Posts
| Gospel | Luke 24:1-12 © |
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| Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? |
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On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, they went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering discovered that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. As they stood there not knowing what to think, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. Terrified, the women lowered their eyes. But the two men said to them, ‘Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee: that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day?’ And they remembered his words.
When the women returned from the tomb they told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them also told the apostles, but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them.
Peter, however, went running to the tomb. He bent down and saw the binding cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened.
It is hard for me to believe that just in a matter of hours I will be back in Chicago. In one respect it is a relief that I am leaving this strange land of Israel. The Israeli people are warm and friendly but they have this hang-up against the Palestinians and of course, the Palestinians have a hang-up against the Israelis. So, the Palestinians feel the need every so often to fling some rockets at Israel and Israel in appreciation either flings some good old missiles made in the US of A back at them. Dealing with either party on a one to one basis is not a bad experience. They both are warm and friendly to tourists, they love that hard currency that we bring to them. But put an Israeli and Palestinian in a locked room and you can bet your last dollar that one or both of them will come out of the room with a black eye!
We did have a guide and a priest go with us as we followed the Via Delarosa. To do the stations of the cross was kind of hard. It is a commercial district and every Christian tourist wants to follow the path the Jesus took to Calvary although there is some doubt if this is actually the same route but it really does not matter because you are following the path in good faith. Besides, excavations have revealed Roman pavement dating to the time of Christ so that it is very likely that Jesus had passed this way and walked on this ground from time to time. There is something about walking the actual steps that make the stations more real. Believe you me, you need all of the help you can get because the street is popular with tourists, it is a commercial district where you can purchase souvenirs of your pilgrimage everything from crucifixes (for followers of the Catholic tradition) and crosses without the figure of Jesus on it for those that believe that Martin Luther or some other "reformer" founded the church. No matter where you go on the street it is a cacophony of noise and buying and selling. But once you are in the Church of the Holy Seplecur the timbre of the noise seems to change. It is quieter, it is definitely cooler, and you can observe all manner of men, women, and children from every Christian denomination in awe in seeing the place where the Cross of Christ was placed and to see the stone where His body was prepared for burial. I know I wanted to stay for hours in this place but time is the enemy of modern spirituality and we had places to go and people to see and all too soon we left the street and ascended the Mount of Olives, which does not have too many olive trees on it anymore. On Mount Tabor, we visited the church that was built on the spot where it is believed that Jesus was transfigured. The church is built in three parts to represent what Peter said, "Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." Next, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane where the Passion of Our Lord really began. A Gethsemane is not really a place. The word means "Olive Press" so there were many of them in Israel at the time of Jesus. But this particular one was a favorite resting place for Jesus and the twelve and like all humans, Jesus sought out the familiar and comfortable at times of stress. In this garden, Jesus was abandoned by His Apostles. Of course, one of them Judas Iscariot was not there, yet, he was with the priest and the temple guards along with a detachment of heavily armed Roman guards that Pilate sent along as a touch of sarcasm. In truth, if the Temple gang had sent one Sadducee to ask Jesus to come in for a chat, Jesus would have come. But now, after asking his Apostles to stay awake and pray, He Himself fell on his knees and poured out His heart to the Father. He was human, He did not want to feel the pain of death, but He was also the Son of God and He was completely obedient to what the Father's will was to be in this matter. Yet, He asked that this cup be taken away from Him if the Father could see His way clear to do so. The Father sent an angel to console His Son but the angel said nothing so Jesus accepted the will of the Father. I believe He then began to see what was in store for Him and He saw the sins of the world and each of us, those that had lived and died already, those that were living then, and finally those that were to come after Him. He sweated blood. This is a rare condition that afflicts people when a person is in deep fear and in contemplation. So Jesus was in a sense a broken man at this point. He was looking at His life and His mission and found He was coming up short. He was grieved that He couldn't reach more people but He was also consoled that the Apostles He had selected were more than able to spread the Word of God even though they all would abandon Hiu this night and even the man He had appointed as the head of His Church would deny Him three times. He had, I believe, a vision of all of the things that would happen to Him and the human in Him rebelled at the thought of pain and agony. But He set His face like flint and did not shield his face from being struck and being spat upon.
Then it began. It began with a kiss, a sign of friendship, the kiss of a traitor. It began with a sign from Judas that he really did not believe in Jesus when after kissing Him he said, "Hail Rabbi." To Judas, Jesus was not a master, but a mere teacher. Judas, quite to his surprise, was roughly pushed away by the commander of the Roman guard and Jesus without further ado was taken into custody. Peter drew his sword and hacked off an ear of a bystander. He was chastised by Jesus who also seemingly without being noticed by the contingent sent out to get Him healed the ear. Jesus is led away and now the politics of the day started working their magic against Him. He was led first to Annas who was the high priest emeritus. Annas was the first high priest to be appointed by the Romans and he served from 6 to 15 A.D. and although deposed by the Procurator, Valerius Gratus, he and by extension his family wielded great influence in Judea. As a matter of fact, nothing of any importance would be decided until the opinion of Annas was sought and known. The office of High Priest was his unofficially and at the time of Jesus, he was the puppeteer that pulled the strings of the current High Priest, his son-in-law Caiaphas. So, although the scriptures make it seem like this visit was just a mark of respect for the old gent, it was nothing of the sort. Annas wanted to size up his opponent and after seeing Jesus was comforted that this death would cause no uproar. With that, he sent Jesus with no comment to Caiaphas. No comments were needed. Caiaphas was quite aware of the thought of Annas and would not accept any outcome that did not include the dead body of this Jesus being laid in a tomb.
Caiaphas had a problem. It was a problem of time. He had to dispose of this sadly delusional messiah before the Sabbath and the Passover began, He had to do it quickly, quietly and he had to pass the blame off to the Romans. A stoning would not do him any good. This Jesus had to be lifted up on a Roman cross. He sent servants out to get key members of the Sanhedrin out of their beds so that they could try Jesus of Nazareth at night, which of course was technically not legal, but no one of the people that he summoned would split these hairs. He knew that they would see the writing on the wall and follow the path to Golgotha that he would lay out for them.
Jesus was brought into the chamber. He did not frightened, he looked resigned. He did not glare or disrespect the high priest or members of the council in any way. As a matter of fact, He said nothing. Witnesses, Sanhedrin members, came forward and testified against Jesus but the testimony fell apart because it did not match. Caiaphas was one step from having to release this so-called messiah. The silence of Jesus was protecting Him because no witnesses testimony had so far been found credible. If the silence continued, Jesus would be a free man. Caiaphas tossed the dice knowing full well that his roll would result in a loss. He asked Jesus if He was the Son of God. He inhaled deeply as one silent second went to two and then the culprit spoke, "You say that I am." This is a rough translation and it really means in our English today, "Not only am I the Son of God, but you acknowledge out of your own mouth." The eyes of Caiaphas sparkled, he almost chuckled, but then he screwed his countenance into a self-righteous, holier than thou look and tore his garment and said, "We have no need of witnesses, he has blasphemed. What do you say?" To a man, they voted that Jesus was to die. They led Him away and sent out servants to make sure that most of the Sanhedrin would attend a very early morning meeting to make the condemnation official since a trial could not be convened during hours of darkness. Those that were known supporters of the charlatan would accidentally not be informed. Jesus would be condemned and sent to Pilate, who normally rubber-stamped their decisions and Jesus could be decorating a Roman cross by nine in the morning long before the drunks and tax-gatherers would be out and about to make a scene. By the end of the day, Caiaphas would ask that the legs of the culprit could be broken and the idiot be buried before this solemn Sabbath began. He breathed a sigh of relief and sent word to Annas as to what was going to happen. Annas replied congratulating him for nipping this messiah thing in the bud. Messiahs do not come from Galilee.
Pilate did not care too much for the Jews. Early in his tenure as procurator, he caused a stir because he had his guards carry shields that stated the emperor was divine. This caused a riot which he put down using the same troops. He was of a mind to show these backward people that Rome had the means to enforce its will and was not afraid to spill Jewish blood, even in their temple, to prove it. Unfortunately for Pilate, word got back to the Emperor about what went on and he received a censure and orders to remove the offending wording on the shield. Rome, meaning the Emperor, wanted peace. Pilate had started as an ordinary soldier and he distinguished himself in battle and rose in the ranks. But it was the fact that he married well, his wife was related to the royal family, that he was appointed Procurator of Judea. He wasn't a full governer, Judea was too small to have a governor but he saw this as the first step on his way to being a senator in Rome. History loses track of Pilate pretty much after the Jesus incident so while we do not know his fate, we do know that he was a lousy governor who did not have the nack of the carrot and the stick. He was a stick man and that kept the excitable Israelites just barely on the right side of rebellion where just a gentle push would put the province over the edge and be the cause for their destruction by the might of the Roman legions. The Jews could not hope to win against the Romans. Years later, they would try, and the siege at Masada was the result as was the destruction of the temple in about the year 70 A.D. It is to this man that the fate of Jesus would be entrusted.
Jesus was brought to Pilate. The chief priests would not enter the house of a Gentile and defile themselves for the Passover so Pilate went out to see them. They told them their story and Pilate wanted very much to frustrate this so-called high priest who looked down upon the Roman official as one would look at a pile of camel dung in the middle of the street. He listened to the story, spoke to Jesus, who said nothing, which was not good for the defendant because, in Roman law, silence was considered almost an admission of guilt. In spite of this Pilate went to the rabble outside and told them that he found no reason Rome would punish this man with death. Caiaphas was floored. He had a decent relationship with the despot procurator and usually, it was a matter of just getting a nod of the head and the criminal would be taken out and crucified. It was a common and ordinary transaction that the two had agreed to many times in the past. Neither the Temple nor Rome needed a Messiah to stir up trouble so Caiaphas was not sure why this time was different. Then, Pilate after hearing that Jesus was a citizen of Galilee he figured he would send this case back to the Jews that sent it to him. He ordered that Jesus be brought to Herod for judgment.
Herod was famous for his drunken parties and lavish displays of his piety in donating to the temple. In actuality, he gave no thought to the people under his jurisdiction. He left their fate pretty much to the whims of the Romans. He did not like Pilate who seemed to mock his rank in the country. But he really appreciated the fact that Pilate thought so much of him that he would send this magician, Jesus, to see him and to consult with the judgment of Him. Jesus was brought before him. The chief priest and his cronies quickly explained what needed to be done and the need for it to be done as expeditiously as possible. Herod was not going to be rushed. After all, he was a king. He had Jesus brought before him. He questioned him closely but received no answer from the man. He finally gave up, had a ridiculous cape that a king from a very small nation had left behind, it was gaudy and cheap, had it placed upon Jesus and sent Jesus back to Pilate. Herod would not be taking the blame for this man's death upon a Roman cross.
Pilate had heard from his wife and was told not to harm this Jesus because of what she had heard in a dream. He shook his head and thought to himself, "That is why Rome did not make her the procurator of this land." He went out to the priests and was amazed that the party had grown. What had been a rag-tag group of temple leaders had grown into a sizable crowd, When he once again pronounced Jesus innocent, the crowd grew malevolent and shouted for the death of Jesus. He said, "Although He is innocent, I will have him flogged and then I will release Him." Jesus was taken to a courtyard where the soldiers were assembled to watch the punishment. He was stripped and chained to a pillar. Two soldiers whose job it was to administer the flogging took up position behind Jesus. We would call the whip used a "Cat O Nine Tails" but it was a bit worse than that. At the end of each braid, there were metal pieces designed to tear the flesh from the back of the victim. The men began the punishment under the trained eye of the commander. This flogging was to stop just short of death and it was his responsibility to see that it did. Time and time again the lash came down and Jesus screamed in pain. Then after only what the commander felt was a "mild" punishment, he ordered it stopped because it looked to him that Jesus could not take any more. Jesus was unchained and he fell to the ground and unconsciousness claimed him. But this was not a satisfactory thing for the commander. He had Jesus doused with icy water which brought him back to the reality and the pain that he had been awarded. The assembled soldiers had heard that Jesus claimed to be a king so they put the robe that Herod sent him away with and mocked Him. One soldier decided that no king worth his salt would be without a crown! He went to some bramble and he carefully wove a crown of thorns. He bowed to the King of the Jews and carefully put the crown on Jesus' head. Blood began to flow on to the face of the Holy One. The soldiers mocked Him some more and then they heard that Pilate was ready to see the Man again, they helped Him up and brought him to Pilate.
Pilate was a man who had a strong stomach. But even he was surprised at how pitiful that Jesus looked. His servant asked if he should clean up the man. Pilate said, "No, this may be a way to let Him go free. Maybe this blood-thirsty lot will be satisfied with a thoroughly mocked and broken king of the Jews." Pilate had Jesus brought out and yelled, "Ecce Homo." This means "Behold the Man." The crowd yelled for his death. Then Pilate played a trump card, his last. He reminded them that he would release with a free pardon any criminal that they wanted at the occasion of the Passover. He said, "In my dungeon, I have a man named Barabbas, he is a murderer and a thief, and a scoundrel. To take a life for this man is just as if you were to kill a mosquito that landed on your arm. He has made many widows and orphans in your country and now awaits execution on the cross. Before you see Jesus of Nazareth, a deluded man who has never hurt a soul, who preaches peace and who I believe has been brought to me out of the envy and fear of your leaders. Rome finds no reason to execute Him. So I offer you the choice. Choose Barabbas the murderer or Jesus, the King of the Jews to be released to you." None of the followers of Jesus were in the crowd. Some companions of Barabbas were there and they along with the puppets controlled by Annas yelled for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus. Then the chief priests showed their true colors and they themselves blasphemed against their God. Pilate asked, "What I should crucify your king?" To which they replied, "We have no king but Caesar!" Pilate had lost and that point was driven home when Caiaphas yelled, "If you release Him, you will prove yourself to be an enemy of Caesar for anyone saying that he is a king has Caesar as an enemy. I pity you if the word were to get to Rome is Jesus walks free" The battle was over. He called for water and a basin. He washed his hands in a symbolic washing stolen from the Greeks and said, "I am innocent of this man's blood." To which the Jews replied, "Agreed, his death be upon and upon our children." This too means more than what it says. It means literally, "We are so confident that this man is guilty that we know there will be no effect on those that come after us." Jesus was taken away to be crucified.
Jesus, still wearing the crown of thorns was given the cross beam of the cross he was to occupy, The upright portion of the cross was kept on the hill called Golgotha which means "Place of the Skull." Jesus carried the timber the best that be could but he made a misstep and fell. Some say that this first fall caused internal injuries that lessened the time Jesus would be able to endure the cross. But He continued along the road to Golgotha, part of the time being helped by a conscript taken from the crowd. He met his Mother, but the guards would not let him linger except to exchange a glance at one another and finally, almost with a feeling of joy that the journey was over, they arrived at the Place of the Skull. Jesus was knocked to the ground and in short order, nails were driven through his wrists and causing Hum great agony the crossbeam was lifted, His feet were secured to cross and the race with death began. He pulled Himself up so that he could breathe. He looked up to heaven and said, "Father forgive them, they do not know what they do." Hours past and he was getting tired. Insects landed on Him and doubled the agony of keeping Himself up high enough so that He could breathe. Near the end, he gave His mother, Mary, to John the Apostle to take care of because she had no one else. Then He knew all He could do had been done. Now, he would end the old covenant and begin the new one by drinking the fourth cup of wine that he had not drunk on Thursday night, the drink that was the cup of forgiveness and closed the Sader. He said, "I thirst." Some sour wine was held up to His lips on a sponge and He drank it and said, "It is finished." and Jesus willed that death take His body and He gave up His spirit. At that moment, a great storm hit. The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom and the ground shook. Pilate had given his permission for the Body of Jesus to be removed and they laid it in a borrowed tomb because the Sabbath was near. We now wait for the Resurrection. Without Jesus defeating death as He did, He would have just been a footnote in history.
I know it is strange for me coming home before the Easter celebration in the Holy City but I promised my wife that I would be home in time to celebrate my daughters birthday which happens to be on Easter Sunday this year. It's the big four zero for her this year so we have integrated our Easter celebration along with her birthday celebration. I will not be home in time for the Easter Vigil Mass but we plan to go to the nine o'clock Mass on Easter Sunday. The whole family, all my kids their godfathers and godmothers, aunts, uncles will all be at church with us. I will be the second best Easter Sunday in recorded history.
We did have a guide and a priest go with us as we followed the Via Delarosa. To do the stations of the cross was kind of hard. It is a commercial district and every Christian tourist wants to follow the path the Jesus took to Calvary although there is some doubt if this is actually the same route but it really does not matter because you are following the path in good faith. Besides, excavations have revealed Roman pavement dating to the time of Christ so that it is very likely that Jesus had passed this way and walked on this ground from time to time. There is something about walking the actual steps that make the stations more real. Believe you me, you need all of the help you can get because the street is popular with tourists, it is a commercial district where you can purchase souvenirs of your pilgrimage everything from crucifixes (for followers of the Catholic tradition) and crosses without the figure of Jesus on it for those that believe that Martin Luther or some other "reformer" founded the church. No matter where you go on the street it is a cacophony of noise and buying and selling. But once you are in the Church of the Holy Seplecur the timbre of the noise seems to change. It is quieter, it is definitely cooler, and you can observe all manner of men, women, and children from every Christian denomination in awe in seeing the place where the Cross of Christ was placed and to see the stone where His body was prepared for burial. I know I wanted to stay for hours in this place but time is the enemy of modern spirituality and we had places to go and people to see and all too soon we left the street and ascended the Mount of Olives, which does not have too many olive trees on it anymore. On Mount Tabor, we visited the church that was built on the spot where it is believed that Jesus was transfigured. The church is built in three parts to represent what Peter said, "Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." Next, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane where the Passion of Our Lord really began. A Gethsemane is not really a place. The word means "Olive Press" so there were many of them in Israel at the time of Jesus. But this particular one was a favorite resting place for Jesus and the twelve and like all humans, Jesus sought out the familiar and comfortable at times of stress. In this garden, Jesus was abandoned by His Apostles. Of course, one of them Judas Iscariot was not there, yet, he was with the priest and the temple guards along with a detachment of heavily armed Roman guards that Pilate sent along as a touch of sarcasm. In truth, if the Temple gang had sent one Sadducee to ask Jesus to come in for a chat, Jesus would have come. But now, after asking his Apostles to stay awake and pray, He Himself fell on his knees and poured out His heart to the Father. He was human, He did not want to feel the pain of death, but He was also the Son of God and He was completely obedient to what the Father's will was to be in this matter. Yet, He asked that this cup be taken away from Him if the Father could see His way clear to do so. The Father sent an angel to console His Son but the angel said nothing so Jesus accepted the will of the Father. I believe He then began to see what was in store for Him and He saw the sins of the world and each of us, those that had lived and died already, those that were living then, and finally those that were to come after Him. He sweated blood. This is a rare condition that afflicts people when a person is in deep fear and in contemplation. So Jesus was in a sense a broken man at this point. He was looking at His life and His mission and found He was coming up short. He was grieved that He couldn't reach more people but He was also consoled that the Apostles He had selected were more than able to spread the Word of God even though they all would abandon Hiu this night and even the man He had appointed as the head of His Church would deny Him three times. He had, I believe, a vision of all of the things that would happen to Him and the human in Him rebelled at the thought of pain and agony. But He set His face like flint and did not shield his face from being struck and being spat upon.
Then it began. It began with a kiss, a sign of friendship, the kiss of a traitor. It began with a sign from Judas that he really did not believe in Jesus when after kissing Him he said, "Hail Rabbi." To Judas, Jesus was not a master, but a mere teacher. Judas, quite to his surprise, was roughly pushed away by the commander of the Roman guard and Jesus without further ado was taken into custody. Peter drew his sword and hacked off an ear of a bystander. He was chastised by Jesus who also seemingly without being noticed by the contingent sent out to get Him healed the ear. Jesus is led away and now the politics of the day started working their magic against Him. He was led first to Annas who was the high priest emeritus. Annas was the first high priest to be appointed by the Romans and he served from 6 to 15 A.D. and although deposed by the Procurator, Valerius Gratus, he and by extension his family wielded great influence in Judea. As a matter of fact, nothing of any importance would be decided until the opinion of Annas was sought and known. The office of High Priest was his unofficially and at the time of Jesus, he was the puppeteer that pulled the strings of the current High Priest, his son-in-law Caiaphas. So, although the scriptures make it seem like this visit was just a mark of respect for the old gent, it was nothing of the sort. Annas wanted to size up his opponent and after seeing Jesus was comforted that this death would cause no uproar. With that, he sent Jesus with no comment to Caiaphas. No comments were needed. Caiaphas was quite aware of the thought of Annas and would not accept any outcome that did not include the dead body of this Jesus being laid in a tomb.
Caiaphas had a problem. It was a problem of time. He had to dispose of this sadly delusional messiah before the Sabbath and the Passover began, He had to do it quickly, quietly and he had to pass the blame off to the Romans. A stoning would not do him any good. This Jesus had to be lifted up on a Roman cross. He sent servants out to get key members of the Sanhedrin out of their beds so that they could try Jesus of Nazareth at night, which of course was technically not legal, but no one of the people that he summoned would split these hairs. He knew that they would see the writing on the wall and follow the path to Golgotha that he would lay out for them.
Jesus was brought into the chamber. He did not frightened, he looked resigned. He did not glare or disrespect the high priest or members of the council in any way. As a matter of fact, He said nothing. Witnesses, Sanhedrin members, came forward and testified against Jesus but the testimony fell apart because it did not match. Caiaphas was one step from having to release this so-called messiah. The silence of Jesus was protecting Him because no witnesses testimony had so far been found credible. If the silence continued, Jesus would be a free man. Caiaphas tossed the dice knowing full well that his roll would result in a loss. He asked Jesus if He was the Son of God. He inhaled deeply as one silent second went to two and then the culprit spoke, "You say that I am." This is a rough translation and it really means in our English today, "Not only am I the Son of God, but you acknowledge out of your own mouth." The eyes of Caiaphas sparkled, he almost chuckled, but then he screwed his countenance into a self-righteous, holier than thou look and tore his garment and said, "We have no need of witnesses, he has blasphemed. What do you say?" To a man, they voted that Jesus was to die. They led Him away and sent out servants to make sure that most of the Sanhedrin would attend a very early morning meeting to make the condemnation official since a trial could not be convened during hours of darkness. Those that were known supporters of the charlatan would accidentally not be informed. Jesus would be condemned and sent to Pilate, who normally rubber-stamped their decisions and Jesus could be decorating a Roman cross by nine in the morning long before the drunks and tax-gatherers would be out and about to make a scene. By the end of the day, Caiaphas would ask that the legs of the culprit could be broken and the idiot be buried before this solemn Sabbath began. He breathed a sigh of relief and sent word to Annas as to what was going to happen. Annas replied congratulating him for nipping this messiah thing in the bud. Messiahs do not come from Galilee.
Pilate did not care too much for the Jews. Early in his tenure as procurator, he caused a stir because he had his guards carry shields that stated the emperor was divine. This caused a riot which he put down using the same troops. He was of a mind to show these backward people that Rome had the means to enforce its will and was not afraid to spill Jewish blood, even in their temple, to prove it. Unfortunately for Pilate, word got back to the Emperor about what went on and he received a censure and orders to remove the offending wording on the shield. Rome, meaning the Emperor, wanted peace. Pilate had started as an ordinary soldier and he distinguished himself in battle and rose in the ranks. But it was the fact that he married well, his wife was related to the royal family, that he was appointed Procurator of Judea. He wasn't a full governer, Judea was too small to have a governor but he saw this as the first step on his way to being a senator in Rome. History loses track of Pilate pretty much after the Jesus incident so while we do not know his fate, we do know that he was a lousy governor who did not have the nack of the carrot and the stick. He was a stick man and that kept the excitable Israelites just barely on the right side of rebellion where just a gentle push would put the province over the edge and be the cause for their destruction by the might of the Roman legions. The Jews could not hope to win against the Romans. Years later, they would try, and the siege at Masada was the result as was the destruction of the temple in about the year 70 A.D. It is to this man that the fate of Jesus would be entrusted.
Jesus was brought to Pilate. The chief priests would not enter the house of a Gentile and defile themselves for the Passover so Pilate went out to see them. They told them their story and Pilate wanted very much to frustrate this so-called high priest who looked down upon the Roman official as one would look at a pile of camel dung in the middle of the street. He listened to the story, spoke to Jesus, who said nothing, which was not good for the defendant because, in Roman law, silence was considered almost an admission of guilt. In spite of this Pilate went to the rabble outside and told them that he found no reason Rome would punish this man with death. Caiaphas was floored. He had a decent relationship with the despot procurator and usually, it was a matter of just getting a nod of the head and the criminal would be taken out and crucified. It was a common and ordinary transaction that the two had agreed to many times in the past. Neither the Temple nor Rome needed a Messiah to stir up trouble so Caiaphas was not sure why this time was different. Then, Pilate after hearing that Jesus was a citizen of Galilee he figured he would send this case back to the Jews that sent it to him. He ordered that Jesus be brought to Herod for judgment.
Herod was famous for his drunken parties and lavish displays of his piety in donating to the temple. In actuality, he gave no thought to the people under his jurisdiction. He left their fate pretty much to the whims of the Romans. He did not like Pilate who seemed to mock his rank in the country. But he really appreciated the fact that Pilate thought so much of him that he would send this magician, Jesus, to see him and to consult with the judgment of Him. Jesus was brought before him. The chief priest and his cronies quickly explained what needed to be done and the need for it to be done as expeditiously as possible. Herod was not going to be rushed. After all, he was a king. He had Jesus brought before him. He questioned him closely but received no answer from the man. He finally gave up, had a ridiculous cape that a king from a very small nation had left behind, it was gaudy and cheap, had it placed upon Jesus and sent Jesus back to Pilate. Herod would not be taking the blame for this man's death upon a Roman cross.
Pilate had heard from his wife and was told not to harm this Jesus because of what she had heard in a dream. He shook his head and thought to himself, "That is why Rome did not make her the procurator of this land." He went out to the priests and was amazed that the party had grown. What had been a rag-tag group of temple leaders had grown into a sizable crowd, When he once again pronounced Jesus innocent, the crowd grew malevolent and shouted for the death of Jesus. He said, "Although He is innocent, I will have him flogged and then I will release Him." Jesus was taken to a courtyard where the soldiers were assembled to watch the punishment. He was stripped and chained to a pillar. Two soldiers whose job it was to administer the flogging took up position behind Jesus. We would call the whip used a "Cat O Nine Tails" but it was a bit worse than that. At the end of each braid, there were metal pieces designed to tear the flesh from the back of the victim. The men began the punishment under the trained eye of the commander. This flogging was to stop just short of death and it was his responsibility to see that it did. Time and time again the lash came down and Jesus screamed in pain. Then after only what the commander felt was a "mild" punishment, he ordered it stopped because it looked to him that Jesus could not take any more. Jesus was unchained and he fell to the ground and unconsciousness claimed him. But this was not a satisfactory thing for the commander. He had Jesus doused with icy water which brought him back to the reality and the pain that he had been awarded. The assembled soldiers had heard that Jesus claimed to be a king so they put the robe that Herod sent him away with and mocked Him. One soldier decided that no king worth his salt would be without a crown! He went to some bramble and he carefully wove a crown of thorns. He bowed to the King of the Jews and carefully put the crown on Jesus' head. Blood began to flow on to the face of the Holy One. The soldiers mocked Him some more and then they heard that Pilate was ready to see the Man again, they helped Him up and brought him to Pilate.
Pilate was a man who had a strong stomach. But even he was surprised at how pitiful that Jesus looked. His servant asked if he should clean up the man. Pilate said, "No, this may be a way to let Him go free. Maybe this blood-thirsty lot will be satisfied with a thoroughly mocked and broken king of the Jews." Pilate had Jesus brought out and yelled, "Ecce Homo." This means "Behold the Man." The crowd yelled for his death. Then Pilate played a trump card, his last. He reminded them that he would release with a free pardon any criminal that they wanted at the occasion of the Passover. He said, "In my dungeon, I have a man named Barabbas, he is a murderer and a thief, and a scoundrel. To take a life for this man is just as if you were to kill a mosquito that landed on your arm. He has made many widows and orphans in your country and now awaits execution on the cross. Before you see Jesus of Nazareth, a deluded man who has never hurt a soul, who preaches peace and who I believe has been brought to me out of the envy and fear of your leaders. Rome finds no reason to execute Him. So I offer you the choice. Choose Barabbas the murderer or Jesus, the King of the Jews to be released to you." None of the followers of Jesus were in the crowd. Some companions of Barabbas were there and they along with the puppets controlled by Annas yelled for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus. Then the chief priests showed their true colors and they themselves blasphemed against their God. Pilate asked, "What I should crucify your king?" To which they replied, "We have no king but Caesar!" Pilate had lost and that point was driven home when Caiaphas yelled, "If you release Him, you will prove yourself to be an enemy of Caesar for anyone saying that he is a king has Caesar as an enemy. I pity you if the word were to get to Rome is Jesus walks free" The battle was over. He called for water and a basin. He washed his hands in a symbolic washing stolen from the Greeks and said, "I am innocent of this man's blood." To which the Jews replied, "Agreed, his death be upon and upon our children." This too means more than what it says. It means literally, "We are so confident that this man is guilty that we know there will be no effect on those that come after us." Jesus was taken away to be crucified.
Jesus, still wearing the crown of thorns was given the cross beam of the cross he was to occupy, The upright portion of the cross was kept on the hill called Golgotha which means "Place of the Skull." Jesus carried the timber the best that be could but he made a misstep and fell. Some say that this first fall caused internal injuries that lessened the time Jesus would be able to endure the cross. But He continued along the road to Golgotha, part of the time being helped by a conscript taken from the crowd. He met his Mother, but the guards would not let him linger except to exchange a glance at one another and finally, almost with a feeling of joy that the journey was over, they arrived at the Place of the Skull. Jesus was knocked to the ground and in short order, nails were driven through his wrists and causing Hum great agony the crossbeam was lifted, His feet were secured to cross and the race with death began. He pulled Himself up so that he could breathe. He looked up to heaven and said, "Father forgive them, they do not know what they do." Hours past and he was getting tired. Insects landed on Him and doubled the agony of keeping Himself up high enough so that He could breathe. Near the end, he gave His mother, Mary, to John the Apostle to take care of because she had no one else. Then He knew all He could do had been done. Now, he would end the old covenant and begin the new one by drinking the fourth cup of wine that he had not drunk on Thursday night, the drink that was the cup of forgiveness and closed the Sader. He said, "I thirst." Some sour wine was held up to His lips on a sponge and He drank it and said, "It is finished." and Jesus willed that death take His body and He gave up His spirit. At that moment, a great storm hit. The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom and the ground shook. Pilate had given his permission for the Body of Jesus to be removed and they laid it in a borrowed tomb because the Sabbath was near. We now wait for the Resurrection. Without Jesus defeating death as He did, He would have just been a footnote in history.
I know it is strange for me coming home before the Easter celebration in the Holy City but I promised my wife that I would be home in time to celebrate my daughters birthday which happens to be on Easter Sunday this year. It's the big four zero for her this year so we have integrated our Easter celebration along with her birthday celebration. I will not be home in time for the Easter Vigil Mass but we plan to go to the nine o'clock Mass on Easter Sunday. The whole family, all my kids their godfathers and godmothers, aunts, uncles will all be at church with us. I will be the second best Easter Sunday in recorded history.
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