返回Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lk. 23:1. And the whole multitude of them arose, and led Him to Pilate,
Lk. 23:2. and they began to accuse Him, saying: we found that He perverts our nation and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling Himself Christ the King.
They obviously contradict the truth. For where did Jesus forbid paying tribute, when He, on the contrary, commanded to render it as what is due? For He Himself said: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Luke 20:25). How does He stir up the people? Is He seeking a kingdom? But no one believed this. For even when the people wanted to make Him king, He, having learned of it, withdrew (John 6:15).
Lk. 23:3. Pilate asked Him: Are You the King of the Jews? He said to him in answer: you say it.
Lk. 23:4. Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd: I find no fault in this man.
Therefore Pilate too, having understood the slander, openly says: "I find no fault in this man." In my opinion, even the very question which he puts to Christ is a mockery of the slander. For by saying: "Are You the King of the Jews?" he mocks the matter itself. He speaks as if to say: You, a destitute, poor, naked, helpless man, are accused of aspiring to royal power. And this, as we have said, is a mockery of those who accuse Jesus of this — that they imagine such a helpless and such a poor man to be plotting such an undertaking, for which both wealth and supporters are needed.
Lk. 23:5. But they were insistent, saying that He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.
And they, having nothing else to confirm their slander, resort to shouting and cry out against God the Word. "He stirs up," they say, that is, "He agitates the people," and not in one particular place, but He began "from Galilee" and, passing through the middle of Judea, managed to agitate "even to this place." It seems to me that they mentioned Galilee not without reason, but with the intention of striking fear into Pilate. For the Galileans are always like that — rebels and inclined to innovations — such as Judas the Galilean. It was of him, it seems, that they were reminding Pilate, speaking as if to say: Governor, recall Judas the Galilean, who caused much trouble for the Romans by stirring up no small part of the people. Such also is This One, Who must immediately be destroyed.
Lk. 23:6. Pilate, having heard about Galilee, asked: is He then a Galilean?
Lk. 23:7. And when he learned that He was from Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem in those days.
Pilate sends the Lord to Herod, in fulfillment of the Roman law commanding that each person be judged by the ruler of his province. Therefore he sends Jesus, as a Galilean, to the governor of Galilee.
Lk. 23:8. Herod, having seen Jesus, was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard much about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle from Him,
Herod was glad about this not, however, because he hoped to gain any benefit for his soul from seeing Jesus, but since he had heard about Him that He was a wise man and a wonder-worker, he had a foolish desire, suffering himself from a love of novelties, to see this strange Man and listen to what He had to say. Do not many of us even now suffer from this same disease? He himself wished to see some miracle from Jesus, not, however, in order to believe, but in order to feast his eyes, just as we at spectacles watch magicians pretend to swallow snakes, swords, and the like, and we marvel. For Jesus was regarded as belonging almost to the same class as such people.
Lk. 23:9. And he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.
Herod questioned Him at length, treating Him with a certain ironic tone and mocking Him in everything; therefore Jesus answered him nothing. For He who created all things by His word, and of whom David testified that "he will establish his words in judgment" (Ps. 111:5), knows when one ought to answer. For what need is there to answer one who asks not for the sake of learning? What need is there to cast pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6)? On the contrary, as we have said (see ch. 22), love for mankind requires silence in such cases. For a word spoken, while bringing no benefit to the inattentive, will moreover subject them to greater condemnation. However, to Pilate, since he was more well-intentioned than Herod, the Lord does answer, though not entirely clearly. For he asked, "Are You the King of the Jews?" — and the Lord answers: "You say so." This answer contains, as it were, a twofold meaning. For it can be understood thus: I truly am (the King of the Jews); you have spoken the truth. It can also be understood otherwise: I do not say it; you say it, you have the authority and you speak. But to Herod, as a resolute mocker, He does not answer at all. For truly, as Isaiah says (Isa. 3:4, 12), among the evil seed, the lawless sons — that is, the Jews of that time — both their tax collectors were oppressors of them, and those ruling over them were mockers.
Lk. 23:10. The chief priests and the scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.
Lk. 23:11. But Herod with his soldiers, having treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, dressed Him in a bright garment and sent Him back to Pilate.
And that Herod wished to see Jesus with the intention of mocking and laughing at Him, and of seeing a miracle from Him, and questioned Him with such thoughts, the outcome showed. For having despised Jesus and mocked Him, he released Him, and not only did he himself mock Him, but his soldiers as well, which is most offensive of all; and having put a "bright robe" on Him, he sent Him back to Pilate.
And you see, perhaps, how the devil stumbles in everything he does. He contrives such insults and abuses against Christ, yet from this the truth is revealed all the more clearly. For the mockeries testify in the most obvious way that the Lord is not a rebel or an agitator. If He were such, they would not have been joking when such danger was threatening and an uprising of an entire people was expected—a people that was numerous and very prone to novelty.
Lk. 23:12. And that same day Pilate and Herod became friends with one another, for before they had been at enmity with each other.
Pilate's sending of a subordinate to Herod appeared as the beginning of friendship, since Pilate does not appropriate for himself the prerogatives of Herod. Moreover, observe everywhere how the devil, in order only to prepare the death of Christ, brings together what stood apart from one another, instills harmony and friendship between those who were enemies. Is it not a shame for us that he, in order to put Christ to death, even reconciled enemies, while we, for our own salvation, do not even keep friends in friendship with us?
Lk. 23:13. And Pilate, having called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
Lk. 23:14. he said to them: You brought this man to me as one who perverts the people; and behold, I have examined him before you and have found this man guilty of none of those things of which you accuse Him;
Lk. 23:15. and Herod also, for I sent Him to him; and nothing worthy of death has been found in Him;
When Christ was sent back to Pilate, see how the truth shines forth again. "You," says Pilate, "brought this man to me as one who perverts the people"; but I find nothing in Him "worthy of death," nor does Herod. Do you see the testimony of two men, and moreover one a governor and the other a king, perfectly true? Neither I, he says, nor King Herod have found any fault in Him. What will the Jews say to this? The judges themselves testify that this man is innocent; you, the accusers, have not brought forward a single witness: whom then should one believe? It is wondrous how the truth prevails! Jesus is silent, yet His enemies testify in His favor. The Jews cry out, and no one confirms their clamor. Pilate was a weak man and stood up very little for the truth. He feared slander, lest they accuse him of releasing a seditious man. For he did not know how to say: we will not fear your fear, but the Lord Himself shall be my fear (Isa. 8:12–13).
Lk. 23:16. Therefore, having chastised Him, I will release Him.
Lk. 23:17. And of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.
"So, having punished Him," he says, that is, having disciplined Him with scourges, "I will release Him." And it was fitting for the Romans, to please the Jews, to release one prisoner for the feast. For when making a covenant with the Jews, they gave them the freedom to live according to their own customs and laws. And the Jews had a custom from their fathers of requesting condemned men from the governor; just as they also interceded for Jonathan before Saul (1 Sam. 14:45). If you do not know this story, then take the first book of Kings, and you will find it.
Lk. 23:18. But the whole crowd cried out: Put Him to death!
"But all the people began to cry out," it says, "'death to Him!'" What could be worse than this? The chosen people furiously demand murder; Pilate the pagan recoils from murder: the top has become the bottom.
Lk. 23:18. Release Barabbas to us.
Lk. 23:19. Barabbas had been thrown into prison for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder.
Death to Him! Release Barabbas to us, who had been thrown into prison as a rebel and murderer.
Lk. 23:20. Pilate again raised his voice, wishing to release Jesus.
Lk. 23:21. But they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him!
Lk. 23:22. He said to them a third time: what evil then has He done? I have found nothing worthy of death in Him; therefore, having chastised Him, I will release Him.
Lk. 23:23. But they continued with great clamor to demand that He be crucified; and their cry and that of the chief priests prevailed.
Pilate proposes for a third time to release Him, and for a third time they cry out against Christ, so that by this threefold outcry they might definitively confirm their thirst for murder. And they—as the blessed Peter says—"denied the Holy and Righteous One," and asked for a murderer to be granted to them (Acts 3:14). For they love what is like themselves (which is why they take part in it), because they themselves also revolted against the Romans and became the cause of countless murders and of their own destruction. The Lord foretells this through Jeremiah: "I have forsaken My house; I have left My heritage; the dearly beloved of My soul I have given into the hands of her enemies. My heritage has become to Me like a lion in the forest; it has raised its voice against Me: therefore I have hated it" (Jer. 12:7–8). And Hosea again: "Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me; destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! I redeemed them, yet they spoke lies against Me… Their princes shall fall by the sword for the insolence of their tongue" (Hos. 7:13, 16).
Lk. 23:24. And Pilate decided to grant their request,
Lk. 23:25. And he released to them the one who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they requested; but Jesus he delivered to their will.
Lk. 23:26. They led Him away, and seizing a certain Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the field, they laid the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus.
Jesus was led away and at first the cross was laid upon Him, and He went bearing this burden. For none of the others would undertake to carry it, since they considered it a cursed tree. Then, finding a certain Simon of Cyrene, they laid the cross on him, compelling this man and, as if it were some kind of reproach, placing upon him the cross which the others shunned. In this a significant lesson is given. The cross is the mortification, the inactivity of the passions, and immobility. For he who is crucified is nailed fast and becomes inactive. Thus the Teacher Christ must first Himself take up the cross and nail His flesh to the fear of God and shine forth with dispassion, and only then lay it upon the obedient; for Simon means "obedience." In this are also fulfilled the words of Isaiah: "the government shall be upon His shoulder" (Isa. 9:6). For the cross is the government of the Lord and His Kingdom. Paul says: "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him," and so forth (Phil. 2:8–9). And if the cross became for Jesus exaltation and glory, then it is rightly called His "government," that is, His ruling dignity and the sign of His authority. Just as senators have the insignia of their ranks — some have sashes, others have mantles — so too the Lord establishes the cross as the ensign of His Kingdom. And if you look closely, you will find that Jesus reigns in us in no other way than through suffering, that those who live in luxury are enemies of the cross, and that he can become obedient to Christ and take up His cross who practices virtue, who "comes from the field," that is, who leaves the present field — this world and its affairs — and strives toward the Jerusalem above, which is free (Gal. 4:26).
Lk. 23:27. And there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented Him.
That a multitude of people and women followed after Christ signifies that after the cross a great multitude of Jews and many women would believe in Him. Read the book of Acts (Acts 2:41, 4:4), and you will see thousands of believers. And does not the fact that the women who followed Jesus "wept and lamented" serve as a moral lesson for us? The weak soul is a woman; but if through repentance she receives contrition of heart, weeps and laments, then she truly follows Jesus, who is crucified and suffers for our salvation.
Lk. 23:28. But Jesus, turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem! Do not weep for Me,
The women, those creatures readily moved to sobbing and weeping, weep as though some misfortune had befallen the Lord, and thereby express their compassion and lamentation over human injustice. But He is not only displeased by this, but even forbids them. For He suffered voluntarily, and for one who suffers voluntarily, and moreover for the salvation of the entire human race, what is fitting is not tears, but approval and glorification. By the Cross both death has been destroyed and hell has been taken captive.
Lk. 23:28. But weep for yourselves and for your children,
Lk. 23:29. For behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!
Lk. 23:30. Then they shall begin to say to the mountains: Fall on us! and to the hills: Cover us!
Tears bring consolation not to those who suffer willingly, but to those who suffer unwillingly. Therefore He forbids them to weep for Him, and urges them to turn their attention to the future calamities and to weep over those calamities, when women without pity will boil their own children, and the womb that bore them will, sadly, receive back into itself that which was born from it.
Lk. 23:31. If they do these things with the green tree, what shall be done with the dry?
For if the Romans have done this to Me, a moist tree, fruit-bearing, ever green and ever living by the power of the Godhead, and nourishing all with the fruits of My teaching, what will they not do to you, that is, to the people, a dry tree, deprived of all life-giving righteousness and bearing no fruit? If you had any life-giving power of goodness, perhaps you would have been deemed worthy of at least some mercy; but now, like a dry tree, you will be subjected to burning and destruction.
Lk. 23:32. Led with Him to death were also two criminals.
The devil, wishing to create and instill a bad opinion of the Lord, arranges for two robbers to be crucified with Him. But see how he lost one of them, and how what the devil plotted against the Lord served to His greater glory. For no one ever sought the crosses of the robbers; on the contrary, the whole world longed in expectation for the Cross of the Lord. And from this it is clearly evident that the Lord is not a lawbreaker like the robbers, but the pioneer of all righteousness.
Lk. 23:33. And when they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the malefactors, one on the right and the other on the left side.
They lead Him to the place of the Skull, where, they say, the forefather was buried, so that where the fall occurred through a tree, there also the restoration was accomplished through a tree.
Lk. 23:34. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Jesus, displaying extraordinary meekness, prays for them, saying: "Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do." And indeed, this sin would have been forgiven them, had they not after this remained in unbelief.
Lk. 23:34. And they divided His garments, casting lots.
Why do they divide His garments? Perhaps many were in need of them, or perhaps (which is more likely) they did this out of insolence and with the intention of mocking Him. For in their view, what was precious about these garments? Thus, they did this as a form of mockery and insult.
Lk. 23:35. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also together with them mocked,
For, what must one conclude about the common people, when their rulers were mocking?
Lk. 23:35. Saying: He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ, the chosen one of God.
This is the devil speaking through them. Just as on the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9), so also here he says this, envying the salvation through the cross and desiring by every possible cunning to prevent it.
Lk. 23:36. Likewise the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar.
Lk. 23:37. Save Yourself if You are the King of the Jews.
Soldiers offered vinegar to drink, serving Him precisely as a king.
Lk. 23:38. And a superscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Here is yet another cunning device of the devil that turned against himself. Namely, he proclaims the sedition of Jesus in the writings of three languages, so that every passerby would know that He was hanged for claiming to be a king. But the one inventive in evil did not understand that this was a sign that the mightiest of nations, such as the Romans, and the wisest, such as the Greeks, and the most devout, such as the Jews, would enter the Kingdom of Jesus and would preach Him. However, in the commentary on the Gospel of John we have said more and in a loftier manner about this.
Lk. 23:39. One of the hanged malefactors was blaspheming Him and saying: if You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.
Lk. 23:40. But the other, on the contrary, rebuked him and said: do you not even fear God, since you are under the same condemnation?
Lk. 23:41. And we are condemned justly, for we have received what is worthy of our deeds, but He has done nothing wrong.
Lk. 23:42. And he said to Jesus: Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom!
How then do the other Evangelists say (Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32) that both robbers reviled Jesus? At first, probably, both reviled Him; but then one of them, the more prudent one, recognized the goodness and Divinity of Jesus from the words He spoke on behalf of the crucifiers, saying: "Father, forgive them." For these words are not only filled with perfect love for mankind, but also reveal much of His own authority. Jesus did not say: Lord, I beseech Thee, forgive them, but simply and with authority: "Father, forgive them." Instructed by these words, the one who had previously reviled Jesus acknowledges Him as the true King, stops the mouth of the other robber, and says to Jesus: Remember me in Thy Kingdom. What then does the Lord say?
Lk. 23:43. And Jesus said to him: Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.
As man He is on the cross, but as God He is everywhere — both there and in paradise He fills all things, and there is no place where He is not. Some may ask: when the Lord says to the thief, "Today you will be with Me in paradise," how then did Paul say that none of the saints received the "promise" (Heb. 11:39)? Some answer: the apostle did not say of all the saints that they did not receive the promise, but only of those whom he enumerated. And he enumerated many others, but did not mention the thief. For listen to what he says: "all these"; clearly, he was referring his words to those whom he had enumerated, and among them this thief is not found.
Others said that the robber had not yet inherited life in paradise either; but since the Lord's promise is immutable and by no means false, therefore it is said: "today you shall be with Me in paradise." For there are, they say, such turns of phrase in the Lord's speech in which He speaks of the future as though it had already happened. For example, when He says: "he who does not believe is already condemned" (John 3:18), and again: "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24). Others distort this saying, namely: after "today" they place a punctuation mark so that the speech reads thus: truly I say to you today, and then continue: you shall be with Me in paradise. Still others, and, it seems, quite successfully, explain it thus: the blessings promised to us are not life in paradise or a return to it, but the Kingdom of Heaven, which is why we pray: "Thy Kingdom come," and not for the life of paradise. And let no one tell me that paradise and the Kingdom are one and the same. For the blessings of the Kingdom no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). But paradise was seen by Adam's eye, and the ear heard of it, for it is said: "of every tree of the garden you may freely eat" (Gen. 2:16). Although one tree was forbidden to Adam, nevertheless he both saw it and heard of it. Paradise also entered into the heart of man. For Adam rejoiced in his soul, since he did not abandon such activity and agricultural joy. Therefore, they say, Paul does not contradict this in the least. The robber received "paradise," but did not receive the "Kingdom"; he will receive it when all those whom he enumerated also receive it. At any rate, at the present time he is in paradise, which is a place of spiritual repose. Many have said this, and many times. One may say that nothing prevents the words of both the Lord and Paul from being true even if the Kingdom of Heaven and paradise are one and the same. For the robber, though in paradise or in the Kingdom — and not only he, but all those enumerated by Paul — nevertheless does not enjoy the full possession of blessings. Just as condemned persons are not in royal dwellings but are confined in prisons and guarded for their appointed punishments, while honored persons enter the royal chambers and abide in them, and then, when the time of distribution comes, are deemed worthy of royal gifts, so also the saints, though they do not yet taste full blessedness, nevertheless dwell in bright abodes, full of fragrance and, generally speaking, royal, even though they have not yet been deemed worthy of the final distribution of royal gifts. So too the robber, though he is now in paradise, nevertheless does not enjoy perfect blessedness, so that he might "not apart from us be made perfect" (Heb. 11:40). And this explanation, in my opinion, is the most correct of all. I say nothing of the fact that the gifts of the saints, manifested in everyday miracles, may rightly be called paradise, and that all of them, inasmuch as they have been deemed worthy of spiritual gifts and have received in them the pledge of the Spirit, are in paradise, though they have not attained perfection, and have received the Kingdom, as Paul says in the same Epistle to the Hebrews, though they have not received what was promised. By the word "promise" he evidently meant the fullness of enjoyment. Thus, they have not yet received all that was promised, yet they are in the Kingdom and in paradise. I ask you, marvel also at this: just as some king, returning from victory with trophies, carries behind him the very best part of the spoil, so also the Lord, having seized the very best spoil from the devil, leads it with Himself, returning to the original homeland of man, that is, to paradise. He was in paradise not by His Divinity alone, but also by the rational and intelligent human soul He had assumed, and He was in paradise with His spirit and descended into Hades with His soul. Having saved the robber, the Lord bound the instrument of malice, in accordance with His own prediction: having bound the strong man, He will plunder his goods (Matt. 12:29).
Lk. 23:44. It was about the sixth hour of the day, and darkness came over the whole earth until the ninth hour.
Once the Jews desired to see a sign from heaven; so then, here is that sign for them: an extraordinary "darkness."
Lk. 23:45. The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in the middle.
And the "veil" of the temple "is torn." By this the Lord shows that the Holy of Holies will no longer be inaccessible, but will be given over to the Romans, trampled and defiled. Or again, He shows that the veil is torn that separated us from the saints living in the heavens, that is, enmity and sin. For this constituted a great barrier dividing us from those living there. He shows at the same time that He was not crucified out of powerlessness. For He who performed such a sign could have torn them apart and destroyed them.
Lk. 23:46. Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said: Father! Into Thy hands I commit My spirit. And having said this, He gave up the spirit.
Having cried out with a loud voice, Jesus gives up His spirit. For He had the power to lay down His life, and "to take it again" (John 10:18).
Lk. 23:47. The centurion, seeing what had happened, glorified God and said: truly this man was righteous.
This voice and the other miracles served as an occasion for faith for the centurion. For Jesus was dying not as an ordinary man, but as the Master, and He called death a committing into safekeeping, since He was to receive His soul again. This is the first voice by which our souls were deemed worthy of freedom, since the devil no longer holds them, but they are committed to the Father. For before the death of Christ, the devil had great power over souls, but from the time the Son committed His spirit not to Hades, but into the hands of the Father, those held in Hades received freedom. Here is seen the fulfillment of the words once spoken by the Lord: "when I am lifted up... I will draw all men to Myself" (Jn. 12:32). For, lifted up on the cross, He drew the robber, He drew the centurion.
Lk. 23:48. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, returned, smiting their breasts.
Some of the Jews beat their breasts and, reproaching the crucifiers, openly acknowledged Jesus as a righteous man.
Lk. 23:49. All those who knew Him, and the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched these things.
The disciples fled, but the women, this humbled and cursed race, remain and watch all these things, and for this they are the first to enjoy the justification and blessing flowing from here, as well as the resurrection.
And you, marvel at the hardness of heart of the Jews. They say: let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. Yet seeing greater miracles, they do not believe! For was not the darkening of the sun equal to coming down from the cross, the splitting of the rocks, the terrible earthquake, the raising of the dead, the tearing of the veil, and the alteration of all creation? Therefore let no one be perplexed as to why Jesus did not come down from the cross, but let him accept this without curiosity, considering that they would not have believed even then, had He done so, and nothing else would have come of it except that salvation through the cross would have been distorted. For the cross above all else is the glory of Christ. And so He, having performed greater miracles while they did not believe, accomplished two things at once: first, He endured to the end and accepted the cross, that great sign of victory; and second, He revealed that they were utterly insensible, having no good in them whatsoever, but were hardened in unbelief.
Lk. 23:50. Then a certain man named Joseph, a member of the council, a good and righteous man,
Lk. 23:51. He had not consented to the counsel and deed of them; he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God,
Lk. 23:52. he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;
Lk. 23:53. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
Joseph had not revealed himself before, but now he does a praiseworthy deed. Despite being a member of the council and a wealthy man, he boldly asks for the body of a Man who was crucified as a rebel and insurrectionist, and pays no attention to any danger, even though wealth is timid, but requests and honorably buries Him in a tomb hewn in stone, where no one else had been laid before, so that slanderers could not say that the body of another had risen.
Lk. 23:54. Friday it was, and the Sabbath was dawning.
Lk. 23:55. The women also, who had come with Jesus from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how His body was laid;
Lk. 23:56. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
And the women, although they had faith in the Lord, did not have the kind they ought to have had, but a weak and small one. For, considering Him a mere man, they prepare ointments and spices according to the custom prevailing among the Jews, always observed over the deceased. However, on the Sabbath they remain at rest according to the commandment of the Law.
Lk. 23:1. And the whole multitude of them arose, and led Him to Pilate,
Lk. 23:2. and they began to accuse Him, saying: we found that He perverts our nation and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling Himself Christ the King.
They obviously contradict the truth. For where did Jesus forbid paying tribute, when He, on the contrary, commanded to render it as what is due? For He Himself said: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Luke 20:25). How does He stir up the people? Is He seeking a kingdom? But no one believed this. For even when the people wanted to make Him king, He, having learned of it, withdrew (John 6:15).
Lk. 23:3. Pilate asked Him: Are You the King of the Jews? He said to him in answer: you say it.
Lk. 23:4. Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd: I find no fault in this man.
Therefore Pilate too, having understood the slander, openly says: "I find no fault in this man." In my opinion, even the very question which he puts to Christ is a mockery of the slander. For by saying: "Are You the King of the Jews?" he mocks the matter itself. He speaks as if to say: You, a destitute, poor, naked, helpless man, are accused of aspiring to royal power. And this, as we have said, is a mockery of those who accuse Jesus of this — that they imagine such a helpless and such a poor man to be plotting such an undertaking, for which both wealth and supporters are needed.
Lk. 23:5. But they were insistent, saying that He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.
And they, having nothing else to confirm their slander, resort to shouting and cry out against God the Word. "He stirs up," they say, that is, "He agitates the people," and not in one particular place, but He began "from Galilee" and, passing through the middle of Judea, managed to agitate "even to this place." It seems to me that they mentioned Galilee not without reason, but with the intention of striking fear into Pilate. For the Galileans are always like that — rebels and inclined to innovations — such as Judas the Galilean. It was of him, it seems, that they were reminding Pilate, speaking as if to say: Governor, recall Judas the Galilean, who caused much trouble for the Romans by stirring up no small part of the people. Such also is This One, Who must immediately be destroyed.
Lk. 23:6. Pilate, having heard about Galilee, asked: is He then a Galilean?
Lk. 23:7. And when he learned that He was from Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem in those days.
Pilate sends the Lord to Herod, in fulfillment of the Roman law commanding that each person be judged by the ruler of his province. Therefore he sends Jesus, as a Galilean, to the governor of Galilee.
Lk. 23:8. Herod, having seen Jesus, was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard much about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle from Him,
Herod was glad about this not, however, because he hoped to gain any benefit for his soul from seeing Jesus, but since he had heard about Him that He was a wise man and a wonder-worker, he had a foolish desire, suffering himself from a love of novelties, to see this strange Man and listen to what He had to say. Do not many of us even now suffer from this same disease? He himself wished to see some miracle from Jesus, not, however, in order to believe, but in order to feast his eyes, just as we at spectacles watch magicians pretend to swallow snakes, swords, and the like, and we marvel. For Jesus was regarded as belonging almost to the same class as such people.
Lk. 23:9. And he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.
Herod questioned Him at length, treating Him with a certain ironic tone and mocking Him in everything; therefore Jesus answered him nothing. For He who created all things by His word, and of whom David testified that "he will establish his words in judgment" (Ps. 111:5), knows when one ought to answer. For what need is there to answer one who asks not for the sake of learning? What need is there to cast pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6)? On the contrary, as we have said (see ch. 22), love for mankind requires silence in such cases. For a word spoken, while bringing no benefit to the inattentive, will moreover subject them to greater condemnation. However, to Pilate, since he was more well-intentioned than Herod, the Lord does answer, though not entirely clearly. For he asked, "Are You the King of the Jews?" — and the Lord answers: "You say so." This answer contains, as it were, a twofold meaning. For it can be understood thus: I truly am (the King of the Jews); you have spoken the truth. It can also be understood otherwise: I do not say it; you say it, you have the authority and you speak. But to Herod, as a resolute mocker, He does not answer at all. For truly, as Isaiah says (Isa. 3:4, 12), among the evil seed, the lawless sons — that is, the Jews of that time — both their tax collectors were oppressors of them, and those ruling over them were mockers.
Lk. 23:10. The chief priests and the scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.
Lk. 23:11. But Herod with his soldiers, having treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, dressed Him in a bright garment and sent Him back to Pilate.
And that Herod wished to see Jesus with the intention of mocking and laughing at Him, and of seeing a miracle from Him, and questioned Him with such thoughts, the outcome showed. For having despised Jesus and mocked Him, he released Him, and not only did he himself mock Him, but his soldiers as well, which is most offensive of all; and having put a "bright robe" on Him, he sent Him back to Pilate.
And you see, perhaps, how the devil stumbles in everything he does. He contrives such insults and abuses against Christ, yet from this the truth is revealed all the more clearly. For the mockeries testify in the most obvious way that the Lord is not a rebel or an agitator. If He were such, they would not have been joking when such danger was threatening and an uprising of an entire people was expected—a people that was numerous and very prone to novelty.
Lk. 23:12. And that same day Pilate and Herod became friends with one another, for before they had been at enmity with each other.
Pilate's sending of a subordinate to Herod appeared as the beginning of friendship, since Pilate does not appropriate for himself the prerogatives of Herod. Moreover, observe everywhere how the devil, in order only to prepare the death of Christ, brings together what stood apart from one another, instills harmony and friendship between those who were enemies. Is it not a shame for us that he, in order to put Christ to death, even reconciled enemies, while we, for our own salvation, do not even keep friends in friendship with us?
Lk. 23:13. And Pilate, having called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
Lk. 23:14. he said to them: You brought this man to me as one who perverts the people; and behold, I have examined him before you and have found this man guilty of none of those things of which you accuse Him;
Lk. 23:15. and Herod also, for I sent Him to him; and nothing worthy of death has been found in Him;
When Christ was sent back to Pilate, see how the truth shines forth again. "You," says Pilate, "brought this man to me as one who perverts the people"; but I find nothing in Him "worthy of death," nor does Herod. Do you see the testimony of two men, and moreover one a governor and the other a king, perfectly true? Neither I, he says, nor King Herod have found any fault in Him. What will the Jews say to this? The judges themselves testify that this man is innocent; you, the accusers, have not brought forward a single witness: whom then should one believe? It is wondrous how the truth prevails! Jesus is silent, yet His enemies testify in His favor. The Jews cry out, and no one confirms their clamor. Pilate was a weak man and stood up very little for the truth. He feared slander, lest they accuse him of releasing a seditious man. For he did not know how to say: we will not fear your fear, but the Lord Himself shall be my fear (Isa. 8:12–13).
Lk. 23:16. Therefore, having chastised Him, I will release Him.
Lk. 23:17. And of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.
"So, having punished Him," he says, that is, having disciplined Him with scourges, "I will release Him." And it was fitting for the Romans, to please the Jews, to release one prisoner for the feast. For when making a covenant with the Jews, they gave them the freedom to live according to their own customs and laws. And the Jews had a custom from their fathers of requesting condemned men from the governor; just as they also interceded for Jonathan before Saul (1 Sam. 14:45). If you do not know this story, then take the first book of Kings, and you will find it.
Lk. 23:18. But the whole crowd cried out: Put Him to death!
"But all the people began to cry out," it says, "'death to Him!'" What could be worse than this? The chosen people furiously demand murder; Pilate the pagan recoils from murder: the top has become the bottom.
Lk. 23:18. Release Barabbas to us.
Lk. 23:19. Barabbas had been thrown into prison for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder.
Death to Him! Release Barabbas to us, who had been thrown into prison as a rebel and murderer.
Lk. 23:20. Pilate again raised his voice, wishing to release Jesus.
Lk. 23:21. But they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him!
Lk. 23:22. He said to them a third time: what evil then has He done? I have found nothing worthy of death in Him; therefore, having chastised Him, I will release Him.
Lk. 23:23. But they continued with great clamor to demand that He be crucified; and their cry and that of the chief priests prevailed.
Pilate proposes for a third time to release Him, and for a third time they cry out against Christ, so that by this threefold outcry they might definitively confirm their thirst for murder. And they—as the blessed Peter says—"denied the Holy and Righteous One," and asked for a murderer to be granted to them (Acts 3:14). For they love what is like themselves (which is why they take part in it), because they themselves also revolted against the Romans and became the cause of countless murders and of their own destruction. The Lord foretells this through Jeremiah: "I have forsaken My house; I have left My heritage; the dearly beloved of My soul I have given into the hands of her enemies. My heritage has become to Me like a lion in the forest; it has raised its voice against Me: therefore I have hated it" (Jer. 12:7–8). And Hosea again: "Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me; destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! I redeemed them, yet they spoke lies against Me… Their princes shall fall by the sword for the insolence of their tongue" (Hos. 7:13, 16).
Lk. 23:24. And Pilate decided to grant their request,
Lk. 23:25. And he released to them the one who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they requested; but Jesus he delivered to their will.
Lk. 23:26. They led Him away, and seizing a certain Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the field, they laid the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus.
Jesus was led away and at first the cross was laid upon Him, and He went bearing this burden. For none of the others would undertake to carry it, since they considered it a cursed tree. Then, finding a certain Simon of Cyrene, they laid the cross on him, compelling this man and, as if it were some kind of reproach, placing upon him the cross which the others shunned. In this a significant lesson is given. The cross is the mortification, the inactivity of the passions, and immobility. For he who is crucified is nailed fast and becomes inactive. Thus the Teacher Christ must first Himself take up the cross and nail His flesh to the fear of God and shine forth with dispassion, and only then lay it upon the obedient; for Simon means "obedience." In this are also fulfilled the words of Isaiah: "the government shall be upon His shoulder" (Isa. 9:6). For the cross is the government of the Lord and His Kingdom. Paul says: "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him," and so forth (Phil. 2:8–9). And if the cross became for Jesus exaltation and glory, then it is rightly called His "government," that is, His ruling dignity and the sign of His authority. Just as senators have the insignia of their ranks — some have sashes, others have mantles — so too the Lord establishes the cross as the ensign of His Kingdom. And if you look closely, you will find that Jesus reigns in us in no other way than through suffering, that those who live in luxury are enemies of the cross, and that he can become obedient to Christ and take up His cross who practices virtue, who "comes from the field," that is, who leaves the present field — this world and its affairs — and strives toward the Jerusalem above, which is free (Gal. 4:26).
Lk. 23:27. And there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented Him.
That a multitude of people and women followed after Christ signifies that after the cross a great multitude of Jews and many women would believe in Him. Read the book of Acts (Acts 2:41, 4:4), and you will see thousands of believers. And does not the fact that the women who followed Jesus "wept and lamented" serve as a moral lesson for us? The weak soul is a woman; but if through repentance she receives contrition of heart, weeps and laments, then she truly follows Jesus, who is crucified and suffers for our salvation.
Lk. 23:28. But Jesus, turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem! Do not weep for Me,
The women, those creatures readily moved to sobbing and weeping, weep as though some misfortune had befallen the Lord, and thereby express their compassion and lamentation over human injustice. But He is not only displeased by this, but even forbids them. For He suffered voluntarily, and for one who suffers voluntarily, and moreover for the salvation of the entire human race, what is fitting is not tears, but approval and glorification. By the Cross both death has been destroyed and hell has been taken captive.
Lk. 23:28. But weep for yourselves and for your children,
Lk. 23:29. For behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!
Lk. 23:30. Then they shall begin to say to the mountains: Fall on us! and to the hills: Cover us!
Tears bring consolation not to those who suffer willingly, but to those who suffer unwillingly. Therefore He forbids them to weep for Him, and urges them to turn their attention to the future calamities and to weep over those calamities, when women without pity will boil their own children, and the womb that bore them will, sadly, receive back into itself that which was born from it.
Lk. 23:31. If they do these things with the green tree, what shall be done with the dry?
For if the Romans have done this to Me, a moist tree, fruit-bearing, ever green and ever living by the power of the Godhead, and nourishing all with the fruits of My teaching, what will they not do to you, that is, to the people, a dry tree, deprived of all life-giving righteousness and bearing no fruit? If you had any life-giving power of goodness, perhaps you would have been deemed worthy of at least some mercy; but now, like a dry tree, you will be subjected to burning and destruction.
Lk. 23:32. Led with Him to death were also two criminals.
The devil, wishing to create and instill a bad opinion of the Lord, arranges for two robbers to be crucified with Him. But see how he lost one of them, and how what the devil plotted against the Lord served to His greater glory. For no one ever sought the crosses of the robbers; on the contrary, the whole world longed in expectation for the Cross of the Lord. And from this it is clearly evident that the Lord is not a lawbreaker like the robbers, but the pioneer of all righteousness.
Lk. 23:33. And when they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the malefactors, one on the right and the other on the left side.
They lead Him to the place of the Skull, where, they say, the forefather was buried, so that where the fall occurred through a tree, there also the restoration was accomplished through a tree.
Lk. 23:34. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Jesus, displaying extraordinary meekness, prays for them, saying: "Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do." And indeed, this sin would have been forgiven them, had they not after this remained in unbelief.
Lk. 23:34. And they divided His garments, casting lots.
Why do they divide His garments? Perhaps many were in need of them, or perhaps (which is more likely) they did this out of insolence and with the intention of mocking Him. For in their view, what was precious about these garments? Thus, they did this as a form of mockery and insult.
Lk. 23:35. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also together with them mocked,
For, what must one conclude about the common people, when their rulers were mocking?
Lk. 23:35. Saying: He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ, the chosen one of God.
This is the devil speaking through them. Just as on the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9), so also here he says this, envying the salvation through the cross and desiring by every possible cunning to prevent it.
Lk. 23:36. Likewise the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar.
Lk. 23:37. Save Yourself if You are the King of the Jews.
Soldiers offered vinegar to drink, serving Him precisely as a king.
Lk. 23:38. And a superscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Here is yet another cunning device of the devil that turned against himself. Namely, he proclaims the sedition of Jesus in the writings of three languages, so that every passerby would know that He was hanged for claiming to be a king. But the one inventive in evil did not understand that this was a sign that the mightiest of nations, such as the Romans, and the wisest, such as the Greeks, and the most devout, such as the Jews, would enter the Kingdom of Jesus and would preach Him. However, in the commentary on the Gospel of John we have said more and in a loftier manner about this.
Lk. 23:39. One of the hanged malefactors was blaspheming Him and saying: if You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.
Lk. 23:40. But the other, on the contrary, rebuked him and said: do you not even fear God, since you are under the same condemnation?
Lk. 23:41. And we are condemned justly, for we have received what is worthy of our deeds, but He has done nothing wrong.
Lk. 23:42. And he said to Jesus: Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom!
How then do the other Evangelists say (Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32) that both robbers reviled Jesus? At first, probably, both reviled Him; but then one of them, the more prudent one, recognized the goodness and Divinity of Jesus from the words He spoke on behalf of the crucifiers, saying: "Father, forgive them." For these words are not only filled with perfect love for mankind, but also reveal much of His own authority. Jesus did not say: Lord, I beseech Thee, forgive them, but simply and with authority: "Father, forgive them." Instructed by these words, the one who had previously reviled Jesus acknowledges Him as the true King, stops the mouth of the other robber, and says to Jesus: Remember me in Thy Kingdom. What then does the Lord say?
Lk. 23:43. And Jesus said to him: Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.
As man He is on the cross, but as God He is everywhere — both there and in paradise He fills all things, and there is no place where He is not. Some may ask: when the Lord says to the thief, "Today you will be with Me in paradise," how then did Paul say that none of the saints received the "promise" (Heb. 11:39)? Some answer: the apostle did not say of all the saints that they did not receive the promise, but only of those whom he enumerated. And he enumerated many others, but did not mention the thief. For listen to what he says: "all these"; clearly, he was referring his words to those whom he had enumerated, and among them this thief is not found.
Others said that the robber had not yet inherited life in paradise either; but since the Lord's promise is immutable and by no means false, therefore it is said: "today you shall be with Me in paradise." For there are, they say, such turns of phrase in the Lord's speech in which He speaks of the future as though it had already happened. For example, when He says: "he who does not believe is already condemned" (John 3:18), and again: "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24). Others distort this saying, namely: after "today" they place a punctuation mark so that the speech reads thus: truly I say to you today, and then continue: you shall be with Me in paradise. Still others, and, it seems, quite successfully, explain it thus: the blessings promised to us are not life in paradise or a return to it, but the Kingdom of Heaven, which is why we pray: "Thy Kingdom come," and not for the life of paradise. And let no one tell me that paradise and the Kingdom are one and the same. For the blessings of the Kingdom no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). But paradise was seen by Adam's eye, and the ear heard of it, for it is said: "of every tree of the garden you may freely eat" (Gen. 2:16). Although one tree was forbidden to Adam, nevertheless he both saw it and heard of it. Paradise also entered into the heart of man. For Adam rejoiced in his soul, since he did not abandon such activity and agricultural joy. Therefore, they say, Paul does not contradict this in the least. The robber received "paradise," but did not receive the "Kingdom"; he will receive it when all those whom he enumerated also receive it. At any rate, at the present time he is in paradise, which is a place of spiritual repose. Many have said this, and many times. One may say that nothing prevents the words of both the Lord and Paul from being true even if the Kingdom of Heaven and paradise are one and the same. For the robber, though in paradise or in the Kingdom — and not only he, but all those enumerated by Paul — nevertheless does not enjoy the full possession of blessings. Just as condemned persons are not in royal dwellings but are confined in prisons and guarded for their appointed punishments, while honored persons enter the royal chambers and abide in them, and then, when the time of distribution comes, are deemed worthy of royal gifts, so also the saints, though they do not yet taste full blessedness, nevertheless dwell in bright abodes, full of fragrance and, generally speaking, royal, even though they have not yet been deemed worthy of the final distribution of royal gifts. So too the robber, though he is now in paradise, nevertheless does not enjoy perfect blessedness, so that he might "not apart from us be made perfect" (Heb. 11:40). And this explanation, in my opinion, is the most correct of all. I say nothing of the fact that the gifts of the saints, manifested in everyday miracles, may rightly be called paradise, and that all of them, inasmuch as they have been deemed worthy of spiritual gifts and have received in them the pledge of the Spirit, are in paradise, though they have not attained perfection, and have received the Kingdom, as Paul says in the same Epistle to the Hebrews, though they have not received what was promised. By the word "promise" he evidently meant the fullness of enjoyment. Thus, they have not yet received all that was promised, yet they are in the Kingdom and in paradise. I ask you, marvel also at this: just as some king, returning from victory with trophies, carries behind him the very best part of the spoil, so also the Lord, having seized the very best spoil from the devil, leads it with Himself, returning to the original homeland of man, that is, to paradise. He was in paradise not by His Divinity alone, but also by the rational and intelligent human soul He had assumed, and He was in paradise with His spirit and descended into Hades with His soul. Having saved the robber, the Lord bound the instrument of malice, in accordance with His own prediction: having bound the strong man, He will plunder his goods (Matt. 12:29).
Lk. 23:44. It was about the sixth hour of the day, and darkness came over the whole earth until the ninth hour.
Once the Jews desired to see a sign from heaven; so then, here is that sign for them: an extraordinary "darkness."
Lk. 23:45. The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in the middle.
And the "veil" of the temple "is torn." By this the Lord shows that the Holy of Holies will no longer be inaccessible, but will be given over to the Romans, trampled and defiled. Or again, He shows that the veil is torn that separated us from the saints living in the heavens, that is, enmity and sin. For this constituted a great barrier dividing us from those living there. He shows at the same time that He was not crucified out of powerlessness. For He who performed such a sign could have torn them apart and destroyed them.
Lk. 23:46. Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said: Father! Into Thy hands I commit My spirit. And having said this, He gave up the spirit.
Having cried out with a loud voice, Jesus gives up His spirit. For He had the power to lay down His life, and "to take it again" (John 10:18).
Lk. 23:47. The centurion, seeing what had happened, glorified God and said: truly this man was righteous.
This voice and the other miracles served as an occasion for faith for the centurion. For Jesus was dying not as an ordinary man, but as the Master, and He called death a committing into safekeeping, since He was to receive His soul again. This is the first voice by which our souls were deemed worthy of freedom, since the devil no longer holds them, but they are committed to the Father. For before the death of Christ, the devil had great power over souls, but from the time the Son committed His spirit not to Hades, but into the hands of the Father, those held in Hades received freedom. Here is seen the fulfillment of the words once spoken by the Lord: "when I am lifted up... I will draw all men to Myself" (Jn. 12:32). For, lifted up on the cross, He drew the robber, He drew the centurion.
Lk. 23:48. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, returned, smiting their breasts.
Some of the Jews beat their breasts and, reproaching the crucifiers, openly acknowledged Jesus as a righteous man.
Lk. 23:49. All those who knew Him, and the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched these things.
The disciples fled, but the women, this humbled and cursed race, remain and watch all these things, and for this they are the first to enjoy the justification and blessing flowing from here, as well as the resurrection.
And you, marvel at the hardness of heart of the Jews. They say: let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. Yet seeing greater miracles, they do not believe! For was not the darkening of the sun equal to coming down from the cross, the splitting of the rocks, the terrible earthquake, the raising of the dead, the tearing of the veil, and the alteration of all creation? Therefore let no one be perplexed as to why Jesus did not come down from the cross, but let him accept this without curiosity, considering that they would not have believed even then, had He done so, and nothing else would have come of it except that salvation through the cross would have been distorted. For the cross above all else is the glory of Christ. And so He, having performed greater miracles while they did not believe, accomplished two things at once: first, He endured to the end and accepted the cross, that great sign of victory; and second, He revealed that they were utterly insensible, having no good in them whatsoever, but were hardened in unbelief.
Lk. 23:50. Then a certain man named Joseph, a member of the council, a good and righteous man,
Lk. 23:51. He had not consented to the counsel and deed of them; he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God,
Lk. 23:52. he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;
Lk. 23:53. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
Joseph had not revealed himself before, but now he does a praiseworthy deed. Despite being a member of the council and a wealthy man, he boldly asks for the body of a Man who was crucified as a rebel and insurrectionist, and pays no attention to any danger, even though wealth is timid, but requests and honorably buries Him in a tomb hewn in stone, where no one else had been laid before, so that slanderers could not say that the body of another had risen.
Lk. 23:54. Friday it was, and the Sabbath was dawning.
Lk. 23:55. The women also, who had come with Jesus from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how His body was laid;
Lk. 23:56. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
And the women, although they had faith in the Lord, did not have the kind they ought to have had, but a weak and small one. For, considering Him a mere man, they prepare ointments and spices according to the custom prevailing among the Jews, always observed over the deceased. However, on the Sabbath they remain at rest according to the commandment of the Law.