Before Jesus was nailed to the wooden cross, he was offered wine, "mingled with gall" (according to Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 34). Saint Mark, says that the Roman Soldiers assigned to carry out the actual crucifixion offered the Lord "wine mingled with myrrh" (Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 21). Both of the Saints record that the Lord refused the concoction offered to him by the Roman Troops. Once the cross was raised with Christ nailed to it, the soldiers settled claims to his garments - which had been taken from him by those soldiers - "by casting lots." This is noted in St. Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 35 and St. Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 24. St. John also delves into this detail of the death of Christ. Chapter 19, verses 23 and 24 say:
Verse 23: When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; Verse 24: so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the scripture. "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."
Where in the scripture was this detail foretold? There are two places in the Old Testament where this event was described in detail. In the Book of Exodus, Chapter 28, Verse 32, it is said, "It shall have in it an opening for the head, with a woven binding around the opening, like an opening in a garment, that it may not be torn." And in Psalm 22, Verse 18, the author writes, "they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots."
There are other events which took place because the Lord was a human of great compassion and mercy, and also because some of the events had been foretold in other Books of the Old Testament. In the Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 19, verses 25 to 27, Christ is described as seeing his mother, Mary, standing near the foot of his cross with St. John. He declared, while hanging on the cross, that beginning at once the Saint was to consider Mary his Mother, and Mary was to consider the Saint her son. It is said in Verse 27 that John immediately took Mary into his home to live.
The Gospel of St. Luke contains some amazing details of events of Good Friday that the other three Gospels do not have. During the course of interrogating Christ, the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, learned that Christ was a Galilean. See the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 6. Knowing that the Governor of that part of the Roman Empire, Herod the Tetrarch, happened to be in Jerusalem at the time, Pilate had Christ sent to him. Herod himself had been anxious to meet Christ and his disciples, having heard much about him. He was very curious about St. John, since he believed he had had "John" beheaded and wondered who this John, also a disciple of Christ, could possibly be.
Whatever curiosity Herod had, he did not let it get in the way of an opportunity to belittle a man who was said to be a future king. When Herod asked Christ questions, Jesus remained silent. Finally, Herod had Christ dressed in what the Gospel called "gorgeous apparel" (Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 11) and then sent him back to Pilate. Pilate was beguiled by what Herod did, for some reason. Up until this moment, the two Roman Governors had greatly disliked each other, but now, St. Luke notes, "they became friends with each other that very day." (Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 12.)
Upon his return from Herod, Pilate told the Jewish leaders who were following Christ everywhere, hoping to play a role in determining his punishment, that he believed Christ was not guilty of any crime. Pilate further told these Jewish leaders that he intended to release Jesus.
Those were words that thoroughly incensed the Jewish leaders, who had concluded that Christ was directly challenging their authority. It is interesting to note that a burial ossuary believed to belong to Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest who was Christ's chief antagonist, was recovered in 1990 in Israel. Inside of the ossuary were two nails which are believed to be "crucifixion nails;" i.e., nails that were used in a crucifixion. The nails were studied with the outside hope that DNA could be recovered. But before anyone starts dreaming of the recovery of Christ's DNA, none was to be found. The ossuary itself is on display at the Israel Museum.
All of these details are interesting and add details to a combined account which is held in the hearts of every Christian. The Life of Christ is so rich in meaning that scholars through the ages have studied it down to the slightest of details. The Son of God was born in the poorest of circumstances, and his Earthly life comes to a brief "end" after he is crucified, one of the cruelest and most inhuman methods of Capital Punishment that humankind has yet devised. Throughout the Bible, the theme of humility is expounded upon as an essential trait of all Christians. And yet teachers and priests seem overwhelmed by the simple human trait, and often overlook it in their lessons and homilies. I have often wondered why.
Pope Benedict XVI wrote an essay in 2012 at the request of the editors of the Financial Times. The article was actually written about Christmas and has a Christmas theme to it. Nonetheless, the Holy Father turned his attention to the issue of humility and the duty of Christians to seek to incorporate that theme into their lives. This is a portion of the Pope's Essay:
"The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is
undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At
the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty,
the simplicity of the crib scene?
"Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the
manger, but as the one in whom we recognize God made Man.
"It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it
in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange.
"Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage
with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.
"Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image
and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief
that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians
oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus
of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life.
"Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human
being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all."
While on the subject of the Vatican, the Holy See has announced (again) that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will make a historic visit to Egypt later this month. The general itinerary for this visit has now been released. Of note is the Pope's plan to meet with the Muslim leader of Egypt and the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In May, Pope Francis intends to visit Portugal and the Shrine to Fatima. It will commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the appearance of the Mother of Christ to three children in Portugal in 1917.
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