Summary: The Johannine and Matthean Passion Narratives and Their Use in the Lectionary 

Unlike previous years, the sessions at our 2001 meeting were task-oriented. They centered around refining our work on the lection of the Johannine passion narrative.  It is not necessary to narrate the various aspects of the topic that we discussed because they have been incorporated into the revised version of the paper that was prepared for the meeting.  Click here for that final revision:

"Translating and Excerpting the Johannine Passion Narrative for Liturgical Proclamation" (rev. Aug 8, 2001)

At the last of our three sessions, we turned our attention to the Gospel of Matthew. Time did not permit us to complete a full exploration, though we did discuss the most problematic passages. Foremost among these was 27:25 ("his blood be on us and on our children") and how it might relate to 22:7 ("the king . . . he sent his troops . . .and burned their city); 21:41 ("he will put those wretched men to a miserable death and lease his vineyard to other tenants"); and 23:29-24:2 (the guilt of innocent blood coming upon this generation and the prediction of the Temple's destruction) on the one hand and 26:28 ("this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for the forgiveness of sins"); and 27:7 ("they used [the price of blood] to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners") on the other hand. 

There seemed to be a consensus in the group that in a Matthean passion narrative lection at least 27:25 should be omitted, but there were various proposals about related verses. 

There also seemed to be a general consensus to end the Matthean lection at Jesus' burial (27:61) and omit the guarding of the tomb (27:62-66).

It was agreed that members would e-mail suggestions for lectionary omission/inclusion to be posted here for consideration at the 2002 meeting in Cleveland. 

David Efroymson has sent the following:

recommended omissions for the Mt Passion:

Delete:  26:4b (chief priests et al.) 

            27:3-10  irrelevant to main theological themes.

        Plan A:  27; 15-26   OR, if the majority thinks that's too radical:

        Plan B:  27:18

                     27:21-23

                     27:24:  delete "riot" and 24c "see to it yourselves" 

                     27:25

Judette Kolasny has submitted the following: 

1. end the reading at verse 27:61.  That is where the Passion narratives according to Mark and Luke end.

2.  excise verses 27:24-25.  Verse 23 flows into verse 26 easily and the idea that Pilate is innocent is downplayed. 

Recommended Reading

J.P. Heil, "The Blood of Jesus in Matthew," Perspectives in Religious Studies 18 (1991): 117-124.