The Passion
Seven days that remade the world
Twelve episodes on the final week of Jesus of Nazareth in Jerusalem. Palm Sunday to Easter morning. From the donkey's entry to the rolled-back stone. Each hour reconstructed from the sources — the four Gospels, Tacitus, Flavius Josephus, Philo of Alexandria — cross-checked against modern archaeology: the Pilate Stone found at Caesarea, the Caiaphas ossuary, the only crucifixion victim ever recovered by archaeologists. The story told in historical detail and in reverent silence.
12 episodes · Narrated in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French and German
Episode 1 is free
Episodes
- 01
Palm Sunday
Jerusalem, spring. Days before Passover. A pilgrim comes down from the Mount of Olives riding a donkey. The whole city fills up.
- 02
The Tables That Fell
The next morning, in Mark's account. The prophet returns to the Temple. The money changers' tables are overturned.
- 03
The Traps
Tuesday, by the traditional reckoning of Holy Week. The Temple full. The prophet teaching. Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, Herodians. Each group brings a question to trap him.
- 04
The Anointing and the Betrayal
Holy Wednesday. In Bethany, a woman breaks an alabaster jar. One of the Twelve goes to the chief priests.
- 05
The Upper Room
Thursday. Preparations for Passover. Two disciples go into Jerusalem with a strange instruction. In an upper room, at night, the Master rises from the table and takes off his outer garments.
- 06
Gethsemane
Crossing the Kidron Valley at night. A place called the oil press, on the Mount of Olives. Sweat like drops of blood. The kiss of Judas.
- 07
The Denial and the Sanhedrin
Before dawn on Friday. The high priest's courtyard. A rooster crows. A disciple moves away from the fire. At first light, the council meets.
- 08
Pilate
Friday morning. The Roman governor's praetorium. A judge who says he finds no guilt. A man handed over by a council that, according to John, has no right to execute anyone.
- 09
Via Dolorosa
From the square to Golgotha, outside the walls. A man from Cyrene, in Africa, carries the cross. Women weep for him along the way. Soldiers nail a man to the cross.
- 10
The Ninth Hour
The third hour. The sixth hour. The ninth hour. Darkness over the whole land. Seven sayings. A torn veil. A centurion who confesses.
- 11
The Sabbath
Friday at dusk. The whole Sabbath. The dead prophet beneath the stone. The city keeps the Passover Sabbath. The women wait for the morning of the first day.
- 12
Easter Morning
Very early on the first day of the week, the women go to the tomb with spices. The stone has been rolled away. The head cloth, set apart. In the garden, Jesus says "Mary." She answers "Rabboni."
How this series was researched
The narration and the place and date labels were broken down into factual claims and checked against sources: 536 claims in this series were checked against a cited source. Where the sources did not support a claim, the text was corrected or reduced to what the sources actually say.
A second, independent check then went through the whole series again.
The text was reviewed separately in each of the five languages it is narrated in.
Main sources
- Gospel of Matthew 21–28 (1st century)
- Gospel of Mark 11–16 (1st century)
- Gospel of Luke 19–24 (1st century)
- Gospel of John 12–21 (1st century)
- Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18 — Flavius Josephus (c. 93–94)
- The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave — Raymond E. Brown (1994)
Tradition and debate
Where the sources are thin or disagree, the series says so. For example:
- Where Pilate's praetorium stood is debated: Herod's palace in the west of Jerusalem, or the Antonia Fortress, where the Via Dolorosa begins.
- The name of Pilate's wife, Claudia Procula, comes from later tradition; Matthew alone records her message about her dream.
- Jesus' three falls on the way to Calvary are remembered by the tradition of the Way of the Cross; the Gospels do not narrate them.
Read more on the Journal
The 14 Stations of the Cross, Explained
What the Stations of the Cross — the Via Crucis or Via Dolorosa — actually are, where the devotion came from, the full list of 14 stations, and how to pray them.
Lent — Why 40 Days, and How to Live Them
What Lent is, why it lasts 40 days, and how the three pillars — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — prepare Christians for Easter.
Holy Week, Day by Day — From Palm Sunday to Easter
A clear walk through the holiest week of the Christian year — Palm Sunday, the Easter Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Mary Magdalene at the Empty Tomb: First Witness of the Resurrection
Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb on Easter morning — the first witness of the Resurrection, the apostle to the apostles, and what the Gospels really say.
