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| date | Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:16:17 +0000 |
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| 4 <body style=text-align:justify><blockquote> | |
| 5 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">19</span> | |
| 6 <p align=center><B>LECTURE I</B> | |
| 7 <BLOCKQUOTE><p><b>1 Then Pilate took | |
| 8 Jesus and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put | |
| 9 it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe; 3 they came up to him, | |
| 10 saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands.</b></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 11 | |
| 12 <p>2371 Above, the Evangelist gave us an account of what Christ | |
| 13 suffered from the Jews; here he describes what in particular he endured from | |
| 14 the Gentiles. He suffered three things, as he had predicted: "They will deliver | |
| 15 him to the Gentiles, to be mocked and scourged and crucified" (Matt 20:19). | |
| 16 First, he deals with the scourging of Christ; secondly, with his mockery (v 2); | |
| 17 and thirdly, with his crucifixion (v 4). | |
| 18 | |
| 19 <p>2372 He says, <b>Then</b>, after all their shouting, <b>Pilate | |
| 20 took Jesus and scourged him, </b>not with his own hands, but using his | |
| 21 soldiers. He did this hoping that the Jews would be satisfied with these wounds | |
| 22 and be softened so as no longer to demand his death. For it is natural for our | |
| 23 anger to subside if we see the one we are angry at humiliated and punished, as | |
| 24 the Philosopher says in his <i>Rhetoric.</i><a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" | |
| 25 title="">[1]</a><i> | |
| 26 </i>This is true of that anger which seeks to inflict a limited amount of harm; | |
| 27 but it is not the case of that hatred which seeks the entire destruction of the | |
| 28 one hated: "An enemy ... if he finds an opportunity his thirst for blood will | |
| 29 be insatiable" (Sir 12:16). Now the Jews hated Christ, and so his scourging did | |
| 30 not satisfy them: "All the day long I have been scourged" [Ps 73:14]; "I gave | |
| 31 my back to the smiters" (Is 50:6). | |
| 32 | |
| 33 <p>2373 Does this intention excuse Pilate for the scourging? It | |
| 34 does not; because of all those things which are evil in themselves <i>(per se), | |
| 35 </i>none can be made totally good by a good intention. Now to harm an innocent | |
| 36 person, and especially the Son of God, is in the highest degree an evil in itself. | |
| 37 Consequently, it cannot be excused by any intention. | |
| 38 | |
| 39 <p>2374 Now the Evangelist shows us Christ being ridiculed: | |
| 40 first, the mock honors paid to him; secondly, the real dishonor showed him, <b>and | |
| 41 struck him. </b>They pay him mock honors by calling him a king, thus adverting | |
| 42 to the charge lodged by the Jews, who said that he made himself king of the | |
| 43 Jews. Therefore, they pay him the three honors given to a king, but in a | |
| 44 derisive way. First, we have a mock crown; and then mock clothing and | |
| 45 acclamations. | |
| 46 | |
| 47 <p>2375 They mock him with a crown, because it is customary for | |
| 48 kings to wear a crown, a crown of gold: "A crown of gold upon his head" [Sir | |
| 49 45:12]. The Psalm (21:3) mentions this: "Thou dost set a crown of fine gold | |
| 50 upon his head." <b>And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on | |
| 51 his head, </b>the head of him who is a crown of glory to those who belong to | |
| 52 him: "In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of | |
| 53 beauty, to the remnant of his people" (Is 28:5). It was appropriately made of thorns, | |
| 54 because by them he removes the thorns of sin, which pain us through remorse of | |
| 55 conscience: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns" (Jer 4:3). | |
| 56 These thorns also take away the thorns of punishment which burden us: "Thorns | |
| 57 and thistles it shall bring forth to you" (Gen 3:18). | |
| 58 | |
| 59 <p>Was this crowning done by the | |
| 60 governor's order? Chrysostom says that it was not, but that the soldiers were | |
| 61 bribed with money and did this to satisfy the Jews.<a href="#_ftn2" | |
| 62 name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> | |
| 63 On the other hand, Augustine says that this was done by the command or the | |
| 64 permission of the governor to the end that the hatred of the Jews would be | |
| 65 satiated and Pilate could more easily release Jesus.<a href="#_ftn3" | |
| 66 name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> | |
| 67 | |
| 68 <p>2376 Secondly, they mock him with clothing. <b>The soldiers | |
| 69 ... arrayed him in a purple robe, </b>which was the sign of a royal dignity for | |
| 70 the Romans. In 1 Maccabees (8:14) we read that when the Romans ruled they wore | |
| 71 a crown and were clothed in purple. This clothing of Christ in purple fulfills | |
| 72 the prophecy of Isaiah (63:2): "Why is your apparel red, and your garments like | |
| 73 his that treads in the wine press?" At the same time it indicates the | |
| 74 sufferings of the martyrs, which stains red the entire body of Christ, that is, | |
| 75 the church. | |
| 76 | |
| 77 <p>2377 Thirdly, they mock him the way they address him: <b>they | |
| 78 came up to him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! </b>It was the custom then, as | |
| 79 it is now, for subjects to salute their king when they came into his presence: | |
| 80 "And when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to | |
| 81 Absalom, 'Long live the king ! Long live the king!'" (2 Sam 16:16). | |
| 82 | |
| 83 <p>As for the mystical interpretation, | |
| 84 those greet Christ mockingly who profess him with words "but deny him with | |
| 85 their deeds" (Titus 1:16). | |
| 86 | |
| 87 <p>2378 Now he mentions the real dishonor shown to Christ, <b>and | |
| 88 struck him with their hands, </b>in order to show that the honor they did gave | |
| 89 him was in mockery: "I gave my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard" (Is | |
| 90 50:6); "With a rod they strike upon the cheek the ruler of Israel" (Mic 5:1). | |
| 91 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 92 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 2 | |
| 93 | |
| 94 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>4 Pilate went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am | |
| 95 bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no crime in him." 5 So | |
| 96 Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to | |
| 97 them, "Here is the man!" 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, | |
| 98 they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him | |
| 99 yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him." 7 The Jews answered | |
| 100 him, "We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he has made | |
| 101 himself the Son of God." 8 When Pilate heard these words, he was the more | |
| 102 afraid; 9 he entered the praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are you | |
| 103 from?" But Jesus gave no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to him, "You will not | |
| 104 speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to | |
| 105 crucify you?" 11 Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it | |
| 106 had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the | |
| 107 greater sin." 12a Upon this Pilate sought to release him.<a href="#_ftn4" | |
| 108 name="_ftnref4">[4]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 109 | |
| 110 <p>2379 Now the Evangelist treats of the crucifixion of Christ: | |
| 111 first, the crucifixion itself; secondly, the death of Christ (v 28); and | |
| 112 thirdly, his burial (v 38). As to the crucifixion, he first mentions the | |
| 113 dispute Pilate had with the Jews; secondly, we have the sentencing of Christ (v | |
| 114 8); and thirdly, the sentence is carried out (v 17). Pilate, wanting to release | |
| 115 Christ, began arguing with the Jews. First, the Evangelist shows how Pilate | |
| 116 tried to release Christ by exhibiting him to the crowd; secondly, by declaring | |
| 117 his innocence, <b>I find no crime in him. </b>As regards the first, the | |
| 118 Evangelist shows Jesus being shown to the crowd; and secondly, the effect this | |
| 119 had, <b>Crucify him.</b> | |
| 120 | |
| 121 <p>2380 Three things are mentioned concerning Christ's | |
| 122 exhibition to the Jews. First there is the intention of Pilate, which was to | |
| 123 free him. He says, <b>Pilate went out again, </b>from the praetorium, <b>and | |
| 124 said to them, </b>to the Jews who were waiting there, <b>Behold, I am bringing | |
| 125 him out to you, </b>for this purpose, <b>that you may know that I find no crime | |
| 126 in him, </b>deserving of death. Why then, unrighteous Pilate, was there this | |
| 127 shameful bargaining if there was no crime in him? Was it so the Jews would not | |
| 128 believe that you would release him because you were partial to him? What kind | |
| 129 of partiality is that when you give one so much thrashing? Or perhaps it was so | |
| 130 that his enemies, gladly seeing his disgrace, would no longer thirst for blood. | |
| 131 Pilate is saying in effect: If there were a reason for his death, I would | |
| 132 condemn him just like I have scourged him. Perhaps he has committed some minor infraction | |
| 133 of the law, which did deserve a scourging, but there was nothing deserving of | |
| 134 death. | |
| 135 | |
| 136 <p>2381 Secondly, we see Christ being presented before the | |
| 137 crowd, <b>Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. </b>He | |
| 138 was exhibited in the same robe he wore when he was mocked by the officers in | |
| 139 the hope that the crowd would be appeased when they saw him, not respected for | |
| 140 his authority, but entirely dishonored: "For it is for your sake that I have | |
| 141 borne reproach, that shame has covered my face" (Ps 69:7). This teaches us that | |
| 142 we should be ready to undergo any kind of disrespect for the name of Jesus | |
| 143 Christ: "Fear not the reproach of men, and be not dismayed at their revilings" | |
| 144 (Is 51:7). | |
| 145 | |
| 146 <p>2382 Thirdly, Christ's exhibition is further described | |
| 147 through the words of Pilate, <b>Here is the man! </b>spoken in a sarcastic way, | |
| 148 as if one so disgraced would dare to usurp a kingship. Look at the kind of | |
| 149 person you are accusing of this! The words of the Psalm (22:6) apply to him: "I | |
| 150 am a worm, and no man." And so, if you do hate your king, spare him now because | |
| 151 you see him dishonored. "When disgrace increases, let your hatred decrease,"<a | |
| 152 href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> | |
| 153 as Augustine says. | |
| 154 | |
| 155 <p>2383 Now we see the effect of this exhibition on the Jews. | |
| 156 No matter how disgraced and wretched and beaten he appeared, their hatred did | |
| 157 not lessen, but was still burning and growing. <b>When the chief priests and | |
| 158 the officers saw him, </b>when Jesus was brought out, <b>they cried out, | |
| 159 Crucify him, crucify him! </b>Their desire was so strong that they shouted this | |
| 160 twice. And they will not be satisfied with any kind of death, but demand the | |
| 161 most dishonorable kind, crucifixion: "Let us condemn him to a shameful death" | |
| 162 (Wis 2:20). He said, <b>When they saw him, </b>because the sight of the one | |
| 163 they hated only served to incite and inflame their hearts with more hatred: | |
| 164 "The very sight of him is a burden to us" (Wis 2:15). | |
| 165 | |
| 166 <p>2384 Now the Evangelist shows how Pilate tried to free | |
| 167 Christ by declaring his innocence. As a result, a disagreement arose because, | |
| 168 first, Pilate declared the innocence of Christ; while secondly, the Jews | |
| 169 repeated his guilt, <b>We have a law</b>. | |
| 170 | |
| 171 <p>2385 As to Christ's innocence, Pilate said to them, <b>Take | |
| 172 him yourselves, and crucify him</b>. It is like saying: I do not want to be a | |
| 173 judge who judges unjustly. I will not crucify him. You crucify him if you want, | |
| 174 but I find no crime in him, deserving of crucifixion: "The ruler of this world | |
| 175 is coming. He has no power over me" (14:30); Jesus "whom you delivered up and | |
| 176 denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him" (Acts | |
| 177 3:13). | |
| 178 | |
| 179 <p>2386 But the Jews repeat Christ's offense: <b>We have a | |
| 180 law....</b> They seemed to understand from Pilate's response that he would not | |
| 181 go against Christ because of a charge of claiming a kingdom, although they had | |
| 182 thought he would be especially inclined by this to kill him. And since this | |
| 183 crime was not enough to put Christ to death, the Jews thought that when Pilate | |
| 184 said, <b>Take him yourselves and crucify him, </b>he was asking if they had | |
| 185 another crime, a violation of the law, for which he could be condemned and for | |
| 186 which they were condemning him. Thus they say, <b>by that law he ought to die. </b>First, | |
| 187 they charge Christ with a crime against the law of the Jews; secondly, against | |
| 188 the law of the Romans (v 12). In regard to the first, we see the accusation of | |
| 189 the Jews against Christ; secondly, the effect of this on Pilate, <b>he was the | |
| 190 more afraid.</b> | |
| 191 | |
| 192 <p>2387 The crime against the Jewish law that they charged | |
| 193 Christ with was that <b>he has made himself the Son of God, </b>and for this he | |
| 194 deserved death: "This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because | |
| 195 he not only broke the sabbath, but also called God his Father, making himself | |
| 196 equal with God" (5:18); and again, "We stone you for no good work but for | |
| 197 blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God" (10:33). They always | |
| 198 said that "he made himself the Son of God," assuming he was not. But this was | |
| 199 not against the law, as Christ proved to them before (10:34), by citing the | |
| 200 Psalm (82:6): "I say, You are gods." For if other people, who are adopted | |
| 201 children, can call themselves children of God without blasphemy, how much more | |
| 202 can Christ do this, who is the Son of God by nature. But they regarded him as a | |
| 203 liar and blasphemer, each of which deserved death, because they did not | |
| 204 understand his eternal generation [from the Father]. | |
| 205 | |
| 206 <p>2388 Now the Evangelist mentions the effect the accusation | |
| 207 of the Jews had on Pilate. The first was that it produced fear: <b>When Pilate | |
| 208 heard these words, </b>that is, that Christ made himself the Son of God, he was | |
| 209 the more afraid that it might be true and that it would be disastrous to | |
| 210 proceed against him without cause. | |
| 211 | |
| 212 <p>2389 Secondly, he mentions another effect it produced: doubt | |
| 213 and questioning (v 9). First, we have the question Pilate asked; secondly, the | |
| 214 silence of Christ; and thirdly, the reproach of Pilate. | |
| 215 | |
| 216 <p>2390 In regard to the first he says, <b>he entered the | |
| 217 praetorium again, </b>stricken with fear,<b> and said to Jesus</b>, whom he had | |
| 218 led back with himself, <b>Where are you from?</b> trying to find out whether | |
| 219 Jesus was God, with a divine origin, or a man, with an earthly origin. This | |
| 220 could be answered by what was said before, "You are from below, I am from | |
| 221 above" (8:23). | |
| 222 | |
| 223 <p>2391 Jesus, because he chose to, did not give an answer, so | |
| 224 that he might show that he was unwilling to overwhelm by words and to make | |
| 225 excuses, since he had come to suffer. At the same time he is for us an example | |
| 226 of patience, and fulfilled what is found in Isaiah (53:7): "like a sheep that | |
| 227 before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." It says, "like a | |
| 228 sheep," to show that the silence of Jesus was not that of a man convicted of | |
| 229 sin and aware of his evil, but the silence of a gentle person being sacrificed | |
| 230 for the sins of others. | |
| 231 | |
| 232 <p>2392 Then the Evangelist shows how Pilate reproached him for | |
| 233 his silence (v 10): first, we see Pilate boasting of his power; secondly, we | |
| 234 have what Christ said about this power. | |
| 235 | |
| 236 <p>2393 Pilate was displeased that Jesus did not answer him, | |
| 237 and said, <b>You will not speak to me?</b> He has condemned himself, for if | |
| 238 this entire matter lay in his power, why does he not release Jesus since he has | |
| 239 found him without crime? "I will condemn you out of your own mouth" (Lk 19:22); | |
| 240 "Because you have authority among men, mortal though you are, you do what you | |
| 241 please" (2 Mac 7:16). | |
| 242 | |
| 243 <p>2394 Pilate was boasting about his power, "Men who ... boast | |
| 244 of the abundance of their riches" (Ps 49:6). So our Lord curbs him, saying, <b>You | |
| 245 would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above. </b>It was | |
| 246 like Augustine said: "When Christ was silent, it was like a lamb; when he | |
| 247 spoke, he taught as a shepherd."<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> | |
| 248 So, first Christ teaches Pilate about the source of his power; secondly, about | |
| 249 the greatness of his sin. | |
| 250 | |
| 251 <p>2395 In regard to the first he says, <b>You would have no | |
| 252 power over me unless it had been given you from above. </b>He is saying in effect: | |
| 253 If you seem to have some power, you do not have this from yourself, but it has | |
| 254 been given to you from above, from God, from whom all power comes: "By me kings | |
| 255 reign" (Prv 8:15). He says <b>no power, </b>that is, no matter how little, | |
| 256 because Pilate did have a limited power under a greater one, the power of | |
| 257 Caesar: "For I am a man under authority" (Mt 8:9). | |
| 258 | |
| 259 <p>2396 <b>Therefore, </b>he concludes, <b>he who delivered me | |
| 260 to you, </b>that is, Judas or the chief priests, has the greater sin. He says <b>greater, | |
| 261 </b>to indicate that both those who delivered him up to Pilate and Pilate | |
| 262 himself were guilty of sin. But those who delivered him up had the greater sin | |
| 263 because they delivered him up out of ill‑will, whereas Pilate did what he | |
| 264 did because he was afraid of a superior power. This refutes those heretics who | |
| 265 say that all sins are equal, for if they were, our Lord would not have said, <b>the | |
| 266 greater sin. </b>"Woe to that man by whom the temptation comes!" (Mt 18:7). | |
| 267 | |
| 268 <p>2397 The effect of all this was that <b>upon this Pilate | |
| 269 sought to release him. </b>As we saw before, Pilate tried to release Christ | |
| 270 from the very beginning. Thus the <b>upon this </b>indicates he now sought it | |
| 271 for another reason, that is, to escape from sinning. Or, he had tried to | |
| 272 release him <b>before, but upon this, </b>from now on, he was fully and firmly | |
| 273 determined to release him. | |
| 274 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 275 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 3 | |
| 276 | |
| 277 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>12b But the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you | |
| 278 are not Caesar's friend; every one who makes himself a king sets himself | |
| 279 against Caesar." 13 When Pilate heard these words [he grew more fearful], he | |
| 280 brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat [tribunal] at a place | |
| 281 called The Pavement [Lithostrotos], and in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the | |
| 282 day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the | |
| 283 Jews, "Here is your King!" 15 They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, | |
| 284 crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief | |
| 285 priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." 16 Then he handed him over to | |
| 286 them to be crucified. 17 So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own | |
| 287 cross, to the place called the place of a skull [Calvary], which is called in | |
| 288 Hebrew Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on | |
| 289 either side, and Jesus between them.<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 290 | |
| 291 <p>2398 Above, the Jews accused Christ of a crime against their | |
| 292 law, but Pilate seemed to consider this a slight matter since he himself was | |
| 293 not subject to this law. So they now accuse Christ of a crime against the Roman | |
| 294 Law, hoping this would press Pilate into taking his life. First, they state the | |
| 295 danger which is hanging over Pilate if he releases Christ; secondly, they give | |
| 296 the reason for this danger (v 12). | |
| 297 | |
| 298 <p>2399 He says that after Pilate tried to release Christ, <b>the | |
| 299 Jews cried out, If you release this man, </b>who is making himself king, <b>you | |
| 300 are not Caesar's friend</b>,<b> </b>that is, you will lose his friendship. It | |
| 301 frequently happens that we estimate others based on the way that we ourselves | |
| 302 are. And since it was written of these Jews that "They loved the praise of men | |
| 303 more than the praise of God" (12:43), they thought that Pilate would prefer the | |
| 304 friendship of Caesar to the friendship of justice ‑ even though the | |
| 305 opposite is commanded: "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put | |
| 306 confidence in princes" (Ps 118:9). The Philosopher says that truth is to be | |
| 307 preferred to friendship. | |
| 308 | |
| 309 <p>2400 They add the reason for the danger which threatened | |
| 310 Pilate when they say, <b>every one who makes himself a king sets himself | |
| 311 against Caesar</b>, for it is the nature of earthly power that one power cannot | |
| 312 endure the presence of another power. And so Caesar did not allow another to | |
| 313 rule: "Do not seek from men the highest office, nor the seat of honor from the | |
| 314 king" [Sir 7:4]. | |
| 315 | |
| 316 <p>2401 In treating the condemnation of Christ, the Evangelist | |
| 317 mentions the place, secondly the time (v 14), and thirdly the manner of the | |
| 318 condemnation (v 14b). | |
| 319 | |
| 320 <p>2402 In regard to the first, the Evangelist indicates the | |
| 321 motive of Pilate when he says, <b>When Pilate heard these words he grew more | |
| 322 fearful</b>, for it was not as easy for him to ignore Caesar, the source of his | |
| 323 power, as it was to disdain the laws of a foreign people. So he says, <b>he | |
| 324 brought Jesus out. </b>But there was no reason for Pilate to fear, because | |
| 325 Jesus was not setting himself against Caesar. Christ had no purple, no scepter, | |
| 326 no diadem, no chariots, no soldiers to indicate that he was seizing a kingdom. | |
| 327 Rather, Christ always sat alone with his disciples, plain in food, in clothing | |
| 328 and in dwelling. Yet as we read in Proverbs (28:1), "The wicked flee when no | |
| 329 one pursues." "They trembled in fear when there was no fear" [Ps 53:5]; "Be not | |
| 330 afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks" (Ez 2:6). | |
| 331 | |
| 332 <p>2403 Then he mentions the place saying, <b>and sat down on | |
| 333 the tribunal. </b>A tribunal is the seat of a judge, like the throne is the | |
| 334 seat of a king, and the professor's chair is the seat of a master: "A king who | |
| 335 sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes" (Prv 20:8). It | |
| 336 was called a tribunal because among the Romans it was the tribunes (named from | |
| 337 the tribes they headed) who adjudicated in certain cases. This tribunal was <b>at | |
| 338 a place called Lithostrotos, </b>that is, a pavement of stones. "Lithos" in | |
| 339 Greek means the same as "stone," and the place where Pilate sat in his judgment | |
| 340 seat had been paved with stones. In Hebrew this place was called Gabbatha, that | |
| 341 is, a mound formed from stones. | |
| 342 | |
| 343 <p>2404 The time of the condemnation is given when he says, <b>Now | |
| 344 it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. </b>Among | |
| 345 the Jews the Sabbath was in some respects more solemn than any other feast, | |
| 346 insofar as out of reverence for that day no food was prepared on the Sabbath; | |
| 347 it was prepared on the preceding Friday. Thus this Friday was called the day of | |
| 348 Preparation of the Passover. This practice had its origin when the Jews in the | |
| 349 desert were forbidden to gather manna on the Sabbath, but were directed to | |
| 350 gather a double supply the day before (Ex 16:24). In this matter they yielded | |
| 351 to no feast. Accordingly, although the present Friday was a solemn feast for | |
| 352 them, they still prepared the Sabbath food on that day. | |
| 353 | |
| 354 <p>2405 He adds, <b>it was about the sixth hour. </b>This does | |
| 355 not agree with Mark (15:25), who says, "And it was the third hour, when they | |
| 356 crucified him." It is clear that Christ was before the tribunal before he was | |
| 357 crucified. | |
| 358 | |
| 359 <p>According to Augustine, there are | |
| 360 two explanations for this.<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> | |
| 361 The first, and better, is that Christ was crucified two times: once by the | |
| 362 tongues and words of the shouting Jews, "Crucify him, crucify him" (v 6), and | |
| 363 the second time by the hands of the soldiers who nailed him to the cross. Now | |
| 364 the Jews wanted to blame the crucifixion on the Gentiles. And so Mark, who | |
| 365 wrote his gospel for the Gentiles, blamed it on the Jews, saying that Christ | |
| 366 was crucified by the Jews when at the third hour they shouted, "Crucify him, crucify | |
| 367 him." It is John who follows the real time and he says, <b>it was about the | |
| 368 sixth hour. </b>For when Christ was on the cross it was at the end of the fifth | |
| 369 hour and at the beginning of the sixth, when darkness came and lasted three | |
| 370 hours, that is, until the ninth hour. He says, <b>about the sixth hour </b>because | |
| 371 the sixth hour had not yet begun. | |
| 372 | |
| 373 <p>The second explanation is that the | |
| 374 preparation of the Passover was mentioned, and our Passover, Christ, was about | |
| 375 to be immolated. Thus the preparation of the Passover is the preparation for | |
| 376 the immolation of Christ. This preparation began at the ninth hour of the | |
| 377 night, when the Jews shouted, to the captured Christ, "He deserves death" (Mt | |
| 378 26:66). If to the three remaining hours of the night we add the three hours of | |
| 379 the day, when Christ was crucified, we can see that he was crucified at the | |
| 380 sixth hour of the preparation, although this was the third hour of the day, as | |
| 381 Mark says. And it was appropriate that he was crucified at the sixth hour | |
| 382 because by his cross he restored human nature which was created on the sixth | |
| 383 day. | |
| 384 | |
| 385 <p>2406 Now the Evangelist tells us about the manner and order | |
| 386 of the condemnation (v 14). Pilate still wanted to free Christ, although his | |
| 387 fear of Caesar weighed upon him. First we see Pilate's attempt to free Christ; | |
| 388 secondly, he consents to have him crucified. (v 16). Concerning the first, we | |
| 389 see the attempt of Pilate; and then the malice of the Jews (v 15b). | |
| 390 | |
| 391 <p>2407 The Evangelist says that after Pilate sat down on the | |
| 392 judgment seat, he said to the Jews, in exasperation, <b>Here is your King! </b>It | |
| 393 was like saying: I am astonished that you fear to have this man, so humiliated | |
| 394 and destitute, as your king. For only the wealthy and strong aspire to the | |
| 395 throne, and this man is neither. As the Psalm [88:15] said: "I am poor and in | |
| 396 labor from my youth." | |
| 397 | |
| 398 <p>2408 This did not lessen the malice of the Jews. In | |
| 399 inexhaustible hatred <b>they cried out</b>,<b> </b>doubling their already great | |
| 400 malice by repeating the words, <b>Away with him, away with him, crucify him! </b>This | |
| 401 shows that they could not stand the sight of him: "They say to God, 'Depart | |
| 402 from us! We do not desire the knowledge of thy ways'" (Job 21:14); "The very | |
| 403 sight of him is a burden to us" (Wis 2:15). Therefore, "Let us condemn him to a | |
| 404 shameful death" (Wis 2:20), which is the same as <b>crucify him!</b> | |
| 405 | |
| 406 <p>2409 Now we see how Pilate tried to free Christ by shaming | |
| 407 the Jews. First, we see Pilate's attempt, <b>Shall I crucify your King?</b> He | |
| 408 is saying in effect: If you are not affected by his humiliation, your own sense | |
| 409 of shame should move you, because I am going to crucify the one who is trying | |
| 410 to be your king. And this is to your disgrace since it is being done by a | |
| 411 foreigner. | |
| 412 | |
| 413 <p>Secondly, we see how unyielding the | |
| 414 Jews are when they say, <b>We have no king but Caesar. </b>By thus refusing to | |
| 415 be subject to the authority of Christ, they have submitted themselves to | |
| 416 perpetual subjection. And so even to this very day, they are strangers to | |
| 417 Christ, and have become servants of Caesar and earthly powers: "For they have | |
| 418 not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them" (1 Sam | |
| 419 8:7); "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water and hewed out | |
| 420 cisterns for themselves; broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer 2:13). | |
| 421 | |
| 422 <p>2410 Then the Evangelist mentions the consent of Pilate to | |
| 423 the killing of Christ, <b>Then he handed him over to them, </b>to the Jews, who | |
| 424 had been subject to the power and the will of the Romans, <b>to be crucified. </b>This | |
| 425 was against the advice of Exodus (23:2): "You shall not follow a multitude to | |
| 426 do evil." "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked" (Job 9:24); "I have | |
| 427 given my dear soul into the hands of her enemies" [Jer 12:7]. | |
| 428 | |
| 429 <p>2411 Now the Evangelist deals with the crucifixion of | |
| 430 Christ: first, the dishonor of the cross; secondly, the events surrounding the | |
| 431 crucifixion (v 19). | |
| 432 | |
| 433 <p>The dishonor of the cross is | |
| 434 indicated by those who crucified Christ, by the way he was led to his death, by | |
| 435 the place where this happened, and by those crucified with him. | |
| 436 | |
| 437 <p>2412 Those who crucified him were soldiers. <b>So they took | |
| 438 Jesus. </b>This was done in deed by the soldiers ‑ for we read below (v | |
| 439 23), "When the soldiers had crucified Jesus" ‑ but done in desire by the | |
| 440 Jews, because they brought about by threats what happened. For this they ought | |
| 441 to lose the benefits of Christ's cross and have the Gentiles acquire them: "The | |
| 442 Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the | |
| 443 fruits of it" (Mt 21:43). | |
| 444 | |
| 445 <p>2413 The way Christ was brought to his crucifixion was a | |
| 446 dishonor, <b>bearing his own cross</b>,<b> </b>for death on a cross was a | |
| 447 disgrace: "A hanged man is accursed by God" (Deut 21:23). Avoiding the cross as | |
| 448 something unholy, and fearing even to touch it, they laid the cross on the | |
| 449 condemned Jesus. He went out, <b>bearing his own cross.</b> | |
| 450 | |
| 451 <p>2414 Matthew (27:32) says that they compelled a certain | |
| 452 Simon of Cyrene, on his way from the fields, to carry Christ's cross. We should | |
| 453 say that Christ carried his cross from the beginning, but as he went along they | |
| 454 found Simon to help him. | |
| 455 | |
| 456 <p>This does not lack its own mystery: | |
| 457 for although Christ was the first to endure the sufferings of the cross, others | |
| 458 did so after in imitation of him, especially strangers, that is, the Gentiles: | |
| 459 "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example" (1 Pet 2:21); "If any | |
| 460 man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow | |
| 461 me" (Mt 16:24). | |
| 462 | |
| 463 <p>Although this seems extremely | |
| 464 bizarre to the irreligious and to unbelievers, it is a great mystery for | |
| 465 believers and the devout: "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are | |
| 466 perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor 1:18). | |
| 467 Christ bore his cross as a king does his scepter; his cross is the sign of his | |
| 468 glory, which is his universal dominion over all things: "The Lord will reign | |
| 469 from the wood" [Ps 95:9 <i>sic</i>]; "The government will be upon his shoulder, | |
| 470 and his name will be called 'Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting | |
| 471 Father, Prince of Peace.'" (Is 9:6). He carried his cross as a victor carries | |
| 472 the trophy of his victory: "He disarmed the principalities and powers and made | |
| 473 a public example of them, triumphing over them in himself" [Col 2:15]. Again, | |
| 474 he carried his cross as a teacher his candelabrum, as a support for the light | |
| 475 of his teaching, because for believers the message of the cross is the power of | |
| 476 God: "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel but on | |
| 477 a stand, that those who enter may see the light" (Lk 11:33). | |
| 478 | |
| 479 <p>2415 The place where Christ suffered was also dishonorable, | |
| 480 and for two reasons. First, it was outside the city, <b>he went out to the | |
| 481 place called Calvary</b>,<b> </b>which is outside the walls of the city: "So | |
| 482 Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through | |
| 483 his own blood" (Heb 13:12). This passion of Christ was outside the walls of the | |
| 484 city to show that the effectiveness of his passion was not enclosed within the | |
| 485 boundaries of the Jewish nation, and to indicate that those who want to obtain | |
| 486 the fruit of his passion also have to go out from the world, at least with | |
| 487 their affections. Thus the Apostle says in his next sentence, "Therefore let us | |
| 488 go forth to him outside the camp" (Heb 13:13). | |
| 489 | |
| 490 <p>2416 Secondly, this place was dishonorable because it was | |
| 491 one of the lowest and basest, <b>to the place called Calvary. </b>"I am | |
| 492 reckoned among those who go down to the Pit" (Ps 88:4). Chrysostom tells us | |
| 493 that there are some who say that Adam died and was buried at this very place. | |
| 494 This is why it was called Calvary, from the skull (<i>calvaria</i>) of the | |
| 495 first man. And just as death reigned there, so there also Christ erected the | |
| 496 trophy of his victory. | |
| 497 | |
| 498 <p>However, as Jerome says, this is | |
| 499 the popular interpretation and attractive to the people, but it is not true, | |
| 500 because Adam was buried at Hebron: "Adam the greatest among the Anakim was | |
| 501 buried there" [Jos 14:15].<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a> | |
| 502 So we should say that this place was outside the gate of Jerusalem, and it was | |
| 503 there that the heads of the condemned were cut off. It was called Calvary | |
| 504 because the skulls of the beheaded were strewn there. | |
| 505 | |
| 506 <p>2417 Those who suffered with him also added to his dishonor, | |
| 507 for they crucified <b>with him two others, </b>who were criminals, as Luke | |
| 508 mentions (Lk 23:33). <b>One on either side, </b>one on the right and one on the | |
| 509 left, <b>and Jesus between them</b>,<b> </b>in the middle. Even in his | |
| 510 suffering Christ stood in the middle, a fact that the Jews intended should add | |
| 511 to his dishonor, for it implied that the cause of his death was similar to that | |
| 512 of the criminals: "He was numbered with the transgressors" (Is 53:12). | |
| 513 | |
| 514 <p>But if we contemplate this mystery, | |
| 515 we see that it is related to the glory of Christ. It shows that by his | |
| 516 suffering Christ merited the authority to judge: "Your cause has been judged as | |
| 517 one of the wicked. You will recover cause and judgment" [Job 36:17]. And it is | |
| 518 the function of a judge to be in the middle of the parties; so the Philosopher | |
| 519 says that to go to a judge is to go to the middle.<a href="#_ftn10" | |
| 520 name="_ftnref10">[10]</a> | |
| 521 Christ was also placed in the middle, one on his right, another on his left, | |
| 522 because in the judgment he will place the sheep on his right, and the goats on | |
| 523 his left. It was the criminal on his right who believed and was saved; the one | |
| 524 on his left, who reproached him, was condemned. | |
| 525 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 526 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 4 | |
| 527 | |
| 528 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>19 Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it | |
| 529 read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20 Many of the Jews read this | |
| 530 title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was | |
| 531 written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews | |
| 532 then said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man | |
| 533 said, I am King of the Jews.'" 22 Pilate answered, "What I have written I have | |
| 534 written." 23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and | |
| 535 made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was | |
| 536 without seam, woven from top to bottom; 24 so they said to one another, "Let us | |
| 537 not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to | |
| 538 fulfill the scripture, "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing | |
| 539 they cast lots." 25 So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of | |
| 540 Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and | |
| 541 Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved | |
| 542 standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then he said | |
| 543 to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took | |
| 544 her to his own home [to his own].<a href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 545 | |
| 546 <p>2418 The Evangelist just told of Christ's crucifixion; now | |
| 547 he mentions things that accompanied and followed it: first, as they relate to | |
| 548 Pilate; secondly as they relate to the soldiers; and finally, he tells about | |
| 549 Christ's friends who were standing by (v 25). Concerning Pilate, we see the | |
| 550 title being written on the cross, its being read, and its retention. | |
| 551 | |
| 552 <p>2419 Two things are mentioned about the first of these. | |
| 553 First, the writing of the title, <b>Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the | |
| 554 cross</b>. This was understandable, for it was a way of getting back at the | |
| 555 Jews by showing their malice in rising up against their own king. It was also | |
| 556 appropriate for this mystery, for just as inscriptions are placed on trophies | |
| 557 of victory so the people will remember and celebrate the victory ‑ "Let | |
| 558 us make a name for ourselves, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of | |
| 559 the whole earth" [Gen 11:4] ‑ so it was arranged that a title was put on | |
| 560 the cross so that the sufferings of Christ would be remembered: "Remember my | |
| 561 affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall!" (Lam 3:19). | |
| 562 | |
| 563 <p>2420 Secondly, he mentions the content of the title, <b>Jesus | |
| 564 of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, </b>words which are very fitting for this | |
| 565 mystery of the cross. The word Jesus, which means Savior, corresponds to the | |
| 566 power of the cross by which we have been saved: "You shall call his name Jesus, | |
| 567 for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21). The word Nazareth, | |
| 568 which means abounding in flowers, corresponds to the innocence of the one | |
| 569 suffering: "I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys" (Song 2:1); "A flower | |
| 570 will rise up out of his root" [Is 11:1]. The words <b>King of the Jews </b>accord | |
| 571 with the power, the dominion, which Christ earned by his suffering: "Therefore God | |
| 572 has highly exalted him" (Phil 2:9); "He shall reign as King and be wise" (Jer | |
| 573 23:5); he will sit "upon the throne of David and over his kingdom" (Is 9:7). | |
| 574 | |
| 575 <p>2421 Through his cross Christ is not just the King of the | |
| 576 Jews, but of all people ‑ for after we read, "I have set my king on | |
| 577 Zion," there follows, "Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage" (Ps | |
| 578 6:8). Why then did the Evangelist write only <b>King of the Jews</b>?<b> </b>I | |
| 579 answer that the Gentiles were grafted on to the abundant olive tree (Rom | |
| 580 11:17). And just like a graft comes to share in the abundance of the olive | |
| 581 tree, and it is not the olive tree that acquires the bitterness of the graft, | |
| 582 so those Gentiles who were converted to the faith were made spiritually Jews, | |
| 583 not by a circumcision of the flesh, but of the spirit. And so in saying the <b>King | |
| 584 of the Jews, </b>non‑Jewish converts are also included. | |
| 585 | |
| 586 <p>2422 Next we see that the title was read, <b>Many of the | |
| 587 Jews read this title. </b>The fact that it was read signifies that more are | |
| 588 saved by faith, by reading about the passion of Christ, than were saved by | |
| 589 actually seeing it: "These are written that you may believe" (20:31). Secondly, | |
| 590 the Evangelist mentions how easy this was to read: first, because Jesus was | |
| 591 crucified near the city, <b>the place where Jesus was crucified was near the | |
| 592 city, </b>where many people passed; and secondly, because it was written in a | |
| 593 number of languages, and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek, so | |
| 594 that no one would fail to know it, and because these three languages were the | |
| 595 most widely known. Hebrew was known because it was used in the worship of the | |
| 596 one true God; Greek was known because it was used in the writings of the wise; | |
| 597 and Latin was known due to the power of Rome. As Augustine says, these three | |
| 598 tongues assumed a certain dignity by being associated with the cross of Christ.<a | |
| 599 href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a> | |
| 600 Further, the Hebrew tongue signified that by the cross of Christ those who were | |
| 601 devout and religious were to be converted and ruled; and so were the wise, | |
| 602 indicated by the Greek language; and so were those enjoying power, signified by | |
| 603 the Latin language. Or, the use of Hebrew signified that Christ was to rule | |
| 604 over theological teaching, because the knowledge of divine matters was | |
| 605 entrusted to the Jews. The Greek signified that Christ was to rule over the knowledge | |
| 606 of nature, for the Greeks were engaged in speculation about nature. Latin | |
| 607 signified that Christ will rule over practical philosophy, because moral | |
| 608 speculation was especially flourishing among the Romans. And so, all thought is | |
| 609 brought into captivity and obedience to Christ, as we see in 2 Corinthians | |
| 610 (10:5). | |
| 611 | |
| 612 <p>2423 We now read that this title was not changed (v 21). | |
| 613 First we see the Jews trying to have the title changed, <b>The chief priests of | |
| 614 the Jews then said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but, This man | |
| 615 said, I am King of the Jews. </b>The title <b>King of the Jews </b>was a praise | |
| 616 for Christ, but a disgrace for the Jews, for it was a disgrace to the Jews that | |
| 617 they had their king crucified. But if the title had read, <b>This man said, I | |
| 618 am King of the Jews</b>, it would have been a taunting sarcasm against Christ | |
| 619 and have indicated his crime. And this was what the chief priests wanted to do, | |
| 620 to take away the reputation of the one they crucified as they had already taken | |
| 621 away his life: "I am the talk of those who sit in the gate" (Ps 69:12). | |
| 622 | |
| 623 <p>2424 Secondly, we read that Pilate was insistent on keeping | |
| 624 the title. He refused to change it because he wanted to disgrace them. He said, | |
| 625 <b>What I have written I have written</b>. This did not happen by chance; it | |
| 626 had been arranged by God and predicted long before. Certain Psalms have as a | |
| 627 title, "Do not Destroy. For David, for an inscription of a title." Indeed, | |
| 628 Psalm 59 especially concerns the passion, "Deliver me from my enemies, O my | |
| 629 God." And so do the two preceding Psalms: "Be merciful to me, O God, be | |
| 630 merciful to me, for in thee my soul takes refuge" (Ps 57) and Psalm 58. And so | |
| 631 it was folly for the chief priests to complain, for just as they could not | |
| 632 destroy what the Truth had said, so also they could not destroy what Pilate had | |
| 633 written. Pilate said, <b>What I have written I have written</b>, because what | |
| 634 the Lord said, He said, as Augustine remarks.<a href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" | |
| 635 title="">[13]</a> | |
| 636 | |
| 637 <p>2425 Now the Evangelist shows the role played by the | |
| 638 soldiers (v 23): first, he mentions that Christ's garments were distributed | |
| 639 among them; and secondly, we see that lots were cast for his tunic. | |
| 640 | |
| 641 <p>2426 He says, <b>When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they | |
| 642 took his garments. </b>We can gather two things from this: the debasement of | |
| 643 the dying Christ, for the soldiers stripped him, which was done only to those | |
| 644 they despised; secondly, we see the greed of the soldiers, because they took | |
| 645 his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier. Soldiers were a very | |
| 646 rapacious group, and so John the Baptizer told them to "Rob no one ... and be | |
| 647 content with your pay" (Lk 3:14); "They send men away naked, taking away their | |
| 648 clothes" [Job 24:7]. | |
| 649 | |
| 650 <p>2427 In regard to the second, he says, <b>also his tunic. </b>First, | |
| 651 his tunic is described; and then lots are cast for it (v 24). | |
| 652 | |
| 653 <p>2428 He says, <b>also his tunic, </b>that is, they took that | |
| 654 along with his other garments. <b>But the tunic was without seam, woven from | |
| 655 top to bottom. </b>He says that it was without a seam to indicate its unity. | |
| 656 Some say this shows how valuable it was. On the other hand, Chrysostom says that | |
| 657 the Evangelist says this to suggest that it was common and ordinary; for in | |
| 658 Palestine the poor wear clothing made from many pieces of cloth, one sewn over | |
| 659 another: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was | |
| 660 rich, yet for your sake he became poor" (2 Cor 8:9). | |
| 661 | |
| 662 <p>2429 As for the mystical interpretation, this passage can be | |
| 663 referred to the mystical body of Christ. Then Christ's garments are divided | |
| 664 into four parts because the Church is spread over the four parts of the world: | |
| 665 "As I live, says the Lord, you shall put them all on as an ornament, you shall | |
| 666 bind them on as a bride does" (Is 49:18). The tunic without seam, which was not | |
| 667 divided, indicates charity, because the other virtues are not united by | |
| 668 themselves, but by another, because all of them are directed to the ultimate | |
| 669 end, and it is charity alone which unites us to this end. While it is faith | |
| 670 which makes known our ultimate end, and by hope we tend toward it, only charity | |
| 671 unites us to it: "And above all these put on love, which binds everything | |
| 672 together" (Col 3:14). | |
| 673 | |
| 674 <p>The tunic is said to be woven from | |
| 675 the top because charity is above, at the top, of all the other virtues: "I will | |
| 676 show you a still more excellent way" (1 Cor 12:31); "To know the love of Christ | |
| 677 which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" | |
| 678 (Eph 3:19). Or, it is woven from the top because our charity does not come from | |
| 679 ourselves, but from the Holy Spirit: "God's love has been poured into our | |
| 680 hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). The tunic | |
| 681 woven from the top can also signify the real body of Christ, because the body | |
| 682 of Christ was formed by a higher power, one from the top, by the Holy Spirit | |
| 683 "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 1:20). | |
| 684 | |
| 685 <p>2430 The Evangelist says that lots were cast for Christ's | |
| 686 tunic, <b>they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to | |
| 687 see whose it shall be. </b>There is one way of casting lots which is a form of | |
| 688 divination; this is unlawful because there is no necessity for it. Sometimes | |
| 689 lots are cast to know how things should be allotted or divided up; and this is | |
| 690 lawful in earthly matters but not in spiritual things. The purpose of this is | |
| 691 to submit to God's plan and will those matters that we cannot decide by | |
| 692 ourselves. "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the | |
| 693 Lord" (Prv 16:33); and again, "The lot puts an end to disputes" (Prv 18:18). | |
| 694 | |
| 695 <p>2431 Matthew says something different, that "they divided | |
| 696 his garments among them by casting lots" (Mt 27:35). The reply is that Matthew | |
| 697 does not say that they cast lots for all his garments. Indeed, while they | |
| 698 divided some among themselves, they cast lots for his tunic. | |
| 699 | |
| 700 <p>2432 Mark is still more forceful, saying, "They divided his | |
| 701 garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take" of | |
| 702 all his clothes (Mk 15:24). According to Augustine, this means they cast lots | |
| 703 for one of his garments, to decide which one would take the tunic [which was | |
| 704 left over].<a href="#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a> | |
| 705 | |
| 706 <p>2433 Now the Evangelist brings in the prophecy of this event | |
| 707 (v 24). First, he mentions the prophecy. The prophet's exactness is remarkable, | |
| 708 for he foretold in detail some of the things that were done to Christ. Clearly | |
| 709 these things did not happen by chance; thus he says, <b>this was to fulfill the | |
| 710 scripture, </b>one thing after another, which said (Ps 22:18) that <b>they | |
| 711 parted my garments among them, </b>not saying garment, because there were more | |
| 712 than one, <b>and for my clothing, </b>that is, for my tunic <b>they cast lots.</b> | |
| 713 | |
| 714 <p> Secondly, he states that the prophecy was | |
| 715 fulfilled, <b>So the soldiers did this. </b>We can see from this that the | |
| 716 divine Scripture is fulfilled even in its details: "Not an iota, not a jot, | |
| 717 will pass from the law until all is accomplished" (Mt 6:18); "Everything | |
| 718 written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and the psalms must be | |
| 719 fulfilled" (Lk 24:44). | |
| 720 | |
| 721 <p>2434 Thirdly, we see the part played by the friends of | |
| 722 Jesus. First, the Evangelist mentions the women who were standing there; | |
| 723 secondly, his eagerness for the care of his mother (v 26); thirdly, the ready | |
| 724 obedience of the disciple (v 27). | |
| 725 | |
| 726 <p>2435 Three women are mentioned as standing by the cross of | |
| 727 Jesus: <b>his mother, then his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and | |
| 728 Mary Magdalene. </b>When the Evangelists mention the women who were standing | |
| 729 with Christ, it is only John who mentions the Blessed Virgin. Two questions | |
| 730 occur about this incident. | |
| 731 | |
| 732 <p>2336 Matthew (27:55) and Mark (15:40) say that the women | |
| 733 were standing far off, while John says that they stood by the cross. One could | |
| 734 say in answer that the women mentioned by Matthew and Mark were not the same as | |
| 735 those mentioned by John. However, the difficulty with this answer is that Mary | |
| 736 Magdalene is in the group mentioned by Matthew and Mark, and also in the group | |
| 737 mentioned by John. So one should say that all were referring to the same women. | |
| 738 But there is no contradiction. Near and far are relative; and nothing prevents | |
| 739 something from being near in one sense and far in another. The women were said | |
| 740 to be near because they were within the range of sight, and they could be | |
| 741 described as afar because other people were between them and Jesus. Or, one | |
| 742 could say that when the crucifixion was beginning, the women were standing near | |
| 743 Christ and were able to speak to him; while later, when a number of people came | |
| 744 forward to taunt him, the women withdrew and stood further away. Thus John is | |
| 745 telling what happened at first, and the other Evangelists what happened after. | |
| 746 | |
| 747 <p>2437 The other issue is that John mentions Mary of Clopas, | |
| 748 while in place of her, Matthew and Mark mention Mary, the mother of James, who | |
| 749 is also described as Mary of Alphaeus. We should say about this that Mary of | |
| 750 Clopas, mentioned by John, is the same as Mary of Alphaeus, mentioned by | |
| 751 Matthew. For this Mary had two husbands, Clopas and Alphaeus. Or, one could say | |
| 752 that Clopas was her father. | |
| 753 | |
| 754 <p>2438 The fact that the women stood by the cross while the | |
| 755 disciples left Christ and ran away is an expression of their unfailing | |
| 756 affection. As Job [19:20] says: "My flesh is consumed, my bones cleave to my | |
| 757 skin," where the flesh can stand for the disciples, who ran off, and the skin | |
| 758 can stand for the women, for they stayed close to Christ. | |
| 759 | |
| 760 <p>2439 The Evangelist now mentions Christ's concern for his | |
| 761 mother (v 26). But first we see his solicitude for the welfare of his disciple, | |
| 762 whom he entrusted to his mother; then we see his concern for his mother, whom | |
| 763 he gave into the keeping of his disciple. | |
| 764 | |
| 765 <p>2440 As to the first he says, <b>When Jesus saw his mother, | |
| 766 and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, Woman, | |
| 767 behold, your son! </b>He is saying: Up to now I have taken care for you and | |
| 768 watched over you. Now, you take care for my disciple. This shows the eminence | |
| 769 of John. | |
| 770 | |
| 771 <p>Before, when the Mother of Jesus | |
| 772 said, "They have no wine," (2:3), he replied, "O woman, what have you to do | |
| 773 with me? My hour has not yet come," that is, the hour of my passion, when I | |
| 774 will suffer by means of what I have received from you [my human nature]. But | |
| 775 when that hour comes I will acknowledge you. And now that the hour has come, he | |
| 776 does acknowledge his mother. Yet I do not have the power to work miracles | |
| 777 through what I have received from you [my human nature], but rather through | |
| 778 what I have from the generation of the Father, that is, insofar as I am God. | |
| 779 | |
| 780 <p>2441 As Augustine says, Christ hanging on the cross is like | |
| 781 a teacher in his teaching chair.<a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a> | |
| 782 He is teaching us to help our parents in their needs, and to take care of them: | |
| 783 "Honor your father and your mother" (Ex 20:12); "If any one does not provide | |
| 784 for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith | |
| 785 and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Tim 5:8). | |
| 786 | |
| 787 <p>Why is the contrary found in Luke? | |
| 788 "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife | |
| 789 and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be | |
| 790 my disciple" (Lk 14:26). I answer that when our Lord commands us to hate our | |
| 791 parents and ourselves, he is commanding us to love them, their own individual | |
| 792 nature and our own individual nature, and to hate moral evil and what turns our | |
| 793 natures away from God. This means that we must aid our parents, love and | |
| 794 reverence them as these human beings, but hate their moral vices and what in | |
| 795 them turns us away from God. | |
| 796 | |
| 797 <p>2442 As to the second, he says, <b>Behold, your mother!</b> | |
| 798 so that John will care for her as much as a son cares for his mother; and Mary | |
| 799 is to love John as a mother loves her son. | |
| 800 | |
| 801 <p>2443 The Evangelist shows the obedience of the disciple when | |
| 802 he says, <b>and from that hour the disciple took her to his own. </b>For Bede, | |
| 803 this should read <b>as his own</b> <i>(in suam); </i>and so the meaning is, <b>the | |
| 804 disciple</b>, John, <b>took her</b>,<b> </b>the mother of Jesus, <b>as his own, | |
| 805 </b>mother.<a href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16">[16]</a> | |
| 806 But according to Augustine, and agreeing with the Greek text, we should read it | |
| 807 as <b>to his own </b><i>(in qua), </i>not to his own home, for John was one of | |
| 808 those who said, "We have left everything and followed you" (Mt 19:27); Rather, | |
| 809 the disciple took Mary to his own guardianship, to eagerly and respectfully | |
| 810 care for her.<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17">[17]</a> | |
| 811 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 812 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 5 | |
| 813 | |
| 814 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>28 After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, | |
| 815 said (to fulfill the scripture), "I thirst." 29 A bowl full of vinegar stood | |
| 816 there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his | |
| 817 mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and | |
| 818 he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31 Since it was the day of | |
| 819 Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the | |
| 820 sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their | |
| 821 legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers | |
| 822 came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified | |
| 823 with him; 33 but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they | |
| 824 did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a | |
| 825 spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne | |
| 826 witness ‑ his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth ‑ | |
| 827 that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the scripture | |
| 828 might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of him shall be broken." 37 And again another | |
| 829 scripture says, "They shall look on him whom they have pierced."<a | |
| 830 href="#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18">[18]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 831 | |
| 832 <p>2444 After dealing with the crucifixion and the events that | |
| 833 accompanied it, the Evangelist now describes the death of Christ, which we | |
| 834 should reverence. First, he shows that it was at the appropriate time; secondly | |
| 835 its manner, <b>he bowed his head</b>; and thirdly, the piercing of the dead | |
| 836 body (v 31). | |
| 837 | |
| 838 <p>He shows that the time was fitting | |
| 839 because <b>all was now finished</b>, accomplished. First, he mentions that | |
| 840 Christ knew that all things had been accomplished; secondly, we see Christ | |
| 841 doing what remained to be done (v 30). | |
| 842 | |
| 843 <p>2445 In regard to the first he says, <b>After this</b>, | |
| 844 after the things that had just been mentioned, <b>Jesus, knowing that all was | |
| 845 now finished, </b>that is, all that the law and the prophets had foretold about | |
| 846 him had now been accomplished: "Everything written about me in the law of Moses | |
| 847 and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled" (Lk 24:44); "I have seen the | |
| 848 end of every consummation" [Ps 119:96]. | |
| 849 | |
| 850 <p>2446 But because another thing foretold in scripture had to | |
| 851 be done, the Evangelist adds that Jesus <b>said (to fulfill the scripture), I | |
| 852 thirst</b>. First, we see the words spoken by Christ; then, how his desire | |
| 853 could be satisfied; and finally, he is given the vinegar. | |
| 854 | |
| 855 <p>2447 The Evangelist says that Jesus said this <b>to fulfill | |
| 856 the scripture. </b>This indicates the sequence of events, and does not state | |
| 857 the cause why Jesus spoke, for he did not speak in order to fulfill the | |
| 858 scripture of the Old Testament. Rather, things were written in the Old | |
| 859 Testament because they would be fulfilled by Christ. If we say that Christ | |
| 860 acted because the scriptures foretold it, it would follow that the New | |
| 861 Testament existed for the sake of the Old Testament and for its fulfillment, | |
| 862 although the opposite is true. Therefore, it was because these things would be | |
| 863 accomplished by Christ that they were predicted. | |
| 864 | |
| 865 <p>By saying, <b>I thirst</b>, he | |
| 866 showed that his death was real, and not just imaginary. It also indicated his | |
| 867 intense desire for the salvation of the human race: "God our Savior, who | |
| 868 desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4); "For the Son of man came to seek and | |
| 869 to save the lost" (Lk 19:10). Indeed, we express our intense desires in terms | |
| 870 of thirst: "My soul thirsts for God" (Ps 42:3). | |
| 871 | |
| 872 <p>2448 This desire could be satisfied because <b>a bowl full | |
| 873 of vinegar stood there. </b>This bowl signified the Jewish synagogue, in which | |
| 874 the wine of the Patriarchs and Prophets had degenerated into vinegar, that is, | |
| 875 into the malice and severity of the chief priests. | |
| 876 | |
| 877 <p>2449 Christ is given the vinegar, for <b>they put a sponge | |
| 878 full of vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. </b>There is a question on | |
| 879 the literal meaning. How could they put the sponge to Christ's mouth, since he | |
| 880 was hanging high off the ground? This is answered by Matthew (27:48), who says | |
| 881 that the sponge was put on a reed. Or, according to others, it was put on | |
| 882 hyssop, which was long, and this is what Matthew called a reed. | |
| 883 | |
| 884 <p>2450 As for the mystical sense, these three things signify | |
| 885 the three evils that were present in the Jews: the vinegar signifies their ill‑will; | |
| 886 the sponge, full of crooked hiding places, signifies their craftiness; and the | |
| 887 bitterness of the hyssop stands for their malice. Or, the hyssop represents the | |
| 888 humility of Christ, for the hyssop is a bush used for purification, and our | |
| 889 hearts are purified especially by humility: "Sprinkle me with hyssop and I will | |
| 890 be cleansed" [Ps 51:7]. | |
| 891 | |
| 892 <p>2451 The final fulfillment is mentioned when the Evangelist | |
| 893 says, <b>When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. </b>This | |
| 894 can be understood to refer to the fulfillment accomplished by Christ by dying: | |
| 895 "For it was fitting that the author of our salvation be fulfilled by glory | |
| 896 through his passion" [Heb 2:10]. Or, it can be understood to refer to the | |
| 897 fulfillment or accomplishment of our sanctification, which was brought about by | |
| 898 his passion and cross: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time | |
| 899 those who are sanctified" (Heb 10:14). It can also refer to the fulfillment of | |
| 900 the scriptures: "Everything that is written of the Son of man by the prophets | |
| 901 will be accomplished" (Lk 18:31). | |
| 902 | |
| 903 <p>2452 Then the Evangelist describes the death of Christ. | |
| 904 First, he mentions the cause of his death, <b>he bowed his head. </b>We should | |
| 905 not think that because he gave up his spirit, he bowed his head; rather, | |
| 906 because he bowed his head, he gave up his spirit, for the bowing of his head | |
| 907 indicated that he died out of obedience: "He became obedient unto death" (Phil | |
| 908 2:8). | |
| 909 | |
| 910 <p>Secondly, the Evangelist mentions | |
| 911 the power of the one dying, <b>for he gave up his spirit</b>,<b> </b>that is, | |
| 912 by his own power: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" | |
| 913 (10:18). As Augustine says, we do not have the power to sleep when we will to, | |
| 914 but Christ had the power to die when he willed to. | |
| 915 | |
| 916 <p>2453 Some think that the phrase, <b>gave up his spirit</b>,<b> | |
| 917 </b>implies that man has two souls: an intellectual soul, which they call the | |
| 918 spirit, and an animal soul, that is, a vegetative‑sensitive soul which | |
| 919 gives life to the body and is called a soul in the proper sense. So they say | |
| 920 that Christ gave up only his intellectual soul. This is false, both because the | |
| 921 assertion that there are two souls in man is listed among the errors compiled | |
| 922 in the book <i>The Dogmas of the Church,</i> and because if Christ had given up | |
| 923 his spirit, and retained a soul, he would not have died.<i> <a href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19"><b>[19]</b></a></i> | |
| 924 Therefore, since in man the spirit and the soul are the same, we must say that | |
| 925 Christ gave up his spirit, that is, his soul. | |
| 926 | |
| 927 <p>This also destroys the error of | |
| 928 those who say that the human souls of those who have died do not go directly | |
| 929 after death to paradise or to hell or to purgatory, but remain in the grave | |
| 930 until the day of judgment. For our Lord immediately gave up his spirit to the | |
| 931 Father, from which we see that "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of | |
| 932 God" (Wis 3:1). | |
| 933 | |
| 934 <p>2454 Now we see the piercing of Christ's body: the act | |
| 935 itself; and then the certainty of what the Evangelist tells us (v 35). With | |
| 936 respect to the first he does two things: first, we see the intervention and | |
| 937 intention of the Jews; secondly, this is partially accomplished; thirdly, how | |
| 938 this was accomplished with regard to Christ. | |
| 939 | |
| 940 <p>2455 With respect to the first he says, <b>Since it was the | |
| 941 day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross | |
| 942 on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day) the Jews asked Pilate that | |
| 943 their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. </b>In | |
| 944 Deuteronomy (21:22) we see that it is a precept of the law that the bodies of | |
| 945 the dead who had been hanged for crimes were not to be left hanging until the | |
| 946 morning, lest the land be defiled, and to blot out the disgrace of those who | |
| 947 were hanged, for this kind of death was regarded as most disgraceful: "a hanged | |
| 948 man is accursed by God" (Deut 21:23). Although the Jews did not now have the | |
| 949 authority to inflict this punishment, they still tried to do what they could. | |
| 950 And so because it was the Preparation day they asked Pilate <b>that their legs | |
| 951 might be broken and that they might be taken away, </b>so that Christ's body | |
| 952 and those of the others would not remain on the cross on the sabbath, which was | |
| 953 a very solemn day, and particularly this sabbath during the Feast of the | |
| 954 Unleavened Bread. They were careful to keep the law in small matters, but they | |
| 955 ignored it in important things: "You blind guides, straining out a gnat and | |
| 956 swallowing a camel!" (Mt 23:24). | |
| 957 | |
| 958 <p>2456 He says how this was done in part, <b>So the soldiers | |
| 959 came and broke the legs of the first </b>thief, to whom they had come first, <b>and | |
| 960 of the other who had been crucified with him</b>, with Jesus.<b> </b>This shows | |
| 961 their cruelty: "You eat the flesh of my people" (Mic 3:3). | |
| 962 | |
| 963 <p>2457 Why does the Evangelist add, <b>but when they came to | |
| 964 Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs</b>?<b> </b>Surely | |
| 965 Jesus was crucified between the two others? We should say that one soldier went | |
| 966 to one of the criminals and another soldier went to the other one to break | |
| 967 their legs, and when they were done with this they both came to Jesus. We are | |
| 968 told why they pierced his side, because when the soldiers saw that he was | |
| 969 already dead, <b>they did not break his legs</b>. | |
| 970 | |
| 971 <p>2458 To make sure that Jesus was dead one of the soldiers | |
| 972 pierced his side with a spear. It deserves notice that he does not say | |
| 973 "wounded" but "pierced," that is "opened," because in his side the door of | |
| 974 eternal life is opened to us: "After this I looked, and lo, in heaven, an open | |
| 975 door!" (Rev 4:1). This is the door in the side of the ark through which those | |
| 976 animals entered who were not to perish in the flood (Gen 7). | |
| 977 | |
| 978 <p>This door is the cause of our | |
| 979 salvation; and so, <b>at once there came out blood and water. </b>This is a | |
| 980 remarkable miracle, that blood should flow from the body of a dead person where | |
| 981 blood congeals. And if someone says that this was because the body was still | |
| 982 warm, the flow of the water cannot be explained without a miracle, since this | |
| 983 was pure water. This outpouring of blood and water happened so that Christ | |
| 984 might show that he was truly human. For human beings have a twofold | |
| 985 composition: one from the elements and the other from the humors. One of these | |
| 986 elements is water, and blood is the main humor. | |
| 987 | |
| 988 <p>Another reason why this happened | |
| 989 was to show that by the passion of Christ we acquire a complete cleansing from | |
| 990 our sins and stains. We are cleansed from our sins by his blood, which is the | |
| 991 price of our redemption: "You know that your were ransomed from the futile ways | |
| 992 inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things, such as silver or | |
| 993 gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without | |
| 994 blemish or spot" (1 Pet 1:18). And we are cleansed from our stains by the | |
| 995 water, which is the bath of our rebirth: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, | |
| 996 and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses" (Ez 36:25); "On that day | |
| 997 there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem | |
| 998 to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness" (Zech 13:1). And so it is these two | |
| 999 things which are especially associated with two sacraments: water with the | |
| 1000 sacrament of baptism, and blood with the Eucharist. | |
| 1001 | |
| 1002 <p>Or, both blood and water are | |
| 1003 associated with the Eucharist because in this sacrament water is mixed with | |
| 1004 wine, although water is not of the substance of the sacrament. | |
| 1005 | |
| 1006 <p>This event was also prefigured: for | |
| 1007 just as from the side of Christ, sleeping on the cross, there flowed blood and | |
| 1008 water, which makes the Church holy, so from the side of the sleeping Adam there | |
| 1009 was formed the woman, who prefigured the Church. | |
| 1010 | |
| 1011 <p>2459 Now the Evangelist shows that these events are | |
| 1012 certainly true: first, from the testimony of the Apostle himself; secondly, | |
| 1013 from a prophecy in the scriptures (v 36). | |
| 1014 | |
| 1015 <p>2460 He does three things about the first: he mentions the | |
| 1016 credentials of the witness, <b>he who saw it has borne witness</b>, and this is | |
| 1017 John himself: "That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you" (1 Jn | |
| 1018 1:3). Secondly, he affirms that this testimony is true, <b>his testimony is | |
| 1019 true</b>: "I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying" (Rom 9:1); "You | |
| 1020 will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (8:32). Thirdly, he asks | |
| 1021 us to believe, <b>and he knows that he tells the truth that you also may | |
| 1022 believe</b>: "These are written that you may believe" (20:31). | |
| 1023 | |
| 1024 <p>2461 This truth is not just guaranteed by the testimony of | |
| 1025 the apostle; there is also a prophecy of scripture. Thus he says, <b>these | |
| 1026 things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. </b>Here again, as | |
| 1027 before, the phrase <b>that the scripture might be fulfilled</b>, indicates the | |
| 1028 sequence of events. The Evangelist cites two authorities from the Old | |
| 1029 Testament. One refers to his statement that <b>they did not break his legs </b>and | |
| 1030 is found in Exodus (12:46), "You shall not break a bone if it," that is, the | |
| 1031 Passover lamb, which was a prefiguration of Christ, because as we read in 1 | |
| 1032 Corinthians (5:7), "Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed." It was | |
| 1033 commanded that the bones of the Passover lamb should not be broken in order to | |
| 1034 teach us that the courage of the true Lamb and unspotted Jesus Christ would in | |
| 1035 no way be crushed by his passion. The Jews were trying to use the passion to | |
| 1036 destroy the power of Christ's teaching, but his passion only made it stronger: | |
| 1037 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who | |
| 1038 are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor 1:18). This is why Jesus said | |
| 1039 before: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am | |
| 1040 he" (8:28). | |
| 1041 | |
| 1042 <p>2462 The second authority refers to his statement, <b>one of | |
| 1043 the soldiers pierced his side with a spear</b>, and is taken from Zechariah: <b>They | |
| 1044 shall look on him whom they have pierced. </b>Our text of Zechariah reads: | |
| 1045 "They will look on me whom they have pierced" [Zech 12:10]. If we join the | |
| 1046 statement of the Prophet to what the Evangelist says, it is clear that the | |
| 1047 crucified Christ is God, for what the Prophet says he says as God, and the | |
| 1048 Evangelist applies this to Christ. | |
| 1049 | |
| 1050 <p><b>They shall look on him, </b>he | |
| 1051 says, at the coming judgment. Or, they will look on him when they have been | |
| 1052 converted to the faith, and so forth. | |
| 1053 <BR><BR><BR> | |
| 1054 <p align=center><B>LECTURE 6 | |
| 1055 | |
| 1056 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>38 After this Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of | |
| 1057 Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away | |
| 1058 the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his | |
| 1059 body. 39 Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a | |
| 1060 mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pounds' weight. 40 They took the | |
| 1061 body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial | |
| 1062 custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a | |
| 1063 garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. 42 So | |
| 1064 because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they | |
| 1065 laid Jesus there.</B></BLOCKQUOTE> | |
| 1066 | |
| 1067 <p>2463 After the Evangelist has told us about the crucifixion | |
| 1068 and death of Christ, he now turns to his burial: first, the permission for his | |
| 1069 burial; secondly, the care in preparing his body (v 40); thirdly, the place | |
| 1070 where Christ was buried (v 41); and, the burial itself (v 42). | |
| 1071 | |
| 1072 <p>2464 He says, <b>After this</b>, the passion and death of | |
| 1073 Jesus, <b>Joseph of Arimathea</b>, this is the same city as Ramatha (1 Sam | |
| 1074 1:1), <b>who was a disciple of Jesus</b>, not one of the twelve, but one of the | |
| 1075 many other believers, for at first all those who believed were called | |
| 1076 disciples, <b>asked Pilate </b>for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple, <b>but | |
| 1077 secretly, for fear of the Jews</b>,<b> </b>like many others were before | |
| 1078 Christ's passion: "Many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear | |
| 1079 of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the | |
| 1080 synagogue" (12:42). We can see from this that while the other disciples, who | |
| 1081 went into hiding after the passion, lost their confidence, this man gained in | |
| 1082 confidence and openly tended to Jesus. | |
| 1083 | |
| 1084 <p>This man <b>asked Pilate that he | |
| 1085 might take away the body of Jesus</b>,<b> </b>take the body from the cross and | |
| 1086 bury it. He did this because the human laws required permission to bury the | |
| 1087 bodies of those who had been condemned. And Pilate gave him leave, because | |
| 1088 Joseph was an important person and known to Pilate; Mark refers to Joseph as "a | |
| 1089 respected member of the council" (15:42). | |
| 1090 | |
| 1091 <p>2465 In regard to the second he says, <b>So he came and took | |
| 1092 away his body</b>. Here we see Joseph's concern to prepare the body: first, the | |
| 1093 things used in the preparation; secondly, the preparation itself (v 40). | |
| 1094 | |
| 1095 <p>2466 The body of Jesus was prepared with a mixture of myrrh | |
| 1096 and aloes, which Nicodemus had purchased in large quantity. So the Evangelist | |
| 1097 mentions both of them: Joseph, who claimed the body, and Nicodemus, who brought | |
| 1098 the spices. This is the same Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night, but this was | |
| 1099 before the passion (3:2). The Evangelist commemorates Nicodemus here to show | |
| 1100 that even though he had been a secret disciple, now he became a public one ‑ | |
| 1101 and he had already mentioned that Joseph had been a secret disciple because he | |
| 1102 feared the Jews. But Nicodemus did not yet have true faith in the resurrection | |
| 1103 because he brought myrrh and aloes, thinking that the body of Christ would soon | |
| 1104 corrupt without them: "You will not give your holy one to corruption" [Ps | |
| 1105 16:10]. | |
| 1106 | |
| 1107 <p>As for the mystical sense, we | |
| 1108 understand from this that we should bury the crucified Christ in our hearts, | |
| 1109 with the sadness of contrition and compassion: "My hands dripped with myrrh" | |
| 1110 (Song 5:5). | |
| 1111 | |
| 1112 <p>2467 With the spices ready, they prepared the body of Jesus, | |
| 1113 <b>they took the body of Jesus. </b>There is a question here, for John says | |
| 1114 that they bound it in linen cloths, while Matthew (27:59) says that they | |
| 1115 wrapped it in a linen cloth. One can answer, according to Augustine, that | |
| 1116 Matthew speaks of one linen cloth because he only mentioned Joseph, and he | |
| 1117 brought this one cloth.<a href="#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20">[20]</a> | |
| 1118 John alone mentions Nicodemus, and so he says "linen cloths," because Nicodemus | |
| 1119 brought the other cloth. Or, again, the body of Christ was also wrapped in | |
| 1120 winding bands, as we read in the case of Lazarus, because this is the way the | |
| 1121 Jews buried their dead. A small cloth was also placed over his head. John | |
| 1122 includes all these in his words "linen cloths." From the fact that they | |
| 1123 anointed the body of Jesus with spices, we are taught that in the performance | |
| 1124 of such humane duties, we should follow the customs of each country. | |
| 1125 | |
| 1126 <p>2468 The place where Christ was buried is then mentioned, <b>Now | |
| 1127 in the place where he was crucified there was a garden</b>. Christ was arrested | |
| 1128 in a garden, underwent his agony in a garden, and was buried in a garden. This | |
| 1129 indicates to us that by the power of Christ's passion we are freed from the sin | |
| 1130 which Adam committed in the Garden of delights, and that through Christ the | |
| 1131 Church is made holy, the Church, which itself is like a garden enclosed. | |
| 1132 | |
| 1133 <p><b>And in the garden a new tomb | |
| 1134 where no one had ever been laid. </b>There are two reasons why Christ wanted to | |
| 1135 be buried in a new tomb. The first is literal, and was so that no one would | |
| 1136 think that some other body which had been buried there had risen, and not | |
| 1137 Christ, or think that all bodies were of equal power. The other reason was that | |
| 1138 it was appropriate that he who was born of a virgin should be buried in a new | |
| 1139 tomb, so that just as there was no one before or after him in the womb of Mary, | |
| 1140 so also in this tomb. This also indicates to us that by faith Christ is hidden | |
| 1141 in the newborn soul: "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Eph | |
| 1142 3:17). | |
| 1143 | |
| 1144 <p>2469 Now follows the burial. So <b>because of the Jewish day | |
| 1145 of Preparation</b>,<b> </b>because evening was approaching when because of the | |
| 1146 sabbath no work was permitted, <b>as the tomb</b>, the new tomb, <b>was close | |
| 1147 at hand, they laid Jesus there. </b>Christ died about the ninth hour, but | |
| 1148 because his body had to be prepared for burial and other things had to be done, | |
| 1149 the day had grown into evening. <b>As the tomb was close at hand, </b>to the | |
| 1150 place where he was crucified, <b>they laid Jesus there.</b> | |
| 1151 | |
| 1152 </div> | |
| 1153 | |
| 1154 <div><br clear=all> | |
| 1155 | |
| 1156 <hr align=left size=1 width="33%"> | |
| 1157 | |
| 1158 <div id=ftn1> | |
| 1159 | |
| 1160 <p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> | |
| 1161 Aristotle, <i>Rhetoric</i>. | |
| 1162 | |
| 1163 </div> | |
| 1164 | |
| 1165 <div id=ftn2> | |
| 1166 | |
| 1167 <p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 84, ch. | |
| 1168 1; PG 59, col. 456; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 19:1-5. | |
| 1169 | |
| 1170 </div> | |
| 1171 | |
| 1172 <div id=ftn3> | |
| 1173 | |
| 1174 <p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1175 in Io</i>., 116, ch. 1, col. 1941; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1176 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:1-5. | |
| 1177 | |
| 1178 </div> | |
| 1179 | |
| 1180 <div id=ftn4> | |
| 1181 | |
| 1182 <p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> | |
| 1183 St. Thomas refers to Jn 19:7 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1184 Theologiae</i>: q. 47, a. 4, obj. 3; Jn 19:11: ST I-II, q. 73, a. 2, s. c.; | |
| 1185 II-II, q. 67, a. 4; III, q. 47, a. 6, obj, 2; q. 49, a. 6. | |
| 1186 | |
| 1187 </div> | |
| 1188 | |
| 1189 <div id=ftn5> | |
| 1190 | |
| 1191 <p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1192 in Io</i>., 116, ch. 2, col. 1942; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1193 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:1-5. | |
| 1194 | |
| 1195 </div> | |
| 1196 | |
| 1197 <div id=ftn6> | |
| 1198 | |
| 1199 <p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1200 in Io</i>., 116, ch. 5, col. 1943; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1201 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:9-12. | |
| 1202 | |
| 1203 </div> | |
| 1204 | |
| 1205 <div id=ftn7> | |
| 1206 | |
| 1207 <p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> | |
| 1208 St. Thomas refers to Jn 19:14 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1209 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 83, a. 2, ad 3; Jn 19:16: <i>ST </i>III, q. 47, a. 3, | |
| 1210 obj. 3. | |
| 1211 | |
| 1212 </div> | |
| 1213 | |
| 1214 <div id=ftn8> | |
| 1215 | |
| 1216 <p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1217 in Io</i>., 117, ch. 1, col. 1944; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1218 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:12-16. | |
| 1219 | |
| 1220 </div> | |
| 1221 | |
| 1222 <div id=ftn9> | |
| 1223 | |
| 1224 <p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> <i>Commentarium in Matthaeum, </i>27; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 16-18. | |
| 1225 | |
| 1226 </div> | |
| 1227 | |
| 1228 <div id=ftn10> | |
| 1229 | |
| 1230 <p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> | |
| 1231 Aristotle. | |
| 1232 | |
| 1233 </div> | |
| 1234 | |
| 1235 <div id=ftn11> | |
| 1236 | |
| 1237 <p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> | |
| 1238 St. Thomas refers to Jn 19:25 in the <i>Summa | |
| 1239 Theologiae</i>: III, q. 28, a. 3, obj. 6; Jn 19:28: <i>ST</i> III, q. 46, a. 9 | |
| 1240 ad 1; Jn 19:30: <i>ST</i> I-II, q. 103, a. 3, ad 2; q. 47, a. 2, ad 1; Jn | |
| 1241 19:32: <i>ST</i> III, q. 46, a. 5, s. c.; Jn 19:33: <i>ST </i>III, q. 46, a. 5, | |
| 1242 s. c.; q. 47, a. 1, ad 2; Jn 19:34: <i>ST </i>III, q. 79, a. 1; Jn 19:35: <i>ST | |
| 1243 </i>III, q. 74, a. 8, obj. 1; Jn 19:36: <i>ST </i>III, q. 59, a. 4, ad 1. | |
| 1244 | |
| 1245 </div> | |
| 1246 | |
| 1247 <div id=ftn12> | |
| 1248 | |
| 1249 <p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1250 in Io</i>., 117, ch. 4, col. 1946; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1251 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:12-16. | |
| 1252 | |
| 1253 </div> | |
| 1254 | |
| 1255 <div id=ftn13> | |
| 1256 | |
| 1257 <p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a><i> | |
| 1258 Tract. in Io</i>., 117, ch. 5, col. 1946; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:19-22. | |
| 1259 | |
| 1260 </div> | |
| 1261 | |
| 1262 <div id=ftn14> | |
| 1263 | |
| 1264 <p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1265 in Io</i>., 118, ch. 2, 3, col. 1947-9; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1266 Aurea</i>,<i> </i>19:23-4. | |
| 1267 | |
| 1268 </div> | |
| 1269 | |
| 1270 <div id=ftn15> | |
| 1271 | |
| 1272 <p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1273 in Io</i>., 119, ch. 1, col. 1950; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1274 Aurea</i>, 19:24-27. | |
| 1275 | |
| 1276 </div> | |
| 1277 | |
| 1278 <div id=ftn16> | |
| 1279 | |
| 1280 <p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16">[16]</a> cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, | |
| 1281 19:24-27. | |
| 1282 | |
| 1283 </div> | |
| 1284 | |
| 1285 <div id=ftn17> | |
| 1286 | |
| 1287 <p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17">[17]</a> <i>Tract. | |
| 1288 in Io</i>., 119, ch. 2, col. 1951; cf. <i>Catena | |
| 1289 Aurea</i>, 19:24-27. | |
| 1290 | |
| 1291 </div> | |
| 1292 | |
| 1293 <div id=ftn18> | |
| 1294 | |
| 1295 <p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18">[18]</a> | |
| 1296 St. Thomas quotes Jn 19:30 in the <i>Summa Theologiae: | |
| 1297 </i>I, q. 73, a. 1, arg. 1. | |
| 1298 | |
| 1299 </div> | |
| 1300 | |
| 1301 <div id=ftn19> | |
| 1302 | |
| 1303 <p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19">[19]</a> The | |
| 1304 Dogmas of the Church. | |
| 1305 | |
| 1306 </div> | |
| 1307 | |
| 1308 <div id=ftn20> | |
| 1309 | |
| 1310 <p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20">[20]</a> <i>De consensus evangelistarum</i>, 3, ch. 23; PL 34; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 19:38-42. | |
| 1311 | |
| 1312 </body></html> |