I go into all of these numbers because it is obvious to me that the followers of Jesus took the three-hour Jewish observance of Passover and stretched it into a twenty-four-hour vigil with eight distinct segments. Matthew’s passion narrative was then purpose-written for that vigil. What we have in the passion narrative, then, is a scripture lesson, designed to be read at each of the eight segments of a twenty-four-hour vigil liturgy, allowing the followers of Jesus to “watch” with their Lord during the final twenty-four hours of his life.
