"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.

"And they crucified Him" – crosses were of various shapes and crucified in different ways, sometimes nailed to a cross lying on the ground, after which the cross was lifted and placed vertically in the ground; sometimes they first erected a cross, and then lifted the condemned person and nailed him. Sometimes they were crucified upside down (this is how St. Al. Peter was crucified of his own free will). Hands and feet were sometimes nailed down, sometimes only tied. The body of the crucified man hung helplessly in terrible convulsions, all the muscles were convulsed by an excruciating convulsion, the ulcers from the nails, under the weight of the body, were torn apart, the executed man was tormented by an unbearable thirst, due to the heat from the clove ulcers and the loss of blood. The sufferings of the crucified were so great and incredibly painful, and also prolonged (sometimes the crucified hung on crosses without dying, for three days or even more) that the execution was applied only to the greatest criminals and was considered the most terrible and shameful of all types of execution. In order to prevent the hands from being torn prematurely from wounds, a stand-crossbar was sometimes nailed under the feet, on which the crucified person could stand. On the upper, remaining free end of the cross, a transverse tablet was nailed with the inscription of the guilt of the crucified.

In the midst of indescribable suffering, the Lord did not remain completely silent: He spoke seven times from the cross. His first words were a prayer for the crucifiers, with His second words He vouchsafed the prudent thief heavenly bliss, with the third words He entrusted His Most-Pure Mother to St. Ap. John, His fourth words are the exclamation: "My God, My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?", the fifth word is "I thirst", the sixth is "it is finished", the seventh is "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit."

The first words of the Lord were the prayer for the crucifiers, which is quoted by St. Luke (23:34): "Father, forgive them! Forgive them, for they know not what they do." None of those who crucified Christ knew that He was the Son of God. "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:8), says St. Paul. Paul. Even to the Jews of St. Ap. Paul said in his second sermon at the healing of the lame man: "You, like your rulers, did it out of ignorance" (Acts 3:17). The Roman soldiers, of course, did not know that they were crucifying the Son of God; the Jews who condemned the Lord to death were so blinded in their malice that they really did not think that they were crucifying their Messiah. However, such ignorance does not justify their crime, for they had the opportunity and the means to know. The Lord's prayer bears witness to the greatness of His spirit and serves as an example for us, so that we too do not take revenge on our enemies, but pray to God for them.

"Pilate wrote the inscription..." St. John testifies that by order of Pilate a tablet was written indicating the guilt of the Lord, as was customary (John 19:19-22). Wanting to once more hurt the members of the Sanhedrin, Pilate ordered the writing: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Since the members of the Sanhedrin accused the Lord of arrogating to Himself the royal dignity, Pilate ordered this His guilt to be written, to the shame of the Sanhedrin; The king of Judah was crucified at the request of the representatives of the Jewish people. Contrary to custom, the inscription was made in three languages: the local Hebrew, the national language, Greek (then common), and Roman, the language of the victors. The purpose of this was so that everyone could read this inscription. Without thinking about it, Pilate thereby fulfilled the highest providential goal: in the moments of His most extreme humiliation, the Lord Jesus Christ was proclaimed King for the whole world. The Lord's accusers took this as a malicious mockery and demanded that Pilate change the inscription, but the proud Roman sharply refused them, making them feel his power.

"Those who crucified Him divided His garments, casting lots..." Roman law gave the clothes of the crucified as the property of the soldiers who carried out the execution. According to Philo, there were four people who performed the crucifixion. St. John, who tells more than others about the division of the Lord's garments, says that the soldiers tore the outer garment into four parts, "To each soldier a part," and the lower garment – the tunic – was not sewn, but woven, or knitted from the top, that is, starting from the hole for the head downwards. If such a tunic is broken, then its parts will have no value. Therefore, the soldiers cast lots for him, so that he would go to him alone in a whole form. According to legend, this tunic was woven by the Most-Pure Mother of God. In doing this, the soldiers unconsciously, of course, fulfilled the ancient prophecy about the Messiah from Psalm 21:19, which St. John quotes when he tells about it: "They divided My garments among themselves, and cast lots for My garments."

Further, the first three Evangelists tell about the ridicule and blasphemy to which the Lord was subjected both by soldiers and by His passing enemies from the people, and especially, of course, by the chief priests with the scribes, elders and Pharisees. These blasphemies had one common basis in comparing the past with the present. Remembering everything that the Lord had said and done in the past, they pointed to His present helplessness and mockingly suggested that He perform a miracle that was obvious to everyone – to come down from the cross, promising, hypocritically, of course, in such a case to believe in Him. In these blasphemies, according to St. Matthew, the robbers who were crucified on the right and left sides of the Lord also took part.

The Repentance of the Wise Thief

(Luke 23:39-43).

Supplementing the narrative of the first two Evangelists, St. Luke tells about the repentance and conversion to the Lord of one of the two thieves. While one of them, apparently even more embittered by the tortures and looking for an object to which to direct his anger, began, following the example of the enemies of the Lord, to blaspheme Him, imitating them, the other thief, evidently not so depraved, who retained a sense of religiosity, began to admonish his comrade. "Do you not fear God, when you yourself are condemned to the same thing? And we are justly condemned, because we have received what is worthy according to our works; but He has done nothing wrong." Evidently he heard the weeping and torments of the women of Jerusalem as they accompanied the Lord to Golgotha; perhaps he was impressed by the inscription made on the cross of the Lord, he pondered over the words of the enemies of the Lord: "He saved some," but perhaps the most important sermon about Christ for him was Christ's prayer for His enemies, the crucifiers.