7 Key People in The Passion Story
Caiaphas High priest at the time of Jesus’ trial. The Romans appointed Caiaphas to be the high priest in Jerusalem, and he served from A.D. 18-36. He was high priest when Jesus began his public ministry (Luke 3:2) and when Jesus was condemned to death and crucified (Matthew 26:57-68; John 18:12-14, 19-24). After Jesus had raised Lazarus from death, Caiaphas prophesied Jesus’ death by stating that “it is better for one person to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed” (John 11:45-53).
Jesus The Son of God, sent by God to be the Savior of the whole world. Prior to his birth, an angel of the Lord announced that his name was to be Jesus and that he would be called “the Son of God Most High” (Luke 1:32). The name “Jesus” is related to the Hebrew name, “Jeshua,” which means “the Lord saves.” At Jesus’ birth, an angel announced that “a Savior was born for you” who is “Christ the Lord” (Luke 1:11). The title “Christ” is from the Greek Christos, a translation of the Hebrew māshîah (Messiah), which means the “Anointed One” or the “Chosen One.” Peter, one of Jesus’ first followers, declared Jesus to be “the Messiah sent from God” (Luke 9:20). Jesus told his followers that he came “to look for and to save people who are lost” (Luke 19:10), to “give his life to rescue many people” (Mark 10:45), and that he would “suffer terribly,” be rejected and killed, “but three days later rise to life (Luke 9:22). Jesus’ suffering and death is depicted in The Passion of the Christ (2004), a film that portrays the last twelve hours of Jesus’ life. God raised Jesus to life (Luke 24:1-12), and Jesus appeared to his disciples (Luke 24:13-49) and returned to heaven (Luke 24:50-53). The life and teachings of Jesus are recorded in the four Gospels in the New Testament: MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, and JOHN.
Judas One of Jesus’ twelve apostles, and the son of Simon Iscariot. He held the position of treasurer of the group (John 12:5-6; 13:29), and he betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50; Mark 14:10-11, 43-46; Luke 22:1-2, 47-48; John 12:4; 13:21-30; 18:1-5). When he learned that Jesus had been sentenced to death, he felt remorse and took his own life (Matthew 27:3-10; Acts 1:16-19).
Mary of Nazareth The mother of Jesus and wife of Joseph (Matthew 1:24; Luke 1:27; 2:5), known as “the Virgin” because of her virginal conception of Jesus by God’s Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-38). During her first trimester, she visited her relative, Elizabeth who, at an advanced age, was with child (Luke 2:39-45). Mary sang a song (known as the Magnificat) in which she praised God who reverses the situations of the powerful and the weak (Luke 2:46-56). John’s Gospel places her at the crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:25-27) where Jesus commends her to the care of “his favorite disciple.” After Jesus ascended into heaven, she continued to meet with the apostles (Acts 1:14).
Mary Magdalene One of the Galilean women who followed Jesus. She appears in all four Gospels as a witness to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 27:55-56, 61; 28:1; Mark 15:40-41, 47; 16:1, 9-10; Luke 24:9-10; John 19:25; 20:1-18). She was among the group of women who provided for Jesus and his disciples out of their own means (Luke 8:1-3) and she is described as someone from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2).
Pilate’s Wife Wife of the governor of Judea at the time of Jesus’ trial. She is mentioned only in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 27:19) as having sent a message to her husband, urging him to have nothing to do with Jesus. She described Jesus as an innocent man and reported that she had nightmares because of him.
Pontius Pilate The fifth Roman governor of Judea (A.D. 26 – 36), appointed by the Roman emperor Tiberius. He offended the Jewish people by moving the headquarters of his army from Caesarea to Jerusalem and allowing the troops to bring into the city their military standards with the busts of the emperor, which were considered idolatrous images by the Jews. It was the custom of the governors to reside in Jerusalem during the time of the great feasts for the purpose of preserving order. He was thus in Jerusalem during Passover when Jesus was condemned by the Jewish authorities on charges of blasphemy, that is, claiming to be God (Matthew 26:65-66; Mark 14:63-64). After questioning Jesus, Pilate found him innocent, but then yielded to the demands of the crowds who were calling for Jesus to be crucified (Matthew 27:11-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28—19:16). He then washed his hands in public to show he did not intend to take the blame for Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:24).
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Sources Consulted:
The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday), 1992
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), 2000
HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (HarperSanFrancisco), 1996
The Learning Bible (New York: American Bible Society), 2000
The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press), 1966
