The Passion of our
Lord according to St John
J.S.Bach
In the last of a series of Bible
Studies on John’s Gospel we shared in a dramatized reading of John 18 and 19
taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
We used the wonderful Arias and Chorales from Bach’s St John Passion in
the beautiful poetry of Peter Pears and Andrew Raeburn as a commentary on the
text.
The Arias are identified by the word
‘Comment …’ They come at crucial
moments in the unfolding of the story: they seem to be almost the words of a
preacher or a commentator inviting us to reflect on the meaning of the text for
ourselves.
The chorales are simply introduced by
words such as ‘our thoughts …’ or ‘what this means for us …’ They enable all of us in the chorus or maybe
all of us in the congregation, or all of us as we reflect on these words to
make our own response. This is what
this story means for us … and often for me.
It is no coincidence that the voice of
the crowd is given to ‘the chorus’ that sings the chorales. We are the ones who shout, ‘crucify …’. We are the ones who share in the
responsibility for the death of Christ.
To imagine that the Passion of Christ
is anti-semitic in John’s Gospel is to miss the point entirely. Bach’s St John Passion is a wonderful
antidote to that view. We make up the
crowd, the chorus … we share the responsibility. It is not them then. It
is us now. As we sing, as we become
more and more involved in the story … we reallise that we are culpable.
At the same time we realize that we
share in the love that streams from the cross, we experience the forgiveness,
and we too are victorious as we sing our praises to the Christ whose passion
gives us new life.
We listened to many of the chorales
on a recording made by Decca in 1960
and released in 1990, in an English version prepared by Peter Pears and Andrew
Raeburn. Peter Pears sings the part of
the Evangelist.
Our thoughts as we
prepare to hear the Passion of Our Lord
Lord our
redeemer, thou whose name in all the world is highly praised,
Show us in this
thy passion, that thou, the tre and only son for evermore,
E’en from
humiliation sore dost rise with victory crowned
John After Jesus had spoken these
words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where
there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas,
who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his
disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with
police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with
lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was
to happen to him, came forward and asked them,
Jesus "Whom are you looking
for?"
John They
answered,
The
People "Jesus of Nazareth."
John Jesus replied,
Jesus "I am he."
John Judas, who betrayed him, was
standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he,"
they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them,
Jesus "Whom are you looking
for?"
John And they said,
The
People "Jesus of Nazareth."
John Jesus answered,
Jesus "I told you that I am he. So
if you are looking for me, let these men go."
That brought thee here by sin and grief surrounded,
I live, the pleasures of this world enjoying,
And thou art dying.
John This was to fulfill the word
that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave
me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the
high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
Jesus "Put your sword back into its
sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
John So the soldiers,
their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First
they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest
that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was
better to have one person die for the people.
From the
bondage of transgression:
to give me
freedom is my holy saviour bound.
And from every taint of sickness fully to heal me
doth he bear this grievous wound.
John Simon Peter and another disciple
followed Jesus.
I follow thee
also, my saviour, with gladness.
Go not from my sight, my life and my light.
Then show me thy way, and let me not stray.
Thyself, Lord, to guide me, to draw me, to help me.
John Since that disciple was known to
the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,
but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who
was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the
gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter,
Woman "You are not also one of this
man's disciples, are you?"
John He said,
Peter "I am not."
John Now the slaves and the police
had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it
and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.
Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his
teaching. Jesus answered,
Jesus "I have spoken openly to the
world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews
come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask
those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said."
John When he had said
this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying,
Police "Is that how you answer the
high priest?"
John Jesus answered,
Jesus "If I have spoken wrongly,
testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?"
O Lord, who dares to smite thee,
And falsely to indict thee,
Deride and mock thee so?
We and our sons in blindness
Have scorned God’s loving kindness.
But spot of sin didst thou not know.
I, I have done this wounding
By countless sins abounding
As sands upon the shore.
‘Twas I, Lord, who forsook thee
when cruel soldiers took thee,
to bring thee tribulation sore.
John Then Annas sent him bound to
Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming
himself. They asked him,
The
People "You are not also one of
his disciples, are you?"
John He denied it and said,
Peter "I am not."
John One of the slaves of the high
priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked,
Woman "Did I not see you in the garden
with him?"
John Again Peter denied it, and at
that moment the cock crowed.
Then
did Peter think upon those words, and he went forth and wept bitterly.
Where shall I seek for comfort?
Shall I say, or depart and leave the hills and
mountains far behind me?
In the world is no relief: on my heart remains the
burden: mine the evil deed,
Since the servant has denied his Lord.
… and what about us … what do we think? …
That his Lord he knoweth.
When he meets those earnest eyes
Weeping, forth he goeth.
Jesu, when I will not turn
Look on me in kindness.
Make my heart within me burn
Rouse me from my blindness.
Christ, the Lord of life and light
Saviour meek and lowly.
Taken like a thief at night
Bound by hands unholy.
See the saviour crowned with thorn
Falsely judged and smitten
See the soldiers spit and scorn
As by prophet written.
John Then they took Jesus from
Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves
did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able
to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said,
Pilate "What accusation do you bring
against this man?"
John They answered,
The
People "If this man were not a
criminal, we would not have handed him over to you."
John Pilate said to them,
Pilate "Take him yourselves and
judge him according to your law."
John The Jews replied,
The
People "We are not permitted to
put anyone to death."
John (This was to fulfill what Jesus
had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then
Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him,
Pilate "Are you the King of the Jews?"
John Jesus answered,
Jesus "Do you ask this on your own,
or did others tell you about me?"
John Pilate replied,
Pilate "I am not a Jew, am I? Your
own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you
done?"
John Jesus answered,
Jesus "My kingdom is not from this
world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to
keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not
from here."
O mighty
King, eternal is thy glory.
How can I fitly tell thy wondrous story?
No heart can find a worthy gift to proffer.
None dare I offer.
In vain on thy perfections, Lord, I ponder.
Thy boundless mercy still transcends my wonder.
How then shall I do aught that can delight thee
Or e’er requite thee?
John Pilate asked him,
Pilate "So you are a king?"
John Jesus answered,
Jesus "You say that I am a king.
For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the
truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
John Pilate asked him,
Pilate "What is truth?"
John After he had said this, he went
out to the Jews again and told them,
Pilate "I find no case against him.
But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do
you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" T
John They shouted in reply,
The
People "Not this man, but
Barabbas!"
John Now Barabbas was a bandit. T
Consider, O my soul, with fearful joy consider,
With bitter anguish in thby heart afflicted
Thy highest good is Jesus’ sorrow.
For thee, from the thorns that pierce him
Lo! Heaven-blessed roses spring:
Thou canst the sweetest fruit from his sharp wormwood gather.
Then look for evermore to him.
Behold ye, how his limbs with blood are stained,
A wondrous vision of heaven’s glory bright.
So then, after the heavy torrents of our
transgressions cease their flowing,
Shines out the beauteous rainbow, a sign of God’s
unendi g love.
John Then Pilate took Jesus and had
him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on
his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up
to him, saying,
The
People "Hail, King of the
Jews!"
John and striking him on the face.
Pilate went out again and said to them,
Pilate "Look, I am bringing him out
to you to let you know that I find no case against him."
John So Jesus came out, wearing the
crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them,
Pilate "Here is the man!"
John When the chief priests and the
police saw him, they shouted,
The
People "Crucify him! Crucify
him!"
John Pilate said to them,
Pilate "Take him yourselves and
crucify him; I find no case against him."
John The Jews answered him,
The
People "We have a law, and
according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of
God."
John Now when Pilate heard this, he
was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and
asked Jesus,
Pilate "Where are you from?"
John But Jesus gave him no answer.
Pilate therefore said to him,
Pilate "Do you refuse to speak to
me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?"
John Jesus answered him,
Jesus "You would have no power over
me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me
over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
John From then on Pilate tried to
release him,
What does this mean for us?
Thy bonds, O Son of God most Highbury have perfect
freedom brought us;
And free, we to thy throne come nigh
As thou by greace hast taught us
Hadst thou disdained this bondage sore
We had been bound for evermore.
John but the Jews cried out, "If
you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to
be a king sets himself against the emperor."
John When Pilate heard these words,
he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The
Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of
Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews,
Pilate "Here is your King!"
John They cried out,
The
People "Away with him! Away with
him! Crucify him!"
John Pilate asked them,
Pilate "Shall I crucify your
King?"
John The chief priests answered,
The
People "We have no king but the
emperor." T
John Then he handed him over to them
to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by
himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew
is called Golgotha.
Haste, ye deeply wounded spirits,
Come and bring your heavy burdens.
O where?
To Golgotha.
Take, O take, the wings of faith and fly.
O where?
To the cross of Jesus; find relief and healing there.
John There they crucified him, and
with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate
also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this
inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and
it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief
priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
The
People "Do not write, 'The King of
the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"
John Pilate answered,
Pilate "What I have written I have
written."
Thy name and cross alone
(The light of all my seeing)
Prevailing influence own
O breathe this comfort o’er me
When low in grief I lie
That thou,
Lord Jesus,
For me
Hast given thyself to die.
John When the soldiers had crucified
Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each
soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one
piece from the top. So they said to one another,
The
People "Let us not tear it, but
cast lots for it to see who will get it."
John This was to fulfill what the
scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my
clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw
his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his
mother,
Jesus "Woman, here is your
son." T
John Then he said to the disciple,
Jesus "Here is your mother."
While his parting spirit sins,
Ere its flight be taken,
Jesus on his mother thinks,
Lest she be forsaken
Hearts that emulate his love
Nought from him can sever.
They shall rise to realms above
Where he liveth ever.
John And from that hour the disciple
took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was
now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture),
Jesus "I am thirsty." A
John A jar full of sour wine was
standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and
held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said,
Jesus "It is finished."
All is
fulfilled.
O rest for all afflicted spirits.
This night of woe makes me uon my last hour ponder.
Victorious Judah’s hero comes,
And ends the fight.
It is finished.
John Then he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit.
As thou hast now the cross endured
And thyself has said, It is finished
Am I from death delivered?
Can I through thy eternal merit
THE HEAVENLY REALM INHERIT?
Shall all the world redemption see?
Thou canmst for anguish now say nothing.
Yet thou dost bow thy head and say
In silence:yea.
Jesus, thou who knewest death
Livest now for ever
When I yield my dying breath,
Lord, forsake me never
Other saviour need I none
Since thou dost receive me
Lord, to share what thou hast won
Of thy mercy give me.
Recitative And then
behold the veil of the temple was rent into twain e’er from the top unto the
bottom: and the earth did quake and the rocks were rent: and the graves were
opened up, and there arose many bodies of the saints.
My heart, behold how all the world at Jesus’
sufferings likewise suffers.
The sun his beams in sorrow covers, the veil divides,
the rocks are rent.
The earth doth quake, the graves are opened,
When they behold the creator dying.
And as for thee,
What wilt thou do?
Dissovlve now, my spirit, in bitterest mourning, the
highest to honour.
Proclaim to the world and to heaven thy grief,
Thy Jesus is dead.
John Since it was the day of
Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the
sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they
asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies
removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and
of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to
Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead,
one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water
came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may
believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These
things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his
bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture
says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."
By thy bitter anguish
Faithfully our course to run,
Every sin to vanquish.
Teach us, Lord thy grace to know;
Guide our weak endeavour.
Our redeemer’s praise to shew
Thankfully for ever.
John After these things, Joseph of
Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear
of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave
him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had
at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus
and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom
of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was
crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been
laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the
tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
What can
we take away with us?
Rest
calm, O body pure and holy.
For I no
longer shall bewail thee
And bring
thou me to rest.
The
grave, where all must come at last
Where
pain and grief no more can reach
Flings
wide the doors of heaven
And bars
the gates of hell.
Lord
Jesus, thy dear angel send,
Whene’er
my mortal life shall end.
And bear
my soul to heaven
Within
its narrow chamber keep
My body
safe in painless sleep
Till thy
last call be given
And when
from death thou wakest me
In bliss
untold mine eyes shall see
O Son of
God,
Thy
glorious face,
My
saviour and my fount of grace,
Lord
Jesus Christ, O hear thou me
Thee
will I praise eternally.
The biblical
text is from John 18 and 19 and is taken here from the New Revised Standard
Version.
It is arranged
as in Bach’s St John Passion, the translation of the Arias and the Chorales is
© Peter Pears and Andrew Raeburn. It is
taken from a Decca recording produced
in 1960. Recorded in King’s College Chapel,
Cambridge with the Philomusica of London directed by Sir David Willcocks in an
English version prepared by Peter Pears and Andrew Raeburn.
Arias are
identified with the word ‘Comment …’ it is as if they are words put into the
mouth of a preacher or commentator who is inviting us to think about the
meaning of the words for us.
Chorales are
introduced with the words – what this means for us. It is significant that the chorales are sung by everyone in the
chorus and maybe by the whole congregation – they articulate the response we
who are singing this story today make to the passion of Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that the chorus speaks
the words of the crowd and of the Jewish authorities – we all bear responsibility
for the death of Christ.