The Instruments of the Passion

 engraving by Master E. S., c. 1460. The instruments of the Passion.
Introduction
You know, it is quite possible to go to straight from the loud “Hosannas” of Palm Sunday to the triumphant “Hallelujahs” of Easter Day without ever thinking about the sufferings and death of Jesus. If you just come to church on those two Sundays and don’t attend any Holy Week services you can bypass the passion of Christ altogether. And that’s how some people would like their religion to be – upbeat and positive with no suffering or sorrow. But remember that there would have been no victory on Easter Sunday if Jesus had not first died on the cross on Good Friday. The victory is found in the cross itself at the moment of deepest suffering. In this life you can’t escape suffering and the glory of the Christian Gospel is that suffering is at the very heart of it. The cross is at the centre of our faith and it gives depth to our faith. Without it our religion would just be vain triumphalism.

We do celebrate a triumph – but it is the triumph of the Crucified Christ. So it is especially important that we, as Christians, do indeed reflect on the sufferings of Christ during the last week of his life. The writers of the Gospels devote what might seem to be a disproportionate amount of space to the Passion Narrative, and especially to the last few hours of Christ’s life. They do this because, for them, these things were the most important events in the whole life of Jesus.

The problem for us in church on Sunday is that neither Palm Sunday nor Easter Sunday give us much opportunity to reflect on the Passion of Christ. That’s why this Sunday – the Sunday before Palm Sunday – has been designated “Passion Sunday”. It gives as time to think about the sufferings of Christ beforewe start on all the business of Palm Sunday with its shouts of Hosanna, its palms and donkey.

 

I was thinking about the best way to approach the story of the Passion and did consider just going through it verse by verse and explaining what each part meant. But then I had another idea: “The Instruments of the Passion”. This is the name given to the objects associated with Jesus’ passion as used in Christian symbolism and art. The Roman Catholics are much stronger on this sort of thing then we Protestants are, but I think that such symbolism can be very helpful. We could have illustrations of these objects, or actual objects, in front of us as visual aids, but I haven’t done that. So let’s just use our imagination.

Here are some of the objects we can think about:
The first object:
1) Thirty pieces of silver
The money paid to Judas to betray Christ. It reminds us that in this world even a friend can betray you. Such is human nature – sinful and deceitful. And it was because of this fact that Jesus had to come into this world in the first place to save us.

2) Lanterns and torches
Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and then soldiers came with lanterns and torches to arrest Jesus in the darkened garden. Armed man grabbed Jesus as his disciples fled.

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3) Sword
This reminds us that one disciple at least did not flee immediately but stood by Jesus and tried to defend him. But it was misplaced zeal. Impetuous Peter took out his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant – a man who was only doing his job. Jesus rebuked Peter, and then Peter ran off with the others – abandoning his Lord.

4) Fetters
Jesus was then fettered of bound with ropes and led to a dungeon in the house of the High Priest, where he was kept under guard.

5) Blindfold
The soldiers guarding Jesus began to mock and beat him. They blindfolded him and then hit him, saying, “Prophesy, tell us who hit you!”

6) Cockerel
Peter did not run off totally. He followed Jesus at a distance and stood in the courtyard warming his hands by the fire. But it was there he denied three times that he even knew who Jesus was. And when the cock crowed he realised the enormity of what he had done and wept bitterly.
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Peter’s tears of repentance were to be the making of him. From that day onward he was no longer going to be a man who relied on his own strength, a boastful and impetuous man. The new chastened Peter is going to become a vessel for the power of the Holy Spirit.

7) Towel and bowl of water
Jesus was brought before the Roman Governor and Pilate, who could see nothing in Jesus deserving death, handed him over to the Jewish leaders. Pilate tried to absolve himself of the blood of Jesus by symbolically washing his hands. But it takes more than soap and water to wash away guilt.

8) Scourge and whipping post
Pilate released Barabbas the criminal and handed the innocent man Jesus over to be crucified. Before that he had him flogged. It was a cruel whip of leather thongs with small pieces of lead sewn into them. It lacerated the back of Jesus and damaged his internal organs.

9) Crown of thorns, scarlet robe, reed sceptre
Jesus was mocked again – this time by Pilate’s Roman soldiers. They dressed him up as a king and pretended to bow down before him. They spat on him and beat him on the head again and again. Then they removed the robe, put his own clothes on him and let him away to be crucified.

10) Cross beam
Jesus had to carry the heavy horizontal beam of his own cross through the streets of Jerusalem. He staggered beneath its weight because he was so weakened by the punishment that have been meted out to him. So the soldiers seized Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus for him.

11) Cup of wine
Jesus was offered a cup of wine which had been mixed with various medicines to deaden pain, but he refused it. He was not going to enter this experience of suffering and die in a drugged state.

12) Hammer and nails
The soldiers drove huge iron nails into his hands (probably just at the point where the wrist joins the palm) and into his feet. Then they lifted the cross into its socket and Jesus hung there in agony.
13) Seamless robe and dice
The soldiers tossed dice to see who would get Jesus’ seamless robe. It was too good to tear up and divide between them. There they were, gambling for his clothing and oblivious of the suffering of the man on the cross. But they had done this many times before – why should a bother now about one more criminal? Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

14) Wooden notice board
On it were written the words, “This is the King of the Jews”. Words which were true – even if denied by most people watching the scene.

15) Two other crosses
These were the crosses of the man who were crucified alongside Jesus. Both were criminals but one repented of his sins, trusted in Jesus and was received into Paradise after his death. But the other criminal continued to curse and to mock at Jesus and died in his sins.

15) Sponge on a stick
This was dipped in vinegar or sour wine and lifted up to moisten the lips of Jesus as he thirsted there in agony. The soldiers thought he was calling on Elijah to help him and said that perhaps Elijah was going to come and rescue him. They probably didn’t mean this but only said it in mockery. Jesus cried out in out loud voice and gave up his spirit.

16) Torn curtain
At that moment the huge heavy curtains in the Temple which screened the Holy of Holies was torn, right from the top to the bottom, and an earthquake shook the whole city. The torn curtain represents the truth that the way into God’s presence is opened up to all through the death of Jesus.

17) Spears
The Roman soldiers came to break the legs of the victims in order to hasten their deaths. But when they came to Jesus it looked as if he was already dead. So one of them thrust his spear into the side of Jesus and observed blood and water flowing out – a sure sign that Jesus was actually dead.

18) Strips of linen, myrrh and aloes
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped the body of Jesus in linen strips and spices and placed it in a new tomb – one which Joseph had reserved for his own death.

19) Stone
A huge stone was rolled in front of the tomb and seals placed on it. Jesus was gone – dead and buried, finished. Or so it was thought.
But on Easter Day the seal was broken, the stone miraculously rolled away and the body of Jesus risen. Nothing was left but the grave clothes and spices.

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Concluding prayer
As we have gone through the events of your Passion we have been reminded, Lord, of your great love for us.
Thank you Jesus that you died on the cross for us.
Thank you that you made atonement for our sins.
Thank you that you endured both physical and spiritual agony for us.
Thank you that you bore and took away the wrath of God for our sins.
Thank you that you rose in victory on the third day and that you ever live to plead on behalf of your people before the throne of God.
Lord Jesus, accept our thanks and praise. Amen.