The Passion of Christ: Love Made Visible in Suffering

The Passion of Christ—from the Latin passio, meaning “suffering”—refers to Jesus’ suffering and death, particularly the events from the Last Supper through his burial. For Christians, the Passion is not merely a historical tragedy but the climactic moment in salvation history, when God in Christ bore the sins of the world and reconciled humanity to Himself. The cross, an instrument of Roman execution and shame, becomes the ultimate symbol of divine love, sacrifice, and redemption.

The four Gospels devote disproportionate space to the Passion narrative—roughly one-third of each Gospel covers Jesus’ final week. This literary emphasis reflects the theological centrality of these events for Christian faith. The Apostle Paul declares, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Without the Passion, Christianity collapses; with it, Christianity claims to offer the answer to humanity’s deepest need—reconciliation with the holy God we have offended by our sin.

The Passion Narrative in the Gospels

The Last Supper

The Passion begins with the Last Supper, Jesus’ final meal with his disciples. This occurs on Thursday evening before his crucifixion on Friday. The meal takes place during Passover (in the Synoptic Gospels) or just before Passover (in John), linking Jesus’ death to Israel’s Exodus deliverance when lambs were sacrificed and their blood protected Israelites from judgment.

During this meal, Jesus institutes what Christians call the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper. He takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and says, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Then he takes the cup: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). Matthew adds that this blood is “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

These words establish several crucial theological points:

• Jesus’ death is sacrificial—his body “given,” his blood “poured out”
• His death establishes a “new covenant,” fulfilling and surpassing the old covenant at Sinai
• His death is substitutionary—“for you,” “for many”
• His death secures “forgiveness of sins”—it is atoning
• His disciples are to remember and proclaim this sacrifice continually

The Last Supper also reveals Judas’ coming betrayal. Jesus announces, “One of you will betray me” (Matthew 26:21), causing distress among the disciples. Judas has already made arrangements with the religious authorities to hand Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16)—the price of a slave, fulfilling Zechariah 11:12-13.

Gethsemane: The Agony in the Garden

After the supper, Jesus goes to Gethsemane, a garden on the Mount of Olives. There, knowing what awaits him, he experiences profound anguish. He tells his disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:34). Luke records that “his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44), a rare medical condition called hematidrosis caused by extreme stress.

Jesus prays, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). The “cup” metaphor appears frequently in the Old Testament as a symbol of God’s wrath against sin (Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15). Jesus is about to drink the cup of divine judgment—not for his own sins, but for ours.

This scene reveals Jesus’ full humanity—he experiences genuine dread, fear, and the natural human desire to avoid suffering and death. Yet he willingly submits to the Father’s will. His prayer is not cowardice but the authentic struggle of a human facing torture and execution, combined with something even worse: bearing the Father’s wrath against sin and experiencing separation from the Father for the first time in eternity.

The disciples, meanwhile, cannot stay awake to watch and pray with him. Peter, who would soon deny knowing Jesus, sleeps when he should be vigilant. This highlights the disciples’ weakness and foreshadows their abandonment of Jesus in his hour of greatest need.

The Arrest

Judas arrives with an armed crowd sent by the chief priests. He betrays Jesus with a kiss—a gesture of affection twisted into a sign of betrayal. Jesus allows himself to be arrested, though he has the power to resist (he tells Peter that he could call twelve legions of angels if he wished, Matthew 26:53). Peter attempts violent resistance, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant, but Jesus heals the man and rebukes Peter: “Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

Jesus goes willingly to his death. John emphasizes this: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). His death is not defeat but deliberate sacrifice.

All the disciples flee, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy: “You will all fall away…for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’” (Mark 14:27, quoting Zechariah 13:7).

The Trials

Jesus faces multiple trials—before the Jewish authorities (the Sanhedrin, led by Caiaphas the high priest) and before the Roman authorities (Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas).

The religious trial focuses on the charge of blasphemy. When the high priest asks, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus replies, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62). This answer combines Daniel 7:13-14 (the Son of Man receiving eternal dominion) with Psalm 110:1 (the Messiah seated at God’s right hand)—clear claims to divine authority. The high priest tears his clothes and declares, “Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy” (Mark 14:63-64).

However, the Sanhedrin cannot execute anyone under Roman occupation, so they bring Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. They reframe the charge politically: Jesus claims to be a king, which challenges Caesar’s authority (Luke 23:2). Pilate questions Jesus: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answers, “You have said so” (Mark 15:2), and later clarifies, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

Pilate finds no basis for a charge worthy of death and tries multiple times to release Jesus—sending him to Herod, offering to release him per the Passover custom, proposing to flog and release him. But the crowd, stirred by the chief priests, demands crucifixion, choosing to release Barabbas (a murderer and insurrectionist) instead of Jesus.

Pilate finally capitulates, washing his hands to symbolically absolve himself of responsibility (Matthew 27:24), though the gesture is meaningless—he has the authority to release Jesus and chooses not to. Jesus is sentenced to crucifixion.

The Scourging and Mocking

Before crucifixion, Jesus is flogged—a brutal punishment that often left victims near death. Roman scourging used a whip with multiple leather thongs embedded with pieces of bone and metal, designed to tear flesh. Isaiah’s prophecy comes to mind: “His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being” (Isaiah 52:14).

Roman soldiers then mock Jesus. They dress him in a purple robe (royal color), place a crown of thorns on his head, put a staff in his hand, and kneel before him saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” (Mark 15:18). They spit on him and strike him. The irony is profound: they mock what is actually true—Jesus is a king, though not in the way they imagine.

The Way of the Cross

Jesus carries his cross toward Golgotha (“place of the skull”), the execution site outside Jerusalem. Weakened by flogging and loss of blood, he collapses, and the soldiers compel Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross behind him (Mark 15:21). Luke records that a large crowd follows, including women who mourn for him. Jesus tells them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28), prophesying Jerusalem’s coming destruction in 70 CE.

The Crucifixion

At Golgotha, Jesus is crucified between two criminals. Crucifixion was Rome’s most degrading and painful method of execution, reserved for slaves and the worst criminals. Victims were nailed or tied to wooden crosses and left to die slowly from exposure, exhaustion, and asphyxiation. Death could take days. Cicero called it “the most cruel and disgusting penalty”; Roman citizens were exempt from it.

Jesus is nailed to the cross—fulfilling Psalm 22:16, “they pierce my hands and my feet.” The soldiers cast lots for his clothing (fulfilling Psalm 22:18). An inscription is placed above his head: “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37). Pilate refuses to change it when the chief priests object, insisting, “What I have written, I have written” (John 19:22). Unknowingly, Pilate proclaims truth—Jesus is indeed king, and his throne is the cross.

Even on the cross, Jesus faces mockery. Passersby taunt him: “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” (Matthew 27:40). The religious leaders mock: “He saved others…but he can’t save himself!” (Matthew 27:42). The irony is again profound—he could save himself but chose not to, because saving himself would mean abandoning his mission to save others.

One of the crucified criminals joins the mockery, but the other rebukes him and asks Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus promises, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). Even in agony, Jesus offers salvation.

The Seven Last Words

The Gospels record seven statements Jesus makes from the cross, traditionally called the “Seven Last Words”:

1. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34) - Intercession for his executioners
2. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43) - Promise to the repentant criminal
3. “Woman, here is your son…Here is your mother” (John 19:26-27) - Providing for Mary’s care
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34) - Cry of dereliction
5. “I am thirsty” (John 19:28) - Expression of physical suffering
6. “It is finished” (John 19:30) - Declaration of completed work
7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46) - Final surrender

The fourth saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (quoting Psalm 22:1), is perhaps most significant theologically. Jesus experiences separation from the Father for the first time. Why? Because he is bearing sin—our sin—and “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The holy Father turns away from the Son who bears the world’s sin. This is the depth of Jesus’ suffering—not just physical torture, but spiritual anguish, the breaking of the eternal communion between Father and Son.

“It is finished” (tetelestai in Greek) doesn’t mean “I give up” but “It is accomplished.” The work of redemption is complete. The debt is paid. Victory is won. Jesus then “bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30). He doesn’t die as a victim but as a victor who has completed his mission.

The Signs Accompanying Jesus’ Death

The Gospels record supernatural signs at Jesus’ death:

• Darkness covers the land from noon until 3 PM (Matthew 27:45), symbolizing divine judgment
• The temple curtain tears in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying that access to God is now open to all through Christ’s sacrifice—no longer mediated through a priesthood and temple
• An earthquake occurs, tombs break open, and “holy people” are raised and appear to many in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection (Matthew 27:52-53)
• The Roman centurion declares, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)

Burial

Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple and member of the Sanhedrin who did not consent to Jesus’ condemnation, asks Pilate for Jesus’ body. He and Nicodemus (another sympathetic Pharisee) prepare the body according to Jewish burial customs and place it in Joseph’s own new tomb, carved from rock. A large stone is rolled across the entrance.

The chief priests and Pharisees, remembering Jesus’ prediction of rising after three days, ask Pilate to secure the tomb and post guards to prevent disciples from stealing the body and claiming resurrection. Pilate agrees, and the tomb is sealed and guarded (Matthew 27:62-66).

Theological Significance of the Passion

Atonement: Bearing Sin’s Penalty

The central Christian interpretation of the Passion is that Jesus died as a substitute for sinners, bearing the punishment we deserve for our sin. This is often called “substitutionary atonement” or “penal substitution.” Jesus takes our place, suffers our penalty, and satisfies divine justice so that we can be forgiven.

Isaiah 53 prophesied this centuries before Christ: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Paul writes, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25). Peter declares, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

This doesn’t mean an angry Father poured out wrath on an innocent victim while remaining aloof. Father and Son are united in the work of salvation. The Father so loved the world that He gave His Son (John 3:16). The Son willingly laid down His life (John 10:18). The cross reveals not divine child abuse but divine love—God Himself bearing the consequences of human sin.

Ransom: Freeing Captives

Jesus described his mission: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a price paid to free captives or slaves. Humanity is enslaved to sin and Satan, under sentence of death, and Jesus pays the price to set us free.

Paul writes, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Peter says, “You were redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Revelation celebrates, “With your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

Sacrifice: The True Passover Lamb

Jesus dies during Passover, and John’s Gospel emphasizes the connection: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as the blood of lambs protected Israelites from judgment in Egypt, Christ’s blood protects believers from divine wrath.

Jesus is also the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. The book of Hebrews develops this extensively: animal sacrifices under the old covenant could never permanently remove sin, but Christ’s sacrifice, offered “once for all,” achieves what those sacrifices foreshadowed (Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:1-18). He is both the priest who offers the sacrifice and the victim who is offered—the ultimate priest and the ultimate sacrifice.

Propitiation: Satisfying Divine Wrath

Propitiation means satisfying or turning away wrath. Because God is holy and just, He must respond to sin with judgment. But because He is also loving, He provides the means for sinners to escape judgment. Christ becomes the propitiation—the one who absorbs God’s wrath so that believers don’t have to.

John writes, “He is the atoning sacrifice [propitiation] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). And again: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice [propitiation] for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

This is offensive to modern sensibilities—God needs to be “satisfied” or “appeased”? Yes, but not like pagan deities demanding tribute. God Himself, in Christ, bears the wrath that His holiness requires against sin. He doesn’t demand satisfaction from someone else; He provides it Himself. This is love meeting justice, mercy achieving what law requires.

Reconciliation: Restoring Relationship

Sin creates separation and enmity between God and humanity. The Passion removes this barrier, making peace and reconciliation possible. Paul writes, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them…God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21).

Ephesians emphasizes that Christ’s death reconciles not only individuals to God but also Jews and Gentiles to each other, creating “one new humanity” (Ephesians 2:14-16). The cross has both vertical (God and humanity) and horizontal (between human groups) reconciling power.

Victory: Defeating Satan and Death

The Passion is also understood as victory over evil powers. Colossians declares that on the cross, God “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). Hebrews states that through death, Jesus destroyed “him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

How does Jesus’ death defeat Satan? By removing sin’s claim on humanity (Satan’s chief weapon, the law that condemns), by absorbing the curse that held humanity captive, and by demonstrating that sacrificial love is stronger than evil and death. The resurrection then vindicates this victory, proving that death has lost its sting and the grave has lost its victory (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Example: The Path of Discipleship

While the Passion primarily accomplishes salvation (what we cannot do for ourselves), it also provides an example for Christian living. Peter writes, “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Jesus himself said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

This doesn’t mean we atone for sin through our suffering—only Christ’s death does that. But it means Christians are called to self-sacrificial love, to willingness to suffer for righteousness, to putting others before self, even at great cost. The Passion is both substitution (Christ died for us, in our place) and example (we die to self, following him).

The Passion in Christian Worship and Devotion

Holy Week and Good Friday

The Passion is commemorated annually during Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. Palm Sunday recalls Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and institution of the Eucharist. Good Friday focuses specifically on the crucifixion—church services retell the Passion narrative, reflect on Christ’s suffering, and venerate the cross.

The term “Good Friday” seems paradoxical—what’s good about torture and death? Yet Christians call it good because of what was accomplished: the redemption of the world, the defeat of evil, the opening of the way to God. It’s “good” not because suffering is good, but because the result—salvation—is supremely good.

The Eucharist/Lord’s Supper

Jesus commanded his followers to regularly remember his death through the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Christians have obeyed this command for two millennia. Each celebration of the Eucharist proclaims Christ’s death until he comes again (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Different Christian traditions understand the Eucharist differently—Catholic and Orthodox teaching on transubstantiation or real presence, Protestant views ranging from spiritual presence to memorial symbol. But all agree it centers on the Passion, making Christ’s sacrifice present to believers in some way.

The Cross as Symbol

The cross, once a symbol of shame and execution, became Christianity’s central symbol. Early Christians were reluctant to depict it (too traumatic, too shameful). But as they reflected on its meaning—God’s power made perfect in weakness, victory through apparent defeat, love demonstrated through sacrifice—the cross became the supreme symbol of Christian faith.

Paul writes, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). Christians wear crosses, display them in churches, make the sign of the cross, and lift high the cross in worship—not because they glorify suffering, but because the cross represents God’s greatest act of love and power.

Stations of the Cross

Catholic and Anglican traditions practice the “Stations of the Cross” (or “Way of the Cross”)—meditations on fourteen events from Jesus’ condemnation to his burial. Pilgrims walk from station to station, reflecting on each scene, entering imaginatively into Christ’s suffering. This devotional practice helps believers contemplate the Passion in detail and apply it to their lives.

Passion Music and Art

The Passion has inspired countless artistic works. Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion are masterpieces of sacred music. Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ (2004) brought the events to modern audiences with unflinching realism. Medieval passion plays dramatized the events for largely illiterate populations. Michelangelo’s Pietà captures Mary holding her dead son. Crucifixion scenes appear in churches worldwide, from medieval paintings to contemporary sculptures.

These artistic expressions serve both to honor Christ’s sacrifice and to help believers engage emotionally and imaginatively with events that can become overly familiar or abstract.

Jewish and Islamic Perspectives

Judaism

Judaism rejects the Christian interpretation of Jesus’ death. From a Jewish perspective, Jesus was not the Messiah (the Messiah will bring visible redemption, gather exiles, rebuild the Temple, and bring universal peace—none of which Jesus accomplished). His death, while perhaps unjust, was not a divine sacrifice for sin.

Judaism maintains that God forgives sin directly through repentance (teshuvah), without need for a mediating sacrifice. While the Temple sacrificial system existed, it was accompanied by repentance; after the Temple’s destruction, repentance, prayer, and acts of kindness replace sacrifices. The idea that God would require human sacrifice, or that God Himself would die, contradicts Jewish theology.

Many Jews view Christian emphasis on the Passion as an unfortunate focus on suffering and death rather than on how to live ethically. Some Jewish scholars view Jesus as a Jewish teacher who was tragically executed by Rome, but who has no unique salvific significance.

Islam

Islam has a radically different understanding. The Quran appears to deny that Jesus was crucified at all: “They said, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them…They certainly did not kill him” (Quran 4:157).

Islamic interpretation of this verse varies. Most Muslims believe someone else was crucified in Jesus’ place (possibly Judas, or a volunteer, or someone made to look like Jesus), while Jesus was taken directly to heaven. A minority interpret it as denying the efficacy of the crucifixion rather than its historicity—they killed his body but not his spirit or mission.

Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet, one of the greatest, but not God’s son and not divine. He didn’t die for humanity’s sins because each person is responsible for their own sin, and Allah forgives directly when people repent. The Christian doctrine of atonement—God dying for human sin—is incomprehensible in Islamic theology.

Muslims honor Jesus (Isa) and await his return at the end times, but the Christian interpretation of the Passion is fundamentally rejected.

Challenges and Questions

Why Was the Crucifixion Necessary?

If God can forgive sin, why not simply forgive without requiring death? This question has generated numerous answers throughout church history. Some emphasize divine justice—sin deserves punishment, and someone must pay. Some emphasize Satan’s legal claims on sinful humanity, requiring a ransom. Some emphasize the need to publicly demonstrate God’s hatred of sin and love for sinners. Some appeal to mystery—God’s wisdom chose this way, and we trust His goodness even if we can’t fully comprehend the necessity.

All agree that the cross reveals both God’s justice (sin is taken seriously, punished severely) and God’s love (God Himself bears the punishment rather than abandoning sinners to their fate).

How Can One Person Die for Many?

The concept of substitutionary atonement troubles some—how is it just for one person to be punished for others’ sins? Doesn’t justice require each person to answer for their own deeds?

Christian theology responds that Jesus, as both God and man, has unique capacity to represent humanity. He is the “second Adam”—just as sin entered through one man (Adam) affecting all humanity, so salvation comes through one man (Christ) for all who are united to him by faith (Romans 5:12-21). Moreover, Jesus voluntarily took this role; he wasn’t an unwilling victim but a willing substitute.

The Scandal of Particularity

Why does salvation depend on one particular event in one particular time and place? Why not multiple revelations, or direct mystical knowledge available to all? Christianity’s answer is that God chooses to work through history, through particular people and events, and that the incarnation and crucifixion are the climax of this historical revelation. But this “scandal of particularity” remains offensive to universalist sensibilities.

Significance

The Passion of Christ stands at the center of Christian faith and worship. Without it, Christianity has no gospel—no “good news” to proclaim. The message is not “try harder to be good,” or “follow this moral teacher,” but “God has done what you could not do, bearing the penalty of your sin so you could be forgiven, reconciled, and transformed.”

The cross reveals the depths of human sin—that we would torture and kill the Son of God—and the greater depths of divine love—that He would endure it willingly to save us. It demonstrates that God takes sin seriously (it requires death) yet loves sinners extravagantly (He provides the death Himself rather than leaving us to pay it).

The Passion provides assurance to believers: if God loves us enough to die for us, we can trust Him with our lives (Romans 8:32). It provides motivation for holiness: having been bought with such a price, how can we continue in sin? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). It provides an example of self-giving love: as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, so we should love one another (Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 3:16).

For two thousand years, Christians have gathered to break bread and drink wine in remembrance of Christ’s body broken and blood shed for them. They sing, “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” They confess with Paul, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14, KJV).

The Passion is not the end of the story—the resurrection follows, vindicating Jesus’ claims and proving that death has been defeated. But the Passion is the means by which victory is won. Before resurrection comes crucifixion. Before glory comes suffering. Before the crown comes the cross. This is the scandal and the glory of the Christian gospel: God saves the world not through power displayed but through power hidden in weakness, not through invincible might but through self-giving love, not by destroying His enemies but by dying for them while they were still enemies (Romans 5:8).

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).