What is 'The Passion'?

BBC One is screening a dramatic adaption of 'The Passion' this Easter but what does 'The Passion' mean?

‘“Passion” means agony or suffering. The “Passion of Jesus Christ” is generally understood to begin with the final meal Jesus had with His twelve apostles (the Last Supper); it continues through His agony and betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, His trial before Pontius Pilate, His scourging at the pillar, His carrying of the cross, and ends with His crucifixion and death.’

Image © BBC

Why is it so called?

Jesus experienced agony and suffering for each one of us, and therefore what He did is called The Passion. The last week of His life, in particular, was a living expression of the original meaning of this word – “Passion”.

‘As horrific as Jesus’ death was, we need to appreciate a fundamental truth of human existence: authentic love involves sacrifice. Love involves the total giving of self.

'Love can even mean “[laying] down one’s life for one’s friends” (John’s Gospel, chapter 15, verse 13).

'So there is transcendent meaning in sacrifice and suffering. If endured for the good of others, it is truly sanctifying (1) and salvific (2). To a world that tries to avoid discomfort of any sort, this seems ridiculous. Instead, it is just one of countless examples of how the way of Truth runs counter to human expectations. This, by the way, has always been the case. The first people to hear the story of Jesus were just as struck as we are today at the strangeness of it. Saint Paul wrote 2,000 years ago, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthian chapter 1, verse 18).’

Some of the above text was sourced from: ‘A Guide To The Passion: 100 Questions About The Passion Of The Christ’; answers one and sixteen. This book is being offered free to Life4seekers visitors and is published by www.xt3.com

To receive a copy please e-mail your name and address to: questions@life4seekers.co.uk Also see: http://www.life4seekers.co.uk/the-passion/

sanctifying (1) = make or declare holy
salvific (2) = derived from ‘salvation’ meaning deliverance from sin and its consequences through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ