NOTES for Mat 26:6-16
It is perfectly clear that the main thing in the Gospel text we read during these days is the events themselves, the events the evangelists are speaking about. They tell us about them not so that we may enjoy the literary style or enter into the depth of their thoughts and judgments. The events of Passion Week, like no others, must above all be seen.
The Creed, filled with depth and expressing the inexpressible mysteries of God, gives a somewhat unexpected and very concrete indication when it speaks of the Passion: "crucified for us under Pontius Pilate." Why? What does Pilate have to do with it? This mention is necessary so that we remember that the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ for us is not an abstract theological category, but real events that happened at a definite time and in a definite place.
When we remember Judas' betrayal, the anointing with myrrh at the supper in Bethany, and Caiaphas' involuntary prophecy, we ourselves become, to some extent, not only spectators but participants in these events. For when we see Christ's Way of the Cross, we cannot help thinking that the Lord endures all this because of us, in our place, and for our sake.