The Life-Giver’s Sacrifice: Understanding the Passion of Christ

The Passion of Christ—the suffering and death of Jesus Christ—is at the heart of Orthodox Christian faith, embodying the ultimate expression of divine love and sacrifice. Through His suffering, death, and resurrection, Christ offers humanity a path to reconciliation with God. This essay explores the journey of Christ’s Passion, highlighting key moments such as the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Descent into Hell, which reveal His profound sacrifice and victory over death, giving hope to all believers.

The Passion of Christ—His final days on earth leading up to the crucifixion and burial—is of profound significance in Orthodox Christianity. It is not merely a story of suffering, but a deliberate act of divine love and sacrifice. In this moment, the “Life-Giver” enters fully into the depths of human pain and death, as 1 Corinthians 15:45 declares: “እንዲሁ ደግሞ፦ ፊተኛው ሰው አዳም ሕያው ነፍስ ሆነ ተብሎ ተጽፎአል፤ ኋለኛው አዳም ሕይወትን የሚሰጥ መንፈስ ሆነ” This reveals Christ not only as the suffering servant, but also as the source of eternal life.

The Last Supper and Betrayal (Matthew 26:17–30): The Last Supper was more than a final meal—it was a sacred moment of deep communion with His disciples and the beginning of His Passion. During this holy gathering, Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist, offering His Body and Blood as the new covenant for the salvation of humanity:

“ሲበሉም ኢየሱስ እንጀራን አንሥቶ ባረከ ቈርሶም ለደቀ መዛሙርቱ ሰጠና፦ እንካችሁ፥ ብሉ ይህ ሥጋዬ ነው አለ። ጽዋንም አንሥቶ አመስግኖም ሰጣቸው እንዲህም አለ፦ ሁላችሁ ከእርሱ ጠጡ፤ ስለ ብዙዎች ለኃጢአት ይቅርታ የሚፈስ የአዲስ ኪዳን ደሜ ይህ ነው። (Matthew 26:26–28).

Earlier in His ministry, Christ had already thought this mystery, revealing about the life-giving reality of His Body and Blood: “ስለዚህ ኢየሱስ እንዲህ አላቸው፦ እውነት እውነት እላችኋለሁ፥ የሰውን ልጅ ሥጋ ካልበላችሁ ደሙንም ካልጠጣችሁ በራሳችሁ ሕይወት የላችሁም። ሥጋዬን የሚበላ ደሜንም የሚጠጣ የዘላለም ሕይወት አለው፥ እኔም በመጨረሻው ቀን አስነሣዋለሁ። ሥጋዬ እውነተኛ መብል ደሜም እውነተኛ መጠጥ ነውና።ሥጋዬን የሚበላ ደሜንም የሚጠጣ በእኔ ይኖራል እኔም በእርሱ እኖራለሁ።” (John 6: 53-56). It was this divine mystery—already taught in His teachings—that Christ established at the Last Supper.

At the same table, He also told His betrayal, revealing the sorrow and weight of human sin: “ሲበሉም፦ እውነት እላችኋለሁ፥ ከእናንተ አንዱ እኔን አሳልፎ ይሰጣል አለ::”(Mathiew 26: 21)

Gethsemane and the Distress (Matthew 26:36-46): In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ experiences deep emotional and spiritual pain. Though troubled, He fully submits to the Father’s will, and prayed: “ጥቂትም ወደ ፊት እልፍ ብሎ በፊቱ ወደቀና ሲጸልይ፦ አባቴ፥ ቢቻልስ፥ ይህች ጽዋ ከእኔ ትለፍ፤ ነገር ግን አንተ እንደምትወድ ይሁን እንጂ እኔ እንደምወድ አይሁን አለ።” (Matthew 26:39). This moment powerfully reveals His full identification with human nature, yet without sin— “እርሱ በእግዚአብሔር መልክ ሲኖር ሳለ ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር መተካከልን መቀማት እንደሚገባ ነገር አልቈጠረውም፥ ነገር ግን የባሪያን መልክ ይዞ በሰውም ምሳሌ ሆኖ ራሱን ባዶ አደረገ፥ (Philippians 2:6–7).

Arrest, Test, and Dishonor (Matthew 26:47-68, 27:1-51): Jesus' arrest by the authorities marks the climax of human opposition against Him. Though mocked, beaten, and falsely accused, He endures all with silent strength. He maintains His dignity, fulfilling the prophecy of a suffering servant: “ተጨነቀ ተሣቀየም አፉንም አልከፈተም፤ ለመታረድ እንደሚነዳ ጠቦት፥ በሸላቶቹም ፊት ዝም እንደሚል በግ፥ እንዲሁ አፉን አልከፈተም።” (Isaiah 53:7).

Crucifixion and the Sacrifice (John 19:17-37): The crucifixion, a cruel Roman punishment, represents the deepest level of human brutality of that time. But for the Orthodox faith, the cross became the ultimate expression of love and redemption. Jesus willingly offers Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for humanity's sins, declaring "It is finished" as He completes His mission: “ኢየሱስም ሆምጣጤውን ከተቀበለ በኋላ፦ ተፈጸመ አለ፥ ራሱንም አዘንብሎ ነፍሱን አሳልፎ ሰጠ።” (John 19:30)

The Descent into Hell and the Hope of Resurrection (1 Peter 3:18-19): After His death, Christ descends into Hell, not as a captive but as a conqueror. He proclaims victory over death and frees the souls who had awaited the coming of the Messiah, offering hope to all of humanity. Ephesians 4:8-10 describes this as: “ስለዚህ፦ ወደ ላይ በወጣ ጊዜ ምርኮን ማረከ ለሰዎችም ስጦታን ሰጠ ይላል። ወደ ምድር ታችኛ ክፍል ደግሞ ወረደ ማለት ካልሆነ፥ ይህ ወጣ ማለትስ ምን ማለት ነው? ይህ የወረደው ሁሉን ይሞላ ዘንድ ከሰማያት ሁሉ በላይ የወጣው ደግሞ ያው ነው።” (Ephesians 4:8-10). This verse shows that Christ freed those held captive by death. His descent marks the beginning of His glorious resurrection and brings hope to all.

The Orthodox Church views the Passion of Christ as a profound demonstration of divine love and sacrifice—a journey into suffering to conquer it and offer humanity a path to reconciliation with God. This notion is clearly expressed in the Holy Friday hymn of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church tradition: “ክርስቶስ አምላክነ ዘመጽአ ወሐመ በእንቲአነ በሕማማቲሁ ቤዘወነ” “የመጣው ክርስቶስ አምላካችን ስለ እኛ ታመመ፣ በሕመሞቹም አዳነን ፣ ታደገን”: “Christ, our God, who came and suffered for us, through His pains, He saved and rescued us.”

Conclusion

The Passion of Christ is not merely a story of suffering, but a triumph of divine love and redemption. Through His sacrifice, Christ conquered death and offered eternal life to humanity. The Orthodox Church views this as the ultimate act of love, where darkness is overcome, sin is defeated, and reconciliation with God is made possible. His willing journey to the cross reveals not only the depth of His love but also the boundless mercy of God. For the faithful, the Passion of Christ is not only a historical event but a living mystery that calls us to repentance, gratitude, and hope. In Christ’s suffering, we find healing; in His death, we receive life.