2458. Sed ut certificarentur de morte, unus militum lancea latus eius aperuit. Et signanter dicit aperuit, non vulneravit; quia per hoc latus, aperitur nobis ostium vitae aeternae. Apoc. IV, 1: post hoc vidi ostium apertum. Hoc est ostium in latere arcae, per quod intrant animalia diluvio non peritura: Gen. VII.
2458. To make sure that Jesus was dead one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear: but one of the soldiers with a spear, opened his side. It deserves notice that he does not say wounded but opened, because in his side the door of eternal life is opened to us: after this I looked, and lo, in heaven, an open door! (Rev 4:1). This is the door in the side of the ark through which those animals entered who were not to perish in the flood (Gen 7).
Sed hoc ostium est causa salutis, unde continuo exivit sanguis et aqua, quod est valde miraculosum, ut de corpore mortui, in quo est congelatus sanguis, sanguis exeat. Sed si quis dicat, quod hoc contigit propter calorem aliquem qui adhuc in corpore remanserat, fluxus autem aquae inficiari non potest, quin miraculosus existat, cum aqua exiens purissima fuerit.
This door is the cause of our salvation; and so, immediately there came out blood and water. This is a remarkable miracle, that blood should flow from the body of a dead person where blood congeals. And if someone says that this was because the body was still warm, the flow of the water cannot be explained without a miracle, since this was pure water.
Quod quidem factum est ut Christus ostenderet id quod erat, scilicet verus homo. In homine enim est duplex compositio: una scilicet ex elementis, alia ex humoribus. Unum elementorum est aqua; inter humores autem praecipuus est sanguis.
This outpouring of blood and water happened so that Christ might show that he was truly human. For human beings have a twofold composition, one from the elements and the other from the humors. One of these elements is water, and blood is the main humor.
Item hoc factum est ad ostendendum quod per passionem Christi plenam ablutionem consequimur, a peccatis scilicet et maculis. A peccatis quidem per sanguinem, qui est pretium nostrae redemptionis. I Petr. I, 18: non corruptibilibus auro et argento redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione; sed pretioso sanguine quasi agni incontaminati et immaculati Christi. A maculis vero per aquam quae est lavacrum nostrae regenerationis. Ez. c. XXXVI, 25: effundam super vos aquam mundam; et mundabimini ab omnibus inquinamentis vestris; Zach. XIII, 1: erit fons patens domui David et habitatoribus Ierusalem in ablutionem peccatoris et menstruatae. Et ideo haec duo specialiter pertinent ad duo sacramenta: aqua ad sacramentum baptismi, ad Eucharistiam sanguis. Vel utrumque pertinet ad Eucharistiam, quia in sacramento Eucharistiae miscetur aqua cum vino; quamvis aqua non sit de substantia sacramenti.
This happened to show that by the passion of Christ we acquire a complete cleansing from our sins and stains. We are cleansed from our sins by his blood, which is the price of our redemption: you know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Pet 1:18). And we are cleansed from our stains by the water, which is the bath of our rebirth: I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean from all your filthiness (Ezek 36:25); on that day there will be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness (Zech 13:1). And so it is these two things which are especially associated with two sacraments: water with the sacrament of baptism, and blood with the Eucharist. Or, both blood and water are associated with the Eucharist because in this sacrament water is mixed with wine, although water is not of the substance of the sacrament.
Competit etiam hoc figurae: quia sicut de latere Christi dormientis in cruce fluxit sanguis et aqua, quibus consecratur Ecclesia; ita de latere Adae dormientis formata est mulier, quae ipsam Ecclesiam praefigurabat.
This event was also prefigured, for just as from the side of Christ, sleeping on the cross, there flowed blood and water, which makes the Church holy, so from the side of the sleeping Adam there was formed the woman, who prefigured the Church.
2459. Hic ponitur certitudo narrationis, et
2459. Now the Evangelist shows that these events are certainly true,
primo ex Apostolico testimonio;
first, from the testimony of the Apostle himself;
secundo ex Scripturae vaticinio, ibi facta sunt enim haec ut Scriptura impleretur.
second, from a prophecy in the scriptures: for these things were done that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
2460. Circa primum tria facit. Primo describit testis idoneitatem: quia qui vidit testimonium perhibuit, hoc est ipse Ioannes. I Io. I, 3: quod vidimus et audivimus, annuntiamus vobis. Secundo astruit testimonii veritatem, quia verum est testimonium eius. Rom. IX, 1: veritatem dico, non mentior: supra VIII, 32: cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos. Tertio exposcit finem et ille scit quia vere dicit, ut et vos credatis; infra XX, 31: haec autem scripta sunt ut credatis etc.
2460. He does three things about the first: he mentions the credentials of the witness, he that saw it has given witness, and this is John himself: that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you (1 John 1:3). Second, he affirms that this testimony is true, his testimony is true: I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying (Rom 9:1); you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). Third, he asks us to believe, and he knows that he speaks the truth, that you also may believe: these are written, so that you may believe (John 20:31).
2461. Et non solum ex testimonio Apostolico certificatur, sed additur vaticinium Scripturae, unde dicit facta sunt enim haec ut Scriptura impleretur: ut ly ut accipiatur consecutive, sicut iam dictum est supra. Et ponit duas auctoritates Veteris Testamenti. Unam quae refertur ad hoc quod dicit non fregerunt eius crura etc., et habetur Ex. XII, v. 46 os non comminuetis ex eo scilicet agno Paschali qui praefigurabat Christum. Quia, ut dicitur I Cor. V, 7: Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Ideo a Deo ordinatum est ut non comminuerentur ossa agni paschalis, ut daretur intelligi quod fortitudo veri agni et incontaminati Iesu Christi nullo modo erat commovenda per passionem. Unde Iudaei putabant per passionem virtutem doctrinae Christi destruere; sed potius corroborata est. I Cor. I, 18: verbum crucis pereuntibus quidem stultitia est; sed nobis virtus Dei est. Ideo supra VIII, 28, dixit: cum exaltaveritis Filium hominis, tunc cognoscetis quia ego sum.
2461. This truth is not guaranteed only by the testimony of the Apostle; there is also a prophecy of Scripture. Thus he says, these things were done that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Here again, the phrase that the Scripture might be fulfilled, indicates the sequence of events. The Evangelist cites two authorities from the Old Testament. One refers to his statement that they did not break his legs and is found in Exodus, you shall not break a bone if it (Ex 12:46), that is, the Passover lamb, which was a prefiguration of Christ, because as we read in 1 Corinthians, Christ, our Paschal lamb, has been sacrificed (5:7). It was commanded that the bones of the Passover lamb should not be broken in order to teach us that the courage of the true Lamb and unspotted Jesus Christ would in no way be crushed by his passion. The Jews were trying to use the passion to destroy the power of Christ’s teaching, but his passion only made it stronger: for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18). This is why Jesus said before: when you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he (John 8:28).
2462. Secunda auctoritas refertur ad hoc quod dicit lancea latus eius aperuit, et habetur Zach. XII, 10: videbunt in quem transfixerunt: ubi nostra littera habet: aspicient ad me, quem confixerunt. Unde si nos coniungimus verbum Prophetae, manifestum est quod Christus crucifixus est Deus. Nam quod Propheta dicit in persona Dei, Evangelista attribuit Christo. Videbunt, inquit, ad iudicium venientem: Apoc. I, 7, vel aspicient conversi per fidem etc.
2462. The second authority refers to his statement, one of the soldiers with a spear, opened his side, and is taken from Zechariah: they will look on him whom they have pierced. Our text of Zechariah reads: they will look on me whom they have pierced (Zech 12:10). If we join the statement of the Prophet to what the Evangelist says, it is clear that the crucified Christ is God, for what the Prophet says he says as God, and the Evangelist applies this to Christ. They will look on him, he says, at the coming judgment. Or, they will look on him when they have been converted to the faith, and so forth.
Lectio 6
Lecture 6
Christus in sepulchro ponitur
The burial of Christ
19:38 Post haec autem rogavit Pilatum Ioseph ab Arimathaea (eo quod esset discipulus Iesu, occultus autem propter metum Iudaeorum) ut tolleret corpus Iesu: et permisit Pilatus. Venit ergo, et tulit corpus Iesu. [n. 2464]
19:38 And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. [n. 2464]
19:39 Venit autem et Nicodemus, qui venerat ad Iesum nocte primum, ferens mixturam myrrhae et aloes, quasi libras centum. [n. 2466]
19:39 And Nicodemus also came, he who at first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. [n. 2466]
19:40 Acceperunt autem corpus Iesu et ligaverunt eum linteis cum aromatibus, sicut mos est Iudaeis sepelire. [n. 2467]
19:40 They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths, with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. [n. 2467]
19:41 Erat autem in loco ubi crucifixus est, hortus; et in horto monumentum novum, in quo nondum quisquam positus erat. [n. 2468]
19:41 Now there was in the place where he was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, in which no man had yet been laid. [n. 2468]
19:42 Ibi ergo propter parasceven Iudaeorum, quia iuxta erat monumentum, posuerunt Iesum. [n. 2469]
19:42 Therefore, because of the parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus there, because the sepulchre was close at hand. [n. 2469]
2463. Postquam Evangelista egit de crucifixione et morte, hic agit de sepultura Christi, et
2463. After the Evangelist has told us about the crucifixion and death of Christ, he now turns to his burial:
primo ponitur facultas et licentia sepeliendi;
first, the permission for his burial;
secundo studium corporis procurandi, ibi venit ergo, et tulit corpus Iesu;
second, the care in preparing his body: they took the body of Jesus;
tertio ponitur locus sepulturae, ibi erat autem in loco ubi crucifixus est, hortus etc.;
third, the place where Christ was buried: now there was in the place where he was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre;
quarto ponitur ipsa sepultura, ibi ibi ergo . . . posuerunt Iesum.
and, the burial itself: therefore . . . they laid Jesus there.
2464. Dicit ergo post haec, scilicet passionem et mortem, rogavit Pilatum Ioseph ab Arimathaea, quod idem est quod Ramatha, ut habetur I Reg. I, 19, eo quod esset discipulus Iesus: non de duodecim, sed de multis aliis credentibus: quia omnes credentes a principio discipuli vocabantur. Erat autem occultus propter metum Iudaeorum, sicut et multi alii, sed ante passionem. Supra XII, 42: verumtamen ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum; sed propter Pharisaeos non confitebantur, ut de synagoga non eiicerentur. Unde patet quod ubi discipuli amiserunt fiduciam post passionem latentes, hic assumpsit fiduciam publice obsequendo.
2464. He says, after these things the passion and death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, this is the same city as Ramatha (1 Sam 1:1), because he was a disciple of Jesus, not one of the twelve, but one of the many other believers, for at first all those who believed were called disciples, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, like many others were before Christ’s passion: many of the chief men also believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue (John 12:42). We can see from this that while the other disciples, who went into hiding after the passion, lost their confidence, this man gained in confidence and openly tended to Jesus.
Hic inquam, rogavit Pilatum, ut tolleret corpus Iesu, de cruce scilicet, et sepeliret, quia secundum leges humanas, corpora damnatorum non debebant sine licentia sepeliri. Et permisit Pilatus: quia Ioseph nobilis erat et sibi familiaris. Unde Mc. penult., 43 dicitur quod erat decurio.
This man asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, take the body from the cross and bury it. He did this because the human laws required permission to bury the bodies of those who had been condemned. And Pilate gave him permission, because Joseph was an important person and known to Pilate; Mark refers to Joseph as a respected member of the council (Mark 15:42).
2465. Quantum ad secundum dicit venit ergo, et tulit corpus Iesu: ubi agitur de studio corporis procurandi, et
2465. In regard to the second he says, he came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. Here we see Joseph’s concern to prepare the body:
primo ponitur materia corporis procurandi;
first, the things used in the preparation;
secundo ponitur ipsa procuratio, ibi acceperunt autem corpus Iesu.
second, the preparation itself: they took the body of Jesus.
2466. Materia corporis procurandi fuit mixtura myrrhae et aloes, quam Nicodemus in magna quantitate procuravit. Et ideo de duobus mentionem facit. Primo de Ioseph, qui tulit corpus; secundo de Nicodemo, qui tulit aromata.
2466. The body of Jesus was prepared with a mixture of myrrh and aloes, which Nicodemus had purchased in large quantity. So the Evangelist mentions both of them: Joseph, who claimed the body, and Nicodemus, who brought the spices.
Hic autem Nicodemus fuit qui venit ad Iesum nocte, scilicet ante passionem, ut habetur supra III, 1. Et hoc ideo commemorat, quia de Ioseph dixerat quod occultus erat propter metum Iudaeorum, ut ostendat quod etiam hic qui occultus erat discipulus, nunc factus est publicus, sed nondum habens veram fidem de resurrectione; quia attulit myrrham et aloes, quasi corpus eius muniri a corruptione indigeret: de quo Scriptura dicit: non dabis sanctum tuum videre corruptionem.
This is the same Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night, but this was before the passion (John 3:2). The Evangelist commemorates Nicodemus here to show that even though he had been a secret disciple, now he became a public one; he had already mentioned that Joseph had been a secret disciple because he feared the Jews. But Nicodemus did not yet have true faith in the resurrection because he brought myrrh and aloes, thinking that the body of Christ would soon corrupt without them: you will not give your holy one to corruption (Ps 16:10).
Mystice autem datur per hoc intelligi quod Christum crucifixum debemus in corde nostro recondere cum amaritudine poenitentiae et passionis. Cant. V, 5: manus meae distillaverunt myrrham.
As for the mystical sense, we understand from this that we should bury the crucified Christ in our hearts, with the sadness of contrition and compassion: my hands dripped with myrrh (Song 5:5).
2467. Habita ergo praeparationis materia, ponitur ipsa praeparatio: unde dicit acceperunt autem corpus Iesu etc.
2467. With the spices ready, they prepared the body of Jesus, they took the body of Jesus.
Ubi oritur dubitatio: quia Ioannes dicit quod ligaverunt illud linteis, cum Matth. c. XXVII, 59 dicatur quod involverunt illud sindone.
There is a question here, for John says that they bound it in linen cloths, while Matthew says that they wrapped it in a linen cloth (Matt 27:59).
Respondeo. Dicendum, secundum Augustinum, quod Matthaeus dicit unam sindonem tantum, quia non facit mentionem nisi de Ioseph: et hic unam portavit. Sed quia solus Ioannes mentionem facit de Nicodemo, ideo dicit linteis, quia Nicodemus aliam portavit.
One can answer, according to Augustine, that Matthew speaks of one linen cloth because he only mentioned Joseph, and he brought this one cloth. John alone mentions Nicodemus, and so he says linen cloths, because Nicodemus brought the other cloth.
Vel dicendum, quod linteum dicimus omnem pannum de lino factum. Corpus autem Christi involutum fuit fasciis, sicut etiam de Lazaro legitur, quia sic erat Iudaeis mos sepelire. Erat etiam positum sudarium ad caput: et ideo omnia complectens Ioannes, dicit linteis.
Or, again, the body of Christ was also wrapped in winding bands, as we read in the case of Lazarus, because this is the way the Jews buried their dead. A small cloth was also placed over his head. John includes all these in his words linen cloths.
Per hoc vero quod aromatibus eum condiunt, admonemur in huius pietatis officiis morem cuiuslibet gentis esse servandum.
From the fact that they anointed the body of Jesus with spices, we are taught that in the performance of such humane duties, we should follow the customs of each country.