Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Let the guilt thou fearest be transferred from thee to us. If there be any guilt, may we and our posterity atone for it. But we do not acknowledge any guilt, and consequently, as not fearing any punishment, we boldly call it down on ourselves. And thus have they subjected not only themselves, but their very latest descendants, to God"s displeasure. They feel it indeed even to this day in its full force, in being scattered over all the world, without a city, or temple, or sacrifice, or priest, or prince, and being a subject race in all countries. It was, too, in punishment for Christ"s crucifixion that Titus ordered five hundred Jews to be crucified every day at the siege of Jerusalem, as they crowded out of the city in search of food, "so that at last there was no room for the crosses, and no crosses for the bodies" (Joseph. B. J. vi12). "This curse," says Jerome, "rests on them even to this day, and the b...
All the people answered: his blood be upon us, and upon our children which continues, saith St. Jerome, to this day. Then Pilate delivered to them Jesus to be crucified. (Witham)
This blasphemous prayer continues to this day, and will continue a protracted curse upon the Jews, and upon their posterity. (Origen)
Behold the insanity of the Jews! Their passion and pertinacious obstinacy will not suffer them to see and understand: they draw down curses upon themselves in these terrible imprecations: his blood be upon us and upon our children. Still the God of all mercies did not literally comply with their impious prayer. For, of these children he selected some for himself; amongst the rest even Paul, and many thousands who were converted at Jerusalem. (St. Chrysostom)
What then did they do? When they saw the judge washing his hands and saying, “I am innocent,” they cried out, “His blood be on us and on our children.” They were rendering a sentence against themselves. He was yielding himself up that all should be done. Note how great is their madness. For passion and evil desire work on us like this. They did not permit anyone to see anything of what was right. They not only curse themselves, they draw down the curse upon their own children as well. They acted with unutterable madness. They acted both against themselves and against their children! Yet this lover of humanity did not hold their own sentence against them. He did not confirm it upon their children or even upon them. Rather he received both from them and from their children those who repented. He counted them worthy of good things beyond number. Think of who might have been among them! Even Paul perhaps. Even some among the thousands that believed in Jerusalem, for it is said, “You see, b...
Look how high the contrary evidence is piling up. The accuser and traitor condemns himself. The judge who sentences tries to absolve himself of guilt. The dream of warning comes that very night. Even at the point of his condemnation Jesus is evidently innocent. What kind of plea will his murderers have? Even if they were not willing to let him be acknowledged as innocent, at least they should not have preferred a robber to him, and especially a notorious robber, known to be such. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
Then at length when they had given sentence against themselves, he yielded that all should be done.
See here too their great madness. For passion and wicked desire are like this. They suffer not men to see anything of what is right. For be it that you curse yourselves; why do you draw down the curse upon your children also?
Nevertheless, the lover of man, though they acted with so much madness, both against themselves, and against their children, so far from confirming their sentence upon their children, confirmed it not even on them, but from the one and from the other received those that repented, and counts them worthy of good things beyond number. For indeed even Paul was of them, and the thousands that believed in Jerusalem; for, you see it is said, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe. And if some continued in their sin, to themselves let them impute their punishment.
