On the photo: Restoration of the Crown of Thorns. It was made from the bloody stab marks left on the Shroud of Turin. Exhibit from the exhibition at the French Mission "Notre Dame", Jerusalem.
Good Friday
Gospel of Luke 22: 47
Gospel of John 18: 4 – 13
THE CAPTURE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
While He was still speaking, there was a crowd, and in front of it walked one of the twelve, called Judas, who approached Jesus to kiss Him. Because he had given them such a sign: The one he kissed, it is he. And Jesus, knowing everything that would happen to him, went out and said to them: whom are you looking for? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus says to them: I am. With them stood Judas, who betrayed Him. And when he said to them: It is I, they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them: who are you looking for? They said: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered: I told you that I am; and so, if you seek Me, let them go; that the word spoken by Him might be fulfilled: "of those whom Thou hast given Me, I have lost none."
And Simon Peter, who had a knife, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. But Jesus said to Peter: put your knife in its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me?
Then the band and the centurion and the Jewish servants seized Jesus and bound Him, and led Him first to Annas; for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
Gospel of Mark 14: 53 - 56, 60 - 72
THE COURT IN THE HOUSE OF CAIAPHAS. THE DENIAL OF PETER
And they brought Jesus to the high priest, to whom all the high priests, elders, and scribes were gathered. Peter followed Him afar off into the court of the high priest; and he sat with the servants and warmed himself by the fire. And the high priest and the whole Sanhedrin sought testimony against Jesus, in order to put Him to death; and they did not find. For many bore false witness against Him, but these testimonies were not the same. Then the high priest stood in the middle and asked Jesus: do you not answer anything? But He was silent. What do they testify against You? But He was silent and answered nothing. The high priest again asked Him: Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? Jesus said to him: I am; and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest, tearing his clothes, said: What need have we more than witnesses? You heard the blasphemy; What do you think? And they all acknowledged that he deserved death.
And some began to spit on Him, to cover His face, to beat Him, and to say to Him: Guess! And His servants slapped their hands.
When Peter was down in the courtyard, one of the high priest's maids came and seeing Peter basking, she looked at him and said: you too were with Jesus the Nazarene. But he denied it, saying: I do not know nor understand what you are saying. And he went out into the front yard; and a rooster crowed. The maid, seeing him again, began to speak to those who stood there: this one is one of them. And he refused again. After a while, those who were standing in the courtyard again began to speak to Peter: indeed, you are one of them; for you are a Galilean and your speech is like a Galilean. And he began to curse and swear: I do not know the Man of whom you speak. Then a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered the words that Jesus told him: before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And falling to the ground, he began to cry.
Gospel of Matthew 27: 1 – 2
Gospel of Luke 23:2
Gospel of John 18: 31 – 38
Gospel of Luke 23: 5 – 9; 13 – 25
Gospel of Matthew 27: 19
Gospel of Mark 15: 11 – 14
Gospel of Matthew 27: 24 – 26
Gospel of Matthew 27: 3 - 10
THE COURT OF PILATE. THE END OF JUDAS
And when he doubted, all the high priests and elders of the people made a council against Jesus to kill him; and having bound Him, they led Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. And they began to accuse Him, saying: we found Him who corrupts our people and forbids the giving of tribute to Caesar, saying about Himself that Christ was King. Pilate said to them: you take Him and judge Him according to your law. The Jews said to him: it is not lawful for us to kill anyone; that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he had spoken when he made it known by what death he would die.
Then Pilate again entered the praetorium* and called Jesus and said to him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him: are you speaking this from yourself, or did others tell you about me? Pilate said: Am I a Jew? Your people and the high priests have delivered you to me; what have you done Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight that I should not be handed over to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here. And Pilate said to Him: so, are You a king? Jesus answered: you say that I am a king. This is why I was born and this is why I came into the world to testify to the Truth; everyone who is of the Truth listens to My voice. Pilate said to Him: what is truth? And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them: I find no fault in Him.
But they insisted that He was stirring up the people by teaching throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place. Pilate, having heard of Galilee, asked: Is the Man a Galilean? And knowing that He was subject to Herod*, he sent Him to him, who was also in Jerusalem in those days. And Herod, when he saw Jesus, was very happy, because he had long desired to see Him, since he had heard a lot about Him and hoped to see some miracle from Him, and he asked Him many questions, but He did not answer him anything. But Herod and his soldiers humiliated Him and mocked Him, clothed Him in a bright garment and sent Him back to Pilate.
And Pilate, having called the high priests, the leaders, and the people, said to them: You have brought this Man to me as a corrupter of the people; and behold, I have examined before you, and I have found no guilt in this Man of that of which you accuse Him; but neither did Herod find it, because I sent Him to him also; and behold, nothing worthy of death has He done; and so, after I have punished Him, I will let Him go. And he had to release a prisoner for the holiday. But all the people shouted: remove this one! and let Barabbas* go. And Barabbas was thrown into prison for a riot and murder committed in the city. Pilate raised his voice again, wanting to let Jesus go. But they shouted: crucify Him, crucify Him! He said to them a third time: what evil has this man done? I found nothing in Him worthy of death; therefore, after I have punished Him, I will let Him go. But they insisted with a great cry that he should be crucified; and their cry and that of the high priests prevailed. And Pilate decided to be according to what they wanted, and released to them the one who was thrown into prison for rebellion and murder, whom they wanted, and Jesus surrendered to their will. Meanwhile, when he was sitting on the judge's throne, his wife sent to tell him: do nothing to this Righteous One, because today in a dream I suffered a lot for Him. When Pilate saw that nothing was helping, and the turmoil was increasing, he took water and washed his hands in front of the people and said: I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One; you think of him. And all the people answered: His blood be on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them, and Jesus scourged him and handed him over to be crucified.
Then Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was condemned, repented and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests and elders, saying: I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. And they said to him: what do we care? You think to him. And throwing the silver coins into the temple, he went out and went and hanged himself. The high priests took away the pieces of silver and said: they should not be put in the church chest, because they are the price of blood. And when they took counsel, they bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers there; therefore to this day it is called blood level; then was fulfilled what was said through the prophet Jeremiah, who says: "and they took the thirty pieces of silver - the price of the Valuable One, whom the children of Israel valued, and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded them."
Pretoria is called the residence where the procurator lives and tries criminals. Pilate lived permanently in the city of Caesarea. During the Judgment of Christ and because it was approaching one of the greatest holidays of the Jews - Passover - he temporarily resided in Jerusalem, in the palace built by Herod the Great.
Herod Antipas was the procurator of Galilee, to whom Pilate sent Him to be judged, because the Lord Jesus Christ was born in his province. Because of his bloodlust and treachery, the evangelist Luke testifies that Christ called him a "fox".
Barabbas, some researchers assume that he was the son of a famous rabbi, because the address "Ava" in the name of the robber testifies to his kinship with a teacher respected by the Jews.
Judas Iscariot is one of the twelve apostles. The most widespread and well-established version among biblical scholars is that his second name refers to his birthplace - Karioth, located in the lands of Judah's knee. It is likely that when he was called as an apostle, Judas was a respected person to be entrusted with the duty of guarding the money of the apostolic community. The Gospel text describes him as a practical and not so forthright person - just as he regrets the ointment, that the money from its sale could feed the poor, he never calls Jesus Christ Lord, unlike the other apostles. What has been said is also supported by the fact that Judas does not repent of his betrayal, but condemns himself by hanging himself after realizing Whom he betrayed. The question of the payment for treason remains open, because thirty pieces of silver is too low a price even then. Therefore, it is admissible that Judas betrayed Christ not for money, but for other reasons.
Explanation: from the Gospel accounts it is understood that Christ was brought to trial three times: before the Sanhedrin, before Herod Antipas and before Pontius Pilate.
Gospel of Matthew 27: 27 – 32
Gospel of Luke 23: 26 - 33
Gospel of Mark 15: 25
Gospel of John 19: 19 - 24
Gospel of Luke 23: 34
Gospel of John 19: 25 – 27
Gospel of Matthew 27: 39 – 43
Gospel of John 19: 28 – 29
Gospel of Matthew 27: 45 – 54
Gospel of John 19: 31 - 37
CRUCIFIXION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
The governor's soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium, gathered against Him the whole company of soldiers, and having stripped Him, they clothed Him with a purple robe*; and they wove a crown of thorns*, put it on His head, and gave Him a reed* in His right hand; and standing before Him on their knees, they mocked Him and said: Rejoice, King of the Jews! And after they spat on Him, they took the reed and beat Him on the head. And when they had had enough of mocking Him, they took off His indigo robe, put on His new clothes, and led Him to the crucifixion. And when they led Him, they caught a certain Simon of Cyrene* who was coming from the fields and put the cross on him to carry after Jesus.
And a great multitude of people and women followed Him, weeping and wailing for Him. And Jesus, turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children, because, behold, the days are coming when it will be said: blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts non-nursing! Then they will begin to say to the mountains: fall on us! And on the hills: overwhelm us! For if they do this to the green tree, what will happen to the dry*?
They also led two robbers to be destroyed with Him. And when they came to the place called Lobno, in Hebrew Golgotha*, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left*. It was the third hour and they crucified Him. And Pilate also wrote an inscription and placed it on the Cross*. It was written: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews*. This inscription was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. And the high priests said to Pilate: do not write King of the Jews, because He says: I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered: what I wrote, I wrote.
The soldiers, having crucified Jesus, took His clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier and the tunic*. The chiton was not sewn, but woven all over from top to bottom. Then they said among themselves: let us not tear him apart, but let us cast lots for him whose it shall be; in order to fulfill what was said in the Scripture: "They divided My garments among themselves and for My clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did. And Jesus spoke: Father! Forgive them, for they know not what they do.
At the cross of Jesus stood His mother and His mother's sister, Maria Kleopova*, and Maria Magdalena*. And Jesus, seeing His mother and the disciple standing there, whom He loved, said to His mother: woman, here is your son! Then he says to the student: here is your mother! And from that hour the student took her home.
And the passers-by blasphemed Him, shaking their heads and saying: You, who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! Also the high priests together with the scribes and the Pharisees laughed: he saved others, but he cannot save himself. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe in Him; he hoped in God, let him deliver him now, if it please him; because he had said: I am the Son of God. One of the criminals hanging on the cross blasphemed Him: if You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. And when the other spoke, he scolded this one and said: don't you fear God, when you yourself are condemned to the same thing. And we are judged justly, because we receive what we deserve according to our works; but He has done nothing wrong. And he said to Jesus: remember me, Lord, when you come to your Kingdom! And Jesus answered him: I tell you the truth: today you will be with me in paradise.
After that, Jesus, knowing that everything had already been completed in order to fulfill the Scripture, said: I am thirsty. There was a vessel full of vinegar*. The soldiers soaked a sponge in vinegar, put it on a hyssop stick, and brought it to His mouth.
And from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour; and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice: Or! Or! lama savachtani? , in other words, my God! My God! Why have you left Me? Some of those standing there, when they heard it, said: He is calling Elijah; and others: wait and see if Elijah will come to deliver Him. And Jesus, crying again with a loud voice, gave up. And behold, the veil of the temple* was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks split; and the graves were opened, and many bodies of departed saints rose; and coming out of the graves after His Resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
And the centurion and those who guarded Jesus together with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else, were very afraid and said: this Man was truly the Son of God! And because then it was Friday, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on Saturday (because Saturday was a great day - Passover), they asked Pilate to break their shins* and take them off. Then came the soldiers, and broke the shins of the first, and also of the other crucified with Him. And when they came to Jesus and saw Him already dead, they did not break His shins, but one of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out*.
And he who saw testified, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you may believe. Because this happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "a bone of him will not be broken." And yet another Scripture says, "they shall look upon Him whom they pierced."
Crimson is the special garment dyed with the very expensive crimson dye and worn only by a person of royal dignity (see the article "Purple").
The crown is placed on the head, as a sign of distinction, of honor. In ancient times it was woven from branches and flowers, and later it was made of precious metal and decorated with precious stones. In Christianity, the wreath has several uses: a reward for the person who has conquered sin in himself; a sign of martyrdom suffered in the name of the faith; symbol of the conjugal union between a man and a woman in the sacrament of "marriage". In Christian art, when Jesus Christ is depicted, the wreath is a sign of His victory and triumph as King and Judge of the world and humanity. In the text, "crown of thorns" has a mocking, humiliating meaning to Him by the crowd and soldiers, but as Christ says above, "now is your time and the power of darkness."
Trust is one of the names of the swamp reed plant, with a thin and fragile stem. In this case the trust is placed in the hand of Christ mockingly.
Simon of Cyrene was a follower of Jesus Christ from the Jewish community of Cyrene (today a city in Libya). He enjoyed great respect among the apostles and was especially revered by the apostle Paul. After the two events - the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ - he moved with his family to live in Rome.
"if this is what they do with the green tree, what will happen to the dry one?" is an expression by which the Lord Jesus Christ reminds Himself that He Himself is the source of eternal life, personified by the green tree, while the dry tree is a sign of human temporality and transience.
Calvary, from Heb. "skull, frontal place", is the place in Jerusalem where the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Cross. It represented a height where the Jews crucified criminals. It was located behind the fortress walls of the city, while today the very place and the rock where the Cross was nailed, as well as the cave that served as the tomb of the body of Christ, are located in the "Holy Resurrection of the Lord" temple complex in the center of the Old City of Jerusalem and is the place of the greatest and heartiest reverence in the world (see the article "Jerusalem"). Golgotha Hill itself has a symbolic meaning, because according to ancient tradition, Adam was buried in the same place, and St. Epiphanius of Cyprus already wrote in the 4th century that "Christ washed and cleansed with His blood the bones of our forefather".
The two robbers were condemned together with Christ to death by crucifixion. Their names are Dismas and Gestas, but they have remained in history as the prudent and the foolish robber. The repentance of the Prudent, his heartfelt request that the Lord remember him in Paradise are an expression of the great hope for deliverance through sincere faith in Christ as God of the living and the dead.
The cross has been a widespread symbol since ancient times. According to biblical scholars, the type of the Cross in the Old Testament is the Tree of Life, which grew in the middle of Paradise (see the biblical text, as well as the article "Tree of Life"). The Cross of Christ is "the sign of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:30). It is a distinguishing mark of faith in the God-man crucified on Calvary and of our belonging to the Christian Church. The cross is a symbol of the culmination of the redemptive work of the Savior. Through Christ's death on the cross, the very figure of the cross is sanctified. It is the first venerated sacred object and became the object of the greatest worship from the initial stage of the formation of the Church. During the first three centuries of the birth of Christianity, on the one hand, its celebration was secret and inaccessible to pagans, and on the other hand, there were Christians who wrote it on their foreheads and thus openly preached their faith in Jesus Christ. During the persecutions, the mark on their foreheads greatly "facilitated" the Roman authorities to imprison them, to publicly tear their bodies, to throw them to the beasts for food.
The great respect for the Cross of Christ is connected with the names of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Imp. Constantine and of his mother – equal to the apostle St. Helena. During his reign, Saint Constantine performed the following extremely important acts for the celebration of Christianity: he issued the Milan Edict of 313, with which Christianity became equal to other religions within the borders of the Roman Empire, opening the way for a new policy of construction, peace and order in the country. Constantine is supported by God's sign-Christogram with the inscription "in hoc signo vinces", Latin - "under this sign you will win"; organized the holding of the Council of Nicaea in 325, together with his mother St. Helena cleared the Holy Sepulcher and built the "Resurrection of Christ" church, founded a new Christian capital - Constantinople.
The earliest depictions of the Cross were found on tombstones dating back to the 2nd century in the city of Palmyra, now in Syria. The exceptional importance of the Cross as a sign of salvation and victory is reflected in the several holidays dedicated to it in the life of the Church:
- Exaltation (raising) of the Holy Cross, Cross Day. It is celebrated on September 14 and is considered the most ancient of the holidays dedicated to the Holy Cross. It is connected with the discovery by St. Helena of the three crosses at the foot of Golgotha Hill, the board with the inscription above the head of Christ and nails (some testimonies speak of 4, others - of 3). Burying the instruments of torture near the place of torture was a Jewish practice and it made the Cross much easier to find.
- Holy Sunday. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of Lent (St. Forty).
- Carrying out the Holy Cross. It is celebrated on August 1 and is associated with two important events for the Byzantine Empire: the victory over the Arabs and the deliverance in 542 of Constantinople from the plague epidemic.
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" - placing a tile over the head of the condemned was part of the judicial practice of the Roman Empire. On it was written the crime for which the person was punished. In order to observe this practice, a board with an inscription was also placed above the head of Jesus Christ. It was written in three languages because: the Crucifixion event took place in a Jewish environment, Greek was the language of administration throughout the world at that time, and Latin was the language of the Romans who ruled Palestine at the time (see the biblical text). Today, on the icon images of the "Crucifixion of Christ" scene on the tile placed above the Lord's head, the inscription is not complete, but abbreviated - ΙΝRΙ.
"and they took His garments and divided them into four parts" is an expression which may be explained thus: the chiton is a garment woven all over, without seams; there is an ancient custom for the soldiers carrying out the sentence to share the clothes of the condemned. In a symbolic sense, the expression represents the comprehensiveness of the teaching and authority of Christ, since the four divisions symbolize the four directions of the world, i.e. the whole universe.
"woven whole from top to bottom" is an expression that reveals the indivisible nature of Christ - Divine and human. Clothing, its dressing and undressing, in ancient times had the meaning of hiding or revealing some secret. Here this garment, removed from Christ's body, symbolically reveals the truth about His God-man nature.
Maria Kleopova is a relative of the Holy Mother of God, wife of Cleopas (see also the article "The Two Men").
Mary Magdalene is one of the women who followed Christ on the way to Calvary. She was privileged to be the first to see the risen Christ. The second name indicates her birthplace - the village of Magdala.
"the disciple standing there" is an expression written by Ev. John for himself. The scene depicts the symbolic "passing on" of the filial duty to care for the mother by Christ to His beloved disciple - John. We also find a similar expression at the end: "And he who saw testified." A characteristic approach to the exposition of Ev. It is John the Theologian that when he speaks of himself, he never names himself, as is also the case.
Vinegar was used to dull the thirst of sufferers.
Tibia is the name of the two bones that connect the knee to the foot.
Gospel of John 19: 38 – 39
Gospel of Matthew 27: 59 - 60
Gospel of Luke 23: 54 – 56
LAYING THE LORD IN THE GRAVE
Then Joseph of Arimathea* (disciple of Jesus, but secret), asked Pilate to remove the body of Jesus and Pilate allowed. He came and took the body of Jesus. Nicodemus also came (who had gone to Jesus by night) and brought about a hundred liters of a mixture of myrrh* and aloes*. And Joseph, taking the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and laid it in his new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock; and having rolled a large stone over the grave door, he went away. That day was Friday and it was already Saturday. There were also the women who came with Jesus from Galilee and saw the tomb and how His body was laid; and when they returned, they prepared frankincense and myrrh, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment*.
Joseph of Arimathea was a rich and distinguished member of the Sanhedrin, a secret disciple of Christ. He did not openly oppose the sentence upon his Master, but showed his affection for Him by asking Pilate himself to remove the body and bury it according to the Jewish custom in the tomb which he had prepared for himself.
Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin, and the meeting between him and Christ, after which he became His follower, is described above. Although he defended Christ before the other members, he could not prevent His condemnation. However, he openly declared his attachment to Christ by taking part in the removal of His body and burial.
"mixture of myrrh and aloes" is a mixture that both smells good, but because of its ingredients it also serves to preserve the body of the deceased during embalming.
A grave cut into the rock is a characteristic way of preparing the abode of the dead among the peoples living in the dry climate zone.
The deceased were buried in niches cut in the rocks and embalmed because of the rapid processes of decomposition. Burial niches were used many times (see also the article "Embalming").
Prevalam is an old word with the meaning "to shift, overturn", in this case - "to clamp the entrance to the grave niche".
"according to the commandment" is an expression related to the prohibitions set by the Jewish religion for the Passover holiday. /BGNES
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Sonia Zafirova, philosopher. The text, which was specially provided to BGNES, is part of the book "Christ's light enlightens all", which is about to be published.
