-𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓’𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒌
𝑷𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅
March 29, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

Grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

The drama of the Passion stories is so moving that it often hides from us the different ways in which the four gospel authors present the events. They each tell the same story, but they do it in very different ways. This is because each writer has a different intention, or perhaps you could even say a different theology.

One of the striking things about Matthew’s version is that it is full of both direct and indirect references to the sacred Hebrew scriptures. Here are just a few instances:

• When no violence is used at the arrest of Jesus, Matthew notes that it is to fulfil the scriptures (26:51-56).
• On the Cross, Jesus is given some vinegar to sip (27:48), drawing parallels with Psalm 69:21.
• Matthew also mentions the price of thirty shekels of silver paid to Judas for betraying Jesus, which is the price of a slave in Exodus 21:32.
• Similarly, when he tells us how Judas throws those silver pieces into the Temple, and the priests decide to use it to buy the potter’s field, Matthew refers to the prophet Jeremiah. (Here, Matthew makes a mistake, because the reference should be to Zechariah 11:13!)

Matthew is keen on making connections, not only between the life of Jesus and the Law and Prophets, but also between Jesus’ Passion and the things Jesus had said during his life. He wants to show how Jesus is the fulfilment not just of the old laws and prophecies, but also of the new attitudes and ways of life he himself introduced into the world. For example:

• Jesus had told the disciples: “Offer the wicked man no resistance” (Matthew 5:39), and during the potentially explosive situation of his arrest, he says to one of his disciples: “Put your sword back” (26:52).
• He had told them: “Do not swear at all” (5:34), and before the judges at his trial, he refuses to take an oath (26:63).
• During his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (26:39), Jesus prays the prayer he had taught his followers: “Your will be done” (6:10), and in going to the cross, he submits to God’s will.

In describing the events of Jesus’ Passion, Matthew is at great pains to put them firmly in the context of the rest of Jesus’ life. The message here is that Christians should view their own lives in the context of the life of Jesus.

Have a blessed Holy Week and a happy Easter Season!

𝑅𝑒𝑣. 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑦, 𝑂.𝑃.