Among the religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the Pharisee
Nicodemus and the famous Joseph of Arimathea both secret disciples of Jesus,
but there was also age-old dispute about Him.
St. John even said of these authorities on the very eve of Christ's
Passion that a lot believed in Him though very defectively (Jn 12:42; John 12:42; John 7:50;
John 9:16-17;
John 10:19-21;
John 19:38-39. This
is not shocking, if one recalls that on the day after Pentecost "The word
of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem
increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the
faith." Acts 6:7 "But some from the party
of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, "It is
necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law." Acts 15:5,
to the point that St. James could tell St. Paul, "How many thousands there
are among the Jews of those who have believed; and they are all zealous for the
Law (Acts 21:20).
The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not undivided about their position
towards Jesus.(John 9:16;
John 10:19). The
Pharisees threatened to excommunicate His followers (John 9:22).
To
those who feared that everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come
and destroy both theirr holy place and nation, the high priest Caiaphas responded
by prophesying: " "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is
better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole
nation may not perish.""(John 11:48-50)
The
Sanhedrin, having asserted Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having
lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, indicting
him of political rebellion, an accusation that puts Him in the same category as
Barabbas who had been charged of sedition.(Matthew 26:66;
John 18:31;
Luke 23;2, 19) The chief priests likewise intimidated Pilate
politically so that he would denounce Jesus to death. (John 19;12, 5:21).
Jews
are not jointly accountable for Jesus' death. The personal sin of the
accomplices (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone, therefore we
cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole,
despite the hullabaloo of a stage-managed crowd and the universal admonition
contained in the apostles' calls to transformation after Pentecost. (Mark 15:11;
Acts 2;23; 36; 3:13-14;
4:10;
5:30;
7:52; 10:39; 13:27-28; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15). Jesus
Himself, in absolving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both
accept "the ignorance" of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their
leaders. Lk 23:34 (Luke 23;34;
Acts 3:17.
Based simply on the crowd's cry: "
"His blood be upon us and upon our children.",which is a formula for ratifying a judicial decision,
still less can accountability be extended to other Jews of different times and
places. Mt 27:25 (Matthew 27:25; Acts 5;28; 18:6.
Neither
all Jews randomly at that time, nor Jews today, can be accused with the transgressions
committed during His Passion. The Jews is not an epitome of a rejected or
an accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture.
The "sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that
the divine Redeemer endured." (Hebrew 12:3. Humans' sins affect Christ himself, (Matthew 25:45 ;
Acts 4:5 therefore
the gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus is attributed
to every human sinning but not to the Jews alone; plunging ourselves into
disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God anew in our hearts and hold him up
to disdain.
"None of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known
it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.. (1 Corinthians 2:8)."
Denying Jesus by our deeds is in some way seem to lay violent hands on
Him (Hebrew 6:6).
Nor did demons crucify him; it is I, and you who have crucified
Him and crucify Him still, when we delight in our vices and sins.
No comments:
Post a Comment