Passion cantatas played a significant role in the religious music culture of the 18th-century Gotha court. They began to replace oratorio passions and passion oratorios during G.H. Stölzel’s (1690-1749) tenure as Kapellmeister. Unlike other courts, they were regularly included in the services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This paper analyses the religious function of Stölzel's two passion cantatas for Maundy Thursday in the context of their performance. The cantatas, presented as meditations, explore the topics of prayer in Gethsemane and the capture of Jesus after the Last Supper. The passion cantata strengthens the connection between devotional practices and the liturgical year, lying between the cantata de tempore and the passion. They combine art music with hymns as a pedagogical tools. The time of the performance during the afternoon/evening service corresponds with the time of events described in the libretto. The present-tense narration helps the faithful to actualise the Passion of Christ in their minds. The representation of spiritual reality in corporeal reality is also determined by the time and its biblical meaning. It is realised through rhyme schemes, pictorial poetry, metaphors, rhetorical figures, and symbolism. Stölzel highlights the significance of performance in his church music, especially in the case of recitative style. The singer's articulation, strength and quality of sound, ornamentation, recognition of affects, tempo, and other modifications are crucial to communicate meanings and affects.