During the Lenten season to reflect on the Way of the Cross. It is becoming popular to reflect, during Advent, on the Way of the Nativity. That leaves off a big time of the year and of the life of . With the start of Ordinary Time this year, we began a new series of posts.

During June, we presented reflections on the "Way of the Life" of Jesus. These posts offered fourteen reflections and scriptural passages on key points during the life and of . Station 1 The account of the appears in the synoptic (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) . In Mark’s it opens the story and in Matthew and Luke it is placed after the infancy narratives. Each briefly describes the preaching and baptismal ministry of John the Baptizer. The baptismal narratives produce the symbolic image of the Holy Spirit as a dove.

Only in the does the text attest to the protest by John that Jesus should baptize him. Upon coming up from the waters of the Jordan, Jesus hears the words from heaven “You are my beloved son; with you well pleased.” In Matthew’s account the words are heard by the crowd as the text reads “This is my beloved son…” At the Transfiguration, God’s words spoken from heaven would come in a similar manner.

At the beginning of his ministry, as was also stated in the infancy narratives, Jesus is proclaimed to be the . This sets the tone for the remaining text, as the reader is to understand the divine nature of Jesus in the text. In a similar fashion, the prologue to John’s gospel establishes Jesus as the Word of God. Although the baptism is not directly recounted in the fourth gospel, John the Baptizer alludes to the baptism by stating that he saw the Spirit coming down from the sky and remaining on Jesus.

We ask the Spirit to descend upon us and guide us to live lives that will make God well pleased with us. Station 2 Like the baptism of Jesus, the temptation in the desert is depicted in the synoptic gospels. After his baptism, Jesus is led into the desert by the Holy Spirit. Throughout Mark’s gospel events happen quickly and the account of the temptation is no exception; only two verses are needed to tell the story before moving on to the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. All three synoptic gospels tell of Jesus being in the desert for forty days, symbolic of the forty years of wandering in the desert by the Jewish people after the exodus from Egypt. Also like the time of the exodus, and the time spent in the desert, come to minister to the needs of Jesus.

Continuing with the Jewish theme started in the infancy narratives, the gospels of Matthew and Luke have both the devil and Jesus quoting from Hebrew scripture. The devil’s use of scripture is symbolic of the trickery of Satan and the ease one can use holy scripture out of context to attach to it a nefarious meaning. The devil’s appearance is after Jesus had fasted for forty days.

Luke points to the significance of the baptism by stating that Jesus is “filled with the Holy Spirit” after it descended upon him upon coming up from the waters of the Jordan. Luke also foreshadows the events of the passion by declaring that the devil departed from Jesus, but only for a time. The devil would return to the narrative to enter Judas (Lk 22:3) and tempt him to betray Jesus, to lead Peter (LK 22:31) to deny Jesus, and to coerce the people (LK 22:53) to condemn Jesus.

We ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in our times of temptation. Station 3 It is commonly accepted among biblical scholars that the authors of Matthew and Luke used the as a source. In the usual style of the text, Mark’s gospel moves rather quickly in the narrative of the calling of the disciples. Jesus calls the men and they leave everything behind to follow him. An important theme is that they immediately abandoned family and careers to follow Jesus. No backstory or reason is offered as to why they would do this.

Matthew’s gospel does not change much from the story offered in Mark. Four men are called from their fishing boats and another at a customs post. Names are changed slightly form Mark’s account, as Simon is called Simon Peter and Levi, the tax collector, is called Matthew. After Matthew, or Levi, leaves his customs post behind to follow Jesus, they go to his house for a meal with other sinners and tax collectors. The scribes question why Jesus would eat with such a crowd. It is not clear, in Mark or Matthew, why the scribes would even have noticed Jesus yet and be concerned about his dining partners. At this point Jesus was merely calling for repentance because the kingdom was at hand.

Luke’s gospel puts the calling of the first disciples after Jesus healed several people and had a substantial following. Unlike Mark and Matthew, Luke does not mention Simon Peter’s brother Andrew, but does mention James and his brother John. The tax collector is again called Levi. Only in Luke’s gospel are James and John called partners of Simon Peter. Luke also offers more of a story as to why the men would leave everything behind to follow Jesus. He preaches from Simon Peter’s boat to a large crowd and asks the fishermen to go into deep waters where they have substantial catch of fish. This is similar to the account in John’s gospel that takes place after the Resurrection.

The fourth gospel offers more of a backstory as to why the disciples followed Jesus and left everything behind so quickly. In John’s gospel the men are followers of John the Baptizer and he refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God. This prompts Andrew and an unnamed to follow Jesus. It is Andrew who tells his brother, Simon, about Jesus, declaring that he had found the Messiah. In John’s gospel, Jesus declares that Simon shall be called Kephas, which is translated as Peter. Jesus then finds Philp, who follows him in the same immediate fashion as told in the Mark and Matthew. It is Philip who finds Nathanial.

May we have the insight to recognize and follow Jesus and the courage to give everything up to do so. Station 4 The account of the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in is only documented in the . Jesus had already gathered his disciples and presumably already had the baptism encounter with John, although the fourth gospel does not specifically mention the baptism. Like many theologians and biblical scholars have done, two of the most influential Roman Catholic and Protestant scholars have commented on the story of the miracle at the wedding at Cana.

Thomas Aquinas points to the roles in this miracle that Mary, Jesus, and the disciples. Mary superintended the miracle; she interceded with kindness and mercy. The mother of Jesus regarded another’s distress as her own, while showing reverence for Jesus. The role of Jesus, of course, is to perform the miracle. It is the disciples’ role to bear witness to the miracle.

According to John Calvin it is doubtful that Mary expected a miracle from Jesus since the gospel is clear in stating that he had not yet performed any . It is possible that she expected him to calm the guests’ annoyance with some godly exhortation, as the people would likely have been annoyed at running out of wine in the middle of dinner and the groom would have been embarrassed. In saying that his time had not yet come, Jesus is demonstrating that he had not yet performed any miracles because he operates on God’s time and according to God’s plan.

“Wine cheers the hearts of [people]” — Psalm 104.15 Station 5 The (as it is called in the gospel of Matthew) and the Sermon on the Plain (as it is called in Luke’s gospel) offer what are often referred to as the . There are eight blessings recounted in Matthew’s gospel and Luke’s gospel list four of them.

Biblical scholars are divided on whether the blessings all come from one sermon, were told at different times in the ministry of Jesus, whether or not Matthew and Luke are referring to the same event, or if the sermon was offered numerous times by Jesus. However, there is universal acceptance that the words of these passages offer inspiration and hope.

Popular Jesuit priest and author James Martin, SJ points out that Matthew’s gospel extends the theme of the Beatitudes beyond the Sermon on the Mount. Chapters five through seven offer various condemnations of the rich and complacent, as well as teachings on judging, anger, adultery, serving two maters, and anxiety. Father Martin offers some interpretations of what Jesus’s words can mean in contemporary society.

“Pure in heart” is not about ritual cleansing, be it first century Jewish ritual cleaning or 21st century Christian ritual. The phrase is about pure motives, not acting out of excessive self-interest. “The poor” in contemporary Western culture are often deemed to be lazy and even an embarrassment to society. But the Greek work ptόchoi can refer to indigent, the working poor, or even beggars. The phrase could have been “blessed are the beggars.” It brings a renewed perspective to a response to a person asking for help on a street corner or in front of a business building. Being merciful can be interpreted as giving others the benefit of the doubt, even when the other comes from a different political spectrum. The Beatitudes are not just a promise of reward for those who suffer injustice and a prediction of a turnabout of the status quo, they are a guide to becoming the person Jesus wants you to be.

We pray that we will all have the courage to become the person Jesus wants us to be. Station 6 Both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels recount Jesus teaching how to pray and offering what is now called the “Our Father” or the “Lord’s Prayer.” Matthew’s gospel offers the version used liturgically in contemporary times and Luke offers a shorter version. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus introduces the prayer with the warning not to pray like the hypocrites, who draw attention to themselves when praying and pray by babbling just to say many words. In Luke’s gospel the prayer is offered in response to the disciples’ asking Jesus to teach them how to pray.

The gospel of Matthew places the prayer as part of the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus offers a series of teaching on various topics. He offers the similes of salt and light, along with teaching about the Law, anger, oaths, retaliation, love of enemies, almsgiving, and prayer. It is unlikely that all of this was actually one long teaching session, since most of it appears to come from the Q-source. In writing their gospels, the authors of Matthew and Luke appear to have used a written source of the saying of Jesus known as the Q-source.

The invocation “Our Father in heaven” was also used in rabbinic prayers of the early to mid-first century. The hallowing of God’s name was likely meant as a petition for God, not the person praying, to do the hallowing. This is in line with the focus on God in the following two lines of “your kingdom come; your will be done.” The Greek word epiousios, for “daily,” is only used in scripture in the Lord’s Prayer. In petitioning for daily bread, one is asking for a swift coming of the Kingdom. The next line is often prayed “forgive us our trespasses,” but the literal translation is “forgive us our debts.” It was likely meant as a metaphorical debt owed to God because of sin. In keeping with the eschatological tone of anticipating the coming Kingdom, this line is probably meant to refer to forgiveness at the final judgment. “Lead us not into temptation” or more accurately “do not subject us to the final test” is likely a reference to Jewish apocalyptical belief of a severe trial before the end of the ages, sometimes referred to as the “messianic woe.”

The Didache is a first century treatise demonstrating the Order of the Christian church. It exhorted the community to offer this prayer three times per day and used the following version.

Our Father in heaven, make your name holy, establish your kingdom, let your will happen on the earth just like in heaven. Give us the bread we need today, and forgive us our debt, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation.

Station 7 The missioning (or commissioning) is mentioned in each of the synoptic gospels. Each has a slightly different narrative and timing, but each offers an overall similar theme of being sent out by Jesus and radical trust in God. From these passages the twelve apostles are named, with a slightly different list in Luke’s gospel. Paul offered the earliest canonical scripture mention of the twelve in his first letter to the Corinthians, with the twelve being differentiated from the term “apostles.” Jesus is said to have named them apostles, which means “one who is sent.” They were sent out to preach, cure the sick, and drive out demons, with Matthew adding raising the dead and cleansing lepers.

In Mark’s and Luke’s gospel, there is an initial naming of the twelve and general sending out. Later there is a more specific mission given to the twelve as they went out in groups of two in Mark. Matthew’s gospel combines the two events, calling the sending out a missioning. They are asked to place complete trust in God in being told to take no provisions for the journey. Mark’s gospel sends them out with sandals but not a second tunic, while Matthew’s redaction of the event is the strictest, telling the apostles not to takes sandals or a walking stick. In addition, they are to take no food, sack, or money.

Mark places the initial naming after the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth, while Luke puts it before the Sermon on the Plain. Matthew’s gospel, likely written to a community of Jewish converts to Christianity, restricts the mission to the lost sheep of Israel with the directive to avoid Pagan territory and Samaritan towns. The twelve return to describe what had happened in their journey. Matthew’s account of the return does not appear to be related to the commissioning, as numerous events containing the twelve happen in between the commissioning and return. After their return, the only of one Jesus’s miracles attested to in each of the four canonical gospels occurs, the feeding of the multitude.

The twelve apostles named in this narrative are Simon Peter, James the son of , John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (not Levi as in the call of the disciples), Thomas, Thaddeus (Judas son of James in Luke), James the son of Alpheus, Simon the Cananean (the Zealot in Luke), and .

Important theological imagery is part of this narrative. In Mark and Luke, the naming of the apostles takes place on a mountain top. Mountains are associated with sacred events in scripture, going back to . In Christian scripture mountains are referenced in the Beatitudes (Matthew’s version), after Jesus walks on water, at the Transfiguration, and in his prophecy of end-times. The number twelve is likely a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke adds a missioning of the seventy-two. In this event, they are sent out in pairs, as they are in the missioning of the twelve in Mark and Luke. It is in this event that Luke recounts the prohibition of taking sandals and a sack.

We ask the Lord to give us the vision to find our mission and the courage to follow it. Station 8 One must always be cautious about relating accounts of the ministry of Jesus across gospel narratives because each evangelist was writing with a specific audience in mind and trying to offer a particular theological message. But there is a rather intricate web of stories in the three accounts of Jesus raising a person from the dead.

In the canonical gospels there are three distinct stories of Jesus raising a person from the dead. Mark’s gospel recounts the daughter of Jairus, Luke tells of an unnamed son of an unnamed widow being brought back from death, and John offers probably the most well-known account of Lazarus. Matthew is the only canonical gospel not to tell of such a miracle, but in the commissioning of the twelve, they are sent to, among other things, raise the dead.

In both Mark’s and John’s account, Jesus learns of the death or imminent death and delays in going to the person. Jairus is a synagogue official who tells Jesus of his dying daughter. Jesus heads out promptly but is delayed by the woman with a hemorrhage. After she is cured and healed, news comes that the girl has died. Jesus goes to the house anyway and raises her from the dead. Interestingly, she is twelve years old, which is the length of time the women had the hemorrhage. Jesus also delayed in going to see Mary and after Lazarus died.

It is implied that Jesus did not know Jairus or his daughter, as he says, “little girl, I say to arise.” The same with the account in Luke’s gospel, as it appears Jesus happens to come a across a funeral in Nain. The dead person is described as the only son of his mother, and she was widow. This would put her in a very difficult position regarding her economic situation. If one accepts that Mary had no other children, but Jesus and that Joseph died early in the story, Mary the mother of Jesus would be in the same situation as the dead man’s mother. In John’s account, Lazarus and his two sisters were good friends of Jesus.

There are some loose parallels in the Martha and Mary stories of the gospels of Luke and John. Luke does not mention Lazarus or a family death, but the story of Jesus eating a meal at Martha and Mary’s house is told. Mary stays at the feet of Jesus, while Martha serves the meal. In a bit of a reversal of roles, Martha goes out to meet Jesus while Mary stays at home, in the account of Lazarus’s death in John’s gospel. Martha is the one who understands the teachings of Jesus about the resurrection on the last day and she declares that Jesus is the messiah. John also recounts a story of Jesus having a meal at the house of the sisters with Martha doing the serving, but instead of just sitting at his feet as in Luke’s account, Mary anoints the feet of Jesus and dries them with her hair. Interestingly, there is a bit of an endless loop in Johns’ account. At the beginning of the raising of Lazarus account, Mary is said to have been the woman who anointed the feet and Jesus and dried them with her hair. At the beginning of the account of the meal where the anointing happened, Lazarus is described as the man Jesus had raised from the dead.

The account of raising Lazarus from the dead is the longest continuous narrative in the canonical gospels outside the passion narratives. This narrative appears to be a foreshadowing of the death and . Both have a stone that had to be rolled away from a tomb in a cave. Lazarus came out of the tomb still tied in the burial cloth and had to be untied. The burial cloth was found in the of Jesus after he presumably untied himself. When he was taken to the tomb of Lazarus, .

We pray for the openness to see how our actions and those of our society make Jesus weep. Station 9 The feeding of the multitude, or multiplication of the loaves, is the only miracle attributed to Jesus that is found in all four canonical gospels. The accounts are remarkably similar, with some minor differences. The major difference between gospel accounts is that Mark and Matthew relate two incidents of Jesus performing the miracle, while Luke and John only record one such story.

Hints in the narratives of Mark and Matthew indicate that the event happened once, and the same story is told twice. In each gospel the first account is in a predominately Jewish area and the second incident is in the territory of the Gentiles. This could be a theological statement regarding the mission of Jesus to Jews and Gentiles. In each account of the second incident, the disciples are again surprised that it happens in spite of witnessing the event just recently.

The first incident in Mark and Matthew appear to be the same narrative told in Luke and John. The synoptic gospels all place the event as occurring after the disciples (apostles) returned from their mission. This detail seems particularly important in Luke’s gospel, as they are going to rest, and presumably eat, when they are not allowed to because the 5,000 men in the crowd are in need of food. Each gospel account states there were 5,000 men fed, with only Matthew specifically stating this is not counting the women and children who were present. In the second account of the incident, Mark states 4,000 people and Matthew uses the same 4,000 men, not including women and children. Five loaves of bread and two fish are used to feed the crowd in each gospel with twelve baskets of scraps left over; each account of the second incident has seven loaves and seven baskets. Each synoptic account portrays Jesus as being moved with pity for the crowd, while John shows him very much in charge of the situation. In Luke’s account, the food belongs to a boy in the crowd, while it is the food of the disciples in the other gospels. Once he has the bread, Jesus looks up to heaven, says the blessing, and breaks the loaves of bread; John adds the detail that he gave thanks. This practice would not have been unusual at a Jewish meal of the day. However, the only other time Jesus is depicted doing so is at the Lord’s Supper, or , before his crucifixion. John is clearly relating the event to the practice of the in the early church, as he places the event in close proximity to the .

We pray that we will have the heart to have pity for those in need of food, but that we will also take action to feed them. Station 10 Jesus walking on water can hardly be categorized as a miracle. At the same time, it points to the fully divine and fully human aspect of Jesus. In that sense, the account of Jesus walking on water is a theological statement. Luke’s gospel is the only canonical gospel not to mention the story, but all three synoptic gospels include the closely related story of Jesus calming the sea.

The divine side of Jesus is demonstrated in the parallels of the story to Hebrew scripture. Several Psalm passages are closely related to Jesus calming the sea (:35-41, :23-27, and Luke 8:22-25). Matthew’s gospel uses the same “why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” in both the calming the sea and walking on water passages. In the Psalm (65:8, 93:4, and 107:29) passages God is shown as controlling the earthly element, especially the sea. Jesus does the same in controlling the sea. Job’s description of God (Job 9:8) includes “[God] treads upon the crests of the sea,” just as Jesus does.

On the other hand, Jesus seems to merely be doing what other humans can do. In Matthew’s account, Peter is also able to walk on the water, until he loses focus on Jesus and doubts his faith. Just like Jesus says, one with faith can command a mountain to move (:20), with faith Peter could initially walk on water.

In a turn of perspective, Mark and Matthew portray Jesus as being in complete control, as he orders the disciples into the boat. John simply states that they entered the boat on their own. Jesus does not enter the boat after walking on the sea in John’s gospel. Instead, the boat miraculously transports to the shore. The difference in perspective of Mark and Matthew is that Mark depicts the disciples as not understanding what had happened and having hardened hearts. The disciples pay homage to Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, declaring him the Son of God.

We pray that we will have the faith to leave the comfort and safety of the boat and to do as Jesus asks us. Station 11 The is mentioned in the synoptic gospels with the authors of Matthew and Luke redacting very little from Mark’s gospel. In this somewhat short passage, there are numerous references to other parts of Christian scripture, as well as to Hebrew scripture.

The event takes place about one week (six days in Mark and Matthew and eight days in Luke) after Jesus’s first prediction of his passion and his teaching on the conditions of discipleship. Both events have theological significance to the narrative of the Transfiguration. In the teaching on the conditions of discipleship, they are told to take up their crosses and told the “whoever wishes to save his [or her] life will lose it.” This teaching and the passion will be overcome by the divine glory of Jesus, which is revealed in the Transfiguration.

In all three accounts Peter, James, and John are taken up a mountain. That group of disciples are taken to the Garden of Gethsemane (MT 26:37 and MK 14:33) in the passion narrative. In Luke’s account the three men fall asleep, like they would on the Mount of Olives in Luke’s version of the agony in the garden. The mountain is symbolically important Moses and Elijah, who will appear and converse with Jesus. Moses will get the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) on the mountain top (Exodus 19:20 – chapter 20) and Elijah will experience God, not in the strong wind or earthquake, but in the tiny whispering sound on the same mountain top (1 Kings 19:11-14). The two men are also symbolic of the Jewish Law and Prophets. Only in Luke’s gospel is the topic of their conversation with Jesus revealed; they speak of the exodus Jesus is going to accomplish in . In the book of Exodus, the people reach the promised land after their exodus and Jesus will return to heaven. In a reference to the baptism of Jesus (MK 1:9-11, MT 3:13-17, and LK 3:21-22), a voice coming from a cloud is heard declaring Jesus to be God’s beloved son. At the baptism Jesus started his Galilean ministry and now the disciple are being prepared to start their ministry. The voice adds the instruction to listen to Jesus. The voice of God coming from a cloud is reminiscent of God being in the midst of the people (Exodus 40:34-35) and being present at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8:10).

We pray for the resolve to follow the instruction to listen to Jesus. Station 12 All four canonical gospels relate the story of Jesus entering into Jerusalem in a triumphant manner, as he had said he must do at his prediction of the passion (MK 10:32, MT 16:2, and LK 18:31). There are, of course, minor differences in the telling of the story in each gospel, with John’s gospel having the most variation from the other accounts. There are also the usual references to Hebrew scripture.

The synoptic gospels tell how the animal used to ride in on was obtained. Jesus sends unnamed disciples to a nearby village to find an ass that is tethered and instructs them to take the animal. The gospels of Mark and Luke refer the animal as a colt while Matthew refers to it as an ass and her colt. The authors of Mark and Luke add that no one has ever sat on the animal. This harkens back to the red heifer Moses and Aaron were to procure for the Lord that had never had a yoke laid on it (Numbers 19:2) and the two cows that never bore the burden of the yoke used to carry the Ark of the Lord (1 Samuel 6:7). Having a colt on which no one ever sat is also compared to purity of the virgin womb of the birth of Jesus and the new tomb in which he was buried. The fact that the animal had to be borrowed points to the poverty of Jesus.

Similar to the account of the , the use of numbers in Matthew’s gospel appears to be flawed. In using an ass and her colt, the awkward statement the Jesus “sat upon them” seems to indicate that he sat on both animals. Some biblical scholars suggest that the “them” referred to the cloaks, but the wording does not seem to support that hypothesis. It is more likely that the author was making a theological statement with a reference to Zechariah 9:9 “…riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.” But that the text of that chapters supports that it was only one animal. In John’s gospel, Jesus did not send for the animal, but found one that apparently happened to be in the vicinity. Whether Jesus sent for it or not, or how many animals were present, is not the point of the narrative. An ass is a symbol of peace, not of war like a horse. The purpose of Jesus is not to overthrow the Roman occupation; he is not concerned with politics or war, but with salvation.

In each account, crowds greet Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. In Mark’s and Matthew’s gospels cloaks and tree branches are spread on the rode ahead of Jesus; in Luke’s gospel it is only the cloaks that are spread; John’s gospel has palm branches and no cloaks. The gathering of tree branches in a joyous procession was used in the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23) as well as at the rededication of the Temple ( 10:5-8). The crowds differ in each gospel account, as does the proclamation they declare. Mark and Matthew describe it as many people, Luke states it was a multitude of his disciples, and John specifies them as a crowd that had heard of the raising of Lazarus. In Mark’s gospel the proclamation of the crowd does not specifically declare Jesus as messiah, in keeping with the theme of the messianic secret in that gospel. Matthew’s gospel uses a shorter proclamation, but in declaring Jesus “the son of David,” a clear reference to the messiah is implied. Luke’s account declares Jesus a king and adds “peace in heaven and glory to the highest.” John’s gospel proclaims Jesus the king of Israel. Only in Luke’s gospel do the tell Jesus to rebuke the disciples for their proclamation, to which Jesus answers “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” The words used by the crowd are references to Psalm 118:25-26.

After the entrance, Matthew’s gospel describes the whole city being shaken with the people questioning who Jesus is. Only in Mark’s gospel does Jesus go the Temple area, look around, and immediately return to .

We pray that we may welcome Jesus into our lives with the same joy as the crowds in Jerusalem. Station 13 A different side of the personality of Jesus is presented in the accounts of the cleansing of the Temple. Jesus is portrayed as angry and almost violent in the gospel of John. The odd story of also portrays this side of Jesus and is presented immediately before cleansing the Temple in Mark’s gospel and after it in Matthew’s account. Luke presents the fig tree story as a parable.

The timing of events is often presented in a slightly different manner across gospel accounts, but the gospel of John has a significant variation in the timing of the cleansing of the Temple. In the synoptic gospels it occurs after the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, immediately after in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels and the next day in Mark’s. In John, the event takes place immediately after the miracle of the wedding at Cana, at the beginning of the Galilean ministry of Jesus. Biblical scholars differ in opinion as to which is the correct timing and a minority of scholars believe they might be two separate events. This does not seem too likely, as Jesus makes some rather provocative statements in his deeds and words, but the Jewish authorities still took two years to condemn him according to John’s timing.

Whenever the event took place, it would have been in the outer court area of the Temple known as the court of the Gentiles. The first area was known as the court of the Gentiles and anyone could enter this portion. The next area was the court of women, where only Jewish people could enter, but women could go for further. Beyond this area was the court of men, where only Jewish men could enter. Then came the holy of holies, in which only the high priest could enter, and only on the Day of Atonement. The details of this event are fairly well known; Jesus drove out the buyers and sellers and overturned the tables of the money changers. He is portrayed as being harsher in the gospel of John, where Jesus is said to have used a whip of cords on the offenders. But what was their offense? The offering up of animals was prescribed in Jewish law (Leviticus 5:6-10), even Mary and Joseph (Lk 2:24) had done so. A census tax was to be collected that was set up by the Lord through Moses (Exodus 30:11-16). The exchange of money and selling of animals was not some kind of flea market but used for legitimate religious practice in the Temple. Jesus is condemning that practice and challenging the authority of the Jewish leadership. This fact, and the statement about destroying the Temple and raising it up in three days, make John’s timing less likely. After cleansing the Temple, Jesus began his ministry of teaching in the Temple area.

Jesus declared “my” house shall be called a house of prayer in Mark’s gospel. The gospels of Matthew and Luke clarify that statement by adding the phrase “it is written” at the beginning of the statement. This allows for the interpretation that Jesus was referring to the Lord’s house, not his personal house. John’s gospel clarifies it further by using the phrase “my Father’s house.” In Luke’s gospel this is the second time Jesus had referred to the Temple in such a manner; at the age of twelve he asked Joseph and Mary “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (LK 2:49). The statement of turning the Temple into a den of thieves is likely a reference to the message to from the Lord (Jeremiah 7:11).

Some of the gospel account had minor details particular to the evangelist to make a particular theological statement. Mark states that Jesus did not permit anyone to carry anything through the Temple area, Matthew tells of Jesus curing the blind and the lame and the children proclaiming, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” and John adds that “the Jews” asked for a sign as to why Jesus was taking the action.

We pray for the courage to take a stance when we see an injustice being perpetrated on someone. Station 14 With the narrative of the Lord’s Supper comes an end to the Way of the Life of Jesus, as subsequent events are part of the Way of the Cross. As is fairly common in the canonical gospels, the synoptic gospels agree on the account and the fourth gospel has a rather different version. In Christian tradition this is celebrated as , or Holy, Thursday and is called the Lord’s Supper or the Last Supper. It is the start of the Paschal Triduum. Of extreme importance is also the institution of the tradition of the Holy Eucharist.

The narrative includes the disclosure of the one who would betray Jesus, although in a different fashion in each canonical gospel. In Mark’s and Luke’s gospels the name of the betrayer is not stated, only that he is one of the twelve. In Matthew’s gospel Judas Iscariot is identified to the reading audience but not as part of the discussion between Jesus and the disciples. Matthew is the only gospel that adds the detail that Judas denied it, prompting Jesus to declare “you have said it.” This will be echoed in Jesus’s response to ’s question as to whether Jesus is a king, “you say so.” In a coded action, Jesus lets the disciple Jesus loved (presumably John) know that Judas Iscariot is the betrayer, in John's gospel, with the added detail that the devil prompted Judas toward his betrayal. However, before the washing of the feet it is stated that the devil had already entered Judas (JN 13:2), but at supper it is said that Satan entered Judas after he received the morsel from Jesus (JN 13:27). The betrayer being at the table with Jesus is a reference to Psalm 41:10 “Even my friend who had my trust and partook of my bread, has raised his heel against me.” What is widely regarded as the institution of the Holy Eucharist happens during the meal. In the synoptic gospels Jesus declares of the bread “this is my body” and of the wine “this is my blood.” More specifically, the wine is referred to as the blood of the covenant, harkening back to Exodus 24:4-8. In Luke’s gospel two references are made to the sharing of a cup of wine. This is supported by the normal course of the Jewish Passover meal. It started with a blessing and prayer, a cup of wine, and a dish of herbs and sauce. Next came the recitation of the story of Passover and singing of Psalm 113, followed by a second cup of wine. The main meal was then eaten, consisting of roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. More prayers were recited, and a third cup of wine followed. Finally, Psalms 114-118 were sung and the drinking of a fourth cup of wine.

The gospel of John does not have the story of the Lord’s Supper. The institution of the Eucharist is related in the bread of life discourse, after Jesus walked on water (JN 6:32-33, 47-56). Another significant difference in the gospel of John in comparison to the synoptic gospels, possibly the biggest discrepancy in Christian scripture, is the timing of the death of Jesus. The Lord’s Supper, being the Passover meal, had taken place after the lamb’s had been sacrificed, according to the synoptic gospels. In John’s gospel Jesus is crucified on that day (JN 18:28 and 19:14), while the lambs were being slaughtered. It is likely a theological statement of Jesus being the Lamb of God and humanity’s sacrifice once and for all.

In place of the Lord’s supper narrative, John recounts the story of the washing of the disciples’ feet. Although it is commemorated in Christian tradition along with the Lord’s Supper, the washing of the feet was not part of the Passover meal in John’s gospel, but a meal before the feast (JN 13:1). Luke’s gospel adds the story of the argument among the disciples as to who was the greatest among them. It has overtones of leading up to the washing of the feet in John’s gospel. After that event, the four canonical gospels agree in the narrative of the prediction of Peter’s denial of Jesus, with the minor variation of Mark stating that the cock will crow twice before Peters’ three denials and the other gospels only stating that the cock will crow.

We pray for the fortitude to not only follow Jesus on his way to the cross, but on the way of his life and ministry.