In the gospel of Matthew, the sweep of events from Judas’ decision to betray Jesus, through his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial takes less than fifteen minutes to read aloud. Yet the emotional intensity of these events makes for an exhausting read. Alone in my room, I could hardly make it through. If I were to read this as part of worship in my church, I’d want to skip the regular sermon and plan some silence to reflect and recover before we’d sing a song of response.

Just imagine living and dying through it all. Imagine the agony of Jesus praying alone in the garden, betrayed by one of his closest friends and followers and deserted by the rest. Imagine being arrested and interrogated,  spat upon and slapped, then questioned again and again. Imagine being mocked, beaten, and stripp…