Jesus and Christ - стр. 110

The customary survey of the audience followed, exhaling, announcing the next topic:

– So, next is the judgment. The Jewish chief priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death at the Sanhedrin, could not carry out the sentence themselves without the approval of the Roman governor. According to some scholars, the Sanhedrin recognized Jesus as a false prophet based on the words of Deuteronomy: "…but the prophet who dares to speak in my name what I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, such a prophet you shall put to death" (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Here, too, in this part of the scripture, the same insurance against the encroachment of authority is played out. The options are provided in advance to refute and, if necessary, to defame, as we see, even to kill anyone who would encroach on the established clan of power. After unsuccessful attempts by the chief priests to accuse Jesus of formally violating Jewish law, Jesus was handed over to the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate (26-36). At the trial, the procurator asked: "Are you the King of the Jews?" This question was due to the fact that claiming authority as King of the Jews, according to Roman law, was considered a dangerous offense against the Roman Empire. The answer to this question was Christ's words, "You say that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth" (John 18:29-38). Pilate, finding no guilt in Jesus, was inclined to let him go and said to the chief priests, "I find no guilt in this man" (Luke 23:4). Pontius Pilate's decision caused an uproar among the Jewish crowd, directed by the elders and chief priests. In an effort to prevent a riot, Pilate addressed the crowd with a proposal to release Christ, following the long-standing custom of releasing one of the criminals at Passover. But the crowd shouted: "Let him be crucified" (Matthew 27:22). As a final attempt to spare Jesus from death, Pilate had him beaten in front of the crowd, hoping that the discontented would be satisfied with the sight of a bloody condemned man. But the Jews declared that Jesus must die, because he had made himself the Son of God. Pilate, when he heard this word, was more afraid. Pilate went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said to Him, "Do you not answer me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to release You? Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given to you from above; therefore it is more sinful for him who delivered me to you. From that time Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out, "If you let Him go, you are no friend of Caesar; anyone who makes himself king is an adversary of Caesar" (John 19:7-12). I would like to focus your attention on the phrase, "…therefore it is more sinful on him who delivered me to you." Does this phrase seem ambiguous to you? It clearly carries the connotation of blasphemy, complaint, and offense. The phrase is preceded by the definition, "You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. That is, here he speaks of God's authority. For he was clearly not speaking of Pilate's superiors, much less of those who betrayed him in fact, if such was the case. Believe me, it is debatable. What we learn next: fearing the people (the Gospel account says so, though he feared more denunciation to Rome from the religious oligarchs), Pilate passed the death sentence – sentenced Jesus to crucifixion, and he himself "washed his hands before the people, and said, I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One" (clearly he would not use the phrase "this Righteous One," but we'll keep quiet and move on). To which the people exclaimed: "His blood is upon us and upon our children" (Matthew 27:24-25). According to the sentence of Pontius Pilate – Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem on Mount Golgotha, where he, according to the Gospel story, carried his cross himself. Two robbers were crucified with him. In spite of his death pains, Christ uttered several phrases on the cross. Let me draw your attention to some of them. For example, to His mother He said: "Woman, behold, your son" (John 19:26); to His disciple: "Behold, your mother!" (Jn. 19:27); most interesting, perhaps, in terms of mystery: "It is accomplished!" (Jn. 19:30) Mysterious and interesting – before his death. Because afterward he, according to the scripture… And let me quote the original a little bit here.