返回Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Jn. 19:1. Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged.
Pilate scourges Him, wishing at least by this to calm and subdue their fury. Since he could not free Him from their hands by words, he scourges Him, hoping by this to restrain their madness.
Jn. 19:2. And the soldiers, having woven a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and clothed Him in a purple robe,
Allow them to put a cloak on Him and place a crown on Him, also with the purpose of appeasing their anger.
Jn. 19:3. And they said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck Him on the cheeks.
But the soldiers do everything to please the Jews. They had heard Pilate say, "I will release the King of the Jews"; therefore they mock Him as a king. For it was not by Pilate's order that they did this, nor did those who went against Jesus at night do so with the governor's knowledge, but to please the Jews, for the sake of money.
Jn. 19:4. Pilate went out again and said to them: Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.
Pilate is faint-hearted and unvindictive in relation to the Jews. He brings Jesus out, once again wishing to extinguish their fury.
Jn. 19:5. Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them: Behold, the Man!
Jn. 19:6. When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him! Pilate says to them: Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him.
But they were not tamed even by this, and cry out: "Crucify, crucify Him!" Pilate, seeing that everything he was doing remained in vain, says: "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." He says this, urging them toward an act not permitted to them, so that Jesus might be released. "I," he says, "who have the authority to crucify, find no fault; but you, who have no authority to crucify, say that He is guilty. So take Him and crucify Him. But you have no authority." Therefore, this Man ought to be released. Such is Pilate's aim. He is more merciful, yet not steadfast for the truth.
Jn. 19:7. The Jews answered him: We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.
And they, having been put to shame by this, say: "By our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."
See how wickedness is inconsistent with itself. Previously Pilate said to them: "Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law"; they did not agree to this. But now they say that according to our law He ought to die. Before they accused Him of making Himself a King, but now, when that lie has been exposed, they accuse Him of making Himself the Son of God. And what is the crime in this? If He does the works of God, then what prevents Him from being the Son of God?
Behold the Divine economy. They handed the Lord over to many tribunals in order to disgrace Him and obscure His glory; but this dishonor turns back upon their own heads, for with the most thorough investigation of the case, His innocence was proven all the more. How many times even Pilate declared that he found nothing in Him worthy of death.
Jn. 19:8. Pilate, having heard this word, was more afraid.
Pilate, having heard only the one word that He is the Son of God, was afraid. But they saw His divine works, and yet they put Him to death for the very thing for which they ought to have worshipped Him.
Jn. 19:9. And he went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus: Where are You from?
He asks Him not as before – "What have You done?" – but "Who are You?" Then they were accusing Him as a king, so naturally he asked "What have You done?" But now, when they slander that He makes Himself out to be the Son of God, he asks: "Where are You from?"
Jn. 19:9. But Jesus gave him no answer.
Jesus is silent, for He had already declared to Pilate: "For this I was born," and "My Kingdom is not from here." However, Pilate did not make any use of this and did not stand for the truth, but yielded to the demand of the people. Therefore the Lord, disdaining his questions as being asked in vain, answers nothing.
Jn. 19:10. Pilate says to Him: Do You not answer me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You and power to release You?
It turns out that Pilate has no firmness whatsoever, but any chance danger can shake him. He feared the Jews; he also trembled before Jesus, as the Son of God. Let us see, then, how he condemns himself by his own words: "I have power to crucify You and I have power to release You." If everything depended on you, why then did you not release Him whom you found innocent?
Jn. 19:11. Jesus answered: you would have no power over Me, if it had not been given to you from above;
The Lord, bringing down his arrogance, says: "You would have no authority over Me if it had not been given to you from above." For I do not simply die, but am accomplishing something mysterious, and this has been predetermined from above for the common salvation.
Jn. 19:11. Therefore the greater sin is on him who delivered Me to you.
But lest you, having heard "given from above," should think that Pilate bears no responsibility before God, He adds: "Greater sin is on him who delivered Me to you." By this He shows that Pilate too is guilty of sin, though a lesser one. For from the fact that Christ's death was "given from above," that is, permitted, Pilate and the Jews do not thereby become innocent; but their free will chose evil, and God allowed and permitted them to carry it out.
So, from the fact that God permits evil to come into action, the wicked are not free from guilt; but because they choose and commit evil, they are worthy of every condemnation.
The Lord frightened Pilate with these words and presented a clear defense of Himself: if I had not given Myself up voluntarily, and if the Father had not permitted this, then you would have no power over Me; the sin is upon you as well, but even greater upon Judas who betrayed Me, or indeed upon the people, because they added to the pain of My wounds a new pain and did not remember their obligation to show mercy, but, finding Me without defense and without help, handed Me over to the cross; they were not even ashamed that I had come out innocent from so many tribunals, but cried out: "Crucify, crucify!"
Jn. 19:12. From that time Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out: if you release Him, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself a king is an opponent of Caesar.
So, when the Lord frightened Pilate with these words, from that time on he sought all the more to release Him.
The Jews, since they had been convicted of slander in claiming that He made Himself a king, and had not succeeded either in their appeal to their own law (for from that point Pilate feared all the more and wished to release Him, so as not to provoke God), again resort to foreign laws and frighten Pilate, as one who was timid. For when they saw that he reverently feared lest by condemning Jesus, the Son of God, he might sin, they instill in him fear of Caesar, and having accused the Lord of seizing royal power, they threaten Pilate that he would offend Caesar if he released one who was rising up against him.
And where was He caught seizing royal power? How will you prove this? By a purple robe? A diadem? Soldiers? But is not everything about Him poor? Both His clothing, and His food, and His home? He does not even have a home.
Jn. 19:13. Pilate, having heard this word, brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat, at a place called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
But how little courage there was in Pilate, when he considered it dangerous for himself to leave such an accusation without investigation! He goes out, as if with the intention of investigating the matter, for this is what the words "sat down on the judgment seat" mean; meanwhile, having made no investigation, he hands Him over, thinking thereby to win them over.
Jn. 19:14. Now it was the Friday before the Passover, and about the sixth hour.
The Evangelist Mark says that when Christ was crucified, "it was the third hour" (Mark 15:25), while John says that it was the "sixth" hour. How can this be?
Some think to resolve this by saying that there is a scribal error. And that this could have happened, and that in John as well the third hour was written, and not the sixth as it now reads, is evident from the following. Three evangelists — Matthew, Mark, and Luke — agree in saying that from the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. Clearly, our Lord was crucified before the sixth hour, before the onset of the darkness, namely around the third hour, as Mark noted, and likewise John, although the error of scribes changed the gamma into the sign of the episemon. Thus they resolve this disagreement.
Others, however, say that Mark clearly and indisputably indicated the hour of the sentence regarding the crucifixion of the Lord. For it is said that judges crucified and executed from the time at which they pronounced the sentence, because in words the punishment and death received its force. Therefore Mark says that He was crucified at the third hour, the hour in which Pilate pronounced the sentence. And since Mark notes the time of the sentence, John recorded the hour at which the Lord was crucified. Moreover, consider how much was accomplished between Pilate's sentence of crucifixion and the hour at which the Lord ascended the cross. Having released Barabbas, he scourged Jesus and definitively handed Him over to crucifixion; for the release of Barabbas was the condemnation of the Lord. The soldiers mock Him. And consider how much time would have been spent on the prolonged mockery. Pilate brought Him out, conversed with the Jews; he goes back in again and judges Jesus; he comes out again and talks with the Jews. All of this could have occupied the time from the third hour to the sixth. Therefore John, having set forth these things with precision, as one who followed everything closely, mentions the sixth hour, when Pilate handed Him over completely "to be crucified," no longer conversing with the Jews nor judging Jesus, but having pronounced the final decision concerning Him.
If someone should ask why, having already pronounced the sentence of crucifixion around the third hour, he again wished to release Him — first, let such a person know that he pronounced the sentence under compulsion from the crowd; then he was troubled by his wife's dream, for she had warned him: "Have nothing to do with that Righteous Man" (Matt. 27:19). With all this, notice how John expressed it: "It was about the sixth hour." He did not say affirmatively "it was six o'clock," but as if hesitantly and without certainty — "about the sixth hour." Therefore it should be of no importance to us that the Evangelists apparently do not perfectly agree with one another, even if we were to grant this disagreement. For consider: did they not all say that Jesus was crucified? And that concerning the hour one says it was the third, and another the sixth — does this in any way harm the truth? But it has been quite sufficiently demonstrated that there is not even a disagreement at all.
Jn. 19:14. And Pilate said to the Jews: behold, your King!
We have said many times that Pilate is more weak and fearful than malicious. And now, look: he gives the matter the appearance of investigation and trial, but in everything acts weakly. "Behold," he says, "your King": he neither condemns Jesus nor directly exposes the Jews, but as if covertly reproaches them for their slander. "Behold," he says, "what kind of man you are accusing of seeking kingship over you—a poor man who does not even think of seeking this. The accusation is false. For what does He have that is characteristic of a usurper of power? Soldiers? Wealth? Noble birth? 'Behold your King.' What benefit is it to you if you kill Him, a Man who cannot cause the slightest harm?" So speaks Pilate, but without persistence and firmness, and without fighting for the truth.
Jn. 19:15. Take Him away, take Him away, crucify Him!
And they say: "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him"; they insist upon and demand the cross, because they wish to give Christ an evil reputation. For such a death was the most shameful and accursed, as it is said: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Deut. 21:23). But they did not know that just as by a tree came the fall, so by a tree would come the restoration.
Jn. 19:15. Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar.
Note also how they themselves declare that they have no other king but Caesar, and through this they voluntarily submit themselves to the authority of the Romans and cut themselves off from the Kingdom of God. Therefore God also delivered them over to the Romans, whom they themselves had called their kings, having renounced the Providence and Protection of God.
Jn. 19:16. Then at last he delivered Him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led Him away.
"Then at last he handed Him over to them." Madman! He ought to have investigated whether He could actually claim royal power for Himself, but instead you hand Him over, yield out of fear, and conclude the trial in a manner unworthy of a man.
Jn. 19:17. And bearing His cross, He went out
Since they considered touching the wood of the cross a dishonorable thing, they laid the accursed wood upon Him as one already condemned and cursed. Note also that this takes place in accordance with the Old Testament prefiguration. Just as there Isaac, carrying the wood, went to the slaughter, so here the Lord goes carrying the Cross, and, like some warrior, bears the weapon by which He overthrows His adversary. That Isaac served as a type of the Lord is clear. Isaac means laughter or joy. And who else became our joy, if not He Who through the Angel at the very conception granted joy to human nature? For the glad tidings which the Virgin heard were received by all of human nature. Isaac's father Abraham means father of many nations and is a type of the God of all, Who is the Father of Jews and Gentiles, by Whose good pleasure and decree His Son bears the cross. Only in the Old Testament the matter was limited to the intention of the father, since that was a prefiguration, but here it was fulfilled in actual deed, because this was the truth. There may be yet another similarity. Just as there Isaac was released and a ram was slain, so here the divine nature remained free from suffering, while the human nature was slain, which is also called the Lamb, as the offspring of the lost sheep — Adam.
How then does the other Evangelist (Mark 15:21) say that "they compelled Simon to carry the Cross"? Both things happened. At first the Lord went out carrying the Cross Himself, since everyone abhorred this wood and would not allow themselves even to touch it. But when they went out, they met Simon coming from the field, and then they laid this wood upon him.
Jn. 19:17. to the place called the Skull, in Hebrew Golgotha;
This place was called "The Place of the Skull," for there was a tradition preserved that Adam was buried here, so that where death had its beginning, there also its abolition would be accomplished. For there is a church tradition that after man's expulsion from paradise, his first dwelling place was Judea, given to him as consolation after the bliss of paradise, as a land better and more abundant than all others. It was also the first to receive the dead man. The people of that time, marveling at the dead skull, removed the skin from it and buried it here, and from it gave this place its name. And after the flood, Noah passed down the account of this to all. Therefore the Lord also accepts death there, where the source of death was, in order to dry it up.
Jn. 19:18. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, on either side, and Jesus in the middle.
Crucified with Him were also two others. The Jews wished by this to spread a bad rumor, as though He too were a robber. Meanwhile, they involuntarily fulfill the prophecy which says: "And He was numbered with the transgressors" (Isa. 53:12).
Observe then the Wisdom of God, how It turned to the glory of the Lord that which they did to His dishonor. For on the very Cross He saved the robber, which is no less wondrous, and even more proves His Divinity. For He alone was glorified, even though others were crucified together with Him. This would not have happened if He were guilty and a transgressor of the law, and were not Himself above the law and the Judge of the lawless.
Jn. 19:19. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Pilate writes a title on the cross, that is, the charge, the inscription, the declaration. The inscription indicated whose cross it was. So Pilate makes this inscription, on the one hand, in order to take revenge on the Jews for not having listened to him, and to show their malice, by which they rose up against their own king, and on the other hand, in order to defend the glory of Christ. They crucified Him with robbers, wishing to dishonor His name.
Jn. 19:20. This inscription was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.
Pilate declares that He was not a robber, but their King, and he declares this not in one, but in three languages. For it was natural to suppose that because of the feast, many Gentiles had also come along with the Jews. Earlier the Evangelist (John 12:20–21) also mentions certain Greeks who came to see Jesus. Therefore, so that all might know of the madness of the Jews, Pilate proclaimed this about Him in all languages.
The inscription, made in three languages, hints at something higher as well, namely: it shows that the Lord is the King of practical, natural, and theological philosophy. The Roman letters serve as an image of practical philosophy, for the power of the Romans is the most courageous and active in military affairs; the Greek letters are an image of natural philosophy, for the Greeks occupied themselves with the study of nature; the Hebrew letters represent theological philosophy, for to the Hebrews was entrusted the knowledge of God. Thus, glory to Him Who through the Cross revealed Himself as possessing such a Kingdom, Who both conquered the world, and strengthened our activity, and grants the knowledge of nature, and through it leads into the innermost part of the veil, into the knowledge and contemplation of Himself, that is, theology.
Jn. 19:21. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that He said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"
The Jews envied Jesus even when He was crucified. For what do they say? Write that He Himself said it. For now the inscription appears as the common opinion of the Jews, but if it were added "He called Himself King," then the blame would be on His audacity and pride.
Jn. 19:22. Pilate answered: what I have written, I have written.
But Pilate did not agree, and remained of his former opinion. Therefore he also says: "What I have written, I have written."
However, something else important is also arranged here. Since the three crosses, buried in the earth, would lie in one and the same place, so that it would not remain unknown which of them was the Cross of the Lord, it was arranged so that it alone had the title and inscription, and by this sign could be recognized. For the crosses of the robbers did not have inscriptions.
Jn. 19:23. The soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments and divided them into four parts, a part to each soldier, and the tunic; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.
The words "woven from the top" are added not without significance. Some say that these words allegorically express that the Crucified One was not a mere Man, but also possessed Divinity "from above." Others say that the evangelist is describing the actual appearance of the tunic. Since in Palestine they join two pieces of fabric, that is, two cloths, to weave garments, using weaving instead of a seam, John, in order to show that such exactly was the tunic, said that it was "woven from the top throughout," that is, woven from the beginning and from top to bottom. By this remark he points to the poverty of Christ's clothing. Still others say that in Palestine they weave cloth not as we do: for us the warp and weft are on top, and the fabric is woven from below and thus proceeds upward; there, on the contrary, the warp is below, and the cloth is woven from the top. Such, they say, was the tunic of the Lord.
Without doubt, here too a mystery is revealed. The Lord's body was woven from above, for the Holy Spirit came and the power of the Most High overshadowed the Virgin (Lk. 1:35). For although He assumed the lowly and fallen human nature, the Divine Flesh was formed and woven by the heavenly grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Body of Christ, divided and distributed in the four parts of the world, remains undivided. For, being imparted to each one individually and sanctifying each by His body, the Only-Begotten dwells wholly and undividedly in all through His flesh. For, being everywhere, He is in no way divided, as the apostle Paul also cries out (1 Cor. 1:13).
Since all things are composed of four elements, by the garment of Jesus one may understand this visible and created nature, which the demons divide when they put to death the Word of God dwelling within us; they strive to draw us to their side through attachment to worldly goods, but they cannot tear the tunic, that is, the Word existing in all that exists, by which all things exist. For no matter how many times I may be beguiled by transient goods, I still know that they are transient; I know both the quality and the substance of deceptive and passing things.
Jn. 19:24. So they said to one another: let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be — that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among themselves, and for My clothing they cast lots." This is what the soldiers did.
What the devil contrives in his cunning serves to fulfill the prophecies. And behold the truth. There were three who were crucified, and yet the words of the prophets are fulfilled in Him alone. And note the precision of the prophecy. The prophet spoke not only about what they divided, but also about what they did not divide. The other garments they divided into parts, but the tunic they did not, instead leaving its fate to the casting of lots (Ps. 22:18).
Soldiers acted according to their own folly.
Jn. 19:25. Standing by the cross of Jesus were His Mother and His Mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Why is Mary of Cleopas called the sister of His Mother, when Joachim had no other child? Cleopas was a brother of Joseph. When Cleopas died childless, according to the account of some, Joseph took his wife for himself and begat children for his brother. One of them is the Mary now mentioned. She is called a sister of the Theotokos, that is, a relative. For Scripture has the custom of calling kinsmen brothers. For example, Isaac says of Rebekah that she is his sister, although she was his wife. So here too the reputed daughter of Cleopas is called the sister of the Theotokos by kinship.
In the Gospels there appear four Marys: one is the Theotokos, who is called the Mother of James and Joses, for they were children of Joseph, born from his first wife, perhaps the wife of Cleopas. The Theotokos is called their Mother, as a stepmother, for She was considered the wife of Joseph. Another is the Magdalene, from whom the Lord cast out seven demons; the third is the wife of Cleopas, and the fourth is the sister of Lazarus.
Jn. 19:26. When Jesus saw His Mother and the disciple standing there, whom He loved, He says to His Mother: Woman! behold, your son.
He cares for His Mother, teaching us to show every care for our parents until our last breath. And notice, while other women are present here, He is concerned for His Mother alone. For parents who hinder the work of worshipping God should not be heeded, but those who do not hinder must be cared for in every way.
And so He, since He Himself was departing from life, and it was natural for His Mother to grieve and seek protection, entrusts the care of Her to the disciple. The Evangelist conceals his name out of modesty. For if he had wished to boast, he would have presented the reason for which he was loved, and it was probably something great and wonderful. Ah! How He honored the disciple, making him His brother. So good is it to remain with Christ in His suffering, for it leads to brotherhood with Him.
Behold how on the Cross He does everything without disturbance: He cares for His Mother, fulfills the prophecies, opens paradise to the thief, whereas before the crucifixion He experiences anguish of soul and exudes sweat. It is clear that the latter belongs to human nature, while the former belongs to the power of the Godhead.
Let Marcion and all the rest be put to shame, who babbled that the Lord appeared to the world as a phantom. For if He was not born and did not have a Mother, then why does He show such great care for Her?
Jn. 19:27. Then He says to the disciple: behold, your Mother! And from that time this disciple took Her into his own home.
So this disciple took Mary to his own home, for the Pure One was entrusted to the pure one. See how the female sex is steadfast in troubles, while the men all abandoned the Lord. Truly He came who strengthens the weak and accepts the lowly.
Jn. 19:28. After that, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, says: I thirst.
"Knowing," he says, "that all things were now accomplished," that is, that nothing remained unfulfilled in the plan of God's economy. So free was His death. For the end did not come upon His body before He Himself willed it, and He willed it after He had fulfilled all things. For this reason He also said: "I have power to lay down My life" (Jn. 10:18).
"He says: I thirst," and in this case again fulfills prophecy.
Jn. 19:29. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar. And the soldiers, having filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hyssop, brought it to His mouth.
But they, displaying their villainous character, give Him vinegar to drink, as they did with criminals. For hyssop is applied for the reason that it is harmful. Some, however, say that the reed is called hyssop, for such is the top of the reed. They placed the sponge on the reed because the mouth of Jesus was high up. And thus the prophecy was fulfilled which says: "And in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (Ps. 69:21).
Jn. 19:30. When Jesus had tasted the vinegar, He said: It is finished!
After the drinking He said "it is finished!", that is, this prophecy too, along with all the others, has been fulfilled; nothing remains, everything is completed. He does everything without agitation and with authority. This is evident from what follows.
Jn. 19:30. And, bowing His head, He gave up the spirit.
For when all was accomplished, He, "bowing His head," since it was not nailed down, "gave up the spirit," that is, breathed His last. With us it happens the opposite way: in our case the breathing first ceases, and then the head bows. But He first bowed His head, and then gave up the spirit. From all of this it is clearly revealed that He was the Lord of death and did all things by His own authority.
The Lord committed His spirit to God and the Father, to show that the souls of the saints do not remain in the tombs, but ascend into the hands of the Father of all, while the souls of the sinful are dragged down to the place of torment, that is, to Hades.
Jn. 19:31. But since it was then Friday, the Jews, so as not to leave the bodies on the cross on the Sabbath — for that Sabbath was a great day — asked Pilate to have their legs broken and to have them taken down.
But those who swallow a camel and strain out a gnat (Matt. 23:24), having committed so great a crime, show particular concern about the day. "For," he says, "so that the bodies would not remain on the cross, they asked Pilate," that is, they asked that they be taken down.
So, they did not want to appear as avengers and murderers on the day of the feast. Otherwise: the law also commanded that the sun should not go down on a man's anger (Eph. 4:26). See how through the schemes of the Jews the prophecies are fulfilled. Here two prophecies are fulfilled at once, as the evangelist says further.
Jn. 19:32. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.
They ask for the legs to be broken for what reason? So that, even if they remain alive, they would be incapable of action (for they were robbers).
Jn. 19:33. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs,
Jn. 19:34. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
Although they did not break the legs of Jesus, nevertheless, to please the Jews they pierced Him, and blood and water flowed out. And this is wondrous. They thought to mock even the dead body, but the mockery turns into a miracle for them. It is also worthy of wonder that blood flows from a dead body. However, someone among the skeptics will say that probably there was still some vital force remaining in the body. But when water also flowed out, the miracle is indisputable. This did not happen without reason, but because life in the Church begins and continues through these two things: by water we are born, and by the Blood and Body we are nourished. Therefore, when you approach the cup of communion of the Blood of Christ, dispose yourself as though you were drinking from the very side.
Note, if you will, how through the pierced rib the wound of the rib, that is, of Eve, is healed. There Adam, having fallen asleep, lost a rib; and here the Lord, having fallen asleep, gives His rib to the soldier. The soldier's spear is a figure of the sword that turned every way and drove us out of paradise (Gen. 3:24). And since everything that revolves does not stop in its movement until it strikes against something, the Lord, showing that He will stop that sword, presents His rib to the soldier's sword, so that it would be clear to us that just as the soldier's spear, having struck against the rib, came to a stop, so too the flaming sword will come to a stop and will no longer terrify with its turning or bar the entrance into paradise.
Let the Arians be put to shame, who in the sacrament of communion do not add water to the wine. For they, it seems, do not believe that water also flowed from the side, which is more wondrous, but believe that only blood flowed out, and thereby they diminish the greatness of the miracle. For the blood shows that the Crucified One is a man, while the water shows that He is above man, namely, God.
Jn. 19:35. And he who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true; he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you may believe.
"Not from others," he says, "did I hear, but I myself was there and saw, and my testimony is true." He rightly remarks this. He is narrating about the mockery, and not about something great and honorable, so that you might suspect this account. "For this reason," he says, "I describe this in detail and do not conceal what is apparently dishonorable, so that you may believe that all this is undoubtedly true, and not composed in anyone's favor." For whoever speaks in someone's favor presents what is more glorious.
Jn. 19:36. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled: A bone of Him shall not be broken.
And since they considered Moses more trustworthy than him, he brings him too as a witness. What Moses said about the lamb slain at Passover: "a bone shall not be broken" (Exod. 12:10, 46), according to the evangelist's explanation, was fulfilled in Christ. For that lamb was a type of Him, and there is much in common between it and the Truth.
So, "a bone shall not be broken" in Jesus; and His side pours forth for us the fountains of being and life. Water is the fountain of being, for through it we become Christians, and Blood is the fountain of life, for by it we are nourished. And the Word of God is the Lamb. Partaking of Him from head to feet (the head of the divinity, for it is the chief part, and the feet of the flesh, for it is the lowest part), and also His inward parts, that is, the secret and hidden things, receiving them with reverence as food, we do not break the bones, that is, the thoughts that are difficult to understand and lofty. For what we cannot understand, we do not break, that is, we do not attempt to understand wrongly and with distortion. So, when we understand soundly, then we do not break, for we preserve the divine things intact. But when we strain to understand and accept a heretical understanding, then we crush and break the firm and inaccessible thoughts. Such matters, that is, those hard to understand, must be burned with fire, that is, surrendered to the Spirit, and He will work upon and refine them, because He comprehends all things, "even the depths of God" (1 Cor. 2:10).
Jn. 19:37. And again another Scripture says: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
Another prophecy will also be fulfilled, which says: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced" (Zech. 12:10). For when He comes to judge, then they will see Him in a better and most godlike body, and those who pierced Him will recognize Him and weep. Moreover, this audacious deed of the enemies of Jesus will be a door of faith and proof for unbelievers, as, for example, for Thomas. For he was assured of the resurrection through touching the side.
Jn. 19:38. After this, Joseph of Arimathea – a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one out of fear of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. He went and took away the body of Jesus.
Why did none of the twelve come to Pilate, but Joseph dared to undertake such a deed—he who perhaps belonged to the number of the seventy? If someone says that the disciples (12) hid out of fear of the Jews, then he too was gripped by the same fear.
One could say that he (Joseph) was a very famous man and, by virtue of his fame, was known even to Pilate.
Jn. 19:39. There came also Nicodemus, – who at first had come to Jesus by night, – and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
Having thought that the fury of the Jews had subsided now that the Jesus they hated was already crucified, Joseph comes without fear and together with Nicodemus performs a magnificent burial.
Jn. 19:40. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury.
Both of them held nothing Divine concerning Him, but were disposed toward Him only as toward a man, because they brought such spices as chiefly had the power to preserve the body for a long time and prevent it from quickly succumbing to decay. And this showed that they held nothing great concerning Him. Nevertheless, they displayed great love toward Him, because they buried Him not as a criminal, but magnificently, according to the Jewish custom.
Jn. 19:41. In the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid.
The "tomb" was "a new one, in which no one had yet been laid." This was arranged so that the resurrection could not be reinterpreted, as though someone else had risen and not Jesus. And in another sense: the new tomb figuratively showed that through the Lord's tomb there would be a renewal from death and corruption, and in it we shall all be renewed.
Jn. 19:42. There they laid Jesus on account of the Jewish Friday, because the tomb was nearby.
Time compelled them to hurry. For the death of Jesus occurred at the ninth hour. Then, while they went to Pilate and while they took down the body, evening had naturally already come, when it was impossible to prepare a tomb. Therefore they lay Him in the nearest tomb. For "in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb." It is arranged so that the tomb is nearby; therefore the disciples can come and be spectators and witnesses of what happened, soldiers can be posted to guard it, and talk of stealing the body will be out of place. None of this could have been possible if Jesus had been buried far away.
Notice, I ask you, how much the Lord became impoverished for our sake. During His life He had no home; in death He has no tomb, but is laid in another's; He is naked, and Joseph clothes Him. Jesus even now is dead whenever He is put to death by violent men or those greedy for gain; He also suffers from hunger; He is also naked, for whatever the poor man endures, all that Christ endures. And you now imitate Joseph, add good to good (for Joseph means "addition"), clothe the nakedness of Christ, that is, the poor man. And do this not just once, but lay it in the tomb of your soul and always remember, always reflect upon and care for such deeds. Mix in myrrh and aloes. For one must carry in mind the bitter and severe judgments of the age to come and that Voice which will call the merciless accursed and send them away into fire (Matt. 25:41). In my opinion, there is nothing more terrible than that Voice.
Jn. 19:1. Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged.
Pilate scourges Him, wishing at least by this to calm and subdue their fury. Since he could not free Him from their hands by words, he scourges Him, hoping by this to restrain their madness.
Jn. 19:2. And the soldiers, having woven a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and clothed Him in a purple robe,
Allow them to put a cloak on Him and place a crown on Him, also with the purpose of appeasing their anger.
Jn. 19:3. And they said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck Him on the cheeks.
But the soldiers do everything to please the Jews. They had heard Pilate say, "I will release the King of the Jews"; therefore they mock Him as a king. For it was not by Pilate's order that they did this, nor did those who went against Jesus at night do so with the governor's knowledge, but to please the Jews, for the sake of money.
Jn. 19:4. Pilate went out again and said to them: Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.
Pilate is faint-hearted and unvindictive in relation to the Jews. He brings Jesus out, once again wishing to extinguish their fury.
Jn. 19:5. Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them: Behold, the Man!
Jn. 19:6. When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him! Pilate says to them: Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him.
But they were not tamed even by this, and cry out: "Crucify, crucify Him!" Pilate, seeing that everything he was doing remained in vain, says: "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." He says this, urging them toward an act not permitted to them, so that Jesus might be released. "I," he says, "who have the authority to crucify, find no fault; but you, who have no authority to crucify, say that He is guilty. So take Him and crucify Him. But you have no authority." Therefore, this Man ought to be released. Such is Pilate's aim. He is more merciful, yet not steadfast for the truth.
Jn. 19:7. The Jews answered him: We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.
And they, having been put to shame by this, say: "By our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."
See how wickedness is inconsistent with itself. Previously Pilate said to them: "Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law"; they did not agree to this. But now they say that according to our law He ought to die. Before they accused Him of making Himself a King, but now, when that lie has been exposed, they accuse Him of making Himself the Son of God. And what is the crime in this? If He does the works of God, then what prevents Him from being the Son of God?
Behold the Divine economy. They handed the Lord over to many tribunals in order to disgrace Him and obscure His glory; but this dishonor turns back upon their own heads, for with the most thorough investigation of the case, His innocence was proven all the more. How many times even Pilate declared that he found nothing in Him worthy of death.
Jn. 19:8. Pilate, having heard this word, was more afraid.
Pilate, having heard only the one word that He is the Son of God, was afraid. But they saw His divine works, and yet they put Him to death for the very thing for which they ought to have worshipped Him.
Jn. 19:9. And he went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus: Where are You from?
He asks Him not as before – "What have You done?" – but "Who are You?" Then they were accusing Him as a king, so naturally he asked "What have You done?" But now, when they slander that He makes Himself out to be the Son of God, he asks: "Where are You from?"
Jn. 19:9. But Jesus gave him no answer.
Jesus is silent, for He had already declared to Pilate: "For this I was born," and "My Kingdom is not from here." However, Pilate did not make any use of this and did not stand for the truth, but yielded to the demand of the people. Therefore the Lord, disdaining his questions as being asked in vain, answers nothing.
Jn. 19:10. Pilate says to Him: Do You not answer me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You and power to release You?
It turns out that Pilate has no firmness whatsoever, but any chance danger can shake him. He feared the Jews; he also trembled before Jesus, as the Son of God. Let us see, then, how he condemns himself by his own words: "I have power to crucify You and I have power to release You." If everything depended on you, why then did you not release Him whom you found innocent?
Jn. 19:11. Jesus answered: you would have no power over Me, if it had not been given to you from above;
The Lord, bringing down his arrogance, says: "You would have no authority over Me if it had not been given to you from above." For I do not simply die, but am accomplishing something mysterious, and this has been predetermined from above for the common salvation.
Jn. 19:11. Therefore the greater sin is on him who delivered Me to you.
But lest you, having heard "given from above," should think that Pilate bears no responsibility before God, He adds: "Greater sin is on him who delivered Me to you." By this He shows that Pilate too is guilty of sin, though a lesser one. For from the fact that Christ's death was "given from above," that is, permitted, Pilate and the Jews do not thereby become innocent; but their free will chose evil, and God allowed and permitted them to carry it out.
So, from the fact that God permits evil to come into action, the wicked are not free from guilt; but because they choose and commit evil, they are worthy of every condemnation.
The Lord frightened Pilate with these words and presented a clear defense of Himself: if I had not given Myself up voluntarily, and if the Father had not permitted this, then you would have no power over Me; the sin is upon you as well, but even greater upon Judas who betrayed Me, or indeed upon the people, because they added to the pain of My wounds a new pain and did not remember their obligation to show mercy, but, finding Me without defense and without help, handed Me over to the cross; they were not even ashamed that I had come out innocent from so many tribunals, but cried out: "Crucify, crucify!"
Jn. 19:12. From that time Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out: if you release Him, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself a king is an opponent of Caesar.
So, when the Lord frightened Pilate with these words, from that time on he sought all the more to release Him.
The Jews, since they had been convicted of slander in claiming that He made Himself a king, and had not succeeded either in their appeal to their own law (for from that point Pilate feared all the more and wished to release Him, so as not to provoke God), again resort to foreign laws and frighten Pilate, as one who was timid. For when they saw that he reverently feared lest by condemning Jesus, the Son of God, he might sin, they instill in him fear of Caesar, and having accused the Lord of seizing royal power, they threaten Pilate that he would offend Caesar if he released one who was rising up against him.
And where was He caught seizing royal power? How will you prove this? By a purple robe? A diadem? Soldiers? But is not everything about Him poor? Both His clothing, and His food, and His home? He does not even have a home.
Jn. 19:13. Pilate, having heard this word, brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat, at a place called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
But how little courage there was in Pilate, when he considered it dangerous for himself to leave such an accusation without investigation! He goes out, as if with the intention of investigating the matter, for this is what the words "sat down on the judgment seat" mean; meanwhile, having made no investigation, he hands Him over, thinking thereby to win them over.
Jn. 19:14. Now it was the Friday before the Passover, and about the sixth hour.
The Evangelist Mark says that when Christ was crucified, "it was the third hour" (Mark 15:25), while John says that it was the "sixth" hour. How can this be?
Some think to resolve this by saying that there is a scribal error. And that this could have happened, and that in John as well the third hour was written, and not the sixth as it now reads, is evident from the following. Three evangelists — Matthew, Mark, and Luke — agree in saying that from the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. Clearly, our Lord was crucified before the sixth hour, before the onset of the darkness, namely around the third hour, as Mark noted, and likewise John, although the error of scribes changed the gamma into the sign of the episemon. Thus they resolve this disagreement.
Others, however, say that Mark clearly and indisputably indicated the hour of the sentence regarding the crucifixion of the Lord. For it is said that judges crucified and executed from the time at which they pronounced the sentence, because in words the punishment and death received its force. Therefore Mark says that He was crucified at the third hour, the hour in which Pilate pronounced the sentence. And since Mark notes the time of the sentence, John recorded the hour at which the Lord was crucified. Moreover, consider how much was accomplished between Pilate's sentence of crucifixion and the hour at which the Lord ascended the cross. Having released Barabbas, he scourged Jesus and definitively handed Him over to crucifixion; for the release of Barabbas was the condemnation of the Lord. The soldiers mock Him. And consider how much time would have been spent on the prolonged mockery. Pilate brought Him out, conversed with the Jews; he goes back in again and judges Jesus; he comes out again and talks with the Jews. All of this could have occupied the time from the third hour to the sixth. Therefore John, having set forth these things with precision, as one who followed everything closely, mentions the sixth hour, when Pilate handed Him over completely "to be crucified," no longer conversing with the Jews nor judging Jesus, but having pronounced the final decision concerning Him.
If someone should ask why, having already pronounced the sentence of crucifixion around the third hour, he again wished to release Him — first, let such a person know that he pronounced the sentence under compulsion from the crowd; then he was troubled by his wife's dream, for she had warned him: "Have nothing to do with that Righteous Man" (Matt. 27:19). With all this, notice how John expressed it: "It was about the sixth hour." He did not say affirmatively "it was six o'clock," but as if hesitantly and without certainty — "about the sixth hour." Therefore it should be of no importance to us that the Evangelists apparently do not perfectly agree with one another, even if we were to grant this disagreement. For consider: did they not all say that Jesus was crucified? And that concerning the hour one says it was the third, and another the sixth — does this in any way harm the truth? But it has been quite sufficiently demonstrated that there is not even a disagreement at all.
Jn. 19:14. And Pilate said to the Jews: behold, your King!
We have said many times that Pilate is more weak and fearful than malicious. And now, look: he gives the matter the appearance of investigation and trial, but in everything acts weakly. "Behold," he says, "your King": he neither condemns Jesus nor directly exposes the Jews, but as if covertly reproaches them for their slander. "Behold," he says, "what kind of man you are accusing of seeking kingship over you—a poor man who does not even think of seeking this. The accusation is false. For what does He have that is characteristic of a usurper of power? Soldiers? Wealth? Noble birth? 'Behold your King.' What benefit is it to you if you kill Him, a Man who cannot cause the slightest harm?" So speaks Pilate, but without persistence and firmness, and without fighting for the truth.
Jn. 19:15. Take Him away, take Him away, crucify Him!
And they say: "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him"; they insist upon and demand the cross, because they wish to give Christ an evil reputation. For such a death was the most shameful and accursed, as it is said: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Deut. 21:23). But they did not know that just as by a tree came the fall, so by a tree would come the restoration.
Jn. 19:15. Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar.
Note also how they themselves declare that they have no other king but Caesar, and through this they voluntarily submit themselves to the authority of the Romans and cut themselves off from the Kingdom of God. Therefore God also delivered them over to the Romans, whom they themselves had called their kings, having renounced the Providence and Protection of God.
Jn. 19:16. Then at last he delivered Him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led Him away.
"Then at last he handed Him over to them." Madman! He ought to have investigated whether He could actually claim royal power for Himself, but instead you hand Him over, yield out of fear, and conclude the trial in a manner unworthy of a man.
Jn. 19:17. And bearing His cross, He went out
Since they considered touching the wood of the cross a dishonorable thing, they laid the accursed wood upon Him as one already condemned and cursed. Note also that this takes place in accordance with the Old Testament prefiguration. Just as there Isaac, carrying the wood, went to the slaughter, so here the Lord goes carrying the Cross, and, like some warrior, bears the weapon by which He overthrows His adversary. That Isaac served as a type of the Lord is clear. Isaac means laughter or joy. And who else became our joy, if not He Who through the Angel at the very conception granted joy to human nature? For the glad tidings which the Virgin heard were received by all of human nature. Isaac's father Abraham means father of many nations and is a type of the God of all, Who is the Father of Jews and Gentiles, by Whose good pleasure and decree His Son bears the cross. Only in the Old Testament the matter was limited to the intention of the father, since that was a prefiguration, but here it was fulfilled in actual deed, because this was the truth. There may be yet another similarity. Just as there Isaac was released and a ram was slain, so here the divine nature remained free from suffering, while the human nature was slain, which is also called the Lamb, as the offspring of the lost sheep — Adam.
How then does the other Evangelist (Mark 15:21) say that "they compelled Simon to carry the Cross"? Both things happened. At first the Lord went out carrying the Cross Himself, since everyone abhorred this wood and would not allow themselves even to touch it. But when they went out, they met Simon coming from the field, and then they laid this wood upon him.
Jn. 19:17. to the place called the Skull, in Hebrew Golgotha;
This place was called "The Place of the Skull," for there was a tradition preserved that Adam was buried here, so that where death had its beginning, there also its abolition would be accomplished. For there is a church tradition that after man's expulsion from paradise, his first dwelling place was Judea, given to him as consolation after the bliss of paradise, as a land better and more abundant than all others. It was also the first to receive the dead man. The people of that time, marveling at the dead skull, removed the skin from it and buried it here, and from it gave this place its name. And after the flood, Noah passed down the account of this to all. Therefore the Lord also accepts death there, where the source of death was, in order to dry it up.
Jn. 19:18. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, on either side, and Jesus in the middle.
Crucified with Him were also two others. The Jews wished by this to spread a bad rumor, as though He too were a robber. Meanwhile, they involuntarily fulfill the prophecy which says: "And He was numbered with the transgressors" (Isa. 53:12).
Observe then the Wisdom of God, how It turned to the glory of the Lord that which they did to His dishonor. For on the very Cross He saved the robber, which is no less wondrous, and even more proves His Divinity. For He alone was glorified, even though others were crucified together with Him. This would not have happened if He were guilty and a transgressor of the law, and were not Himself above the law and the Judge of the lawless.
Jn. 19:19. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Pilate writes a title on the cross, that is, the charge, the inscription, the declaration. The inscription indicated whose cross it was. So Pilate makes this inscription, on the one hand, in order to take revenge on the Jews for not having listened to him, and to show their malice, by which they rose up against their own king, and on the other hand, in order to defend the glory of Christ. They crucified Him with robbers, wishing to dishonor His name.
Jn. 19:20. This inscription was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.
Pilate declares that He was not a robber, but their King, and he declares this not in one, but in three languages. For it was natural to suppose that because of the feast, many Gentiles had also come along with the Jews. Earlier the Evangelist (John 12:20–21) also mentions certain Greeks who came to see Jesus. Therefore, so that all might know of the madness of the Jews, Pilate proclaimed this about Him in all languages.
The inscription, made in three languages, hints at something higher as well, namely: it shows that the Lord is the King of practical, natural, and theological philosophy. The Roman letters serve as an image of practical philosophy, for the power of the Romans is the most courageous and active in military affairs; the Greek letters are an image of natural philosophy, for the Greeks occupied themselves with the study of nature; the Hebrew letters represent theological philosophy, for to the Hebrews was entrusted the knowledge of God. Thus, glory to Him Who through the Cross revealed Himself as possessing such a Kingdom, Who both conquered the world, and strengthened our activity, and grants the knowledge of nature, and through it leads into the innermost part of the veil, into the knowledge and contemplation of Himself, that is, theology.
Jn. 19:21. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that He said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"
The Jews envied Jesus even when He was crucified. For what do they say? Write that He Himself said it. For now the inscription appears as the common opinion of the Jews, but if it were added "He called Himself King," then the blame would be on His audacity and pride.
Jn. 19:22. Pilate answered: what I have written, I have written.
But Pilate did not agree, and remained of his former opinion. Therefore he also says: "What I have written, I have written."
However, something else important is also arranged here. Since the three crosses, buried in the earth, would lie in one and the same place, so that it would not remain unknown which of them was the Cross of the Lord, it was arranged so that it alone had the title and inscription, and by this sign could be recognized. For the crosses of the robbers did not have inscriptions.
Jn. 19:23. The soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments and divided them into four parts, a part to each soldier, and the tunic; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.
The words "woven from the top" are added not without significance. Some say that these words allegorically express that the Crucified One was not a mere Man, but also possessed Divinity "from above." Others say that the evangelist is describing the actual appearance of the tunic. Since in Palestine they join two pieces of fabric, that is, two cloths, to weave garments, using weaving instead of a seam, John, in order to show that such exactly was the tunic, said that it was "woven from the top throughout," that is, woven from the beginning and from top to bottom. By this remark he points to the poverty of Christ's clothing. Still others say that in Palestine they weave cloth not as we do: for us the warp and weft are on top, and the fabric is woven from below and thus proceeds upward; there, on the contrary, the warp is below, and the cloth is woven from the top. Such, they say, was the tunic of the Lord.
Without doubt, here too a mystery is revealed. The Lord's body was woven from above, for the Holy Spirit came and the power of the Most High overshadowed the Virgin (Lk. 1:35). For although He assumed the lowly and fallen human nature, the Divine Flesh was formed and woven by the heavenly grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Body of Christ, divided and distributed in the four parts of the world, remains undivided. For, being imparted to each one individually and sanctifying each by His body, the Only-Begotten dwells wholly and undividedly in all through His flesh. For, being everywhere, He is in no way divided, as the apostle Paul also cries out (1 Cor. 1:13).
Since all things are composed of four elements, by the garment of Jesus one may understand this visible and created nature, which the demons divide when they put to death the Word of God dwelling within us; they strive to draw us to their side through attachment to worldly goods, but they cannot tear the tunic, that is, the Word existing in all that exists, by which all things exist. For no matter how many times I may be beguiled by transient goods, I still know that they are transient; I know both the quality and the substance of deceptive and passing things.
Jn. 19:24. So they said to one another: let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be — that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among themselves, and for My clothing they cast lots." This is what the soldiers did.
What the devil contrives in his cunning serves to fulfill the prophecies. And behold the truth. There were three who were crucified, and yet the words of the prophets are fulfilled in Him alone. And note the precision of the prophecy. The prophet spoke not only about what they divided, but also about what they did not divide. The other garments they divided into parts, but the tunic they did not, instead leaving its fate to the casting of lots (Ps. 22:18).
Soldiers acted according to their own folly.
Jn. 19:25. Standing by the cross of Jesus were His Mother and His Mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Why is Mary of Cleopas called the sister of His Mother, when Joachim had no other child? Cleopas was a brother of Joseph. When Cleopas died childless, according to the account of some, Joseph took his wife for himself and begat children for his brother. One of them is the Mary now mentioned. She is called a sister of the Theotokos, that is, a relative. For Scripture has the custom of calling kinsmen brothers. For example, Isaac says of Rebekah that she is his sister, although she was his wife. So here too the reputed daughter of Cleopas is called the sister of the Theotokos by kinship.
In the Gospels there appear four Marys: one is the Theotokos, who is called the Mother of James and Joses, for they were children of Joseph, born from his first wife, perhaps the wife of Cleopas. The Theotokos is called their Mother, as a stepmother, for She was considered the wife of Joseph. Another is the Magdalene, from whom the Lord cast out seven demons; the third is the wife of Cleopas, and the fourth is the sister of Lazarus.
Jn. 19:26. When Jesus saw His Mother and the disciple standing there, whom He loved, He says to His Mother: Woman! behold, your son.
He cares for His Mother, teaching us to show every care for our parents until our last breath. And notice, while other women are present here, He is concerned for His Mother alone. For parents who hinder the work of worshipping God should not be heeded, but those who do not hinder must be cared for in every way.
And so He, since He Himself was departing from life, and it was natural for His Mother to grieve and seek protection, entrusts the care of Her to the disciple. The Evangelist conceals his name out of modesty. For if he had wished to boast, he would have presented the reason for which he was loved, and it was probably something great and wonderful. Ah! How He honored the disciple, making him His brother. So good is it to remain with Christ in His suffering, for it leads to brotherhood with Him.
Behold how on the Cross He does everything without disturbance: He cares for His Mother, fulfills the prophecies, opens paradise to the thief, whereas before the crucifixion He experiences anguish of soul and exudes sweat. It is clear that the latter belongs to human nature, while the former belongs to the power of the Godhead.
Let Marcion and all the rest be put to shame, who babbled that the Lord appeared to the world as a phantom. For if He was not born and did not have a Mother, then why does He show such great care for Her?
Jn. 19:27. Then He says to the disciple: behold, your Mother! And from that time this disciple took Her into his own home.
So this disciple took Mary to his own home, for the Pure One was entrusted to the pure one. See how the female sex is steadfast in troubles, while the men all abandoned the Lord. Truly He came who strengthens the weak and accepts the lowly.
Jn. 19:28. After that, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, says: I thirst.
"Knowing," he says, "that all things were now accomplished," that is, that nothing remained unfulfilled in the plan of God's economy. So free was His death. For the end did not come upon His body before He Himself willed it, and He willed it after He had fulfilled all things. For this reason He also said: "I have power to lay down My life" (Jn. 10:18).
"He says: I thirst," and in this case again fulfills prophecy.
Jn. 19:29. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar. And the soldiers, having filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hyssop, brought it to His mouth.
But they, displaying their villainous character, give Him vinegar to drink, as they did with criminals. For hyssop is applied for the reason that it is harmful. Some, however, say that the reed is called hyssop, for such is the top of the reed. They placed the sponge on the reed because the mouth of Jesus was high up. And thus the prophecy was fulfilled which says: "And in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (Ps. 69:21).
Jn. 19:30. When Jesus had tasted the vinegar, He said: It is finished!
After the drinking He said "it is finished!", that is, this prophecy too, along with all the others, has been fulfilled; nothing remains, everything is completed. He does everything without agitation and with authority. This is evident from what follows.
Jn. 19:30. And, bowing His head, He gave up the spirit.
For when all was accomplished, He, "bowing His head," since it was not nailed down, "gave up the spirit," that is, breathed His last. With us it happens the opposite way: in our case the breathing first ceases, and then the head bows. But He first bowed His head, and then gave up the spirit. From all of this it is clearly revealed that He was the Lord of death and did all things by His own authority.
The Lord committed His spirit to God and the Father, to show that the souls of the saints do not remain in the tombs, but ascend into the hands of the Father of all, while the souls of the sinful are dragged down to the place of torment, that is, to Hades.
Jn. 19:31. But since it was then Friday, the Jews, so as not to leave the bodies on the cross on the Sabbath — for that Sabbath was a great day — asked Pilate to have their legs broken and to have them taken down.
But those who swallow a camel and strain out a gnat (Matt. 23:24), having committed so great a crime, show particular concern about the day. "For," he says, "so that the bodies would not remain on the cross, they asked Pilate," that is, they asked that they be taken down.
So, they did not want to appear as avengers and murderers on the day of the feast. Otherwise: the law also commanded that the sun should not go down on a man's anger (Eph. 4:26). See how through the schemes of the Jews the prophecies are fulfilled. Here two prophecies are fulfilled at once, as the evangelist says further.
Jn. 19:32. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.
They ask for the legs to be broken for what reason? So that, even if they remain alive, they would be incapable of action (for they were robbers).
Jn. 19:33. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs,
Jn. 19:34. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
Although they did not break the legs of Jesus, nevertheless, to please the Jews they pierced Him, and blood and water flowed out. And this is wondrous. They thought to mock even the dead body, but the mockery turns into a miracle for them. It is also worthy of wonder that blood flows from a dead body. However, someone among the skeptics will say that probably there was still some vital force remaining in the body. But when water also flowed out, the miracle is indisputable. This did not happen without reason, but because life in the Church begins and continues through these two things: by water we are born, and by the Blood and Body we are nourished. Therefore, when you approach the cup of communion of the Blood of Christ, dispose yourself as though you were drinking from the very side.
Note, if you will, how through the pierced rib the wound of the rib, that is, of Eve, is healed. There Adam, having fallen asleep, lost a rib; and here the Lord, having fallen asleep, gives His rib to the soldier. The soldier's spear is a figure of the sword that turned every way and drove us out of paradise (Gen. 3:24). And since everything that revolves does not stop in its movement until it strikes against something, the Lord, showing that He will stop that sword, presents His rib to the soldier's sword, so that it would be clear to us that just as the soldier's spear, having struck against the rib, came to a stop, so too the flaming sword will come to a stop and will no longer terrify with its turning or bar the entrance into paradise.
Let the Arians be put to shame, who in the sacrament of communion do not add water to the wine. For they, it seems, do not believe that water also flowed from the side, which is more wondrous, but believe that only blood flowed out, and thereby they diminish the greatness of the miracle. For the blood shows that the Crucified One is a man, while the water shows that He is above man, namely, God.
Jn. 19:35. And he who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true; he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you may believe.
"Not from others," he says, "did I hear, but I myself was there and saw, and my testimony is true." He rightly remarks this. He is narrating about the mockery, and not about something great and honorable, so that you might suspect this account. "For this reason," he says, "I describe this in detail and do not conceal what is apparently dishonorable, so that you may believe that all this is undoubtedly true, and not composed in anyone's favor." For whoever speaks in someone's favor presents what is more glorious.
Jn. 19:36. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled: A bone of Him shall not be broken.
And since they considered Moses more trustworthy than him, he brings him too as a witness. What Moses said about the lamb slain at Passover: "a bone shall not be broken" (Exod. 12:10, 46), according to the evangelist's explanation, was fulfilled in Christ. For that lamb was a type of Him, and there is much in common between it and the Truth.
So, "a bone shall not be broken" in Jesus; and His side pours forth for us the fountains of being and life. Water is the fountain of being, for through it we become Christians, and Blood is the fountain of life, for by it we are nourished. And the Word of God is the Lamb. Partaking of Him from head to feet (the head of the divinity, for it is the chief part, and the feet of the flesh, for it is the lowest part), and also His inward parts, that is, the secret and hidden things, receiving them with reverence as food, we do not break the bones, that is, the thoughts that are difficult to understand and lofty. For what we cannot understand, we do not break, that is, we do not attempt to understand wrongly and with distortion. So, when we understand soundly, then we do not break, for we preserve the divine things intact. But when we strain to understand and accept a heretical understanding, then we crush and break the firm and inaccessible thoughts. Such matters, that is, those hard to understand, must be burned with fire, that is, surrendered to the Spirit, and He will work upon and refine them, because He comprehends all things, "even the depths of God" (1 Cor. 2:10).
Jn. 19:37. And again another Scripture says: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
Another prophecy will also be fulfilled, which says: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced" (Zech. 12:10). For when He comes to judge, then they will see Him in a better and most godlike body, and those who pierced Him will recognize Him and weep. Moreover, this audacious deed of the enemies of Jesus will be a door of faith and proof for unbelievers, as, for example, for Thomas. For he was assured of the resurrection through touching the side.
Jn. 19:38. After this, Joseph of Arimathea – a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one out of fear of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. He went and took away the body of Jesus.
Why did none of the twelve come to Pilate, but Joseph dared to undertake such a deed—he who perhaps belonged to the number of the seventy? If someone says that the disciples (12) hid out of fear of the Jews, then he too was gripped by the same fear.
One could say that he (Joseph) was a very famous man and, by virtue of his fame, was known even to Pilate.
Jn. 19:39. There came also Nicodemus, – who at first had come to Jesus by night, – and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
Having thought that the fury of the Jews had subsided now that the Jesus they hated was already crucified, Joseph comes without fear and together with Nicodemus performs a magnificent burial.
Jn. 19:40. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury.
Both of them held nothing Divine concerning Him, but were disposed toward Him only as toward a man, because they brought such spices as chiefly had the power to preserve the body for a long time and prevent it from quickly succumbing to decay. And this showed that they held nothing great concerning Him. Nevertheless, they displayed great love toward Him, because they buried Him not as a criminal, but magnificently, according to the Jewish custom.
Jn. 19:41. In the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid.
The "tomb" was "a new one, in which no one had yet been laid." This was arranged so that the resurrection could not be reinterpreted, as though someone else had risen and not Jesus. And in another sense: the new tomb figuratively showed that through the Lord's tomb there would be a renewal from death and corruption, and in it we shall all be renewed.
Jn. 19:42. There they laid Jesus on account of the Jewish Friday, because the tomb was nearby.
Time compelled them to hurry. For the death of Jesus occurred at the ninth hour. Then, while they went to Pilate and while they took down the body, evening had naturally already come, when it was impossible to prepare a tomb. Therefore they lay Him in the nearest tomb. For "in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb." It is arranged so that the tomb is nearby; therefore the disciples can come and be spectators and witnesses of what happened, soldiers can be posted to guard it, and talk of stealing the body will be out of place. None of this could have been possible if Jesus had been buried far away.
Notice, I ask you, how much the Lord became impoverished for our sake. During His life He had no home; in death He has no tomb, but is laid in another's; He is naked, and Joseph clothes Him. Jesus even now is dead whenever He is put to death by violent men or those greedy for gain; He also suffers from hunger; He is also naked, for whatever the poor man endures, all that Christ endures. And you now imitate Joseph, add good to good (for Joseph means "addition"), clothe the nakedness of Christ, that is, the poor man. And do this not just once, but lay it in the tomb of your soul and always remember, always reflect upon and care for such deeds. Mix in myrrh and aloes. For one must carry in mind the bitter and severe judgments of the age to come and that Voice which will call the merciless accursed and send them away into fire (Matt. 25:41). In my opinion, there is nothing more terrible than that Voice.