Ad secundum dicendum quod Christus, secundum quod Deus, tradidit semetipsum in mortem eadem voluntate et actione qua et pater tradidit eum. Sed inquantum homo, tradidit semetipsum voluntate a patre inspirata. Unde non est contrarietas in hoc quod pater tradidit Christum, et ipse tradidit semetipsum. Reply Obj. 2: Christ as God delivered Himself up to death by the same will and action as that by which the Father delivered Him up; but as man He gave Himself up by a will inspired of the Father. Consequently there is no contrariety in the Father delivering Him up and in Christ delivering Himself up. Ad tertium dicendum quod eadem actio diversimode iudicatur in bono vel in malo, secundum quod ex diversa radice procedit. Pater enim tradidit Christum, et ipse seipsum, ex caritate, et ideo laudantur. Iudas autem tradidit ipsum ex cupiditate, Iudaei ex invidia, Pilatus ex timore mundano, quo timuit Caesarem, et ideo ipsi vituperantur. Reply Obj. 3: The same act, for good or evil, is judged differently, accordingly as it proceeds from a different source. The Father delivered up Christ, and Christ surrendered Himself, from charity, and consequently we give praise to both: but Judas betrayed Christ from greed, the Jews from envy, and Pilate from worldly fear, for he stood in fear of Caesar; and these accordingly are held guilty. Articulus 4 Article 4 Utrum fuerit conveniens Christum pati a gentilibus Whether it was fitting for Christ to suffer at the hands of the Gentiles? Ad quartum sic proceditur. Videtur quod non fuerit conveniens Christum pati a gentilibus. Quia enim per mortem Christi homines erant a peccato liberandi, conveniens videretur ut paucissimi in morte eius peccarent. Peccaverunt autem in morte eius Iudaei, ex quorum persona dicitur, Matth. XXI, hic est heres; venite, occidamus eum. Ergo videtur conveniens fuisse quod in peccato occisionis Christi gentiles non implicarentur. Objection 1: It would seem unfitting that Christ should suffer at the hands of the Gentiles. For since men were to be freed from sin by Christ’s death, it would seem fitting that very few should sin in His death. But the Jews sinned in His death, on whose behalf it is said (Matt 21:38): This is the heir; come, let us kill him. It seems fitting, therefore, that the Gentiles should not be implicated in the sin of Christ’s slaying. Praeterea, veritas debet respondere figurae. Sed figuralia sacrificia veteris legis non gentiles, sed Iudaei offerebant. Ergo neque passio Christi, quae fuit verum sacrificium, impleri debuit per manus gentilium. Obj. 2: Further, the truth should respond to the figure. Now it was not the Gentiles but the Jews who offered the figurative sacrifices of the Old Law. Therefore neither ought Christ’s Passion, which was a true sacrifice, to be fulfilled at the hands of the Gentiles. Praeterea, sicut dicitur Ioan. V, Iudaei quaerebant Christum interficere, non solum quia solvebat sabbatum, sed etiam quia patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se Deo faciens. Sed haec videbantur esse solum contra legem Iudaeorum, unde et ipsi dicunt, Ioan. XIX, secundum legem debet mori, quia filium Dei se fecit. Videtur ergo conveniens fuisse quod Christus non a gentilibus, sed a Iudaeis pateretur, et falsum esse quod dixerunt, nobis non licet interficere quemquam, cum multa peccata secundum legem morte puniantur, ut patet Levit. XX. Obj. 3: Further, as related John 5:18, the Jews sought to kill Christ because He did not only break the sabbath, but also said God was His Father, making Himself equal to God. But these things seemed to be only against the Law of the Jews: hence they themselves said (John 19:7): According to the Law He ought to die because He made Himself the Son of God. It seems fitting, therefore, that Christ should suffer, at the hands not of the Gentiles, but of the Jews, and that what they said was untrue: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death, since many sins are punishable with death according to the Law, as is evident from Lev. 20. Sed contra est quod ipse dominus dicit, Matth. XX, tradent eum gentibus ad illudendum et flagellandum et crucifigendum. On the contrary, our Lord Himself says (Matt 20:19): They shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified. Respondeo dicendum quod in ipso modo passionis Christi praefiguratus est effectus ipsius. Primo enim passio Christi effectum salutis habuit in Iudaeis, quorum plurimi in morte Christi baptizati sunt, ut patet Act. II et IV. Secundo vero, Iudaeis praedicantibus, effectus passionis Christi transivit ad gentes. Et ideo conveniens fuit ut Christus a Iudaeis pati inciperet, et postea, Iudaeis tradentibus, per manus gentilium eius passio finiretur. I answer that, The effect of Christ’s Passion was foreshown by the very manner of His death. For Christ’s Passion wrought its effect of salvation first of all among the Jews, very many of whom were baptized in His death, as is evident from Acts 2:41 and Acts 4:4. Afterwards, by the preaching of Jews, Christ’s Passion passed on to the Gentiles. Consequently it was fitting that Christ should begin His sufferings at the hands of the Jews, and, after they had delivered Him up, finish His Passion at the hands of the Gentiles. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod, quia Christus, ad ostendendam abundantiam caritatis suae, ex qua patiebatur, in cruce positus veniam persecutoribus postulavit; ut huius petitionis fructus ad Iudaeos et gentiles perveniret, voluit Christus ab utrisque pati. Reply Obj. 1: In order to demonstrate the fullness of His love, on account of which He suffered, Christ upon the cross prayed for His persecutors. Therefore, that the fruits of His petition might accrue to Jews and Gentiles, Christ willed to suffer from both. Ad secundum dicendum quod passio Christi fuit sacrificii oblatio inquantum Christus propria voluntate mortem sustinuit ex caritate. Inquantum autem a persecutoribus est passus, non fuit sacrificium, sed peccatum gravissimum. Reply Obj. 2: Christ’s Passion was the offering of a sacrifice, inasmuch as He endured death of His own free-will out of charity: but in so far as He suffered from His persecutors it was not a sacrifice, but a most grievous sin. Ad tertium dicendum quod, sicut Augustinus dicit, Iudaei dicentes, nobis non licet interficere quemquam, intellexerunt non sibi licere interficere quemquam propter festi diei sanctitatem, quam celebrare iam coeperant. Vel hoc dicebant, ut Chrysostomus dicit, quia volebant eum occidi, non tanquam transgressorem legis, sed tanquam publicum hostem, quia regem se fecerat, de quo non erat eorum iudicare. Vel quia non licebat eis crucifigere, quod cupiebant, sed lapidare, quod in Stephano fecerunt. Vel melius dicendum est quod per Romanos, quibus erant subiecti, erat eis potestas occidendi interdicta. Reply Obj. 3: As Augustine says (Tract. cxiv in Joan.): The Jews said that ‘it is not lawful for us to put any man to death,’ because they understood that it was not lawful for them to put any man to death owing to the sacredness of the feast-day, which they had already begun to celebrate. Or, as Chrysostom observes (Hom. lxxxiii in Joan.), because they wanted Him to be slain, not as a transgressor of the Law, but as a public enemy, since He had made Himself out to be a king, of which it was not their place to judge. Or, again, because it was not lawful for them to crucify Him (as they wanted to), but to stone Him, as they did to Stephen. Better still is it to say that the power of putting to death was taken from them by the Romans, whose subjects they were. Articulus 5 Article 5 Utrum persecutores Christi eum cognoverunt Whether Christ’s persecutors knew who he was? Ad quintum sic proceditur. Videtur quod persecutores Christi eum cognoverunt. Dicitur enim Matth. XXI, quod agricolae, videntes filium, dixerunt intra se, hic est heres, venite, occidamus eum. Ubi dicit Hieronymus, manifestissime dominus probat his verbis Iudaeorum principes non per ignorantiam, sed per invidiam Dei filium crucifixisse. Intellexerunt enim esse illum cui pater per prophetam dicit, postula a me, et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam. Ergo videtur quod cognoverunt eum esse Christum, vel filium Dei. Objection 1: It would seem that Christ’s persecutors did know who He was. For it is written (Matt 21:38) that the husbandmen seeing the son said within themselves: This is the heir; come, let us kill him. On this Jerome remarks: Our Lord proves most manifestly by these words that the rulers of the Jews crucified the Son of God, not from ignorance, but out of envy: for they understood that it was He to whom the Father says by the Prophet: ‘Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance.’ It seems, therefore, that they knew Him to be Christ or the Son of God. Praeterea, Ioan. XV dominus dixit, nunc autem et viderunt et oderunt et me et patrem meum. Quod autem videtur, manifeste cognoscitur. Ergo Iudaei, cognoscentes Christum, ex causa odii ei passionem intulerunt. Obj. 2: Further, our Lord says (John 15:24): But now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. Now what is seen is known manifestly. Therefore the Jews, knowing Christ, inflicted the Passion on Him out of hatred. Praeterea, in quodam sermone Ephesini Concilii dicitur, sicut qui chartam imperialem disrumpit, tanquam imperatoris disrumpens verbum, ad mortem adducitur, sic crucifigens Iudaeus quem viderat, poenas dabit tanquam in ipsum Deum verbum praesumptiones iniiciens. Hoc autem non esset si eum Dei filium esse non cognoverunt, quia ignorantia eos excusasset. Ergo videtur quod Iudaei crucifigentes Christum cognoverunt eum esse filium Dei. Obj. 3: Further, it is said in a sermon delivered in the Council of Ephesus (P. iii, cap. x): Just as he who tears up the imperial message is doomed to die, as despising the prince’s word; so the Jew, who crucified Him whom he had seen, will pay the penalty for daring to lay his hands on God the Word Himself. Now this would not be so had they not known Him to be the Son of God, because their ignorance would have excused them. Therefore it seems that the Jews in crucifying Christ knew Him to be the Son of God. Sed contra est quod dicitur I Cor. II, si cognovissent, nunquam dominum gloriae crucifixissent. Et Act. III dicit Petrus, Iudaeis loquens, scio quod per ignorantiam fecistis sicut et principes vestri. Et dominus, in cruce pendens, dixit, pater, dimitte illis, non enim sciunt quid faciunt. On the contrary, It is written (1 Cor 2:8): If they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. And (Acts 3:17), Peter, addressing the Jews, says: I know that you did it through ignorance, as did also your rulers. Likewise the Lord hanging upon the cross said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Respondeo dicendum quod apud Iudaeos quidam erant maiores, et quidam minores. Maiores quidem, qui eorum principes dicebantur, cognoverunt, ut dicitur in libro quaest. Nov. et Vet. Test., sicut et Daemones cognoverunt, eum esse Christum promissum in lege, omnia enim signa videbant in eo quae dixerant futura prophetae. Mysterium autem divinitatis eius ignorabant, et ideo apostolus dixit quod, si cognovissent, nunquam dominum gloriae crucifixissent. Sciendum tamen quod eorum ignorantia non eos excusabat a crimine, quia erat quodammodo ignorantia affectata. Videbant enim evidentia signa ipsius divinitatis, sed ex odio et invidia Christi ea pervertebant, et verbis eius, quibus se Dei filium fatebatur, credere noluerunt. Unde ipse de eis dicit, Ioan. XV, si non venissem, et locutus eis non fuissem, peccatum non haberent, nunc autem excusationem non habent de peccato suo. Et postea subdit, si opera non fecissem in eis quae nemo alius fecit, peccatum non haberent. Et sic ex persona eorum accipi potest quod dicitur Iob XXI, dixerunt Deo, recede a nobis, scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus. I answer that, Among the Jews some were elders, and others of lesser degree. Now according to the author of De Qq. Nov. et Vet. Test., qu. lxvi, the elders, who were called rulers, knew, as did also the devils, that He was the Christ promised in the Law: for they saw all the signs in Him which the prophets said would come to pass: but they did not know the mystery of His Godhead. Consequently the Apostle says: If they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. It must, however, be understood that their ignorance did not excuse them from crime, because it was, as it were, affected ignorance. For they saw manifest signs of His Godhead; yet they perverted them out of hatred and envy of Christ; neither would they believe His words, whereby He avowed that He was the Son of God. Hence He Himself says of them (John 15:22): If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. And afterwards He adds (John 15:24): If I had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin. And so the expression employed by Job (21:14) can be accepted on their behalf: (Who) said to God: depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways. Minores vero, idest populares, qui mysteria Scripturae non noverant, non plene cognoverunt ipsum esse nec Christum nec filium Dei, licet aliqui eorum etiam in eum crediderint. Multitudo tamen non credidit. Et si aliquando dubitarent an ipse esset Christus, propter signorum multitudinem, et efficaciam doctrinae, ut habetur Ioan. VII, tamen postea decepti fuerunt a suis principibus ut eum non crederent neque filium Dei neque Christum. Unde et Petrus eis dixit, scio quod per ignorantiam hoc fecistis, sicut et principes vestri, quia scilicet per principes seducti erant. But those of lesser degree—namely, the common folk—who had not grasped the mysteries of the Scriptures, did not fully comprehend that He was the Christ or the Son of God. For although some of them believed in Him, yet the multitude did not; and if they doubted sometimes whether He was the Christ, on account of the manifold signs and force of His teaching, as is stated John 7:31, 41, nevertheless they were deceived afterwards by their rulers, so that they did not believe Him to be the Son of God or the Christ. Hence Peter said to them: I know that you did it through ignorance, as did also your rulers—namely, because they were seduced by the rulers. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod illa verba dicuntur ex persona colonorum vineae, per quos significantur rectores illius populi, qui eum cognoverunt esse heredem, inquantum cognoverunt eum esse Christum promissum in lege. Sed contra hanc responsionem videtur esse quod illa verba Psalmi, postula a me et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam, eidem dicuntur cui dicitur, filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. Si ergo cognoverunt eum esse illum cui dictum est, postula a me et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam, sequitur quod cognoverunt eum esse filium Dei. Chrysostomus etiam, ibidem, dicit quod cognoverunt eum esse filium Dei. Beda etiam dicit, super illud Luc. XXIII, quia nesciunt quid faciunt, notandum, inquit, quod non pro eis orat qui, quem filium Dei intellexerunt, crucifigere quam confiteri maluerunt. Sed ad hoc potest responderi quod cognoverunt eum esse filium Dei non per naturam, sed per excellentiam gratiae singularis. Reply Obj. 1: Those words are spoken by the husbandmen of the vineyard; and these signify the rulers of the people, who knew Him to be the heir, inasmuch as they knew Him to be the Christ promised in the Law. But the words of Ps. 2:8 seem to militate against this answer: Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance; which are addressed to Him of whom it is said: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. If, then, they knew Him to be the one to whom the words were addressed: Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance, it follows that they knew Him to be the Son of God. Chrysostom, too, says upon the same passage that they knew Him to be the Son of God. Bede likewise, commenting on the words, For they know not what they do (Luke 23:34), says: It is to be observed that He does not pray for them who, understanding Him to be the Son of God, preferred to crucify Him rather than acknowledge Him. But to this it may be replied that they knew Him to be the Son of God, not from His Nature, but from the excellence of His singular grace. Possumus tamen dicere quod etiam verum Dei filium cognovisse dicuntur, quia evidentia signa huius rei habebant, quibus tamen assentire propter odium et invidiam noluerunt, ut eum cognoscerent esse filium Dei. Yet we may hold that they are said to have known also that He was verily the Son of God, in that they had evident signs thereof: yet out of hatred and envy, they refused credence to these signs, by which they might have known that He was the Son of God. Ad secundum dicendum quod ante illa verba praemittitur, si opera non fecissem in eis quae nemo alius fecit, peccatum non haberent, et postea subditur, nunc autem viderunt, et oderunt et me et patrem meum. Per quod ostenditur quod, videntes opera Christi mirifica, ex odio processit quod eum filium Dei non cognoverunt. Reply Obj. 2: The words quoted are preceded by the following: If I had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin; and then follow the words: But now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. Now all this shows that while they beheld Christ’s marvelous works, it was owing to their hatred that they did not know Him to be the Son of God. Ad tertium dicendum quod ignorantia affectata non excusat a culpa sed magis videtur culpam aggravare, ostendit enim hominem sic vehementer esse affectum ad peccandum quod vult ignorantiam incurrere ne peccatum vitet. Et ideo Iudaei peccaverunt, non solum hominis Christi, sed tanquam Dei crucifixores. Reply Obj. 3: Affected ignorance does not excuse from guilt, but seems, rather, to aggravate it: for it shows that a man is so strongly attached to sin that he wishes to incur ignorance lest he avoid sinning. The Jews therefore sinned, as crucifiers not only of the Man-Christ, but also as of God. Articulus 6 Article 6 Utrum peccatum crucifigentium Christum fuerit gravissimum Whether the sin of those who crucified Christ was most grievous? Ad sextum sic proceditur. Videtur quod peccatum crucifigentium Christum non fuerit gravissimum. Non enim est gravissimum peccatum quod excusationem habet. Sed ipse dominus excusavit peccatum crucifigentium eum, dicens, pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt. Non ergo peccatum eorum fuit gravissimum. Objection 1: It would seem that the sin of Christ’s crucifiers was not the most grievous. Because the sin which has some excuse cannot be most grievous. But our Lord Himself excused the sin of His crucifiers when He said: Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Therefore theirs was not the most grievous sin. Praeterea, dominus dixit Pilato, Ioan. XIX, qui tradidit me tibi, maius peccatum habet. Ipse autem Pilatus fecit Christum crucifigi per suos ministros. Ergo videtur fuisse maius peccatum Iudae proditoris peccato crucifigentium Christum. Obj. 2: Further, our Lord said to Pilate (John 19:11): He that hath delivered Me to thee hath the greater sin. But it was Pilate who caused Christ to be crucified by his minions. Therefore the sin of Judas the traitor seems to be greater than that of those who crucified Him. Praeterea, secundum philosophum, in V Ethic., nullus patitur iniustum volens, et, sicut ipse ibidem dicit, nullo patiente iniustum, nullus facit iniustum. Ergo volenti nullus facit iniustum. Sed Christus voluntarie est passus, ut supra habitum est. Non ergo iniustum fecerunt crucifixores Christi. Et ita eorum peccatum non est gravissimum. Obj. 3: Further, according to the Philosopher (Ethic. v): No one suffers injustice willingly; and in the same place he adds: Where no one suffers injustice, nobody works injustice. Consequently nobody wreaks injustice upon a willing subject. But Christ suffered willingly, as was shown above (AA. 1, 2). Therefore those who crucified Christ did Him no injustice; and hence their sin was not the most grievous. Sed contra est quod super illud Matth. XXIII, et vos implete mensuram patrum vestrorum, dicit Chrysostomus, quantum ad veritatem, excesserunt mensuram patrum suorum. Illi enim homines occiderunt, isti Deum crucifixerunt. On the contrary, Chrysostom, commenting on the words, Fill ye up, then, the measure of your fathers (Matt 23:32), says: In very truth they exceeded the measure of their fathers; for these latter slew men, but they crucified God. Respondeo dicendum quod, sicut dictum est, principes Iudaeorum cognoverunt Christum, et si aliqua ignorantia fuit in eis, fuit ignorantia affectata, quae eos non poterat excusare. Et ideo peccatum eorum fuit gravissimum, tum ex genere peccati; tum ex malitia voluntatis. Minores autem Iudaei gravissime peccaverunt quantum ad genus peccati, in aliquo tamen diminuebatur eorum peccatum propter eorum ignorantiam. Unde super illud Luc. XXIII, nesciunt quid faciunt, dicit Beda, pro illis rogat qui nescierunt quod fecerunt, zelum Dei habentes, sed non secundum scientiam. Multo autem magis fuit excusabile peccatum gentilium per quorum manus Christus crucifixus est, qui legis scientiam non habebant. I answer that, As stated above (A. 5), the rulers of the Jews knew that He was the Christ: and if there was any ignorance in them, it was affected ignorance, which could not excuse them. Therefore their sin was the most grievous, both on account of the kind of sin, as well as from the malice of their will. The Jews also of the common order sinned most grievously as to the kind of their sin: yet in one respect their crime was lessened by reason of their ignorance. Hence Bede, commenting on Luke 23:34, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, says: He prays for them who know not what they are doing, as having the zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. But the sin of the Gentiles, by whose hands He was crucified, was much more excusable, since they had no knowledge of the Law. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod excusatio illa domini non refertur ad principes Iudaeorum, sed ad minores de populo, sicut dictum est. Reply Obj. 1: As stated above, the excuse made by our Lord is not to be referred to the rulers among the Jews, but to the common people. Ad secundum dicendum quod Iudas tradidit Christum, non Pilato, sed principibus sacerdotum, qui tradiderunt eum Pilato, secundum illud Ioan. XVIII, gens tua et pontifices tui tradiderunt te mihi. Horum tamen omnium peccatum fuit maius quam Pilati, qui timore Caesaris Christum occidit; et etiam quam peccatum militum, qui mandato praesidis Christum crucifixerunt; non ex cupiditate, sicut Iudas, nec ex invidia et odio, sicut principes sacerdotum. Reply Obj. 2: Judas did not deliver up Christ to Pilate, but to the chief priests who gave Him up to Pilate, according to John 18:35: Thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee up to me. But the sin of all these was greater than that of Pilate, who slew Christ from fear of Caesar; and even greater than the sin of the soldiers who crucified Him at the governor’s bidding, not out of cupidity like Judas, nor from envy and hate like the chief priests. Ad tertium dicendum quod Christus voluit quidem suam passionem, sicut et Deus eam voluit, iniquam tamen actionem Iudaeorum noluit. Et ideo occisores Christi ab iniustitia non excusantur. Et tamen ille qui occidit hominem, iniuriam facit non solum homini, sed etiam Deo et reipublicae, sicut etiam et ille qui occidit seipsum, ut philosophus dicit, in V Ethic. Unde David damnavit illum ad mortem qui non timuerat mittere manum ut occideret Christum domini, quamvis eo petente, ut legitur II Reg. I. Reply Obj. 3: Christ, indeed willed His Passion just as the Father willed it; yet He did not will the unjust action of the Jews. Consequently Christ’s slayers are not excused of their injustice. Nevertheless, whoever slays a man not only does a wrong to the one slain, but likewise to God and to the State; just as he who kills himself, as the Philosopher says (Ethic. v). Hence it was that David condemned to death the man who did not fear to lay hands upon the Lord’s anointed, even though he (Saul) had requested it, as related 2 Kings 1:5–14. Quaestio 48 Question 48 De effectu passionis Christi The Efficiency of Christ’s Passion