On the Passion, Eighth Sermon

Having spoken, dearly beloved, in our last sermon about the events that came before the Lord’s arrest, it now remains, with the help of God’s grace, to discuss the details of the passion itself, as we promised. By the words of his sacred prayer the Lord had made it clear that the divine and the human nature were most truly and fully present in him, showing that the unwillingness to suffer came from the one, and from the other the determination to suffer, by driving out all frail fears and strengthening his lofty power. Then he returned to his eternal purpose, and in “the form of a” sinless “slave” he met the devil, who was savagely attacking him by the hands of the Jews, so that he in whom alone the nature of all people was found without fault might take up the cause of all. So the sons of darkness attacked the true Light, and for all their torches and lanterns they could not escape the night of their own unbelief, because they did not recognize the Fountain of Light. They arrest him, and he is ready to be seized; they lead him away, and he is willing to be led. For if he had chosen to resist, their wicked hands could have done him no harm; but then the world’s redemption would have been hindered, and he who was to die for the salvation of all would have saved no one at all. [a]

So, allowing all that the people’s fury, inflamed by the priests, dared to do to him, he is brought to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, and from there Annas passes him on to Caiaphas. After the slanderers’ mad accusations, after the lying falsehoods of witnesses put up to perjury, he is transferred to Pilate’s hearing by the delegation of the two high priests. In neglecting the divine law and shouting that they had “no king but Caesar,” as if they were devoted to the Roman laws and had left the whole judgment in the governor’s hands, they were really looking for someone to carry out their cruelty rather than an umpire of the case. For they handed Jesus over bound in hard bonds, bruised by many blows and buffets, spat upon, and already condemned by their shouts, so that, amid so many signs of their own verdict, Pilate might not dare to acquit one whom all wanted dead. In fact the very inquiry shows both that he found no fault in the accused and that he did not hold to his purpose in his judgment. For as judge he condemns one whom he declares guiltless, calling down on the unrighteous people the blood of the Righteous Man with whom, as he felt by his own conviction and knew from his wife’s dream, he must have nothing to do. That stained soul is not cleansed by the washing of hands; fingers sprinkled with water make no atonement for the crime that wicked mind helped along. Pilate’s fault is indeed less than the crime of the Jews, for it was they who frightened him with Caesar’s name, scolded him with hateful words and drove him to commit his wickedness. But he too did not escape guilt, for playing into the hands of those who raised the uproar, for abandoning his own judgment, and for going along with the charges of others. [c]

In giving way, then, dearly beloved, to the madness of the relentless people, in allowing Jesus to be dishonored by much mocking and harassed with excessive insults, and in showing him to the eyes of his persecutors torn by whips, crowned with thorns and dressed in a robe of scorn, Pilate no doubt thought to calm the minds of the enemies, so that once they had glutted their cruel hatred they might stop persecuting one whom they saw subjected to such a variety of sufferings. But their anger was still at full blaze, and they cried out to him to release Barabbas and let Jesus bear the penalty of the cross. And so, when the crowd said with one consenting murmur, “His blood be on us and on our sons,” those wicked people won, to their own damnation, what they had persistently demanded: those “whose teeth,” as the prophet bore witness, “were weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” For it was useless for them to keep their own hands from crucifying the Lord of glory when they had hurled at him the deadly darts of the tongue and the poisoned weapons of words. On you, on you, false Jews and unholy leaders of the people, falls the full weight of that crime. And although the enormity of the guilt also involves the governor and the soldiers, you are still the first and chief offenders. And whatever wrong was done in Christ’s condemnation, either by Pilate’s judgment or by the cohorts carrying out his commands, makes you all the more deserving of humankind’s hatred, because the drive of your fury would not let even those who were displeased at your unrighteous acts stay free of guilt. [d]

And so the Lord was handed over to their savage wishes and, in mockery of his kingly rank, was ordered to carry the instrument of his own death, so that what Isaiah the prophet foresaw might be fulfilled when he said, “See, a Child is born, and a Son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulders.” So when the Lord carried the wood of the cross, which was to become for him the scepter of power, it was indeed a great mockery in the eyes of the wicked, but to the faithful a great mystery was set forth. For he, the glorious conqueror of the devil and the strong vanquisher of the powers that were against him, was nobly carrying the trophy of his triumph, and on the shoulders of his unconquered patience he bore into all kingdoms the sign of salvation, worthy of adoration; as if even then to strengthen all his followers by this mere symbol of his work and say, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” [e]

But as the crowds went with Jesus to the place of execution, a certain Simon of Cyrene was found, on whom the wood of the cross was laid instead of on the Lord. This was so that even by this act the faith of the Gentiles might be signified beforehand, the Gentiles to whom the cross of Christ was to be not shame but glory. It was not by accident, then, but as a sign and a mystery, that while the Jews were raging against Christ a foreigner was found to share his sufferings, as the apostle says, “If we suffer with him, we will also reign with him.” So it was no Hebrew or Israelite but a stranger who was put in the Savior’s place in his most holy humiliation. For by this transfer the propitiation of the spotless Lamb, and the fulfillment of all mysteries, passed from the circumcised to the uncircumcised, from the sons according to the flesh to the sons according to the spirit. For as the apostle says, “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.” Offering himself to the Father as a new and true sacrifice of reconciliation, he was crucified not in the temple, whose worship was now at an end, and not within the bounds of the city, which was doomed to be destroyed for its sin, but beyond them, “outside the camp,” so that, when the old symbolic victims had ceased, a new Victim might be placed on a new altar, and the cross of Christ might be the altar not of the temple but of the world. [f]

So, dearly beloved, as Christ is lifted up on the cross, do not let the eyes of your mind dwell only on the sight that those wicked sinners saw, to whom it was said by the mouth of Moses, “And your life will be hanging before your eyes, and you will fear day and night, and you will have no assurance of your life.” For in the crucified Lord they could think of nothing but their own wicked deed, since they had not the fear by which true faith is justified, but the fear by which an evil conscience is racked. But let our understanding, enlightened by the Spirit of Truth, cherish with a pure and free heart the glory of the cross that shines through heaven and earth, and let it see with the inner sight what the Lord meant when he spoke of his coming passion: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” And further on he says, “Now my spirit is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came to this hour. Father, glorify your Son.” And when the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again,” Jesus answered those who stood by, “This voice came not for me but for you. Now is the world’s judgment; now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.” [g]

O wonderful power of the cross! O glory of the passion beyond all words, in which are contained the Lord’s judgment seat, the world’s judgment and the power of the Crucified! For you drew all things to yourself, Lord; and when you had stretched out your hands all day long to an unbelieving people that contradicted you, the whole world at last was brought to confess your majesty. You drew all things to yourself, Lord, when all the elements joined to pronounce judgment in condemnation of the crime of the Jews; when the lights of heaven were darkened and the day turned into night; when the earth too was shaken with unusual shocks, and all creation refused to serve those wicked men. You drew all things to yourself, Lord, for the veil of the temple was torn, and the Holy of Holies no longer existed for those unworthy high priests, so that figure was turned into truth, prophecy into revelation, the law into the good news. You drew all things to yourself, Lord, so that what was done before in the one temple of the Jews in dark signs was now to be celebrated everywhere by the devotion of all the nations in full and open rite. For now there is a nobler order of Levites, there are elders of greater dignity and priests of holier anointing, because your cross is the source of all blessings, the fountain of all graces; and through it believers receive strength for weakness, glory for shame, life for death. Now, too, the variety of fleshly sacrifices has ceased, and the one offering of your body and blood fulfills all those different victims. For you are the true “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” and in yourself you so accomplish all mysteries that, as there is one sacrifice instead of many victims, so there is one kingdom instead of many nations. [h]

Let us, then, dearly beloved, confess what the blessed teacher of the nations, the apostle Paul, confessed when he said, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” For God’s mercy toward us is all the more wonderful in that Christ died not for the righteous or the holy but for the unrighteous and wicked. And though the divine nature could not undergo the sting of death, yet at his birth he took from us what he might offer for us. For long ago he threatened our death with the power of his own death, saying through the mouth of Hosea the prophet, “O death, I will be your death, and I will be your destruction, O hell.” For by dying he submitted to the laws of hell, but by rising again he broke them, and so destroyed the endlessness of death as to make it temporary instead of eternal. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” And so, dearly beloved, let that come to pass of which Saint Paul speaks, “that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for all and rose again.” And because the old things have passed away and all things have become new, let no one remain in his old fleshly life, but let us all be renewed by daily progress and growth in godliness. For however much a man is justified, as long as he remains in this life he can always become more proven and better. And he who is not advancing is going back, and he who is gaining nothing is losing something. Let us run, then, with the steps of faith, by works of mercy, in the love of righteousness, so that, keeping the day of our redemption spiritually, “not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth,” we may deserve to share in the resurrection of Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. [i]