THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST

JOHN 19:17-27    So they took charge of Jesus. He went out, carrying his cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull”, as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called “Golgotha”.) There they crucified him; and they also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus between them.

Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” Is what he wrote. Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.  The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, “This man said, I am the King off the Jews.”

 Pilate answered, “What I have written stays written.”

After the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took the robe, which was made of one piece of woven cloth without any seams in it. The soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it; let’s throw dice to see who will get it.  This happened in order to make the scripture come true.

“They divided my clothes among themselves and gambled for my robe.”

And this is exactly what the soldiers did. Standing close to Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 

Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, “He is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, ‘She is your mother.” From that time the disciple took her to live in his home.

The highlighted is for those who said Mary the Mother of Christ our Blessed Mother has other children to ponder upon.

 (The Crucifixion: Matt. 27:3-44, Mark 15:21-32, Luke 22:26-43)

Interestingly Pilate, who was afraid when he was told that Jesus claimed to be a King, handed him over to be crucified because he did not want to offend his friend, the Roman Emperor.  At the death of Christ, he proclaimed him to the whole world as King of the Jews. This was his homage and tribute to Christ.

Do we say he was the first pagan convert before the evangelization of Christ’s apostles and disciples? “What I have written stays written,” He said. If we recall during his discussion with Christ when Christ told him about His Kingship and Kingdom, Pilate was afraid.  He knew that Christ was innocent that it was out of envy and jealousy that the Jewish authorities handed Him over to be sentenced to death.