Chapter XIX.
1. Then he apprehended him, etc. Here Pilate intends to free him by a judgment of severity, scourging an innocent man, so that he might mitigate the zeal of the Jews: and there are here three parts. In the first is described the ignominious scourging of Christ: second, the showing of the scourged one, there: Pilate went out again: third, the hardening of the Jews, there: When therefore the chief priests had seen him.
(Vers. 1.). The ignominious scourging of Christ is indicated first in the affliction, then in the derision.
He touches upon the affliction when he says: Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. Chrysostom: "Pilate scourged him, perhaps wishing to release him and to mitigate the Jewish zeal"; whence in Luke twenty-three Pilate said: "I will release him after chastising him," that is, afflicted with scourges, to further mitigate the zeal of the Jews.
To the affliction was added mockery:
2. (Vers. 2.). And the soldiers plaiting, etc. And because kings are accustomed to be honored by a sign, by dress, and by word or salutation and the showing of reverence, therefore they mock him in four ways: first in the sign of the crown, which is a royal sign, whence: Plaiting, that is weaving, a crown of thorns, that is, of sharp sea rushes, pricking in the manner of thorns: they placed it on his head. Concerning this crown, Song of Songs three: "Go forth, daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon in the diadem with which his mother crowned him," that is, the synagogue.
Then they mock him in dress or clothing: whence it is said: And they clothed him with a purple garment, as if he were a king: in which is signified that his flesh was to be made purple with blood: which was signified in Genesis thirty-seven: "They took the tunic of Joseph and dipped it in the blood of a kid which they had killed"; and Isaiah sixty-three: "Why is your garment red, and your vestments like those of them that tread in the winepress?"
Then the mockery in the salutation: whence he says:
3. (Vers. 3.). And they came to him and said: Hail, King of the Jews, and this indeed as a reproach: Lamentations three: "He shall be filled with reproaches." — Not only in word, but in reverence, because in place of reverence they gave slaps: whence he says: And they gave him slaps: Lamentations three: "He shall give his cheek to him that strikes him"; and Isaiah fifty: "I have given my body to the strikers and my cheeks to those who plucked them."
4. (Vers. 4.). Pilate went out again. Here is set forth the showing of Christ scourged and mocked, so that they might be moved to pity. And first indeed his innocence is reiterated: whence: He says: Behold, I bring him out to you. He adds the reason: That you may know that I find no cause in him, namely "of death" or of punishment: and yet I have punished him.
5. (Vers. 5.). Jesus therefore went out. Augustine: "Not illustrious in command, but full of reproach"; whence there follows: Bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment, in which they had mocked him, according to that passage of Matthew 20: "They shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged." And he says to them: Behold, the man: behold, the showing forth of one scourged and reviled in this, that he had made himself king. Augustine: "He was crowned with thorns, clothed in a garment of mockery, mocked with bitter reproaches, struck with blows: indignity burns hot, let envy grow cold."
6. (Vers. 6.). When therefore they had seen him. Here upon the showing of Christ there follows thirdly the hardening of the obstinacy of the Jews, especially of the chief priests: whence he says: When therefore the chief priests and ministers had seen him, they cried out saying: Crucify, crucify him. Isaiah 5: "I expected that he would do judgment: and behold, a cry." They say crucify twice to show the obstinacy of their mind: Jeremiah 12: "My inheritance has become to me as a lion in the forest: it has uttered its voice against me"; and the Psalm: "They opened their mouth against me like a lion seizing and roaring," on account of the cry.
7. Pilate says to them. Above, Pilate strove to free Christ by a judgment of kindness and of severity:
here he strives by a judgment of equity, recurring to innocence, that it is just to release an innocent man and never to kill without cause. And the Jews resist this in two ways: first by accusing and then by threatening. Whence in this part several things are indicated: first,
the justification of Christ: second, the accusation of him, at: The Jews answered: third, the inquiry into the accusation: at: When therefore Pilate had heard these words: fourth is added the threatening of the Jews, at: But the Jews cried out.
First therefore is set forth the justification of Christ, on account of which Pilate does not wish to condemn him, but offers him to the Jews: whence he says: Pilate says to them, who were seeking that Christ be crucified: Take him yourselves and crucify him: for I find no cause in him: and therefore I am unwilling to crucify without cause. Truly he did not find cause, because, 1 Peter 2, "he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth."
8. (Vers. 7.). The Jews answered him. Here is set forth the accusation of the Jews: whence they said: We have a Law, which namely we observe by the will of the Roman rulers. They allege the Law in their favor, when it is against them: above in chapter 7: "Did not Moses give you the Law, and none of you keeps the Law"? And according to the Law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God, and thus blasphemed: Leviticus 24: "He who blasphemes shall die the death"; whence above in chapter 10: "We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God."
9. (Vers. 8.). When therefore he had heard. Here is placed thirdly the inquiry. He inquires, therefore, moved by the accusation of the Jews: whence he says: Pilate, when he had heard this saying, was the more afraid, lest, if he released him, he would act against the Law; and if he did not release him, he would crucify the Son of God. A good judge ought not to fear: whence Ecclesiasticus 7: "Do not seek to be made a judge, unless you have strength to break through iniquities." Therefore he adds:
10. (Vers. 9.). He entered again into the praetorium and said to Jesus: Whence art thou? He asks about his origin, because they accused him of this: he asks a great question beyond his powers: whence Isaiah 53: "His generation, who shall declare it?" And therefore he does not hear a response: Ecclesiasticus 3: "Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy strength." Whence he says: But Jesus gave him no answer, so that the word of Isaiah 53 might be fulfilled: "As a lamb before his shearer shall be dumb, and shall not open his mouth." Augustine: "For this reason the similitude of the lamb was given, so that in his silence he might be held not as guilty, but as innocent"; Lamentations 3: "Out of the mouth of the Most High shall proceed neither good nor evil." Thus therefore he leads the silent one to respond: on this account:
11. (Vers. 10.). Pilate said to him: Speakest thou not to me? As if to say: you err in despising my question, when you ought rather to seek my goodwill, as one placed in my hands: and this he adds: Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? and therefore both to be feared and to be entreated. Whence he marveled at this, that Christ in such great necessity did not seek his favor: Matthew 27: "And he answered him not a word, so that the governor wondered exceedingly." And because Pilate boasted, Christ prudently responded in a way that humbled his pride, teaching him "not to be high-minded."
12. (Vers. 11.). Jesus answered: Thou wouldest have no power over me , unless it were given thee from above: Augustine: From above, that is, from God, according to that passage in Romans 13: "There is no power but from God." - But according to this exposition, what follows seems to have no logical connection: Therefore he who delivered me to thee etc.; hence Victor expounds: From above, that is, from Caesar: and because you exercise power out of fear, he who delivered me to thee hath the greater sin: because he sins more who acts from malice than he who acts from weakness or powerlessness. And because he had responded prudently, Pilate intended to release him: whence he says:
13. (Vers. 12.). And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him. Understanding that his power was established under the power of another, he was unwilling to condemn an innocent man: therefore he wished to release him.
But the Jews cried out. Here the fourth point is set forth, namely the threatening of the Jews: and because they could not condemn Christ through accusation, they turned to clamorous threatening: whence they charge Pilate, if he should release him, with disloyalty against Caesar; therefore he says: But the Jews cried out, against Pilate, namely, because he wished to release Christ, saying: If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar, indeed a traitor: because you release an enemy of Caesar. And they prove this: For everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar; because at that time Caesar was the monarch, whence it belonged to him to grant the power of reigning; whoever therefore established himself as king was opposing Caesar. And this threatening drew Pilate back from the truth of judgment in freeing him, because he feared being accused before Caesar: Proverbs 29: "He who fears man will quickly fall." On account of this the Lord said to his disciples, Matthew 10: "Do not fear those who kill the body."
14. Pilate therefore, when he had heard. The perversity of the Jews has been shown in their malice of resisting the judgment of truth: here their perversity is shown in extorting a judgment of falsehood concerning the condemnation of Christ. Here the judgment of the condemnation of Christ is described, which indeed is described in this order. First, the circumstance of place and time is noted: second, the cause of the condemnation: third, the sentence itself.
(Verse 13.). The place is noted when he says: Pilate therefore, when he had heard these words. In which it is noted that he had already fallen from just resolve through fear of Caesar, as if to say: terrified by fear: he brought Jesus outside, that is, to a public place: therefore outside, so that he might be condemned in the sight of all. And he sat on the judgment seat in the place which is called Lithostrotos. Here the place is described specifically: on the judgment seat, that is, in the judicial seat. For the tribunal belongs to judges, the throne to kings, but the chair to teachers. Lithos, as Victor says, is interpreted as judgment: stratos from sterno means a pavement laid with various stones, in which kind of place the consistory was, where judgment was rendered. And this place in Hebrew is Gabbatha , that is, elevation, because judges are accustomed to sit in an elevated place.