground. Many translations give Jesus' answer as 'I am he'; but the Greek has only ἐγώ εἰμι (I am). While the Greek can mean 'I am he', it is more likely that John intends to represent the Aramaic or Hebrew 'I am', the name by which, in the Hebrew scriptures, God made himself known to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6).

Indeed, it is quite in keeping with the message of St John's Gospel which stated in its very first verse that Jesus, the Word, was God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The theme that Christ is with God and is God runs thoughout the fourth Gospel.

It is sometimes objected that this does not work in Greek as the Septuagint version of Exodus gives the name as ὁ Ὤν (the One-who-is). But Jesus did not speak to the crowd in Greek; he spoke in Aramaic! Something clearly made the crowd turn and fall to the ground. The only reasonable explanation of such behaviour is that the Jewish crowd regarded Jesus' answer as a claim of divinity and, therefore, in their opinion it was a blasphemous relpy. They fell to the ground to pray to God not to impute the blasphemy to them (presumably the maniple of Roman soldiers did not understand the blasphemy but could clearly see that Jesus had upset the Jews who had come to arrest him).

Thus we see from the the accounts of his arrest that after praying earnestly to his Father, Jesus had the strength to face his passion and, eventually, to drink the 'Cup of Consummation.'

 
For next week
Those present were reminded that next week shall be considering the next two Stations: Jesus is condemened by the Sanhedrin; Jesus is denied by Peter. It was suggested that members look at the scriptural passages concerned beforehand.
 

Conclusion
We finished the meeting by praying the prayer of St Alphonsus Liguori:

I love you Jesus, my Love, above all things;
I repent with my whole heart for having offended you.
Never permit me to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always,
then do with me what you will.
Amen.
 
Our Lady, help of Christians - pray for us.

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Most of the scripture texts on this page are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.