SECTION TWO I. THE CREEDS
CHAPTER TWO I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD
ARTICLE 4 "JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED AND WAS BURIED"
[Paragraph 1. Jesus and Israel] [Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried]
PARAGRAPH 2. JESUS DIED CRUCIFIED
I. THE TRIAL OF JESUS
Divisions among the Jewish authorities concerning Jesus
595 Among the religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the
Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both
secret disciples of Jesus, but there was also long-standing dissension
about him, so much so that St. John says of these authorities on the
very eve of Christ's Passion, "many.. . believed in him", though very
imperfectly.378 This is not surprising, if one recalls that on the day
after Pentecost "a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith"
and "some believers. . . belonged to the party of the Pharisees", 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."379
596 The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about
what stance to take towards Jesus.380 The Pharisees threatened to
excommunicate his followers.381 To those who feared that "everyone
will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our
holy place and our nation", the high priest Caiaphas replied by
prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the
people, and that the whole nation should not perish."382 The
Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer
but having lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the
Romans, accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the
same category as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition.383 The
chief priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would
condemn Jesus to death.384
Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus' death
597 The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel
accounts. the personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin,
Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for
the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a
manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the
apostles' calls to conversion after Pentecost.385 Jesus himself, in
forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept
"the ignorance" of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their leaders.386
Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times
and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: "His blood be on us and
on our children!", a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence.387 As the
Church declared at the Second Vatican Council: . . .
Neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be
charged with the crimes committed during his Passion. . . the Jews
should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from
holy Scripture.388
All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion
598 In her Magisterial teaching of the faith and in the witness of her
saints, the Church has never forgotten that "sinners were the authors
and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer
endured."389 Taking into account the fact that our sins affect Christ
himself,390 The Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the
gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a
responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews
alone:
We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into their
sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the
cross, those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify
the Son of God anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him
up to contempt. and it can be seen that our crime in this case is greater
in us than in the Jews. As for them, according to the witness of the
Apostle, "None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." We, however, profess
to know him. and when we deny him by our deeds, we in some way
seem to lay violent hands on him.391
Nor did demons crucify him; it is you who have crucified him and
crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.392
II. CHRIST'S REDEMPTIVE DEATH IN GOD'S PLAN OF
SALVATION
"Jesus handed over according to the definite plan of God"
599 Jesus' violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate
coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God's plan,
as St. Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on
Pentecost: "This Jesus (was) delivered up according to the definite plan
and foreknowledge of God."393 This Biblical language does not mean
that those who handed him over were merely passive players in a
scenario written in advance by God.394
600 To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When
therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination", he includes
in it each person's free response to his grace: "In this city, in fact, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,
to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take
place."395 For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God
permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness.396
"He died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures"
601 The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through
the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a mystery of
universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from
the slavery of sin.397 Citing a confession of faith that he himself had
"received", St. Paul professes that "Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the scriptures."398 In particular Jesus' redemptive
death fulfils Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering Servant.399 Indeed
Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of
God's suffering Servant.400 After his Resurrection he gave this
interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then
to the apostles.401
"For our sake God made him to be sin"
602 Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the
divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile
ways inherited from your fathers... with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the
foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times
for your sake."402 Man's sins, following on original sin, are punishable
by death.403 By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the
form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God "made him to be sin
who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God."404
603 Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had
sinned.405 But in the redeeming love that always united him to the
Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the
point that he could say in our name from the cross: "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?"406 Having thus established him in
solidarity with us sinners, God "did not spare his own Son but gave
him up for us all", so that we might be "reconciled to God by the death
of his Son".407
God takes the initiative of universal redeeming love
604 By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his plan
for us is one of benevolent love, prior to any merit on our part: "In this
is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to
be the expiation for our sins."408 God "shows his love for us in that
while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."409
605 At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God's
love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in
heaven that one of these little ones should perish."410 He affirms that
he came "to give his life as a ransom for many"; this last term is not
restrictive, but contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique person
of the redeemer who hands himself over to save us.411 The Church,
following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without
exception: "There is not, never has been, and never will be a single
human being for whom Christ did not suffer."412
III. CHRIST OFFERED HIMSELF TO HIS FATHER FOR OUR SINS
Christ's whole life is an offering to the Father
606 The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do (his)
own will, but the will of him who sent (him)",413 said on coming into
the world, "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." "and by that will
we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all."414 From the first moment of his Incarnation the
Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his redemptive
mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to
accomplish his work."415 The sacrifice of Jesus "for the sins of the
whole world"416 expresses his loving communion with the Father.
"The Father loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord,
"(for) I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may
know that I love the Father."417
607 The desire to embrace his Father's plan of redeeming love inspired
Jesus' whole life,418 for his redemptive passion was the very reason for
his Incarnation. and so he asked, "and what shall I say? 'Father, save
me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour."419
and again, "Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given
me?"420 From the cross, just before "It is finished", he said, "I
thirst."421
"The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world"
608 After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the
Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the "Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world".422 By doing so, he reveals that Jesus
is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to
be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and
also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first
Passover.423 Christ's whole life expresses his mission: "to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many."424
Jesus freely embraced the Father's redeeming love
609 By embracing in his human heart the Father's love for men, Jesus
"loved them to the end", for "greater love has no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends."425 In suffering and death his
humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love
which desires the salvation of men.426 Indeed, out of love for his
Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely
accepted his Passion and death: "No one takes [my life] from me, but I
lay it down of my own accord."427 Hence the sovereign freedom of
God's Son as he went out to his death.428
At the Last Supper Jesus anticipated the free offering of his life
610 Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at
the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night he was
betrayed".429 On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus
transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of
his voluntary offering to the Father for the salvation of men: "This is
my body which is given for you." "This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."430
611 The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the
memorial of his sacrifice.431 Jesus includes the apostles in his own
offering and bids them perpetuate it.432 By doing so, the Lord
institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes
I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."433
The agony at Gethsemani
612 The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he
offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from
his Father's hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani,434
making himself "obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me. . ."435 Thus he expresses the
horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his
human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly
exempt from sin, the cause of death.436 Above all, his human nature
has been assumed by the divine person of the "Author of life", the
"Living One".437 By accepting in his human will that the Father's will
be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree."438
Christ's death is the unique and definitive sacrifice
613 Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the
definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world",439 and the sacrifice of the New Covenant,
which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to
God through the "blood of the covenant, which was poured out for
many for the forgiveness of sins".440
614 This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all
other sacrifices.441 First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for
the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with
himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made
man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the
Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience.442
Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience
615 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
one man's obedience many will be made righteous."443 By his
obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the
suffering Servant, who "makes himself an offering for sin", when "he
bore the sin of many", and who "shall make many to be accounted
righteous", for "he shall bear their iniquities".444 Jesus atoned for our
faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father.445
Jesus consummates his sacrifice on the cross
616 It is love "to the end"446 that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value
as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew
and loved us all when he offered his life.447 Now "the love of Christ
controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all;
therefore all have died."448 No man, not even the holiest, was ever
able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a
sacrifice for all. the existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son,
who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and
constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his
redemptive sacrifice for all.
617 The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's
sacrifice as "the source of eternal salvation"449 and teaches that "his
most holy Passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for
us."450 and the Church venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O
Cross, our only hope."451
Our participation in Christ's sacrifice
618 The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator
between God and men".452 But because in his incarnate divine person
he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of
being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery"
is offered to all men.453 He calls his disciples to "take up [their] cross
and follow (him)",454 for "Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an
example so that (we) should follow in his steps."455 In fact Jesus
desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be
its first beneficiaries.456 This is achieved supremely in the case of his
mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in
the mystery of his redemptive suffering.457 Apart from the cross there
is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.458
IN BRIEF
619 "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures" (I Cor
15:3).
620 Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because
"he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (I Jn
4:10). "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor
5:19).
621 Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during
the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really
present: "This is my body which is given for you" (Lk 22:19).
622 The redemption won by Christ consists in this, that he came "to
give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28), that is, he "loved [his
own] to the end" (Jn 13:1), so that they might be "ransomed from the
futile ways inherited from [their] fathers" (I Pt 1:18).
623 By his loving obedience to the Father, "unto death, even death on
a cross" (Phil 2:8), Jesus fulfils the atoning mission (cf Is 53:10) of the
suffering Servant, who will "make many righteous; and he shall bear
their iniquities" (Is 53:11; cf. Rom 5:19).
[Paragraph 1. Jesus and Israel] [Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ was Buried]
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