MARY, OUR MOTHER

 

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #559

Pilate therefore went forth again and saith to them: "Behold, I bring him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in him." (Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he saith to them: "Behold the Man." When the chief priests, therefore, and the servants had seen him, they cried out, saying: "Crucify him, Crucify him." Pilate saith to them: "Take him you, and crucify him: for I find no cause in him." (John 19:5-6)

WHO WAS GUILTY OF OUR LORD'S SUFFERINGS AND DEATH? 
1.  Pilate bore a guilt which the washing of his hands could not wash away. He knew and testified that Jesus was innocent, and was not worthy of death--and yet he condemned Him to be crucified. By doing this he abused his power and violated the laws of justice. He sinned against the fifth commandment by condemning Jesus unjustly, and thereby causing His death. 
2.  The Jews, and especially the chief priests and the ancients, were even more guilty than Pilate. They delivered their Messiah to death, and killed Him with their sharp tongues, by means of false accusations. It is true that they did not quite know that Jesus was the Son of God, as St. Peter testified in his discourse after he had healed the man born lame: "Brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance" (Acts 3:17). But their ignorance and unbelief were both wilful, because they let themselves be blinded by pride and envy, and shut their eyes to the light of faith which streamed on them from the life, words, and wonderful works of Jesus. 
3.  However, neither the malice of the Jews nor the weal compliance of Pilate could have caused our Lord's death, had not the eternal counsel of God decreed that His Incarnate Son was to die to redeem us from sin and eternal punishment. It is, therefore, our sins which bear the real burden and guilt of our Blessed Lord's sufferings and death, and cry out louder than His bitterest enemies: "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Let us, then, beat our breasts and say with St. Alphonsus: "Mercy and pardon, O eternal God, for by our sins we have nailed Thee to the Cross!"

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]

(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)