Having failed in his attempts to free Christ, Pilate finally decided to yield to the desire of the Jewish leaders and "delivered Him up to them for crucifixion." St. Matthew reports that Pilate had previously washed his hands (Matt. 27:24): "Pilate, seeing that nothing helped, but the confusion increased, took water and washed his hands before the people, and said, 'I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One; See you." It was the custom of the Jews to wash their hands to prove that the washer was innocent of shedding the blood of a man found murdered (Deuteronomy 21:6-8). Pilate used this custom as a sign that he absolved himself of responsibility for the execution of Jesus, whom he considered innocent and righteous. "Look" - you yourself will be responsible for the consequences of this unjust murder.

In order to obtain the procurator's consent to the confirmation of the death sentence, the evil Jews agree to everything, without thinking about any consequences: "His blood be on us and on our children," that is: if this is a crime, then let God's punishment fall on us and on our descendants. "Such is the reckless rage," comments St. Chrysostom, "such is the evil passion... let it so that you curse yourselves; Why do you also bring a curse on your descendants?" This curse, which the Jews brought upon themselves, was soon fulfilled: it was in the year 70 A.D., when, during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, an enormous number of Jews were crucified on crosses. It was also fulfilled in the subsequent history of the Jews, who have since been scattered throughout the world, in those innumerable "pogroms" to which they were constantly subjected, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy (chapters 28:49-57; 64-67).

"Then he released Barayeva to them, and having beaten Jesus he handed him over to crucifixion," that is, having confirmed the sentence of the Sanhedrin, Pilate gave them soldiers to execute the death penalty on the Lord Jesus Christ by crucifixion.

Having washed his hands, Pilate, of course, could not relieve himself of the responsibility as he wished: after all, he was the supreme judge, who knew that the accused was completely innocent. The expression "wash your hands" has since become proverbial. God's punishment befell Pilate for his faint-heartedness and unrighteous condemnation of Him Whom he himself called the Righteous One. He was sent into exile in Gaul (the city of Vienna) and there, two years later, exhausted by anguish, tormented by conscience and despair, he committed suicide.

The Way of the Cross to Golgotha

(Matt. 27:31-32; Mark 15:20-21; Luke 23:26-32; John 19:16-17).

All four Evangelists tell about the Lord's way of the cross. The first two, St. Matthew and St. Mark, speak of him in exactly the same way. "And when they mocked him, they took off his scarlet robe, and clothed him in his garments, and led him away to be crucified. As they went out, they met a certain Cyrenean, named Simon; they have compelled him to bear his cross." St. John speaks very briefly, without mentioning anything about Simon of Cyrene. St. Luke speaks in detail of all. As St. John reports this, and as was generally customary with those condemned to death by crucifixion, the Lord Himself carried His cross to the place of execution. But He was so exhausted by the inner struggle of Gethsemane, and the night spent without sleep, and by terrible tortures, that He was unable to carry the cross to its destination. Not out of compassion, of course, but out of a desire to reach as soon as possible to complete their evil deed, the enemies of the Lord captured on the way a certain Simon, a migrant from Cyrene, a city in Libya on the northern coast of Africa west of Egypt (where many Jews lived, who had long moved there), and forced him to bear the cross of the Lord when he was returning from the field to the city. St. Mark adds that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus, later known in the early Christian church, whom he mentions in the Romans. 16:13 St. Al. Paul.

St. Luke adds that "a great multitude of people and women followed Him, weeping and weeping for Him." Not only enemies, but also worshippers of the Lord, who had compassion on Him, followed Him. In spite of the custom that it was forbidden for a criminal to express sympathy when he was being led to be executed, the women who were in this crowd loudly and sobbed their compassion for the Lord. The compassion they expressed was so deep and sincere that the Lord deemed it necessary to respond and addressed them with a whole speech, presumably at the time when there was a halt in the procession at the laying of the cross of Christ on Simon of Cyrene. "Daughters of Jerusalem! Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children..." "Daughters of Jerusalem" is an affectionate address indicating the Lord's benevolence towards these women who expressed such touching sympathy for Him. It is as if the Lord forgets about the sufferings that await Him, and His spiritual gaze turns to the future of the chosen people, to the terrible punishment that will befall him for rejecting the Messiah. "Weep for yourselves and for your children" – in these words the Lord warns them of the calamities that will befall them and their children.

Here He seems to have in mind the terrible oath that the Jews so lightly brought upon themselves, who cried out: "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. 27:25). "Behold, the days are coming..." — the days of terrible calamities are coming, approaching, when the supreme blessing of childbearing will turn into a curse, and those who were previously considered to be under the wrath of God, as barren, not giving birth, will be considered blessed. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us!" — so great will be the calamities. We are undoubtedly talking here about the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 A.D.

"For if this is done to a verdant tree, then what will happen to a dry one?" – This is apparently a popular proverb. By the "verdant tree" full of life, the Lord means Himself; By "dry wood" is the Jewish people. If He, the Innocent, was not spared, then what will happen to the guilty people?" Fire is coming upon Judah (cf. Ezek. 20:47); if a green tree is burned, with what power will he destroy the dry?" (Bishop Michael).

Crucifix

(Matt. 27:33-44; Mark 15:22-32; Luke 23:33-38; John 19:18-24).

According to the narration of all four Evangelists, the Lord was brought to a place called Golgotha, which means: "the place of the skull," and there they crucified Him in the midst of two thieves, about whom St. Luke reports that they were also led to death together with Him. "Golgotha," or "place of the skull," was a small hill located at that time outside the city walls of Jerusalem to the northwest. It is not known exactly why this hill had such a name. It is thought either because it had the appearance of a skull, or because it contained many skulls of people executed there. According to ancient legend, the ancestor Adam was buried in the same place. St. Up. Paul, in Hebrews 13:11-12, points out the special significance of "Jesus suffering outside the gate." When Jesus was brought to Golgotha, they gave Him to drink, according to St. Mark 15:23, wine with myrrh, and according to St. Matthew 27:34, vinegar mixed with gall. It is a stupefying and dulling drink, which was given to those condemned to death by crucifixion in order to somewhat lessen the torment of suffering. The Romans called it "soporific". According to the testimony of Jewish rabbis, it was wine to which resin was added, thanks to which the wine darkened the consciousness of the condemned and thus relieved his torment. Myrrh is one of the types of resin, which is why St. Mark indicates it. Seasoning wine with resin gave an extremely pungent and bitter taste, which is why St. Matthew calls it "bile", and wine, as it is obviously already sour, calls it "vinegar". "And having tasted it, I would not drink" — wishing to endure the entire cup of suffering to the end, in full consciousness, the Lord did not drink this drink.

"It was the third hour, and they crucified Him," says St. Mark (15:25). This seems to contradict the testimony of St. John that as early as the sixth hour the Lord was on trial before Pilate (John 19:14). But it must be known that, following the example of the night, which was divided into four watches, three hours each, the day was also divided into four parts, called after the last hour of each part: the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour. If we assume that the final sentence was pronounced by Pilate from the lithostroton at the end of the third hour according to the Jewish reckoning, that is, at the present time, at a little over 9 o'clock in the morning, then St. John could well say that it was the sixth hour, for the second quarter of the day began, consisting of the 4th, 5th, and 6th hours, which the Jews called the sixth hour after its last hour. On the other hand, St. Mark could say that it was the third hour, because the sixth hour, in the sense of the second quarter of the day, was just beginning, and only the third hour had elapsed, in the sense of the first quarter of the day.