Matthew 27:39Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What consequence will arise? Will the populace not direct their hostility towards the Sanhedrin? Thus, it was vital to conclude any reckoning with the despised Nazarene Teacher. We must instruct the uneducated masses. Therefore, the Sanhedrin begins its 'sermon' against Jesus! It is not hard to discern from whom the denunciations emerge amid the throng. It is the very same boldness that testified against Christ in the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:58). The former hired hands of the Sanhedrin are at work here, acting on behalf of their masters. It certainly would not have been prudent for him to openly blaspheme against Jesus in front of everyone. It is far more respectable for him to be derided by those who have little to lose. These individuals are so desperate that they would go to any lengths for a morsel of bread. The prophet captures their nature and actions with these words: their mouths are opened against Me, as a lion roars and growls (Psalm 21:14). It is no surprise that other idle men affiliated with Pharisaical circles are drawn into this evil. It is so simple, so typical; yet it aligns perfectly with what the Messiah declared through the Prophet: 'All them that see Me shall quarrel, they shall speak with their mouths, they shall mourn with their heads' (Psalm 21:14). Come down from the Cross—see Matthew 27:42.

Now, they had been instructed by their leaders on what to cry out; with striking accuracy, the words spoken by David about the Messiah were coming to fruition: "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads" (Psalm 21:8). The taunt, "Come down from the cross," bears a disturbing resemblance to the temptation posed at the beginning of Jesus' ministry during His forty-day fast: "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down!" It is evident that at this moment, the same diabolical tempter was communicating through the mouth of the Sadducees, urging our Lord to consider using His divine power to escape the excruciating agony of the Cross. The presence of hell's spirit, of satanic influence, is particularly palpable in these mocking jibes directed at our suffering Savior, and the horror of it all instinctively causes one’s soul to tremble at the thought. Clearly, Satan sought to invade His most sacred being with thoughts that opposed God.

We have consistently warned the people against the claims of this Sabbath-breaker and the companion of tax collectors and sinners, asserting that he cannot be the Messiah, the King of Israel; we cautioned them not to be swayed by His miracles, which He supposedly performed by the power of Beelzebub. Yet many did not heed our warnings, and what came of that? He who calls Himself the Son of God is being crucified among the wicked! Some presume that our persecution of Him is motivated by self-interest, but aren’t we, ourselves, anticipating the true Messiah, the rightful King of Israel? Will we not follow Him? However, we cannot recognize the Messiah in one who is hanging on the cross, for the law of Moses states, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. If He is truly the King of Israel, let Him come down from the cross now, and we will be the first to believe in Him. Let Him come down. But why does He not descend from the cross? He who trusted in God and called Him His Father? If He could not come down from the cross while claiming to please God, then may God rescue Him from such disgraceful execution… Yet God does not intervene…” These blasphemous remarks clearly had an impact on the crowd; at least Luke, the Evangelist, records that while the people remained as witnesses, the rulers joined in their mockery (Luke 23:35). This element can be understood as follows: initially, the crowd stood astonished at Jesus's humility and His prayer for those who crucified Him, taking in the dreadful scene in silence. However, when the rulers began to mock Jesus with their slanderous taunts, their insolent jeers found resonance in the people. Those who passed by derided Him, shaking their heads and saying, “O you who destroy the temple and in three days rebuild it, save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Were these not the false witnesses who eagerly testified against Jesus during the night session of the Sanhedrin? Their very mockery referencing His claim to destroy the temple and raise it again in three days, alongside a recitation of their trial assertions, indicates they were indeed present. Certainly, such sentiments were echoed by others as well.

Why did Christ not come down from the cross? Had He done so, it would have been a demonstration of His divine power, compelling all to believe in Him. Such inquiries persist among many skeptics today. How should we respond? The One whose command could silence demons, agitate storms, and restore health at a distance, who raised the dead, could certainly have descended from the cross if He deemed it necessary. Thus, His continued presence on the cross indicates that there were profound reasons for it, known only to God. We, in our human frailty, may not comprehend them fully. However, we can draw inferences based on the words of the Lord Himself. The Gospel teaches that Christ, in His Humanity, established Himself as the example of the perfection attainable by us; He urged us to follow Him, to model our lives after Him, the Christ-Man. Yet, to be the standard of perfection that is available to us, He could not have used His divine might for personal relief; otherwise, He would have set a standard beyond our reach, making His commandments seem impossible to fulfill and rendering the purpose of His incarnation unachievable. We know that He never invoked His divine authority to alleviate His human suffering and infirmities. As a Man, He felt fatigue, experienced the need for nourishment and rest, felt thirst, endured hunger pains, experienced joy and sorrow—His emotional anguish often surfaced in tears. He faced temptation as a Man and triumphed, but not through His own divine power as God's Son; rather, He conquered by yielding to the will of the Father. He taught us this submission as a vital means to achieve victory over temptation. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He trembled at the thought of the impending suffering and entreated the Father for a reprieve, yet overcame this trial by submitting to the Father’s will, stating, “Not My will, but Thy will be done” (Luke 22:42). When He accepted the Father’s will, the agonizing physical suffering on the cross prompted His anguished cry: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). In essence, He questioned why His divine power did not alleviate His unjust suffering at that dreadful moment. The reason is that if He had come down from the cross or numbed the pain of His execution, He could not fulfill His role as a true example of humanity—defining for us what we ought to be. The aim of His mission on earth would have remained unrealized. His success stemmed from not utilizing His divine authority to ease His human trials and tribulations. Indeed, Christ, as Man, fulfilled all His commandments; He lived as He exhorted others to live; His actions aligned with His teachings; He never used His divine power to evade the weight of His commandments; hence, He stands as a binding example for us. We are called to live as He lived, and we can!

Save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The high priests, scribes, elders, and Pharisees added their scorn to that of the passersby, taunting one another, “He saved others; can He not save Himself? If He is the Christ, God's chosen, the King of Israel, let Him come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe in Him; let Him trust in God, who will deliver Him if He is indeed the Son of God.” In their tragic blindness, they not only mocked the crucified Christ but also blasphemed God the Father, unwittingly fulfilling the prophecy of King David, who had long before foretold the disgrace of the suffering Messiah with these very words: “All those who see Me mock Me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads, saying, ‘He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him; let Him deliver him, since He delights in him’ (Ps. 21:8, 9). These wretched souls blasphemed their true Messiah present in Christ, and in their rejection, they turned into apostates. The behavior of the Jewish leaders was mimicked by the Roman soldiers on duty. These simple, coarse men, amidst the ridicule surrounding them, approached the Lord, offering Him vinegar as a fake gesture of compassion for His plight, repeating the words they heard: “If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” Thus, everywhere on Golgotha cries echoed for the condemned to descend from the cross and save Himself from a humiliating death. Yet, all these cries were but wicked mockeries, clearly voiced by Christ's adversaries and echoed by others. The corrupt generation of scribes and Pharisees had previously sought heavenly signs to confirm the divine authority of Christ, but were met with the assertion that no sign would be given to them except for the sign of Jonah (Matt. 12:39, 40; Mk. 8:11; Lk. 11:29, 30). Was this new demand for a sign from the cross not the last temptation presented by the same adversary who had approached the Lord at the start of His ministry (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:13)? The devil, an enemy to our salvation, understood that through the cross, Christ would dismantle his dominion (John 14:30; 16:11) and persevered through his doomed children to obliterate the cross of Christ (1 Cor. 1:17). However, all challenges of senseless folly went unanswered. It was pointless and futile to request a sign from those who had witnessed many miracles yet remained unbelieving (John 12:37) and who rejected God's will for their lives (Luke 7:30), as they held no genuine desire to know the truth of Christ. In contrast to the frivolous desires of others, the Divine Redeemer recognized that He must endure the full measure of suffering (Matt. 20:22), the cup handed to Him by His Father, which He had willingly accepted (Matt. 26:42; John 10:17-18). Many times He foretold His sufferings and death on the cross (Matt. 16:21; 17:12, 22-23; 20:18-19; 26:2; Mk. 8:31; 9:12, 31; 10:33; Lk. 9:22, 44; 13:33; 17:25; 21:15-16; 24:7), detailing the specific events surrounding His imminent death, such as the betrayal by Judas (Matt. 26:21-25; Mk. 14:18-21; Lk. 22:21; John 6:70; 13:18, 21, 26), Peter's denial (Matt. 26:34; Mk. 14:30; Lk. 22:34; John 13:38), the scattering of His disciples (Matt. 26:31; John 16:32), His crucifixion (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-33), and His burial (Matt. 26:12; Mk. 14:8; John 12:7). He affirmed that He was acting in accordance with what had been foretold (Lk. 22:22), as the scriptures proclaimed concerning Him (Matt. 26:24; Mk. 14:21) and that He was leading all people to this destiny (John 18:4). Even on the eve of His sacrifice, He warned His disciples of His imminent departure (John 14:19; 16:5, 16, 28; 17:13). Could the Son of Man, who had come precisely for this hour (John 12:27) to offer His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45), possibly come down from the cross? No, He would not descend from the cross; all that was spoken in the scriptures had to be completed (Matt. 26:54; Lk. 24:45). Jerusalem, which failed to comprehend the significance of its visitation (Lk. 19:44), was destined to further overflow its cup of iniquity by slaying the Son of God, surpassing even the ancient murderers of the prophets (Matt. 23:32)! No reproach could divert the mercy of the Lord, which seeks to restore the fallen, from its appointed path, for a unique sacrifice was being offered to God, and the sacrifice of Christ, the true Lamb, foretold centuries earlier, ushered the promise's children into the freedom of faith. The new covenant was established, through the blood of Christ, sealing the heirs of the eternal kingdom; the great High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, and the purest of priests passed through the veil of His flesh to reconcile humanity with God. A transition unfolded from the law to the Gospel, from the synagogue to the Church, from countless sacrifices to the singular Divine sacrifice. What was the feeling and thought of the purest and holiest soul of the God-Man, raised upon the cross amidst the most intense agony? The royal Psalmist David, long before the events on Golgotha, articulated such thoughts and emotions through prophetic visions reflecting the perspective of the suffering Redeemer: “A band of evildoers surrounds Me; they pierce My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones; they stare and gloat over Me” (Ps. 21:17-18). The wicked critiqued Him and the flatterers spoke against Him, using vile words and thus displayed their hatred instead of love (Ps. 108:2-5). “I have become estranged from My brothers” (68:9). Mortal woes have overwhelmed Me; “to do Your will, O My God; your law is within My heart” (39:8-9). But I call to You, O God; in Your abundance of mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation (68:14). In sacrificing Himself on the cross for the sins of the entire world, the Redeemer's sole focus was the realization of God’s eternal counsel. He declared, “Behold, I come— in the scroll of the book it is written of Me” (Ps. 39:8), and no horror, plague, or humiliation could deter Him from fulfilling the divine mission He had accepted (John 4:34). On the cross, amidst the uproar of human passions, He exhibited obedience to the point of death, even the death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). Rather than uttering complaints or cries of anguish, His lips voiced prayers of forgiveness that echoed His boundless love for those who crucified Him and for all of humanity. He not only forgave His enemies and executioners at that solemn moment of death, wiping away every offense against Him but also pleaded for their absolution before His Father, seeking to justify their actions. He remained oblivious to the torment He endured from them, fixated instead on the truth that He suffered for their sins and the sins of all mankind. All, especially Christ's adversaries, should have perceived, as St. Ignatius proclaimed, that “love was crucified.” It was not men on Golgotha who challenged the majesty of God; the Providence of God observes the strife of humanity without infringing upon free will, guiding it in accordance with His supreme wisdom; the wicked servants do not deceive the Lord; the all-good Father does not spare His Son, lest He destroy the wicked. It is not earthly hostility that crushes divine love; rather, heavenly love conceals itself within earthly hostility so that in its death, it may vanquish enmity and illuminate love amidst darkness and death's shadow. Thus, what they did not desire, could not comprehend, was ultimately fulfilled by those who were wholly unaware. Amidst the most profound humiliation, the highest treachery, and the scorn of a blind, frenzied crowd, the true magnificence of the Cross and the triumph of divine love became manifest, unseen by disbelief yet tangible to faith. While His enemies sought to tarnish the final moments of the crucified Lord with scorn, He desired that His death be a source of grace for them, veiling their ignorance of sin; they, in their passionate insanity, were eager to accept the blame for His innocent blood, while He interceded that it would not be held against them. They rushed to act on their guilt, yet He prayed that its severity would be diminished. “Father,” prayed the Crucified One to His heavenly Father, “forgive them, for they know not what they do.”– Had they known, declared the holy Apostle, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8); had they believed the Gospel message, they would not have turned away from the Holy and Righteous One nor killed the Author of Life (Acts 3:14-15). However, this ignorance was willful and grievous, stemming from the profound blindness of their hearts and minds (Matt. 13:13-15). The Lord intercedes for the pardon of their ignorance. This sin of ignorance applied not only to Christ’s executioners but also to all who rejected their Messiah, including the Jews complicit in His death, and all who disbelieve the Gospel. The prayer for forgiveness reaches, as noted by St. John Damascene, “to all without exception—Greeks, Jews, foreigners, and barbarians.” It does not exclude those who, having received the light of Christianity, having tasted the heavenly gift, and having participated in the Holy Spirit, willfully crucify the Son of God anew for themselves (Hebrews 6:4-6), scorn Him, disregard the blood of the covenant as sacred, and insult the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). According to the holy father, the Lord said “forgive once,” yet His words are continuously fulfilled; He calls not only the enemies but “to every nation, always, and He who is willing receives forgiveness.” Thus, the heavenly Teacher who commanded love for one's enemies (Matt. 5:44) demonstrated it in practice during the final moments of His life in the most perfect manner.