Homily 85 — John 19, verse 16, to 20, verse 9

“Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. And he, carrying his cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, where they crucified him.” [a]

Good fortune has a terrible power to throw down or lead astray those who are not on their guard. That is how it was with the Jews. At first they enjoyed God’s own guidance, and yet they went to the Gentiles for a law of kingship; and in the wilderness, after the manna, they remembered the onions. In the same way here, refusing the kingdom of Christ, they invited upon themselves the kingdom of Caesar. So God set a king over them, just as they themselves had decided.

When Pilate heard these things, then, he handed him over to be crucified. It was utterly without reason. He ought to have inquired whether Christ had aimed at royal power; instead he pronounced sentence out of fear alone. Yet so that this would not happen to him, Christ had said beforehand, “My kingdom is not of this world.” But Pilate had given himself up entirely to the things of the present, and would not show much wisdom. And yet his wife’s dream should have been enough to terrify him. But none of these things made him any better, nor did he look up to heaven; he handed him over.

And now they laid the cross on him as on a criminal. They loathed even the wood, and could not bear so much as to touch it. This happened in the type as well: Isaac carried the wood. But there the matter went no further than his father’s intention, for it was the type; here it went on into action, for it was the reality.

“And he came to the Place of a Skull.” Some say that Adam died there and lies there, and that Jesus set up the trophy in the very place where death had reigned. For he went out carrying the cross as a trophy over the tyranny of death; and, as conquerors do, he carried the symbol of victory on his shoulders. What does it matter that the Jews did these things with a different intent?

They crucified him with thieves, too, and in this also they fulfilled prophecy without meaning to. What they did as an insult served the truth, so that you may learn how great its power is. For the prophet had foretold long before that “he was counted among the lawbreakers” (Isaiah 53, verse 12). So the devil wanted to throw a veil over what was done, but he could not. Three were crucified, but Jesus alone was glorious, so that you may learn that his power brought all of it about. The miracles took place when the three had been nailed to the cross; yet no one credited anything that happened to either of the other two, but to Jesus alone. So completely was the devil’s plot made useless, and all of it came back on his own head. For even of those two, one was saved. So far from dishonoring the glory of the cross, then, the devil added not a little to it. For it was no smaller a thing than shaking the rocks to change a thief on the cross and to bring him into paradise.

Verse 19: “And Pilate wrote a title.”

In this he was paying back the Jews and at the same time making a defense for Christ. They had handed him over as a worthless man, and had tried to confirm that verdict by making him share the punishment of the robbers. Pilate wanted to make sure that from then on no one could bring evil charges against him, or accuse him as a worthless and wicked man; he wanted to shut their mouths, and the mouths of all who might want to accuse him, and to show that they had risen up against their own King. So he set up those letters as though on a trophy. They speak with a clear voice: they proclaim his victory and announce his kingdom, though not in its full extent.

And he made this public not in a single language, but in three. At the feast there was likely to be a mixed crowd among the Jews, and so that no one would be unaware of the defense, he put the madness of the Jews on public record in all the languages. For they bore him malice even when he was crucified. “Yet what harm did this do you? None at all. If he was mortal and weak, and about to be snuffed out, why were you afraid of the letters saying that he is King of the Jews?” And what do they ask? “Put it that ‘he said.’ As it stands, it is a statement, a general verdict; but if ‘he said’ is added, the charge is shown to come from his own rashness and arrogance.” Still Pilate did not give way, but stood by his first decision.

And even through this circumstance no small thing was arranged; in fact, the whole matter was. The wood of the cross was buried, because no one took care to take it up: fear was pressing on them, and the believers were hurrying to other urgent concerns. It was to be searched for in later times, and the three crosses were likely to be found lying together. So that the Lord’s cross would not go unrecognized, it was made plain to everyone, first by its lying in the middle, and then by the title. For the crosses of the thieves had no titles.

The soldiers divided the garments, but not the tunic. See how the prophecies are fulfilled at every point by their wickedness! For this too had been foretold long before. There were three crucified, and yet what the prophecies spoke of was fulfilled in him. Why did they not do this with the others, but only with him? And consider, I beg you, how exact the prophecy is. The prophet says not only that they “divided,” but also that they “did not divide.” So the rest they divided; the tunic they did not divide, but left the matter to be settled by lot. [g]

And the words “woven from the top” (verse 23) are not put there without a purpose. Some say that something figurative is being declared by them: that the Crucified One was not simply a man, but also had divinity from above. Others say that the evangelist is describing the actual make of the tunic. In Palestine they put two strips of cloth together and weave their garments that way, and John says “woven from the top” to show that the tunic was of this kind. To me he seems to say it to point to how poor the garments were, and to show that in dress, as in everything else, he followed a simple fashion.

Verse 24: “These things the soldiers did.”

But he, on the cross, entrusts his mother to the disciple, teaching us to show every care for our parents to our last breath. When she troubled him at the wrong time, he said, “Woman, what have I to do with you?” (John 2, verse 4), and, “Who is my mother?” (Matthew 12, verse 48). But here he shows great loving affection, and entrusts her to the disciple whom he loved. Again John hides himself, out of modesty. If he had wanted to boast, he would also have put in the reason why he was loved, since it was probably some great and wonderful one.

But why does he talk with John about nothing else, and not comfort him in his dejection? Because it was no time for comforting with words. Besides, it was no small thing for him to be honored with such an honor and to receive the reward of his steadfastness. But consider, I beg you, how even on the cross he did everything without being troubled: speaking with the disciple about his mother, fulfilling prophecies, holding out good hope to the thief. Yet before he was crucified he appears sweating, in agony, afraid. What, then, can this mean? Nothing difficult, nothing doubtful. There the weakness of nature had been shown; here the overflowing greatness of his power was being shown. Besides, by these two things he teaches us that even if we are troubled before terrible things, we are not to shrink from them on that account, but once we have entered the contest, to count everything possible and easy.

So let us not tremble at death. Our soul has the love of life by nature, but it is up to us either to loosen the bonds of nature and make this desire weak, or to tighten them and make the desire more tyrannical. We have the desire for sexual intercourse, but when we practice true wisdom we make the desire weak; and it is the same with life. God has joined bodily desire to the begetting of children, to keep up a succession among us, without forbidding us to travel the higher road of self-control. In the same way he has planted the love of life in us, forbidding us to destroy ourselves, but not hindering us from despising the present life.

Knowing this, we must keep the right measure. We must never go to death of our own accord, even though ten thousand terrible things beset us; nor yet, when we are dragged to it for the sake of what pleases God, shrink back from it and fear it. We must boldly strip for it, preferring the life to come to the present one.

But the women stood by the cross (verse 25), and the weaker sex then proved the more manly. So completely was everything transformed from that time on.

And having entrusted his mother to John, he said, “Here is your son” (verse 26). What an honor! With what honor he honored the disciple! Now that he himself was departing, he entrusted her to the disciple to take care of. Being his mother, she was likely to grieve and to need protection, so with good reason he entrusted her to the one he loved. To him he says, “Here is your mother” (verse 27). He said this to knit them together in love; and the disciple understood it and took her into his own home. “But why did he make no mention of any other woman, though another stood there too?” To teach us to show our mothers more than ordinary respect. When parents oppose us in spiritual matters, we must not even acknowledge them; but when they do not hinder us, we ought to show them all fitting respect and to put them ahead of others, because they gave us birth, because they brought us up, because they endured ten thousand hardships for us. And by these words he silences the shamelessness of Marcion. For if he was not born according to the flesh, and had no mother, why does he take such thought for her alone? [j]

Verse 28: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished.” That is, that nothing was lacking any longer to the plan of salvation. Everywhere he wanted to show that this death was of a new kind, since the whole matter lay in the power of the one who was dying, and death did not come upon the body before he willed it; and he willed it after he had fulfilled everything. That is why he also said, “I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again” (John 10, verse 18). So, knowing that all things were fulfilled, he says, “I am thirsty.”

Here again he is fulfilling a prophecy. But consider, I beg you, how accursed the bystanders were. Even when we have ten thousand enemies and have suffered unbearable things at their hands, we relent when we see them dying. But they did not make peace with him even then, nor were they tamed by what they saw; instead they grew more savage and heaped up their mockery. They brought him vinegar on a sponge, as people bring it to the condemned, and gave him drink that way; it is for this reason that the hyssop is mentioned.

Verse 30: “So when he had received it, he said, It is finished.” Do you see how he does everything calmly and with power? What follows shows it too. When everything had been completed, “he bowed his head” (it had not been nailed) “and gave up his spirit”; that is, he died. Now, breathing one’s last does not normally come after the bowing of the head; but here, on the contrary, it did. He did not bow his head after he had breathed his last, as happens with us; he bowed his head, and then he breathed his last. By all these things the evangelist has shown that he was Lord of all.

But the Jews, who swallowed the camel and strained out the gnat, having committed so monstrous a deed, are very scrupulous about the day.

Verse 31: “Because it was the Preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross, they begged Pilate that their legs might be broken.”

Do you see how strong a thing the truth is? Through the very things they were so zealous about, prophecy is fulfilled: because of those things, a plain prediction that had nothing to do with them comes true. For when the soldiers came, they broke the legs of the others, but not those of Christ. Yet to please the Jews they pierced his side with a spear, and so insulted even the dead body. What a loathsome and accursed intent! Yet, beloved, do not be confused, do not be dejected. The things these men did from a wicked will fought on the side of the truth. For there was a prophecy that said, “They will look on him whom they pierced” (verse 37; Zechariah 12, verse 10).

And not only that: the deed they then dared to do became a proof of the faith for those who would later disbelieve, like Thomas and those like him. And with it a mystery beyond words was accomplished as well. For “there came out water and blood.” Those springs did not come out without purpose or by chance; they came because the church is made up of these two together. And the initiated know it: they are born again by water, and fed by the blood and the flesh. From here the mysteries take their beginning, so that when you come to that awe-inspiring cup, you may come as though you were drinking from the very side.

Verse 35: “And he who saw it bore witness, and his witness is true.” That is: “I did not hear it from others. I was present myself and saw it, and the testimony is true.” And we would expect that. For he is relating an insult that was done; he is not relating anything great and admirable, which might make you suspect his account. But he is stopping the mouths of the heretics, proclaiming aloud beforehand the mysteries that were to come, and seeing the treasure stored up in them; and so he is very exact about what took place. And that prophecy too is fulfilled, verse 36: “Not a bone of him will be broken” (Exodus 12, verse 46; Numbers 9, verse 12).

Even if this was said of the Jews’ lamb, still the type went ahead for the sake of the reality, and the prophecy was more fully accomplished in him. That is why the evangelist brought the prophet forward. If he kept producing himself as a witness, he would have seemed unworthy of belief; so he brings in Moses to help him, and says that this too did not happen without a purpose, but had been written long before. That is the meaning of the words, “Not a bone of him will be broken.” Again he confirms the prophet’s words by his own witness: “I have told you these things so that you may learn how close the connection is between the type and the reality.” Do you see what pains he takes to make believable a thing that seemed to be a matter of reproach and shame? For a soldier to insult even the dead body was far worse than being crucified. “But still,” he says, “even these things I have told, and told with great earnestness, ‘so that you may believe’ (verse 35). So let no one be unbelieving, and let no one harm our cause out of shame. The things that seem most shameful are the very things that are the most venerable records of our blessings.”

Verse 38: “After this came Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple.” Not one of the Twelve, but perhaps one of the seventy. They now thought that the anger of the Jews had been quenched by the cross, so they approached without fear and took charge of his burial. So Joseph came and asked Pilate for the favor, and he granted it; why should he not? Nicodemus helps him too, and provides a costly burial. For they were still inclined to think of him as a mere man. And they brought those spices whose special nature is to preserve the body for a long time and not to let it quickly give way to decay. That was the act of men who imagined nothing great about him; but in any case they showed very loving affection.

But how is it that none of the Twelve came — not John, not Peter, not any other of the more distinguished disciples? The writer does not hide this point either. If anyone says it was out of fear of the Jews, these men too were gripped by the same fear. For Joseph too, it says, was a disciple, “but secretly, for fear of the Jews.” And no one can say that Joseph acted this way because he had great contempt for them; afraid as he was, he still came. But John, who was present and had seen him breathe his last, did nothing of the kind. It seems to me that Joseph was a man of high rank, as the funeral makes clear, and known to Pilate, which is also why he was granted the favor. And then he buried him, not as a criminal, but magnificently, after the Jewish fashion, as some great and admirable man.

They were pressed for time. His death took place at the ninth hour, and what with going to Pilate and taking down the body, evening was likely to come upon them, when it was not lawful to work. So they laid him in the tomb that was near. And it was arranged by providence that he should be placed in a new tomb, where no one had been laid before, so that his resurrection would not be thought to be that of someone else lying there with him; and so that the disciples could easily come and see what took place, since the place was near; and so that not they alone but his enemies too should be witnesses of his burial. For putting seals on the tomb, and setting soldiers to sit by it and watch it, were the actions of men bearing witness to the burial. [r]

Christ earnestly desired that this should be acknowledged no less than the resurrection. That is why the disciples too are very earnest about this, about showing that he died. For all the time to come would confirm the resurrection; but if the death had been partly concealed at the time, or not made very plain, it would probably have harmed the account of the resurrection. And it was not only for these reasons that he was laid nearby, but also so that the story about the stealing might be proved false.

“On the first day of the week” (that is, the Lord’s day) “Mary Magdalene comes very early in the morning, and sees the stone taken away from the tomb” (John 20, verse 1).

He rose while both stone and seals still lay over him. But because others had to be fully satisfied, the tomb was opened after the resurrection, and in that way what had come to pass was confirmed. This, then, is what stirred Mary. She was entirely full of loving affection toward her Teacher, and when the Sabbath was past she could not bear to rest, but came very early in the morning, wanting to find some comfort from the place. But when she saw the place, and the stone taken away, she neither went in nor stooped to look in, but ran to the disciples in the greatness of her longing. For this is what she earnestly desired: she wanted to learn as quickly as possible what had become of the body. That was the meaning of her running, and her words declare it.

Verse 2: “They have taken away my Lord,” she says, “and I do not know where they have laid him.”

Do you see how she did not yet know anything clearly about the resurrection, but thought the body had been moved, and tells everything simply to the disciples? And the evangelist has not deprived the woman of such praise, nor thought it a shame that they learned these things first from her, who had spent the night keeping watch. Everywhere the truth-loving nature of his character shines out like this.

When she came and said these things, then, they heard her and hurried to the tomb with great eagerness, and saw the linen cloths lying there, which was a sign of the resurrection. If any people had moved the body, they would not have stripped it first; and if anyone had stolen it, he would not have taken the trouble to remove the head cloth and roll it up and lay it in a place by itself. What then? He would have taken the body just as it was. That is why John tells us in advance that it was buried with a great deal of myrrh, which glues linen to the body as firmly as lead: so that when you hear that the grave cloths lay apart, you will not put up with those who say that he was stolen. A thief would not have been so foolish as to spend so much trouble on something unnecessary. Why would he unwrap the cloths? And how could he have escaped notice if he had done it? He would probably have spent a long time over it, and been caught through his delaying and loitering.

But why do the cloths lie apart, while the head cloth was rolled up by itself? So that you may learn that it was not the work of men in confusion or in a hurry, this placing of some things in one spot and some in another, and the rolling up. From this they believed in the resurrection. That is why Christ appeared to them afterward, when they had been convinced by what they had seen.

Notice here again how free from boasting the evangelist is, how he bears witness to the thoroughness of Peter’s search. He himself got there before Peter and saw the linen cloths, but he looked no further and drew back. But that fervent man went farther in, looked at everything carefully, and saw something more; and then the other too was called in to see. For he went in after Peter and saw the grave cloths lying there, and separate. Now to separate them, and to place one thing by itself and another, rolled up, by itself, was the act of someone doing things carefully, not at random, as though in a panic.

But when you hear that your Lord rose naked, stop your madness about funerals. What is the point of that unnecessary and useless expense, which brings great loss to the mourners and no gain to the departed — or rather, if we must say it brings anything, it brings harm? For costly burial has often led to tombs being broken open, and has caused a man who was buried with great care to be thrown out naked and unburied. [u]

But oh, the empty glory! What tyranny it shows even in grief! What folly! To keep this from happening, many people cut those fine clothes to pieces and fill them with quantities of spices, so that they will be doubly useless to anyone who would insult the dead, and only then commit them to the earth. Are these not the acts of madmen, of people out of their minds — to parade their love of show, and then to destroy what they have paraded? “Yes, but it is so that they may lie safely with the dead that we use all these devices.” Well then, if the robbers do not get them, will not the moths get them, and the worms? Or if the moths and worms do not get them, will not time and the moisture of decay destroy them? But suppose that neither grave robbers, nor moths, nor worms, nor time, nor anything else destroys what lies in the tomb; suppose the body itself remains untouched until the resurrection, and these things are kept new and fresh and fine. What advantage is that to the departed, when the body is raised naked while these things remain here, and do us no good for the account we must give? “Why, then, was it done in the case of Christ?” First of all, do not compare these things with human affairs, since the prostitute even poured ointment on his holy feet. But if we must speak about these things, we say that they were done when those who did them did not yet know the teaching about the resurrection. That is why it says, “as was the custom of the Jews.” Those who honored Christ in this way were not of the Twelve, but men who did not honor him greatly. The Twelve honored him not in this way, but by death and slaughter and dangers for his sake. The other was honor too, but far inferior to the honor I have spoken of. Besides, as I said at the start, we are now speaking of human beings, while at that time these things were done for the Lord.

And so that you may learn that Christ took no account of these things, he said, “You saw me hungry, and you fed me; thirsty, and you gave me drink; naked, and you clothed me” (Matthew 25, verse 35). But nowhere did he say, “dead, and you buried me.” And I say this not to do away with the custom of burial (far be it from me!), but to cut back its extravagance and its untimely vanity. “But feeling, and grief, and sympathy for the departed move us to this practice.” The practice does not come from sympathy for the departed, but from empty glory. If you want to show sympathy for the dead, I will show you another way of mourning, and I will teach you to put garments on him that will rise again with him and make him glorious. These garments are not eaten by worms, or worn away by time, or stolen by grave robbers. What sort are they, then? The clothing of almsgiving. This is a robe that will rise again with him, because the seal of almsgiving is with him. Those who hear on that day, “I was hungry, and you fed me,” shine in these garments. These make people distinguished; these make them glorious; these keep them safe. But the garments used now are only something for moths to eat and a table spread for worms.

I say this not to forbid funeral rites, but to tell you to observe them with moderation, so as to cover the body and not commit it naked to the earth. For if, while we are living, he tells us to have no more than enough to cover us, much more when we are dead; a dead body does not need clothes as much as when it is alive and breathing. When we are alive, we need the covering of clothes because of the cold and for decency’s sake; but when we are dead, we need grave clothes for none of these reasons, only so that the body will not lie naked. And better than grave clothes, we have the earth, the fairest of coverings, and the one best suited to the nature of bodies like ours. So if we must not look for anything unnecessary where there are so many needs, much more is display out of place where there is no such necessity.

“But the onlookers will laugh.” Certainly, if anyone does laugh, we need not care much about someone so utterly foolish. But as things are, there are many who admire and welcome our true wisdom instead. It is not these things that deserve laughter, but the things we do now: weeping and wailing and burying ourselves with the departed. These deserve ridicule and punishment. But to show true wisdom, both in these matters and in the modesty of the clothing used, prepares crowns and praises for us. Everyone will applaud us and marvel at the power of Christ, and will say: “Amazing! How great is the power of the Crucified One! He has persuaded people who are perishing and wasting away that death is not death. So they do not act like perishing men, but like men who send their dead ahead of them to a distant and better home. He has persuaded them that this perishable and earthly body will put on a garment more glorious than silk or cloth of gold, the garment of immortality. So they are not very anxious about their burial, but count a virtuous life an admirable burial shroud.” These things they will say if they see us showing true wisdom. But if they see us bent double with grief, carrying on like women, and setting troops of women mourners around the dead, they will laugh and mock and find fault in ten thousand ways, picking apart our foolish expense and our useless labor. We hear everyone finding fault with these things, and very reasonably. For what excuse can we have, when we adorn a body that is being eaten away by decay and worms, and neglect Christ when he is thirsty, when he goes about naked, when he is a stranger? [x]

So let us stop this useless fuss. Let us carry out the funeral rites of the departed in a way that is good both for us and for them, to the glory of God. Let us give much in alms on their behalf; let us send them off with the best provision for the journey. For if the memory of admirable men has protected the living even after they were dead (“I will defend this city,” it says, “for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David,” Second Kings 19, verse 34), much more will almsgiving do this. For almsgiving has even raised the dead, as when the widows stood around showing what Dorcas had made while she was with them (Acts 9, verse 39).

So when someone is about to die, let the dying person’s friend prepare his funeral, and persuade the one departing to leave something to the needy. Let him send him to the grave in these garments, leaving Christ as his heir. For if those who write kings among their heirs leave a secure portion to their relatives, think how much good a man will draw down on himself and all his family when he leaves Christ as an heir with his children. These are the right kind of funerals; these benefit both those who remain and those who depart. If we are buried like this, we will be glorious at the time of the resurrection. But if we care for the body and neglect the soul, we will suffer many terrible things and earn much ridicule. For it is no ordinary disgrace to depart without being clothed in virtue; and a body thrown out without a tomb is not so disgraced as a soul that appears on that day stripped of virtue.

This, then, let us put on; this let us wrap around us. It is best to do so all our life long; but if we have been careless in this life, let us at least come to our senses at the end, and charge our relatives to help us by almsgiving when we depart, so that, helped in this way by one another, we may attain great confidence, through the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory, power, and honor to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.