1. After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the Chief Priests and the Scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
2. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Let us now sprinkle our book, and our thresholds with blood, and put the scarlet thread around the house of our prayers, and bind scarlet on our hand, as was done to Zarah, that we may be able to say that the red heifer is slain in the valley. For the Evangelist, being about to speak of the slaying of Christ, premises, After two days was; the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread.
BEDE; Pascha which in Hebrew is phase, is not called from, Passion, as many think, but from passing over, because the destroyer, seeing the blood on the doors of the Israelites, passed by them, and did not smite them; or the Lord Himself, bringing aid to His people, walked above them.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Or else phase is interpreted a passing over, but Pascha means sacrifice. In the sacrifice of the lamb, and the passing of the people through the sea, or through Egypt, the Passion of Christ is prefigured, and the redemption of the people from hell, when He visits us after two days, that is, when the moon is most full, and the age of Christ is perfect, that when no part at all of it is dark, we may eat the flesh of the Lamb without spot, who takes away the sins of the world, in one house, that is, in the Catholic Church, shod with charity, and armed with virtue.
BEDE; The difference according to the Old Testament between the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread was, that the day alone on which the lamb was slain in the evening, that is, the fourteenth moon of the first month, was called Passover. But on the fifteenth moon, when they came out of Egypt, the feast of unleavened bread came on, which solemn time was appointed for seven days, that is, up to the twenty-first day of the same month in the evening. But the Evangelists indifferently use the day of unleavened bread for the Passover, and the Passover for the days of unleavened bread. Wherefore Mark also here says, After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread, because the day of the Passover was also ordered to be celebrated on the days of unleavened bread, and we also, as it were, keeping a continual passover, ought always to be passing out of this world.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But iniquity came forth in Babylon from the princes, who ought to have purified the temple and the vessels, and themselves according to the law, in order to eat the lamb. Wherefore there follows: And the Chief Priests and the Scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. Now when the head is slain, the whole body is rendered powerless, wherefore these wretched men slay the Head.
But they avoid the feast day, which indeed befits them, for what feasting can there be for them, who have lost life and mercy? Wherefore it goes on: But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
BEDE; Not indeed, as the words seem to imply, that they feared the uproar, but they were afraid lest He should be taken out of their hands by the aid of the people.
THEOPHYL. Nevertheless, Christ Himself had determined for Himself the day of His Passion; for He wished to be crucified on the Passover, because He was the true Passover.
3. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she broke the box, and poured it on his head.
4. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
5. For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble you her? she has wrought a good work on me.
7. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you will you may do them good: but me you have not always.
8. She has done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
9. Verily I say to you, Wherever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
BEDE; The Lord when about to suffer for the whole world, and to redeem all nations with His blood, dwells in Bethany, that is, in the house of obedience; wherefore it is said, And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman.
PSEUDO-JEROME; For the fawn amongst the stags ever comes back to his couch, that is, the Son, obedient to the Father even to death, seeks for obedience from us.
BEDE; He says of Simon the leper, not because he remained still a leper at that time, but because having once been such, he was healed by our Savior; his former name is left, that the virtue of the Healer may be made manifest.
THEOPHYL. But although the four Evangelists record the anointing by a woman, there were two women and not one; one described by John, the sister of Lazarus; it was she who six days before the Passover anointed the feet of Jesus; another described by the other three Evangelists. Nay, if you examine, you will find three; for one is described by John, another by Luke, a third by the other two. For that one described by Luke is said to be a sinner and to have come to Jesus during the time of His preaching; but this other described by Matthew and Mark is said to have come at the time of the Passion, nor did she confess that she had been a sinner.
AUG. I however think that nothing else can be meant, but that the sinner who then came to the feet of Jesus was no other than the same Mary who did this twice; once, as Luke relates it, when coming for the first time with humility and tears she merited the remission of her sins. For John also relates this, when he began to speak of the raising of Lazarus before He came to Bethany, saying, It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. But what she again did at Bethany is another act, unrecorded by Luke, but mentioned in the same way by the other three Evangelists. In that therefore Matthew and Mark say that the head of the Lord was anointed by the woman, whilst John says the feet, we must understand that both the head and the feet were anointed by the woman. Unless because Mark has said that she broke the box in order to anoint His head, any one is so fond of caviling as to deny that, because the box was broken, any could remain to anoint the feet of the Lord. But a man of a more pious spirit w ill contend that it was not broken so as to pour out the whole, or else that the feet were anointed before it was broken, so that there remained in the unbroken box enough to anoint the head.
BEDE; Alabaster is a sort of white marble, veined with various colors which is often hollowed out for boxes of ointment, because it keeps things of that nature most uncorrupt. Nard is an aromatic shrub of a large and thick root, but short, black, and brittle; though unctuous, it smells like cypress, and has a sharp taste, and small and dense leaves. Its tops spread themselves out like ears of corn, therefore, its gift being double, perfumers make much of the spikes and the leaves of the nard. And this is what is meant by Mark, when he says spikenard very precious, that is, the ointment which Mary brought for the Lord was not made of the root of nerd, but even, what made it more precious, by the addition of the spikes and the leaves, the gratefulness of its smell and virtue was augmented.
THEOPHYL. Or as is said in Greek, of pistic nard, that is, faithful, because the ointment of the nard was made faithfully and without counterfeit.
AUG. It may appear to be a contradiction, that Matthew and Mark after mentioning two days and the Passover, add afterwards that Jesus was in Bethany, where that precious ointment is mentioned; whilst John, just before he speaks a of the anointing, says, that Jesus came into Bethany six days before the feast. But those persons who are troubled by this, are not aware that Matthew and Mark do not place that anointing in Bethany immediately after that two days of which he foretold, but by way of recapitulation at the time when there were yet six days to the Passover.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Again in a mystic sense, Simon the leper means the world, first infidel, and afterwards converted, and the woman with the alabaster box, means the faith of the Church, who says, My spikenard sends forth its smell. It is called pistic nard, that is, faithful, and precious. The house filled with the smell of it is heaven and earth; the broken alabaster box is carnal desire, which is broken at the Head, from which the whole body is framed together, whilst He was reclining, that is, humbling Himself, that the faith of the sinner might be able to reach Him, for she went up from the feet to the head, and down from the head to the feet by faith, that is, to Christ and to His members.
It goes on: And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this loss of the ointment? By the figure synecdoche, one is put for many, and many for one; for it is the lost Judas who finds loss in salvation; thus in the fruitful vine rises the snare of death. Under the cover of his avarice, however, the mystery of faith speaks; for our faith is bought for three hundred pence, in our ten senses, that is, our inward and outward senses which are again trebled by our body, soul, and spirit.
BEDE; And in that he says, And they murmured against her, we must not understand this to be spoken of the faithful Apostles, but rather of Judas mentioned in the plural.
THEOPHYL. Or else, it appears to be aptly implied that many disciples murmured against the woman, because they had often heard our Lord talking of alms. Judas, however, was indignant, but not with the same feeling, but on account of his love of money, and filthy gain; wherefore John also records him alone, as accusing the woman with a fraudulent intent. But he says, They murmured against her, meaning that they troubled her with reproaches, and hard words. Then our Lord reproves His disciples, for throwing obstacles against the wish of the woman.
Wherefore it goes on: And Jesus said, Let her alone, why trouble you her? For after she had brought her gift, they wished to prevent her purpose by their reproaches.
ORIGEN; For they were grieved at the waste of the ointment, which might be sold for a large sum and given to the poor. This however ought not to have been, for it was right that it should be poured over the head of Christ, with a holy and fitting stream; wherefore it goes on, She has wrought a good work on me. And so effectual is the praise of this good work, that it ought to excite all of us to fill the head of the Lord with sweet-smelling and rich offerings, that of us it may be said that we have done a good work over the head of the Lord. For we always have with us, as long as we remain in this life, the poor who have need of the care of those who have made progress in the word, and are enriched in the wisdom of God; they are not however able always day and night to have with them the Son of God, that is, the Word and Wisdom of God.
For it goes on: For you have the poor always with you, and whenever you will you may do them good; but me you have not always.
BEDE; To me, indeed, He seems to speak of His bodily presence, that He should by no means be with them after His resurrection, as He then was living with them in all familiarity.
PSEUDO-JEROME. He says also, She has wrought a good work on me, for whosoever believes on the Lord, it is counted to Him for righteousness. For it is one thing to believe Him, and to believe on Him, that is, to cast ourselves entirely upon Him.
It goes on: She has done what she could, she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
BEDE; As if the Lord said, What you think is a waste of ointment is the service of my burial.
THEOPHYL. For she is come aforehand as though led by God to anoint my body, as a sign of my approaching burial; by which He confounds the traitor, as if He said, With what conscience can you confound the woman, who anoints my body to the burial, and cost not confound yourself, who will deliver me to death? But the Lord makes a double prophecy; one that the Gospel shall be preached over the whole world, another that the deed of the woman shall be praised.
Wherefore it goes on: Verily I say to you, Wherever this gospel shall he preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
BEDE; Observe also, that as Mary won glory throughout the whole world for the service which she rendered to the Lord, so, on the contrary, he who was bold enough to reprove her service, is held in infamy far and wide; but the Lord in rewarding the good with due praise has passed over in silence the future shame of the impious.
10. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the Chief Priests, to betray him to them.
11. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
BEDE; The unhappy Judas wishes to compensate with the price of his Master for the loss which he thought he had made by the pouring out of the ointment; wherefore it is said, And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the Chief Priests to betray him to them.
CHRYS. Why do you tell me of his country? would that I could also have been ignorant of his existence. But there was another disciple called Judas the zealot, the brother of James, and lest by calling him by this name there should arise a confusion between the two, he separates the one from the other. But he says not Judas the traitor, that he may teach us to be guiltless of detraction, and to avoid accusing others. In that however he says, one of the twelve, he enhanced the detestable guilt of the traitor; for there were seventy other disciples, these however were not so intimate with Him, nor admitted to such familiar intercourse. But these twelve were approved by Him, these were the regal band, out of which the wicked traitor came forth.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But he was one of the twelve in number, not in merit, one in body, not in soul. But he went to the Chief Priests after he went out and Satan entered into him. Every living thing unites with what is like itself.
BEDE; But by the words, he went out, it is shown that he was not invited by the Chief Priests, nor bound by any necessity, but entered upon this design from the spontaneous wickedness of his own mind.
THEOPHYL. It is said, to betray him to them, that is, to announce to them when He should be alone. But they feared to rush upon Him when He was teaching, for fear of the people.
PSEUDO-JEROME; And he promises to betray Him, as his master the devil said before, All this power I will give you. It goes on, And when they heard it they were glad, and promised to give him money. They promise him money, and they lose their life, which he also loses on receiving the money.
CHRYS. Oh! the madness, yea, the avarice of the traitor, for his covetousness brought forth all the evil. For covetousness retains the souls which it has taken, and confines them in every way when it has bound them, and makes them forget all things, maddening their minds. Judas, taken captive by this madness of avarice, forgets the conversation, the table of Christ, his own discipleship, Christ's warnings and persuasion. For there follows, And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
PSEUDO-JEROME; No opportunity for treachery can be found, such that it can escape vengeance here or there.
BEDE; Many in this day shudder at the crime of Judas in selling his Master, his Lord and his God, for money, as monstrous and horrible wickedness; they however do not take heed, for when for the sake of gain they trample on the rights of charity and truth, they are traitors to God, who is Charity and Truth.
12. And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said to him Where will you that we go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?
13. And he sent forth two of his disciples, and said to them, Go you into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.
14. And wherever he shall go in, say you to the good man of the house, The Master said; Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?
15. And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
16. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said to them: and they made ready the Passover.
CHRYS. Whilst Judas was plotting how to betray Him, the rest of the disciples were taking care of the preparation of the Passover: wherefore it is said, And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said to him, Where will you that we go and prepare where you may eat the Passover.
BEDE; He means by the first day of the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, when they threw aside leaven, and were wont to sacrifice, that is, to kill the lamb at even. The Apostle explaining this says, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. For although He was crucified on the next day, that is, on the fifteenth moon, yet on the night when the lamb was offered up, He committed to His disciples the mysteries of His Body and Blood, which they were to celebrate, and was seized upon and bound by the Jews; thus He consecrated the beginning of His sacrifice, that is, of His Passion.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But the unleavened bread which was eaten with bitterness, that is with bitter herbs, is our redemption, and the bitterness is the Passion of our Lord.
THEOPHYL. From the words of the disciples, Where will you that we go? it seems evident that Christ had no dwelling-place, and that the disciples had no houses of their own; for if so, they would have taken Him thither.
PSEUDO-JEROME; For they say, Where will you that we go? to show us that we should direct our steps according to the will of God. But the Lord points out with whom He would eat the Passover, and after l His custom He sends two disciples, which we have explained above; wherefore it goes on, And he sent forth two of his disciples, and he said to them, Go you into the city.
THEOPHYL. He sends two of His disciples, that is, Peter and John, as Luke says, to a man unknown to Him, implying by this that He might, if He had pleased, have avoided His Passion. For what could not He work in other men, who influenced the mind of a person unknown to Him, so that he received them? He also gives them a sign how they were to know the house, when He adds, And there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water.
AUG. Mark says a pitcher, Luke a two-handled vessel; one points out the kind of vessel, the other the mode of carrying it; both however mean the same truth.
BEDE; And it is a proof of the presence of His divinity, that in speaking with His disciples,
He knows what is to take place elsewhere; wherefore it follows, And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said to them; and they made ready the Passover.
CHRYS. Not our Passover, but in the meanwhile that of the Jews; but He did not only appoint ours, but Himself became our Passover. Why too did He eat it? Because He was made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law, and Himself give rest to the Law. And lest any one should say that He did away with it, because He could not fulfill its hard and difficult obedience, He first Himself fulfilled it, and then set it to rest.
PSEUDO-JEROME. And in a mystical sense the city is the Church, surrounded by the wall of faith, the man who meets them is the primitive people, the pitcher of water is the law of the letter.
BEDE; Or else, the water is the layer of grace, the pitcher points out the weakness of those who were to show that grace to the world.
THEOPHYL. He who is baptized carries the pitcher of water, and he who bears baptism upon him comes to his rest, if he lives according to his reason; and he obtains rest, as being in the house. Wherefore it is added, Follow him.
PSEUDO-JEROME; That is, him who leads to the lofty place, where is the refreshment prepared by Christ. The lord of the house is the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord has entrusted His house; that there may be one faith under one Shepherd. The large upper-room is the wide-spread Church, in which the name of the Lord is spoken of, prepared by a variety of powers and tongues.
BEDE; Or else, the large upper-room is spiritually the Law, which comes forth from the narrowness of the letter, and in a lofty place, that is, in the lofty chamber of the soul, receives the Savior. But it is designedly that the names both of the bearer of the water, and of the lord of the house, are omitted, to imply that power is given to all who wish to celebrate the true Passover, that is, to be embued with the sacraments of Christ, and to receive Him in the dwelling-place of their mind.
THEOPHYL. Or else, the lord of the house is the intellect, which points out the large upper room, that is, the loftiness of intelligences, and which, though it be high, yet has nothing of vain glory, or of pride, but is prepared and made level by humility. But there, that is, in such a mind Christ's Passover is prepared by Peter and John, that is by action and contemplation.
17. And in the evening he comes with the twelve.
18. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say to you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me.
19. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
20. And he answered and said to them, It is one of the twelve, that dips with me in the dish.
21. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
BEDE; The Lord who had foretold His Passion, prophesied also of the traitor, in order to give him room for repentance, that understanding that his thoughts were known, he might repent. Wherefore it is said, And in the evening he comes with the twelve.
And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say to you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me.
CHRYS. Where it is evident that He did not proclaim him openly to all, lest He should make him the more shameless; at the same time He did not altogether keep it silent, lest thinking that he was not discovered, he should boldly hasten to betray Him.
THEOPHYL. But how could they eat reclining, when the law ordered that standing and upright they should eat the Passover? It is probable that they had first fulfilled the legal Passover, and had reclined, when He began to give them His own Passover.
PSEUDO-JEROME; The evening of the day points out the evening of the world; for the last, who are the first to receive the penny of eternal life, come about the eleventh hour. All the disciples then are touched by the Lord; so that there is amongst them the harmony of the harp, all the well attuned strings answer with accordant tone; for it goes on: And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, Is it I? One of them however, unstrung, and steeped in the love of money, said, Is it I, Lord? as Matthew testifies.
THEOPHYL. But the other disciples began to be saddened on account of the word of the Lord; for although they were free from this passion, yet they trust Him who knows all hearts, rather than themselves. It goes on: And he answered and said to them, It is one of the twelve, that dips with me in the dish.
BEDE; That is, Judas, who when the others were sad and held back their hands, puts forth his hand with his Master into the dish. And because He had before said, One of you shall betray me, and yet the traitor perseveres in his evil, He accuses him more openly, without however pointing out his name.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Again, He says, One out of the twelve, as it were separate from them, for the wolf carries away from the flock the sheep which he has taken, and the sheep which quits the fold lies open to the bite of the wolf.
But Judas does not withdraw his foot from his traitorous design though once and again pointed at, wherefore his punishment is foretold, that the death denounced upon him might correct him, whom shame could not overcame; wherefore it goes on: The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him.
THEOPHYL. The word here used, goes, shows that the death of Christ was not forced but voluntary.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But because many do good, in the way that Judas did, without its profiting them, there follows: Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
BEDE; Woe too to that man, today and for ever, who comes to the Lord's table with an evil intent. For he, after the example of Judas, betrays the Lord, not indeed to Jewish sinners, but to his own sinning members. It goes on: Good were it for that man if he had never been born.
PSEUDO-JEROME; That is, hidden in his mother's inmost womb, for it is better for a man not to exist than to exist for torments.
THEOPHYL. For as respects the end for which he was designed, it would have been better for him to have been born, if he had not been the betrayer, for God created him for good works; but after he had fallen into such dreadful wickedness, it would have been better for him never to have been born.
22. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24. And he said to them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
25. Verily I say to you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
BEDE; When the rites of the old Passover were finished, He passed to the new, in order, that is, to substitute the Sacrament of His own Body and Blood, for the flesh and blood of the lamb. Wherefore there follows: And as they did eat, Jesus took bread; that is, in order to show that He Himself is that person to whom the Lord swore, You are a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec. There follows: And blessed, and broke it.
THEOPHYL. That is, giving thanks, He broke it, which we also do, with the addition of some prayers.
BEDE; He Himself also breaks the bread, which He gives to His disciples, to show that the breaking of His Body was to take place, not against His will, nor without His intervention; He also blessed it, because He with the Father and the Holy Spirit filled His human nature, which He took upon Him in order to suffer, with the grace of Divine power. He blessed bread and brake it, because He deigned to subject to death His manhood, which He had taken upon Him, in such a way as to show that there was within it the power of Divine immortality, and to teach them that therefore He would the more quickly raise it from the dead. There follows: And gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
THEOPHYL. That, namely, which I now give and which you take. But the bread is not a mere figure of the Body of Christ, but is changed into the very Body of Christ. For the Lord said, The bread which I give you is my flesh. But the flesh of Christ is veiled from our eyes on account of our weakness, for bread and wine are things to which we are accustomed, if however we saw flesh and blood we could not bear to take them. For this reason the Lord bending Himself to our weakness keeps the forms of bread and wine, but changes the bread and wine into the reality of His Body and Blood.
CHRYS. Even now also that Christ is close to us; He who prepared that table, Himself also consecrates it. For it is not man who makes the offerings to be the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ who was crucified for us. The words are spoken by the mouth of the Priest, and are consecrated by the power and the grace of God. By this word which He spoke, This is my body, the offerings are consecrated; and as that word which says, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, was sent forth but once, yet has its effect throughout all time, when nature does the work of generation; so also that voice was spoken once, yet gives confirmation to the sacrifice through all the tables of the Church even to this day, even to His advent.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But in a mystical sense, the Lord transfigures into bread His body, which is the present Church, which is received in faith, is blessed in its number, is broken in its sufferings, is given in its examples, is taken in its doctrines; and He forms His Blood in the chalice of water and wine mingled together, that by one we may be purged from our sins, by the other redeemed from their punishment. For by the blood of the lamb our houses are preserved from the smiting of the Angel, and our enemies perish in the waters of the Red sea, which are the sacraments of the Church of Christ. Wherefore it goes on: And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them. For we are saved by the grace of the Lord, not by our own deserts.
GREG. When His Passion was approaching, He is said to have taken bread and given thanks. He therefore gave thanks, who took upon Him the stripes of other men's wickedness; He who did nothing worthy of smiting, humbly gives a blessing in His Passion, to show us, what each should do when beaten for his own sins, since He Himself bore calmly the stripes due to the sin of others; furthermore to show us, what we who are the subjects of the Father should do under correction, when He who is His equal gave thanks under the lash.
BEDE; The wine of the Lord's cup is mixed with water, because we should remain in Christ and Christ in us. For on the testimony of John, the waters are the people, and it is not lawful for any one to offer either wine alone, or water alone, lest such an oblation should mean that the head may be severed from the members, and either that Christ could suffer without love for our redemption, and that we can be saved or be offered to the Father without His Passion. It goes on: And they all drank of it.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Happy intoxication, saving fullness, which the more we drink gives the greater sobriety of mind!
THEOPHYL. Some say that Judas did not partake in these mysteries, but that he went out before the Lord gave the Sacrament. Some again say that He gave him also of that Sacrament.
CHRYS. For Christ offered His blood to him who betrayed Him, that he might have remission of his' sins, if he had chosen to cease to be wicked.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Judas therefore drinks and is not satisfied, nor can he quench the thirst of the everlasting fire, because he unworthily partakes of the mysteries of Christ. There are some in the Church whom the sacrifice does not cleanse, but their foolish thought draws them on to sin, for they have plunged themselves in the stinking slough of cruelty.
CHRYS. Let there not be therefore a Judas at the table of the Lord; this sacrifice is spiritual food, for as bodily food, working on a belly filled with humors which are opposed to it, is hurtful, so this spiritual food if taken by one polluted with wickedness, rather brings him to perdition, not by its own nature, but through the fault of the recipient. Let therefore our mind be pure in all things, and our thought pure, for that sacrifice is pure. There follows: And he said to them, This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many.
BEDE; This refers to the different circumstances of the Old Testament, which was consecrated by the blood of calves and of goats; and the lawgiver said in sprinkling it, This is the blood of the Testament which God has enjoined to you. It goes on: Which is shed for many.
PSEUDO-JEROME; For it does not cleanse all. It goes on: Verily I say to you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
THEOPHYL. As if He had said, I will not drink wine until the resurrection; for He calls His resurrection the kingdom, as He then reigned over death. But after His resurrection He ate and drank with His disciples, showing that it was He Himself who had suffered. But He drank it new, that is, in a new and strange manner, for He had not a body subject to suffering, and requiring food, but immortal and incorruptible. We may also understand it in this way. The vine is the Lord Himself, by the offspring of the vine is meant mysteries, and the secret understanding, which He Himself begets, who teaches man knowledge. But in the kingdom of God, that is, in the world to come, He will drink with His disciples mysteries and knowledge, teaching us new things, and revealing what He now hides.
BEDE; Or else, Isaiah testifies that the synagogue is called the vine or the vineyard of the Lord, saying, The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. The Lord therefore when about to go to His Passion, says, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, as if He had said openly, I will no longer delight in the carnal rites of the synagogue, in which also these rites of the Paschal Lamb have held the chief place. For the time of my resurrection shall come, that day shall come, when in the kingdom of heaven, that is, raised on high with the glory of immortal life, I will be filled with a new joy, together with you, for the salvation of the same people born again of the fountain of spiritual grace.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But we must consider that here the Lord changes the sacrifice without changing the time; so that we never celebrate the Caena Domini before the fourteenth moon. He who celebrates the resurrection on the fourteenth moon, will celebrate the Caena Domini on the eleventh moon, which was never done in either Old or New Testament.
26. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
27. And Jesus said to them, All you shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
28. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
29. But Peter said to him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
30. And Jesus said to him, Verily I say to you, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice.
31. But he spoke the more vehemently, If I should die with you, I will not deny you in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
THEOPHYL. As they returned thanks, before they drank, so they return thanks after drinking; wherefore it is said, And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives, to teach us to return thanks both before and after our food.
PSEUDO-JEROME; For by a hymn he means the praise of the Lord, as is said in the Psalms, The poor shall eat and be satisfied; they that seek after the Lord shall praise him. And again, All such as be fat upon earth have eaten and worshipped.
THEOPHYL. He also shows by this that He was glad to die for us, because when about to be betrayed, He deigned to praise God. He also teaches us when we fall into troubles for the sake of the salvation of many, not to be sad, but to give thanks to God, who through our distress works the salvation of many.
BEDE; That hymn in the Gospel of John may also be meant, which the Lord sang, returning thanks to the Father, in which also He prayed, raising His eyes to heaven, for Himself and His disciples, and those who were to believe, through their word.
THEOPHYL. Again, He went out into a mountain, that they might come to Him in a lonely place, and take Him without tumult. For if they had come to Him, whilst He was abiding in the city, the multitude of the people would have been in an uproar, and then His enemies, who took occasion against Him, should seem to have slain Him justly, because He stirred up the people.
BEDE; Beautifully also does the Lord lead out His disciples, when they had tasted His Sacraments, into the mount of Olives, to show typically that we ought through the reception of the Sacraments to rise up to higher gifts of virtue, and graces of the Holy Ghost, that we may be anointed in heart.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Jesus also is held captive on the mount of Olives, whence He ascended to heaven, that we may know, that we ascend into heaven from that place in which we watch and pray; there we are bound and do not tend back again to earth.
BEDE; But the Lord foretells to His disciples what is about to happen to them, that when they have gone through it, they may not despair of salvation, but work out their repentance, and be freed; wherefore there follows: And Jesus said to them, All you shall be offended because of me this night.
PSEUDO-JEROME; All indeed fall, but all do not remain fallen. For shall not he who sleeps also rise up again? It is a camel thing to fall, but devilish to remain lying when fallen.
THEOPHYL. The Lord allowed them to fall that they might not trust in themselves, and lest He should seem to have prophesied, what He had said, as an open accusation of them, He brings forward the witness of Zechariah the Prophet; wherefore it goes on: For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
BEDE; This is written in different words in Zacharias, and in the person of the Prophet it is said to the Lord; Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
PSEUDO-JEROME; For the Prophet prays for the Passion of the Lord, and the Father answers, I will smite the shepherd according to the prayers of those below. The Son is sent and smitten by the Father, that is, He is made incarnate and suffers.
THEOPHYL. But the Father says, I will smite the shepherd, because He permitted him to be smitten. He calls the disciples sheep, as being innocent and without guile. At last He consoles them, by saying, But after that I am risen I will go before you into Galilee.
PSEUDO-JEROME; In which the true resurrection is promised, that their hope may not be extinguished. There follows: But Peter said to him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Lo, a bird unfledged strives to raise itself on high; but the body weighs down the soul, so that the fear of the Lord is overcome by the fear of human death.
BEDE; Peter then promised in the ardor of his faith, and the Savior as God knew what was to happen. Wherefore it goes on: And Jesus said to him, Verily I say to you, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice.
AUG. Though all the Evangelists say that the Lord foretold that Peter was to deny before the cock crew, Mark alone has related it more minutely, wherefore some from inattention suppose that he does not agree with the others. For the whole of Peter's denial is threefold; if it had begun altogether after the cock crew, the other three Evangelists would seem to have spoken falsely, in saying, that before the cock crew, he would deny him thrice. Again, if he had finished the entire threefold denial before the cock began to crow, Mark would in the person of the Lord seem to have said needlessly, Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. But because that threefold denial began before the first cock-crowing, the other three did not notice when Peter was to finish it, but how great it was to be, that is, threefold, and when it was to begin, that is, before the cock crew, although the whole was conceived in his mind, even before the first cock crew; but Mark has related more plainly the interval between his words themselves.
THEOPHYL. We are to understand that it happened thus; Peter denied once, then the cock crew, but after he had made two more denials, then the cock crew for the second time.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Who is the cock, the harbinger of day, but the Holy Ghost? by whose voice in prophecy, and in the Apostles, we are roused from our threefold denial, to most bitter tears after our fall, for we have thought evil of God, spoken evil of our neighbors, and done evil to ourselves.
BEDE; The faith of the Apostle Peter, and his burning love for our Lord, is shown in what follows. For it goes on: But he spoke the more vehemently, If I should die with you, I will not deny you in any wise.
THEOPHYL. The other disciples also showed a fearless zeal. For there follows, Likewise also said they all, but nevertheless they acted against the truth, which Christ had prophesied.
32. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he said to his disciples, Sit you here, while I shall pray.
33. And he takes with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
34. And said to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful to death: tarry you here, and watch.
35. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what you will.
37. And he comes, and finds them sleeping, and said to Peter, Simon, sleep you? could not you watch one hour?
38. Watch you and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
39. And again he went away, and prayed, and spoke the same words.
40. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
41. And he comes the third time, and said to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrays me is at hand.
GLOSS. After that the Lord, had foretold the offense of His disciples, the Evangelist gives an account of His prayer, in which He is supposed to have prayed for His disciples; and first describing the place of prayer, he says, And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane.
BEDE; The place Gethsemane, in which the Lord prayed, is shown up to this day at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The meaning of Gethsemane is, the valley of the fat, or of fatness. Now when our Lord prays on a mountain, He teaches us that we should when we pray ask for lofty things; but by praying in the valley of fatness, He implies that in our prayer humility and the fatness of interior love must be kept. He also by the valley of humility and the fatness of charity underwent death for us.
PSEUDO-JEROME; In the valley of fatness also, the fat bulls beset Him. There follows, And he said to his disciples, Sit you here, while I shall pray; they are separated from Him in prayer, who are separated in His Passion; for He prays, they sleep, overcome by the sloth of their heart.
THEOPHYL. It was also His custom always to pray by Himself, in order to give us an example, to seek for silence and solitude in our prayers. There follows: And he takes with him Peter, and James, and John. He takes only those who had been witnesses of His glory on Mount Tabor, that they who had seen His glory might also see His sufferings, and learn that He is really man, in that He is sorrowful. Wherefore there follows: And began to be sore amazed, and very heavy. For since He had taken on Himself the whole of human nature, He took also those natural things which belong to man, amazement, heaviness, and sorrow; for men are naturally unwilling to die.
Wherefore it goes on: And he said to then, My soul is exceeding sorrowful to death.
BEDE; As being God, dwelling in the body, He shows the frailty of flesh, that the blasphemy of those who deny the mystery of His Incarnation might find no place; for having taken up a body, He must needs also take up all that belongs to the body, hunger, thirst, pain, grief; for the Godhead cannot suffer the changes of these affections.
THEOPHYL. But some have understood this, as if He had said, I am sorrowful, not because I am to die, but because the Jews, my countrymen, are about to crucify me, and by these means to be shut out from the kingdom of God.
PSEUDO-JEROME; By this also we are taught to fear and to be sorrowful before the judgment of death, for not by ourselves, but by Him only, can we say, The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me. There follows: Tarry you here, and watch.
BEDE; He does not mean natural sleep by the sleep which He forbids, for the time of approaching danger did not allow of it, but the sleep of unfaithfulness, and the torpor of the mind. But going forward a little, He falls on His face, and shows his lowliness of mind, by the posture of His body. Wherefore there follows: And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
AUG. He said not, if He could do it, but if it could be done; for whatever He wills is possible. We must therefore understand, if it be possible, as if it were; if He is willing.
And lest any one should suppose that He lessened His Father's power, he shows in what sense the words are to be understood; for there follows, And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. By which He sufficiently shows, that the words, if it be possible, must be understood not of any impossibility, but of the will of His Father. As to what Mark relates, that he said not only Father, but Abba, Father, Abba is the Hebrew for Father. And perhaps the Lord said both words, on account of some Sacrament contained in them; wishing to show that He had taken upon Himself that sorrow in the person of His body, the Church, to which He was made the chief corner stone, and which came to Him, partly from the Hebrews, who are represented by the word Abba, partly from the Gentiles, to whom Father belongs.
BEDE; But He prays, that the cup may pass away, to show that He is very man, wherefore He adds: Take away this cup from me. But remembering why He was sent, He accomplishes the dispensation for which He was sent, and cries out, But not what I will, but what you will. As if He had said, If death can die, without my dying according to the flesh, let this cup pass away; but since this cannot be otherwise, not what I will, but what you will. Many still are sad at the prospect of death, but let them keep their heart right, and avoid death as much as they can; but if they cannot, then let them say what the Lord said for us.
PSEUDO-JEROME; By which also He ceases not up to the end to teach us to obey our fathers, and to prefer their will to ours. There follows: And he comes, and finds them sleeping. For as they are asleep in mind, so also in body. But after His prayer, the Lord coming, and seeing His disciples sleeping, rebukes Peter alone. Wherefore it goes on: And said to Peter, Simon, sleep you? could not you watch with me one hour? As if He had said, If you could not watch one hour with me, how wilt thou be able to despise death, thou who promises to die with me?
It goes on: Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation, that is, the temptation of denying me.
BEDE; He does not say, Pray that you may not be tempted, because it is impossible for the human mind not to be tempted, but that you enter not into temptation, that is, that temptation may not vanquish you.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But he is said to enter into temptation, who neglects to pray. There follows: The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
THEOPHYL. As if He had said, Your spirit indeed is ready not to deny me, and for this reason you promise; but your flesh is weak, in that unless God give power to your flesh through prayer, you shall enter into temptation.
BEDE; He here represses the rash, who think that they can compass whatever they are confident about. But in proportion as we are confident from the ardor of our mind, so let us fear from the weakness of our flesh. For this place makes against those, who say that there was but one operation in the Lord and one will. For He shows two wills, one human, which from the weakness of the flesh shrinks from suffering; one divine, which is most ready.
It goes on: And again he went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.
THEOPHYL. That by His second prayer He might show Himself to be very man. It goes on: And when he returned, he found them asleep again; He however did not rebuke them severely. For their eyes were heavy, (that is, with sleep,) neither wist they what to answer him. By this learn the weakness of men, and let us not, whom even sleep can overcome, promise things which are impossible to us. Therefore He goes away the third time to pray the prayer mentioned above.
Wherefore it goes on: And he comes the third time and said to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest. He is not vehement against them, though after His rebuke they had done worse, but He tells them ironically, Sleep on now, and take your rest, because He knew that the betrayer was now close at hand. And that He spoke ironically is evident, by what is added: It is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. He speaks this, as deriding their sleep, as if He had said, Now indeed is a time for sleep, when the traitor is approaching.
Then He says; Arise, let us go; lo, he that betrays me is at hand; he did not say this to bid them fly, but that they might meet their enemies.
AUG. Or else; In that it is said, that after He had spoken these words, Sleep on now, and take your rest, He added, It is enough, and then, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed, we must understand that after saying, Sleep on now, and take your rest, our Lord remained silent for a short time, to give space for that to happen, which He had permitted; and then that He added, the hour is come; and therefore He puts in between, it is enough, that is, your rest has been long enough.
PSEUDO-JEROME; The threefold sleep of the disciples points out the three dead, whom our Lord raised up; the first, in a house; the second, at the tomb; the third, from the tomb. And the threefold watch of the Lord teaches us in our prayers, to beg for the pardon of past, future, and present sins.
43. And immediately, while he yet spoke, comes Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the Chief Priests and the Scribes and the elders.
44. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
45. And as soon as he was come, he goes straight way to him, and said, Master, Master, and kissed him.
46. And they laid their hands on him, and took him.
47. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the High Priest, and cut off his ear.
48. And Jesus answered and said to them, Are you come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?
49. I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took me not: but the Scriptures must be fulfilled.
50. And they all forsook him, and fled.
51. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
52. And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
BEDE; After that our Lord had prayed three times, and had obtained by His prayers that the fear of the Apostles should be amended by future repentance, He, being tranquil as to His Passion, goes to His persecutors, concerning the coming of whom the Evangelist says, And immediately, while he yet spoke, comes Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve.
THEOPHYL. This is not put without reason, but to the greater conviction of the traitor, since though he was of the chief company amongst the disciples, he turned himself to furious enmity against our Lord. There follows: And with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the Chief Priests and the Scribes and the elders.
PSEUDO-JEROME; For he who despairs of help from God, has recourse to the power of the world.
BEDE; But Judas had still something of the shame of a disciple, for he did not openly betray Him to his persecutors, but by the token of a kiss. Wherefore it goes on: And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
THEOPHYL. See how in his blindness he thought to deceive Christ by the kiss, so as to be looked upon by Him as His friend. But if you were a friend, Judas, how did you come with His enemies? But wickedness is ever without foresight. It goes on: And as soon as he was come, he goes straightway to him, and said, Master, master; and kissed him.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Judas gives the kiss as a token, with poisonous guile, just as Cain offered a crafty, reprobate sacrifice.
BEDE; With envy and with a wicked confidence, he calls Him master, and gives Him a kiss, in betraying Him. But the Lord receives the kiss of the traitor, not to teach us to deceive, but lest he should seem to avoid betrayal, and at the same time to fulfill that Psalm, Among them that are enemies to peace I labor for peace.
It goes on: And they laid hands on him, and took him.
PSEUDO-JEROME; This is the Joseph who was sold by his brethren, and into whose soul the iron entered. There follows: And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and, smote a servant of the High Priest, and cut off his ear.
BEDE; Peter did this, as John declares, with the same ardent mind with which he did all things; for he knew how Phineas had by punishing sacrilegious persons received the reward of righteousness and of perpetual priesthood.
THEOPHYL. Mark conceals his name, lest he should seem to be praising his master for his zeal for Christ Again, the action of Peter points out that they were disobedient and unbelieving, despising the Scriptures; for if they had had ears to hear the Scriptures, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But he cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest, for the Chief Priests especially passed over the Scriptures, like disobedient servants.
It goes on; And Jesus answered and said to them, Are you come out as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?
BEDE; As if He had said, it is foolish to seek with swords and staves Him, who offers Himself to you of His own accord and to search, as for one who hides Himself, by night and by means of a traitor, for Him who taught daily in the temple.
THEOPHYL. This, however, is a proof of His divinity, for when He taught in the temple they were unable to take Him, although He was in their power, because the time of His Passion had not yet come; but when He Himself was willing, then He gave Himself up, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, for he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, not crying nor raising His voice, but suffering willingly.
It goes on: And they all forsook him and fled.
BEDE; In this is fulfilled the word, which the Lord had spoken, that all His disciples should be offended in Him that same night. There follows: And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body, that is, he had no other clothing but this linen cloth.
It goes on: And they laid hold on him, and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. That is, he fled from them, whose presence and whose deeds he abhorred, not from the Lord, for whom his love remained fixed in his mind, when absent from Him in body.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Just as Joseph left his mantle behind him, and fled naked from the wanton woman; so also let him, who would escape the hands of the evil ones, quit in mind all that is of the world, and fly after Jesus.
THEOPH. It appears probable that this young man was of that house, where they had eaten the Passover. But some say that this young man was James, the brother of our Lord, who was called Just; who after the ascension of Christ received from the Apostles the throne of the bishopric of Jerusalem.
GREG. Or, he says this of John, who, although he afterwards returned to the cross to hear the words of the Redeemer, at first was frightened and fled.
BEDE; For that he was a young man at that time, is evident from his long sojourn in the flesh. Perhaps he escaped from the hands of those who held him for the time, and afterwards got back his garment and returned, mingling under cover of the darkness with those who were leading Jesus, as though he was one of them, until he arrived at the door of the High Priest, to whom he was known, as he himself testifies in the Gospel. But as Peter, who washed away the sin of his denial with the tears of penitence, shows the recovery of those who fall away in time of martyrdom, so the other disciples who prevented their actual seizure, teach the prudence of flight to those who feel themselves unequal to undergo tortures.
53. And they led Jesus away to the High Priest: and with him were assembled all the Chief Priests and the elders and the Scribes.
54. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the High Priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
55. And the Chief Priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
56. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
57. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,
58. We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
59. But neither so did their witness agree together.
GLOSS. The Evangelist had related above how our Lord had been taken by the servants of the Priests, now he begins to relate how He was condemned to death in the house of the High Priest: wherefore it is said, And they led Jesus away to the High Priest.
BEDE; He means by the High Priest Caiaphas, who (as John writes) was High Priest that year, of whom Josephus relates that he bought his priesthood of the Roman Emperor. There follows: And with him were assembled all the Chief Priests and the elders and the scribes.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Then took place the gathering together of the bulls among the heifers of the people. It goes on: And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the High Priest. For though fear holds him back, love draws him on.
BEDE; But rightly does he follow afar off, who is just about to betray Him; for he could not have denied Christ, if he had remained close to Him. There follows, And he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
PSEUDO-JEROME; He warms himself at the fire in the hall, with the servants. The hall of the High Priest is the enclosure of the world, the servants are the devils, with whom whoever remains cannot weep for his sins; the fire is the desire of the flesh.
BEDE; For charity is the fire of which it is said, I am come to send fire on the earth, which flame coming down on the believers, taught them to speak with various tongues the praise of the Lord. There is also a fire of covetousness, of which it is said, They are all adulterers as an oven; this fire, raised up in the hall of Caiaphas by the suggestion of an evil spirit, was arming the tongues of the traitors to deny and blaspheme the Lord. For the fire lit up in the hall amidst the cold of the night was a figure of what the wicked assembly was doing within; for because of the abounding of iniquity the love of many waxes cold. Peter, who for a time was benumbed by this cold, wished as it were to be warmed by the coals of the servants of Caiaphas, because He sought in the society of traitors the consolation of worldly comfort.
It goes on, And the Chief Priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death.
THEOPHYL. Though the law commanded that there should be but one High Priest, there were then many put into the office, and stripped of it, year by year, by the Roman emperor. He therefore calls chief priests those who had finished the time allotted to them, and had been stripped of their priesthood. But their actions are a sign of their judgment, which they carried on as they had prejudged, for they sought for a witness, that they might seem to condemn and destroy Jesus with justice.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But iniquity lied as the queen did against Joseph, and the priests against Susannah, but a flame goes out, if it has no fuel; wherefore it goes on, And found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. For whatever is not consistent is held to be doubtful.
There follows, And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say,
I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. It is usual with heretics out of the truth to extract the shadow; He did not say what they said, but something like it, of the temple of His body, which He raised again after two days.
THEOPHYL. For the Lord had not said, I will destroy, but, Destroy, nor did He say, made with hands, but, this temple.
BEDE; He had said also, I will raise up, meaning a thing with life and soul, and a breathing temple. He is a false witness, who understands words in a sense, in which they are not spoken.
60. And the High Priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answer you nothing? what is it which these witness against you?
61. But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the High Priest asked him, and said to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
62. And Jesus said, I am: and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
63. Then the High Priest rent his clothes, and said, What need we any further witnesses?
64. You have heard the blasphemy: what think you? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
65. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
BEDE; The more Jesus remained silent before the false witnesses who were unworthy of His answer, and the impious priests, the more the High Priest, overcome with anger, endeavored to provoke Him to answer, that he might find room for accusing Him, from any thing whatever which He might say. Wherefore it is said, And the High Priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answer you nothing? what is it which these witness against you? The High Priest, angry and impatient at finding no room for accusation against Him, rises from his seat, thus showing by the motion of his body the madness of his mind.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But our God and Savior Himself, Who brought salvation to the world, and assisted mankind by His love, is led as a sheep to the slaughter, without crying, and remained mute and kept silence yes even from good words. Wherefore it goes on, But he held his peace, and answered nothing. The silence of Christ is the pardon for the defense or excuse of Adam.
THEOPHYL. But He remained silent because He knew that they would not attend to his words; wherefore He answered according to Luke, If I tell you, you will not believe. Wherefore there follows, Again the High Priest asked him, and said to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? The High Priest indeed puts this question, not that he might learn of Him and believe, but in order to seek occasion against Him. But he asks, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, because there were many Christs, that is, anointed persons, as Kings and High Priests, but none of these was called the Son of the Blessed God, that is, the Ever-praised.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But they looked from afar off for Him, whom though near they cannot see, as Isaac from the blindness of his eyes does not know Jacob who was under his hands, but prophesies long before things which were to come to him. It goes on, Jesus said, I am; namely, that they might be inexcusable.
THEOPHYL. For He knew that they would not believe, nevertheless He answered them, lest they should afterwards say, If we had heard any thing from Him, we would have believed on Him; but this is their condemnation, that they heard and did not believe.
AUG. Matthew, however, does not say that Jesus answered I am, but, You have said. But Mark shows, that the words I am were equivalent to You have said. There follows, And you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
THEOPHYL. As if He had said, you shall see Me as the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Father, for He here calls the Father power. He will not however come without a body, but as He appeared to those who crucified Him, so will He appear in the judgment.
BEDE; If therefore to you, O Jew, O Pagan, and heretic, the contempt, weakness, and cross in Christ are a subject of scorn, see how by this the Son of Man is to sit at the right hand of the Father, and to come in His majesty on the clouds of heaven.
PSEUDO-JEROME; The High Priest indeed asks the Son of God, but Jesus in His answer speaks of the Son of Man, that we may by this understand that the Son of God is also the Son of Man; and let us not make a quaternity in the Trinity, but let man be in God and God in man. And He said, Sitting on the right hand of power, that is, reigning in life everlasting, and in the Divine power. He says, And coming with the clouds of heaven. He ascended in a cloud, He will come with a cloud; that is, He ascended in that body alone, which He took of the Virgin, and He will come to judgment with the whole Church, which is His body and His fullness.
LEO; But Caiaphas, to increase the odiousness of what they had heard, rent his clothes, and without knowing what his frantic action meant, by his madness, deprived himself of the honor of the priesthood, forgetting that command, by which it is said of the High Priest, He shall not uncover his head or rend his clothes. For there follows: Then the High Priest rent his clothes, and said, What need, we any further witnesses? you have heard, the blasphemy: what think you?
THEOPHYL. The High Priest does after the manner of the Jews; for whenever any thing intolerable or sad occurred to them, they used to rend their clothes. In order then to show that Christ had spoken great and intolerable blasphemy, he rent his clothes.
BEDE; But it was also with a higher mystery, that in the Passion of our Lord the Jewish priest rent his own clothes, that is, his ephod, whilst the garment of the Lord could not be rent, even by the soldiers, who crucified Him. For it was a figure that the Jewish priesthood was to be rent on account of the wickedness of the priests themselves. But the solid strength of the Church, which is often called the garment of her Redeemer, can never be torn asunder.
THEOPHYL. The Jewish priesthood was to be rent from the time that they condemned Christ as guilty of death; wherefore there follows, And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
PSEUDO-JEROME; They condemned Him to be guilty of death, that by His guiltiness He might absolve our guilt. It goes on: And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands; that is, that by being spit upon He might wash the face of our soul, and by the covering of His face, might take away the veil from our hearts, and by the buffets, which were dealt upon His head, might heal the head of mankind, that is, Adam, and by the blows, by which He was smitten with the hands, His great praise might be testified by the clapping of our hands and by our lips, as it is said, O clap your hands: together, all you people.
BEDE; By saying, Prophesy, who is he that smote you, they mean to insult Him, because He wished to be looked upon as a prophet by the people.
AUG. We must understand by this, that the Lord suffered these things till morning, in the house of the High Priest, whither He had first been brought.
66. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there comes one of the maids of the High Priest:
67. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And you also were with Jesus of Nazareth.
68. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what you say. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
69. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.
70. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely you are one of them: for you are a Galilaean, and your speech agrees thereto.
71. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom you speak.
72. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said to him, Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
AUG. Concerning the temptation of Peter, which happened during the injuries before mentioned, all the Evangelists do not speak in the same order. For Luke first relates the temptation of Peter, then these injuries of the Lord; but John begins to speak of the temptation of Peter, and then puts in some things concerning our Lord's ill-treatment, and adds, that He was sent from there to Caiaphas the High Priest, and then he goes back to unfold the temptation of Peter, which he had begun. Matthew and Mark on the other hand first notice the injuries done to Christ, then the temptation of Peter. Concerning which it is said, And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there comes one of the maids of the High Priest.
BEDE; But what can be meant by his being first recognized by a woman, when men were more able to know him, if it be not that that sex might be seen to sin in the death of our lord, and that sex be redeemed by His Passion?
It goes on: But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understanding I what you say.
PSEUDO-JEROME, Peter when he had not the Spirit yielded and lost courage at the voice of a girl, though with the Spirit he was not afraid before princes and kings.
THEOPHYL. The Lord allowed this to happen to him by His providence, that is, lest he should be too much elated, and at the same time, that he might prove himself merciful to sinners, as knowing from himself the result of human weakness. There follows: And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
BEDE; The other Evangelists do not mention this crowing of the cock; they do not however deny the fact, as also some pass over many other things in silence, which others relate. There follows: And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.
AUG. This maid is not the same, but another, as Matthew says. Indeed we must also understand, that in this second denial he was addressed by two persons, that is, by the maid whom Matthew and Mark mention, and by another person, of whom Luke takes notice. It goes on: And he denied it again. Peter had now returned, for John says that he denied Him again standing at the fire; wherefore the maid said what has been mentioned above, not to him, that is, Peter, but to those who, when he went out, had remained, in such a way however that he heard it; wherefore coming back and standing again at the fire, he contradicted them, and denied their words. For it is evident, if we compare the accounts of all the Evangelists on this matter, that Peter did not the second time deny him before the porch, but within the palace at the fire, whilst Matthew, and Mark who mention his having gone out are silent, for the sake of brevity, as to his return.
BEDE; By this denial of Peter we learn, that not only he denies Christ, who says that He is not the Christ, but he also, who although he is a Christian, denies himself to be such. For the Lord did not say to Peter, You shall deny thyself to be my disciple, but, You shall deny me; he therefore denied Christ, when he said that he was not His disciple. There follows: And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilaean, and your speech agrees thereto. Not that the Galileans spoke a different tongue from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for they were both Hebrews, but that each province and region has its own peculiarities, and cannot avoid a vernacular pronunciation.
THEOPHYL. Therefore Peter was seized with fear, and forgetting the word of the Lord, which said, Whoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father, he denied our Lord; wherefore there follows: But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom you speak.
BEDE; How hurtful is it to speak with the wicked. He denies before infidels that he knows the man, whom, amongst the disciples, he had confessed to be God. But the Scripture is wont to point out a Sacrament of the causes of things, by the state of the time; thus Peter, who denied at midnight, repented at cock crow; wherefore it is added: And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word which Jesus said to him, Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. And he began to weep.
THEOPHYL. For tears brought Peter by penitence to Christ. Confounded then be the Novatians, who he say that he who sins after receiving baptism, is not received to the remission of his sin. For behold Peter, who had also received the Body and Blood of the Lord, is received by penitence; for the failings of saints are written, that if we fall by want of caution, we also may be able to run back through their example, and hope to be relieved by penitence.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But in a mystical sense, the first maid means the wavering, the second, the assent, the third man is the act. This is the threefold denial which the remembrance of the word of the Lord washes away through tears. The cock then crows for us when some preacher stirs up our hearts by repentance to compunction. We then begin to weep, when we are set on fire within by the spark of knowledge, and we go forth, when we cast out what we were within.
Catena Aurea Mark 141. And straightway in the morning the Chief Priests held a consultation with the elders and Scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said to him, You say it.
3. And the Chief Priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answer you nothing? Behold how many things they witness against you.
5. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled.
BEDE; The Jews had a custom of delivering him whom they had condemned to death, bound to the judge. Wherefore after the condemnation of Christ, the Evangelist adds: And straightway in the morning the Chief Priests held a consultation with the elders and Scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. But it must be observed, that they did not then first bind Him, but they bound Him on first taking Him in the garden by night, as John declares.
THEOPHYL. They then gave Jesus up to the Romans, but were themselves given up by God into the hands of the Romans, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, which say, Recompense them after the work of their hands.
It goes on: And Pilate asked him, Are you the King of the Jews?
BEDE; By Pilate's asking Him about no other accusation, except whether He was King of the Jews, they are convicted of impiety, for they could not even find a false accusation against our Savior. It goes on: And he answering said to him, You say. He answers in this way so as both to speak the truth, and yet not to be open to cavil.
THEOPHYL. For His answer is doubtful, since it may mean, You say, but I do say not so. And observe that He does somewhere answer Pilate, who condemned Him unwillingly, but does not choose to answer the priests and great men, and judges them unworthy of a reply. It goes on: And the Chief Priests accused him of many things.
AUG. Luke has also laid open the false charges which they brought against Him; for he thus relates it: And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.
There follows: And Pilate asked him, saying, Answer you nothing? Behold how many things they witness against you.
BEDE; He indeed who condemns Jesus is a heathen, but he refers it to the people of the Jews as the cause. There follows: But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled. He was unwilling to give an answer, lest He should clear Himself of the charge, and be acquitted by the Judge, and so the gain resulting from the Cross should be done away.
THEOPHYL. But Pilate wondered, because, though He was a teacher of the law, and eloquent, and able by His answer to destroy their accusations, He did not answer any thing, but rather bore their accusations courageously.
6. Now at that feast he released to them one prisoner, whomever they desired.
7. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done to them.
9. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will you that I release to you the King of the Jews?
10. For he knew that the Chief Priests had delivered him for envy.
11. But the Chief Priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas to them.
12. And Pilate answered and said again to them, What will you then that I shall do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?
13. And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14. Then Pilate said to them, Why, what evil has he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas to them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
BEDE; Pilate furnished many opportunities of releasing Jesus, in the first place contrasting a robber with the Just One. Wherefore it is said, Now at that feast he released to them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
GLOSS. Which indeed he was accustomed to do, to obtain favor with the people, and above all, on the feast day, when the people of the whole province of the Jews flocked to Jerusalem. And that the wickedness of the Jews might appear the greater, the enormity of the sin of the robber, whom they preferred to Christ, is next described. Wherefore there follows: And there was one Barabbas, who lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. In which words their wickedness is shown both from the heinousness of his signal crime, in that he had committed murder, and from the way in which he did it, because he had in doing it raised a sedition and disturbed the city, and also because his crime was notorious, for he was bound with seditious persons.
It goes on: And the multitude, when it had come up, began to desire him to do as he had ever done to them.
AUG. No one can feel it a difficulty that Matthew is silent as to their asking some one to be released to them, which Mark here mentions, for it is a thing of no consequence that one should mention a thing which another leaves out. There follows: But Pilate answered them, saying, Will you that I release to you the King of the Jews?
For he knew that the Chief Priests had delivered him for envy. Some one may ask, which were the words of which Pilate made use, those which are related by Matthew, or those which Mark relates; for there seems to be a difference between, Whom will you that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? as Matthew has it; and, Will you that I release to you the King of the Jews. as is here said. But since they gave to kings the name of Christs, he who said this man or that must have asked whether they wished the King of the Jews to be released to them, that is, Christ. It makes no difference to the sense that Mark has said nothing of Barabbas, wishing only to mention what belonged to the Lord, since by their answer he sufficiently showed whom they wished to have released to them.
For there follows, But the Chief Priests moved the people that he should rather release to them Barabbas.
BEDE; This demand which the Jews made with such toil to themselves still sticks to them. Because, when the choice was given to them they chose a robber instead of Christ, a murderer instead of the Savior, they deservedly lost their salvation and their life, and they subjected themselves to such a degree to robbery and sedition, that they lost their country and their kingdom which they preferred to Christ, and never regained their liberty, body or soul.
Then Pilate gives another opportunity of releasing the Savor, when there follows, And Pilate answered, and said again to them, What will you then that I should do to the King of the Jews?
AUG. It now is clear enough that Mark means by King of the Jews what Matthew means by the word Christ; for no kings but those of the Jews were called Christs. For in this place according to Matthew it is said, What then shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ? There follows, And they cried out again, Crucify him,
THEOPHYL. Now see the wickedness of the Jews, and the moderation of Pilate, though he too was worthy of condemnation for not resisting the people Fol they cried out, Crucify; he faintly tries to save Jesus from t their determined sentence, and again puts a question to them. Wherefore there follows, Then Pilate said to them, Why, what evil has he done? For he wished in this way to find an opportunity for releasing Christ, who was innocent.
BEDE; But the Jews giving loose to their madness do not answer the question of the judge. Wherefore it goes on, And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him, that those words of the Prophet Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Mine heritage is to me as a lion in the forest, it cries out against me.
There follows, And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas to them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
THEOPHYL. He wished indeed to satisfy the people, that is, to do their will, not what was agreeable to justice and to God.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Here are two goats; one is the scape goat, that is, one loosed and sent out into the wilderness of hell with the sin of the people; the other is slain, as a lamb, for the sins of those who are forgiven. The Lord's portion is always slain; the devil's part, (for he is the master of those men, which is the meaning of Barabbas,) when freed, is cast headlong into hell.
BEDE; We must understand that Jesus was scourged by no other than Pilate himself. For John writes, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him, which we must suppose that he did, that the Jews might be satisfied with His pains and insults, and cease from thirsting for His blood.
16. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.
17. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,
18. And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
19. And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
20. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him.
THEOPHYL. The vainglory of soldiers, ever rejoicing in disorder and in insult, here displayed what properly belonged to them. Wherefore it is said, And the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they call together the whole band, that is, the whole company of the soldiers, and they clothed him with purple as a king.
BEDE; For since He had been called King of the Jews, and the scribes and priests had objected to Him as a crime that He usurped rule over the Jewish people, they in derision strip Him of His former garments, and put on Him a purple robe, which ancient kings used to wear.
AUG. But we must understand that the words of Matthew, they put on him a scarlet robe, Mark expresses by clothed him in purple; for that scarlet robe was used by them in derision for the royal purple, and there is a sort of red purple, very dike scarlet. It may also be that Mark mentions some purple which the robe had about it, though it was of a scarlet color.
BEDE; But instead of the diadem, they put on Him a crown of thorns, wherefore it goes on, And platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head. And for a royal scepter they give Him a reed, as Matthew writes, and they bow before Him as a king, wherefore there follows, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
And that the soldiers worshipped Him as one who falsely called Himself God, is clear from what is added: And bowing their knees, worshipped him, as though He pretended to be God.
PSEUDO-JEROME; His shame took away our shame; His bonds made us free; by the thorny crown of His head, we have obtained the crown of the kingdom; by His wounds we are healed.
AUG. It appears that Matthew and Mark here relate things which took place previously, not that they happened when Pilate had already delivered Him to be crucified. For John says that these things took place at Pilate's house; but that which follows, And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put on him his own clothes, must be understood to have taken place last of all, when He was already being led to be crucified.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But in a mystic sense, Jesus was stripped of His clothes, that is, of the Jews, and is clothed in a purple robe, that is, in the Gentile church, which is gathered together out of the rocks. Again, putting it off in the end, as offending, He again is clothed with the Jewish people, for when the fullness of the Gentiles is come in, then shall all Israel be saved.
BEDE; Or else, by the purple robe, with which the Lord is clothed, is meant His flesh itself, which He gave up to suffering, and by the thorny crown which He carried is meant, the taking upon Him of our sins.
THEOPHYL. Let us also put on the purple and royal robe, because we must walk as kings treading on serpents and scorpions, and having sin under our feet. For we are called Christians, that is, anointed ones, just as kings were then called anointed. Let us also take upon ourselves the crown of thorns, that is, let us make haste to be crowned with a strict life, with self-denials and purity.
BEDE; But they smite the head of Christ, who deny that He is very God. And because men are wont to use a reed to write with, they, as it were, smite the head of Christ with a reed, who speak against His divinity, and endeavor to confirm their error by the authority of Holy Writ. They spit in His face, who spit from them by their accursed words the presence of His grace. There are some also in this day, who adore Him, with a sure faith, as very God, but by their perverse actions, despise His words as though they were fabulous, and think the promises of that word inferior to worldly allurements. But just as Caiaphas said, though he knew not what it meant, It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, so also the soldiers do these things in ignorance.
20. - And led him out to crucify him.
21. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
22. And they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
23. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
24. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
25. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
28. And the Scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
GLOSS. After the condemnation of Christ, and the insults heaped upon Him when He was condemned, the Evangelist proceeds to relate His crucifixion, saying, And led him out to crucify him.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Here Abel is brought out into the field by his brother, to be slain by him. Here Isaac comes forth with the wood, and Abraham with the ram caught in the thicket. Here also Joseph with the sheaf of which he dreamed, and the long robe steeped in blood. Here is Moses with the rod, and the serpent hanging on the wood. Here is the cluster of grapes, carried on a staff. Here is Elisha with the piece of wood sent to seek for the ax, which had sunk, and which swam to the wood; that is, mankind, which by the forbidden tree, fell down to hell, but by the wood of the cross of Christ, and by the baptism of water, swims to paradise. Here is Jonah out of the wood of the ship sent down into the sea and into the whale's belly for three days.
There follows: And they compel Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
THEOPHYL Now John says that He Himself bare His cross, for both took place; for He first bore the cross Himself, until some one passed, whom they compelled, and who then carried it. But he mentioned the name of his sons, to make it more credible and the affirmation stronger, for the man still lived to relate all that had happened about the cross.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Now since some men are known by the merits of their fathers, and some by those of their sons, this Simon, who was compelled to carry the cross, is made known by the merits of his sons, who were disciples. By this we are reminded, that in this life, parents are assisted by the wisdom and the merits of their children, wherefore the Jewish people is always held worthy of being remembered on account of the merits of the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles. But this Simon who carries the cross, because he is compelled, is the man who labors for human praise. For men compel him to work, when the fear and love of God could not compel him.
BEDE; Or, since this Simon is not called Be a man of Jerusalem, but a Cyrenian, (for Cyrene is a city of Libya,) fitly is he taken to mean the nations of the Gentiles, which were once foreigners and strangers to the covenants, but now by obedience are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Whence also Simon is fitly interpreted 'obedient,' and Cyrene 'an heir.' But he is said to come from a country place, for a country place is called 'pagos' in Greek, wherefore those whom we see to be aliens from the city of God, we call pagans. Simon then coming out from the country carries the cross after Jesus, when the Gentile nations leaving pagan rites embrace obediently the footsteps of our Lord's Passion.
There follows: And they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted, the place of Calvary. There are places without the city and the gate, in which the heads of condemned persons are cut off, and which receive the name of Calvary, that is, of the beheaded. But the Lord was crucified there, that where once was the field of the condemned, there the standards of martyrdom might be lifted up.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But the Jews relate, that in this spot of the mountain the ram was sacrificed for Isaac, and there Christ is made bald, that is, separated from His flesh, that is, from the carnal Jews. There follows: And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh.
AUG. This we must understand to be what Matthew expresses by, mixed with gall; for he put gall for any thing bitter, and wine mingled with myrrh is most bitter; although there may have been both gall and myrrh to make the wine most bitter.
THEOPHYL Or, they may have brought different things, in order, some vinegar and gall, and others wine mixed with myrrh.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Or else, wine mingled with myrrh, that is, vinegar; by it the juice of the deadly apple is wiped away.
BEDE; Bitter the vine which bore the bitter wine, set before the Lord Jesus, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said, They gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
AUG. That which follows, But he received it not, must mean, He received it not to drink, but only tasted it, as Matthew witnesses. And what the same Matthew relates, he would not drink, Mark expresses by, he received it not, but was silent as to His tasting it.
PSEUDO-JEROME; He also refused to take sin for which He suffered, wherefore it is said of Him, I then paid the things that I never took. There follows: And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. In this place salvation is figured by the wood; the first wood was that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; the second wood is one of unmixed good for us, and is the wood of life. The first hand stretched out to the wood caught hold of death; the second found again the life which had been lost. By this wood we are carried through a stormy sea to the land of the living, for by His cross Christ has taken away our torment, and by His death has killed our death.
With the form of a serpent He kills the serpent, for the serpent made out of the rod swallowed up the other serpents. But what means the shape itself of the cross, save the four quarters of the world; the East shines from the top, the North is on the right, the South on the left, the West is firmly fixed under the feet. Wherefore the Apostle says: That we may know what is the height, and breadth, and length, and depth. Birds, when they fly in the air, take the shape of a cross; a man swimming in the waters is borne up by the form of a cross. A ship is blown along by its yards, which are in the shape of the cross. The letter Tau is written as the sign of salvation and of the cross.
BEDE; Or else, in the transverse beam of the cross, where the hands are fixed, the joy of hope is set forth; for by the hands we understand good works, by its expansion the joy of him who does them, because sadness puts us in straits. By the height to which the head is joined, we understand the expectation of reward from the lofty righteousness of God; by the length, over which the whole body is stretched, patience, wherefore patient men are called long-suffering; by the depth, which is fixed in the ground, the hidden Sacrament itself. As long therefore as our bodies work here to the destruction of the body of sin, it is the time of the cross for us.
THEOPHYL. But their casting lots for His garments was also meant as an insult, as though they were dividing the clothes of a king; for they were coarse and of no great value. And John's Gospel shows this more clearly, for the soldiers, though they divided every thing else into four parts, according to their number, cast lots for the coat, which was without seam, woven form the top throughout.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Now the garments of the Lord are His commandments, by which His body, that is, the Church, is covered, which the soldiers of the Gentiles divide amongst themselves, that there may be four classes with one faith, the married, and the widowed, those who bear rule, and those who are separate. They cast lots for the undivided garment, which is peace and unity. It goes on: And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. Mark has introduced this truly and rightly, for at the sixth hour darkness overspread the earth, so that no one could move his head.
AUG. If Jesus was given up to the Jews' to be crucified, when Pilate sat down at his tribunal about the sixth hour, as John relates, how could He be crucified at the third hour, as many persons have thought from not understanding the words of Mark? First then let us see at what hour He might have been crucified, then we shall see why Mark said that He was crucified at the third hour. It was about the sixth hour when He was given up to be crucified by Pilate sitting on his judgment seat, as has been said, for it was not yet fully the sixth hour, but about the sixth, that is, the fifth was over, and some of the sixth had begun, so that those things which are related of the crucifixion of our Lord took place after the finishing of the fifth, and at the commencement of the sixth, until, when the sixth was completed and He was hanging on the cross, the darkness which is spoken of took place.
Let us now consider, why Mark has said, It was the third hour. He had already said positively, And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments; as also the others declare, that when He was crucified His garments were divided. Now if Mark had wished to fix the time of what was done, it would have been enough to say, And it was the third hour why did He add, and they crucified him, unless it was that he wished to point to something which had gone before, and which if inquired into would be explained, since that same Scripture was to be read at a time, when it was known to the whole Church at what hour our Lord was crucified, by which means any error might be taken away, and any falsehood be refuted. But because he knew that the Lord was fixed to the cross not by the Jews but by the soldiers, as John very plainly shows, he wished to intimate that the Jews had crucified Him, since they cried out, Crucify Him, rather than those who executed the orders of their chief according to their duty. It is therefore implied, that it took place at the third hour when the Jews cried out, Crucify Him, and it is most truly shown that they crucified Him, when they so cried out. But in the attempt of Pilate to save the Lord, and the tumultuous opposition of the Jews, we understand that a space of two hours was consumed, and that the sixth hour had begun, before the end of which, those things occurred which are related to have taken place from the time when Pilate gave up the Lord, and the darkness overspread the earth. Now he who will apply himself to these things, without the hard-heartedness of impiety, will see that Mark has fitly placed it at the third hour, in the same place as the deed of the soldiers who were the executors of it is related. Therefore lest any one should transfer in his thoughts so great a crime from the Jews to the soldiers, he says it was as the third hour, and they crucified him, that the fault might rather by a careful inquirer be charged to them, who, as he would find, had at the third hour cried out for His crucifixion, whilst at the same time it would be seen that what was done by the soldiers was done at the sixth hour.
PSEUDO-AUG. Therefore he wishes to imply that it was the Jews who passed sentence, concerning the crucifixion of Christ at the third hour; for every condemned person is considered as dead, from the moment that sentence is passed upon him. Mark therefore showed that our Savior was not crucified by the sentence of the judge, because it is difficult to prove the innocence of a man so condemned.
AUG. Still there are not wanting persons who assert that the preparation, mentioned by John, Now it was the preparation about the sixth hour, was really the third hour of the day. For they say that on the day before the sabbath day, there was a preparation of the passover of the Jews, because on that sabbath, they began the unleavened bread; but however that the true passover, which is now celebrated on the day of our Lord's Passion, that is, the Christian not the Jewish passover, began to be prepared, or to have its parasceue, from that ninth hour of the night, when His death began to be prepared by the Jews; for parasceue means preparation. Between that hour therefore of the night and His crucifixion occurs the sixth hour of preparation, according to John, and the third hour of the day, according to Mark.
What Christian would not give in to this solution of the question, provided that we could find some circumstance, from which we might gather that this preparation of our Passover, that is, of the death of Christ, began at the ninth hour of the night,? For if we say that it began when our Lord was taken by the Jews, it was still early in the night, but if when our Lord was carried away to the house of the father in law of Caiaphas, where also He was heard by the chief priests, the cock had not crowed; but if when He was given up to Pilate, it is very plain that it was morning.
It remains therefore that we must understand the preparation of our Lord's death to have commenced when all the Chief Priests pronounced, He is guilty of death. For there is nothing absurd in supposing that that was the ninth hour of the night so that we may understand that Peter's denial is put out of its order after it really happened. It goes on: And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
THEOPHYL. They wrote this superscription, as the reason why He was crucified, thus wishing to reprove His vainglory in making Himself a king, that so the passers by might not pity Him, but rather hate Him as a tyrant.
PSEUDO-JEROME; He wrote it in three languages, in Hebrew, Melech Jeudim; in Greek, in Latin, Rex confessorum. These three languages were consecrated to be the chief, in the superscription on the cross, that every tongue might record the treachery of the Jews.
BEDE; But this superscription on the cross shows, that they could not even in killing Him take away the kingdom over them from Him who was about to render to them according to their works. There follows: And with him they crucify two thieves, the one on his right hand, the other on his left.
THEOPHYL. They did this that men might have a bad opinion of Him, as though He also were a robber and a malefactor. But it was done by Providence to fulfill the Scriptures. There follows: And the Scripture was fulfilled which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Truth was numbered with the wicked; He left one on His left hand, the other He takes on the right, as He will do at the last day. With a similar crime they are allotted different paths; one precedes Peter into Paradise, the other Judas into hell. A short confession won for him a long life, and a blasphemy which soon ended is punished with endless pain.
BEDE; Mystically, however, the thieves crucified with Christ signify those, who by their faith and confession of Christ undergo either the struggle of martyrdom, or some rules of a stricter discipline. But those who do these deeds for the sake of endless glory, are signified by the faith of the right hand robber; those again who do them for worldly praise copy the mind and the acts of the left hand robber.
THEOPHYL Or else; the two robbers were meant to point out the two people, that is, the Jews and the Gentiles, for both were evil, the Gentile as transgressing natural law, but the Jew by breaking the written law, which the Lord had delivered to them; but the Gentile was penitent, the Jew a blasphemer to the end. Between whom our Lord is crucified, for He is the corner stone, which binds us together.
29. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, you that destroys the temple, and builds it in three days,
30. Save yourself, and come down from the cross.
31. Likewise also the Chief Priests mocking said among themselves with the Scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32. Let Christ, the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
PSEUDO-JEROME; The foal of Judah has been tied to the vine, and his clothes dyed in the blood of the grape, and the kids tear the vine, blaspheming Christ, and wagging their heads. Wherefore it is said: And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, you that destroys the temple.
THEOPHYL. For the passers by blasphemed Christ, reproaching Him as a seducer. But the devil moved them to bid Him come down from the Cross; for he knew that salvation was being won by the Cross, therefore he again proceeded to tempt Christ, so that if He came down from the Cross, he might be certain that He is not truly the Son of God, and so the salvation, which is by the Cross, might be done away. But He being truly the Son of God, did not come down; for if He ought to have come down, He would not have ascended there at all; but since He saw that in this way salvation must be effected, He underwent the crucifixion, and many other sufferings, to the finishing of His work.
It goes on: Likewise also the Chief Priests mocking said among themselves with the Scribes, He saved others, himself he cannot save. They said this, to do away with His miracles, as though those which He had done were but the semblance of them, for by working miracles He saved many.
BEDE; Thus also they confess, though against their will, that He saved many. Therefore your words condemn you, for He who saved others could have saved Himself. It goes on: Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Afterwards they saw Him arise from the grave, though they would not believe that He could come down from the tree of the Cross. Where, O Jews, is your lack of faith? Your own selves I appeal to; your own selves I bring as judges. How much more wonderful is it that a dead man should arise, than that one yet living should choose to come down from the cross. you asked but small things, till greater should have come to pass; but your want of faith could not be healed by signs much greater than those for which you sought. Here all have gone out of the way, all are become abominable. Wherefore it goes on: And they that were crucified with him reviled.
AUG. How can this be, when according to Luke one only reviled Him, but was rebuked by the other who believed on God; unless we understand that Matthew and Mark, who touched but slightly on this place, put the plural for the singular number?
THEOPHYL. Or else, both at first reviled Him, then one recognizing Him as innocent, rebukes the other for blaspheming Him.
33. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lame sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
35. And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calls Elias.
36. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
37. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
BEDE; This most glorious light took away its rays from the world, lest it should see the Lord hanging, and lest the blasphemers should have the benefit of its light. Wherefore it goes on: And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
AUG. Luke added to this account the cause of the darkness, that is, the darkening of the sun.
THEOPHYL. If this had been the time for an eclipse, some one might have said that this that happened was natural, but it was the fourteenth moon, when no eclipse can take place. There follows: And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.
PSEUDO-JEROME; At the ninth hour, the tenth piece of money which had been lost is found, by the overturning of the house.
BEDE; For when Adam sinned, it is also written that he heard the voice of the Lord, walking in paradise, in the cool after mid-day; and in that hour when the first Adam by sinning brought death into the world, in that same hour the second Adam by dying destroyed death. And we must observe, that our Lord was crucified, when the sun was going away from the center of the world; but at sunrise He celebrated the mysteries of His resurrection; because He died for our sins, but rose again for our justification. Nor need you wonder at the lowliness of His words, at the complaints as of one forsakes, when you look on the offense of the cross, knowing the form of a servant. For as hunger, and thirst, and fatigue were not things proper to the Divinity, but bodily affections; so His saying, Why have you forsaken me? was proper to a bodily voice, for the body is never naturally wont to wish to be separated from the life which is joined to it. For although our Savior Himself said this, He really showed the weakness of His body; He spoke therefore as man, bearing about with Him my feelings, for when placed in danger we fancy that we are deserted by God.
THEOPHYL. Or, He speaks this as man crucified by God for me, for we men have been forsaken by the Father, but He never has. For hear what He says; I am not alone, because the Father is with me. Though He may also have said this as being a Jew, according to the flesh, as though He had said, Why have you forsaken the Jewish people, so that they have crucified Your Son? For as we sometimes say, God has put on me, that is, my human nature, so here also we must understand you have forsaken me, to mean my nature, or the Jewish people.
It goes on: And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he called Elias.
BEDE; These however I suppose were Roman soldiers who did not understand the peculiarity of the Hebrew tongue, but, from His calling Eloi, thought that Elias was called by Him. But if the Jews are understood to have said this, they must be supposed to do this, as accusing Him of folly in calling for the aid of Elias.
It goes on: And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed: and gave him to drink saying, let alone: let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. John shows more fully the reason why the vinegar was given to the Lord to drink, saying, that Jesus said, I thirst, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. They however applied a sponge full of vinegar to His mouth.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Here he points out a similitude for the Jews; a sponge on a reed, weak, dry, fit for burning; they fill it with vinegar, that is, with wickedness and guile.
AUG. Matthew has not related, that the man who brought the sponge filled with vinegar, but that the others spoke about Elias; from whence we gather that both said it.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Though the flesh was weak, yet the heavenly voice, which said, Open me the gates of righteousness, waxed strong. Wherefore there follows: And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. We who are of the earth die with a very low voice, or with no voice at all; but He who descended from heaven breathed His last with a loud voice.
THEOPHYL. He who both rules over death and commands it dies with power, as its Lord. But what this voice was is declared by Luke: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. For Christ would have us understand by this, that from that time the souls of the saints go up into the hands of God. For at first the souls of all were held in hell, till He came, who preached the opening of the prison to the captives.
38. And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
39. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
40. There were also women looking on afar off among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41. (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered to him;) and many other women which came up with him to Jerusalem.
GLOSS. After the Evangelist has related the Passion and the death of Christ, he now goes on to mention those things which followed after the death of our Lord. Wherefore it is said: And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
PSEUDO-JEROME; The veil of the temple is rent, that is, the heaven is opened.
THEOPHYL. Again, God by the rending of the veil implied that the grace of the Holy Spirit goes away and is rent from the temple, so that the Holy of Holies might be seen by all; also that the temple will mourn amongst the Jews, when they shall deplore their calamities, and rend their clothes. This also is a figure of the living temple, that is, the body of Christ, in whose Passion His garment is torn, that is, His flesh. Again, it means another thing; for the flesh is the veil of our temple, that is, of our mind. But the power of the flesh is torn in the Passion of Christ, from the top to the bottom, that is, from Adam even down to the latest man; for also Adam was made whole by the Passion of Christ, and his flesh does not remain under the curse, nor does it deserve corruption, but we all are gifted with incorruption.
And when the centurion who stood, over against him saw. He who commands a hundred soldiers is called a centurion. But seeing that He died with such power as the Lord, he wondered and confessed.
BEDE; Now the cause of the centurion's wonder is clear, that seeing that the Lord died in that way, that is, sent forth His spirit, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. For no one can send forth his own spirit, but He who is the Creator of souls.
AUG. This also he most of all wondered at, that after that voice which He sent forth as a figure of our sin, He immediately gave up His spirit. For the spirit of the Mediator showed that no penalty of sin could have had power to cause the death of His flesh; for it did not leave the flesh unwillingly, but as it willed, for it was joined to the Word of God in the unity of person.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But the last are now made the first. The Gentile people confesses. The blinded Jew denies, so that their error is worse than the first.
THEOPHYL. And so the order is inverted, for the Jew kills, and the Gentile confesses; the disciples fly, and the women remain. For there follows: There were also women looking on afar off, amongst whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome.
ORIGEN; But it seems to me, that here three women are chiefly named, by Matthew and Mark. Two indeed are set down by each Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James; the third is called by Matthew, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, but by Mark she is called Salome.
BEDE; He means by James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, who was also called the brother of our Lord, because he was the son of Mary, our Lord's mother's sister, whom John mentions, saying, Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. And he seems to call her Mary of Cleophas, from her father or some relation. But he was called James the Less, to distinguish him from James the Great, that is, the son of Zebedee, who was called amongst the first of the Apostles by our Lord. Further, it was a Jewish custom, nor was it thought blamable after the manners of an ancient people, that women should furnish to teachers food and clothing out of their substance. Wherefore there follows: Who also when he was in Galilee followed him, and ministered to him. They ministered to the Lord of their substance, that He might reap their carnal things whose spiritual things they reaped, and that He might show forth a type for all masters, who ought to be content with food and clothing from their disciples. But let us see what companions He had with Him, for it goes on: And many other women which came up with him into Jerusalem.
PSEUDO-JEROME; As the female sex through the virgin Mary is not shut out from salvation, so it is not thrust away from the knowledge of the mystery of the cross, and of the resurrection, through the widow Mary Magdalene, and the ethers, who were mothers.
42. And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43. Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly to Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
44. And Pilate marveled if he were already dead: and calling to him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
46. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the sepulcher.
47. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
GLOSS. After the passion and death of Christ, the Evangelist relates His burial, saying, And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea.
BEDE; What is called, parasceue in Greek, is in Latin praeparatio; by which name those Jews, who lived amongst Greeks, used to call the sixth day of the week, because on that day they used to prepare what was necessary for the rest of the sabbath day. Because then man was made on the sixth day, but on the seventh the Creator rested from all His work, fitly was our Savior crucified on the sixth day, and thus fulfilled the mystery of man's restoration. But on the sabbath, resting in the tomb, He was waiting for the event of the resurrection, which was to come on the eighth day. So we must also in this age of time be crucified to the world; but in the seventh day, that is, when a man has paid the debt to death, our bodies indeed must rest in the grave, but our souls after good works in hidden peace with God; till in the eighth period, even our bodies themselves, glorified in the resurrection, receive incorruption together with our souls.
But the man who buried the body of the Lord must needs by his righteous merits have been worthy, and by the nobility of worldly power able to perform this service. Therefore it is said, An honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God. He is called in Latin, decurio, because he is of the order of the curia, and served the office of a provincial magistracy; this officer was also called curialis, from his care of civic duties. Arimathaea is the same as Ramathain, the city of Elkanah and Samuel.
PSEUDO-JEROME; It is interpreted, taking down, of which was Joseph, who came to take down the body of Christ from the cross. There follows: Came and went in boldly to Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
THEOPHYL. He was bold with a praiseworthy boldness; for he did not consider within himself, I shall fall from my rich estate, and I shall be expelled by the Jews, if I beg for the body of Him, who was condemned as a blasphemer. It goes on: And Pilate marveled if he were already dead. For he thought that He should continue long alive upon the cross, as also the thieves used to live long, upon the instrument of their execution. It goes on: And calling to him the centurion, he asked him if he had been any while dead; that is, before the time when other executed persons usually died.
There follows: And when he knew it of the centurion, (that is, that He was dead,) he gave the body to Joseph.
BEDE; But it was not an obscure person, nor a man of mean rank, who could come to the governor and obtain the body. There follows: And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen.
THEOPHYL. Burying the precious body preciously; for being a disciple of our Lord, he knew how greatly the Lord's body ought to be honored.
BEDE; By this however, according to a spiritual meaning, we may understand that the body of the Lord should not be wrapped in gold or gems, or silk, but in a clean linen cloth. Hence it became a custom in the Church that the sacrifice of the altar should not be celebrated in silk, or in a dyed cloth, but in linen produced from the earth just as the body of the Lord was wrapped in clean linen; as, we read in the Pontifical acts, it was ordered by the blessed Sylvester. Though it has also another meaning, that he who receives Jesus in a pure mind wraps Him in clean linen. There follows: And laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the sepulcher. It is said that the sepulcher of the Lord is a round cell, hewn out of the rock which was around it, so high, that a man standing upright could scarcely touch the roof with his outstretched hand; and it has an entrance to the east, to which the great stone was rolled, and placed upon it. In the northern part of it is the tomb itself, that is, the place where our Lord's body lay, made of the same rock, seven feet in length, raised three palms higher than the floor. It is not open from above, but on the south side, the whole of which is open, and through which the body was brought in. The color of the sepulcher and of the recess is said to be a mixed white and red.
PSEUDO-JEROME; By the burial of Christ we rise again, by His going down into hell we mount up into heaven; here is found the honey in the mouth of the dead lion.
THEOPHYL. Let us too imitate Joseph, taking to ourselves the body of Christ by Unity, and let us place it in a sepulcher, hewn out of the rock, that is, in a soul recollected, never forgetful of God; for this is a soul hewn out of the rock, that is, out of Christ, for He is our rock, who holds together our strength. We ought also to wrap Him in linen, that is, to receive Him in a pure body; for the linen is the body which is the clothing of the soul. We must, however, not throw open, but wrap Him up; for He is secret, closed and hidden.
There follows: And Mary Magadalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
BEDE; We read in Luke, that His acquaintances and the women who had followed Him stood afar off. When these then who were known to Jesus returned home after the burial of His body, the women alone, who were bound to Him with a closer love, after following the funeral, took care to see how He was laid, that they might be able at a fitting season to offer Him the sacrifice of their devotion. But on the day of the parasceue, that is, of the preparation, the holy women, that is, humble souls, do the same, when they burn with love for the Savior, and diligently follow the steps of His Passion in this life, where their future rest is to be prepared; and they weigh with a pious minuteness the order in which His passion was accomplished, if perchance they be able to imitate it.
PSEUDO-JEROME; These things also fit the Jewish people, which finally is believing, which is ennobled by faith to become the child of Abraham. It lays aside its despair, it waits for the kingdom of God, it goes in to the Christians, that it may be baptized; which is implied by the name of Pilate, which is interpreted, 'One who works with a hammer,' that is, he who subdues the iron nations, that he may rule them with a rod of iron. It seeks for the sacrifice, that is, the viaticum, which is given to penitents at their last end, and wraps it up in a heart clean and dead to sin; it makes it firm in the safeguard of faith, and shuts it up with the covering of hope, through works of charity; (for the end of the commandment is charity;) whilst the elect, who are the stars of the sea, are looking on from afar, for, if it be possible, the very elect shall be offended.
Catena Aurea Mark 15