第四條 「耶穌基督在比拉多執政時蒙難，被釘在十字架上，死而被安葬」

Article 4

"JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED AND WAS BURIED"

571 The Paschal mystery of Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the centre of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God's saving plan was accomplished "once for all"³¹³ by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.

572 The Church remains faithful to the interpretation of "all the Scriptures" that Jesus gave both before and after his Passover: "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"³¹⁴ Jesus' sufferings took their historical, concrete form from the fact that he was "rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes", who handed "him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified".³¹⁵

573 Faith can therefore try to examine the circumstances of Jesus' death, faithfully handed on by the Gospels³¹⁶ and illuminated by other historical sources, the better to understand the meaning of the Redemption.

第一節 耶穌和以色列

574. 在耶穌的公開活動初期，一些法利塞人和黑落德黨人，聯同一些司祭和經師，就已商討要除掉祂。耶穌因了某些行為(驅魔、赦罪、安息日治病、 對法律潔與不潔的誡條所作的獨特解釋，與稅吏、公開與罪人的交往)， 曾被居心不良的人懷疑為附魔者。祂被指控：說褻瀆的話與做假先知， 這些宗教罪行，按照法律本該處以用石頭砸死之刑。

575. 因此，為一般的天主子民 (7:48-49)，尤其為耶路撒冷的宗教首長，即若望福音所多次稱呼的「猶太人」，耶穌的許多言行是一個「反對的記號」(路2:34)。當然，祂跟法利塞人的關係並非只是爭辯性的； 有些法利塞人叫祂提防可能發生的危險。 耶穌稱讚了一些法利塞人，例如谷十二章三十四節所記載的經師， 並多次在法利塞人的家中吃飯 。耶穌肯定了由這些天主子民的宗教優秀分子所認同的道理：如死人的復活， 虔誠的方式(施捨、祈禱和禁食)，視天主為父親的習慣，以及愛主愛人誡命的重要性。

一、耶穌與法律

582. 此外，耶穌也完成有關食物潔淨與否的法律，這對猶太人的日常生活十分重要；耶穌以屬神的解釋揭露它的「教育」意義：「凡從外面進入人內的，不能使人污穢……這是說一切食物都是潔淨的……凡從人裡面出來的，那才使人污穢。因為從裡面，從人心裡出來的是些惡念」(谷 7:18-21)。耶穌以屬神的權威，決定性地解釋法律，往往會與某些法學士衝突。雖然祂用一些屬神的徵兆，來証明祂的解釋，但他們並不接受祂的解釋。這點在有關安息日的問題上尤為顯著：耶穌多次應用經師的辯論方法，說明祂為事奉天主、為服務近人所做的治病工作，並不觸犯安息日的規定。

二、耶穌與聖殿

583. 耶穌一如在祂以前的先知們，對耶路撒冷的聖殿顯示了最深切的尊重。祂誕生後四十天，被若瑟和瑪利亞呈獻於聖殿(路 2:22-39)。祂十二歲時， 決定留在聖殿裡，為提醒父母，祂必須從事祂父的工作。祂在隱居生活中，每年，至少為過逾越節，都上耶路撒冷去。就連在祂的公開傳教生活中，為過猶太人的大慶節而定期去耶路撒冷。

584. 耶穌前往聖殿，作為與天主相遇的特選地方。對祂來說，聖殿是祂天父的住所，祈禱的地方，祂看見殿院成了商場，便大發義怒。祂把商人由聖 殿裡驅逐出去，是因為受了對天父妒愛的催促：「不要使我父的殿宇成為商場。門徒們就想起了經上記載的：『我對祢殿宇所懷的熱忱，把我耗盡』(詠 69:10)」(若 2:16-17)。在祂復活後，宗徒們仍對聖殿保持著宗教上的尊崇。

585. 然而耶穌受難之始，曾宣布這座美妙的建築物將被毀滅，竟沒有一塊石頭留在另一塊石頭上。這裡是在宣告最後時期的一個記號，祂將以自己的逾越揭開最後時期的序幕。但當祂受大司祭審問時，這預言被假見証歪曲地引用，當祂被釘在十字架上時又作為侮辱祂的笑柄。

586. 耶穌從未敵視過聖殿，祂曾在那裡講過主要道理，而且還願意聯同伯多祿一起繳納殿稅，而伯多祿是祂所立的教會的基石。更進一步，祂把自己視同聖殿，視作天主在人間的永久住所。為此，祂身體的被殺，就是宣告聖殿的毀滅，這毀滅顯示救恩史已進入了一個新的紀元：「到了時候，你們不在這座山上，也不在耶路撒冷朝拜父」(若 4:21)。

三、耶穌與以色列對唯一天主和救世主的信仰

587. 法律和耶路撒冷聖殿，固然能夠成為以色列宗教首領「反對」耶穌的機會，然而為這些人來說，真正的絆腳石卻是祂在贖罪上的角色，贖罪是天主的至高工程。

588. 耶穌親切地與稅吏和罪人吃飯，一如對法利塞人一樣，這使法利塞人甚為反感。針對那些「自充為義人，而輕視他人的」(路 18:9)法利塞人，耶穌聲明說：「我不是來召叫義人，而是召叫罪人悔改」(路 5:32)。而且祂還向法利塞人進一步強調，由於罪惡那麼普遍，那些自以為不需要救恩的人，已成了看不見自己的瞎子。

589. 最令法利塞人反感的，是耶穌將祂善待罪人的慈悲視為天主自己對罪人的態度。祂甚至使人明白，與罪人們同桌共席，是要讓罪人參與默西亞的宴席。不過，尤其耶穌在赦免人罪的時候，祂使以色列的宗教首長處於進退維谷的困境。他們在震驚中，不是恰當地說過：只有天主才能赦罪嗎？耶穌既然赦罪，或是祂說了褻瀆的話，因為祂只是人，卻自稱與天主平等；或是祂說了實話，而親身使天主的名字臨現和顯示出來。

590. 只有耶穌的天主身分才能解釋下面如此的絕對要求：「不隨同我的，就是反對我」(瑪 12:30)；同樣，當祂說到：「這裡有一位大於約納的……這裡有一位大於撒羅滿的」(瑪 12:41-42)，「這裡有比聖殿更大的」(瑪 12:6)時；或當祂談到自己，提及達味稱默西亞為自己的主時，及當祂說：「在亞巴郎出現以前，我就有」(若 8:58)；祂甚至說：「我與父原是一體」(若 10:30)。

591. 耶穌要求耶路撒冷的宗教首長們，要因祂所完成的父的工程而相信祂。然而這樣的信德行為，必須在天主恩寵的吸引下，經過奧秘的自我死亡而 「由上重生」(若 3:7) 才能產生。這樣一個皈依的要求，面對著許諾如此不可思議的完成，可使人明白猶太公議會對耶穌的悲劇性的誤會，而認為祂是褻聖者，應受死刑。它的成員這樣作，是出於「無知」和「硬著心」(谷 3:5; 羅 11:25) 的「不信」(羅 11:20)。

撮要

592. 耶穌並未廢除西乃山的法律，而是使它完成。祂這麼圓滿地完成它，以致揭露它的終極意義及補贖觸犯法律的罪過。

593. 耶穌尊重聖殿，在猶太人的節日中去聖殿朝聖，祂用一種妒愛愛了這座天主在人間的住所。聖殿是祂奧跡的預象，祂曾預言聖殿的毀滅，以顯示 祂本身的被殺及救恩史的新紀元的開始，那時祂的身體將是最後的聖殿。

594. 耶穌所完成的行動，如赦免罪過，顯示出祂自己就是救世主、天主。某些猶太人不承認祂是降生成人的天主，只看祂是「一個把自己當作天主的人」(若 10:33)，便斷定祂是一個褻聖者。

Paragraph 1. JESUS AND ISRAEL

574 From the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, certain Pharisees and partisans of Herod together with priests and scribes agreed together to destroy him.³¹⁷ Because of certain acts of his expelling demons, forgiving sins, healing on the sabbath day, his novel interpretation of the precepts of the Law regarding purity, and his familiarity with tax collectors and public sinners³¹⁸--some ill-intentioned persons suspected Jesus of demonic possession.³¹⁹ He is accused of blasphemy and false prophecy, religious crimes which the Law punished with death by stoning.³²⁰

575 Many of Jesus' deeds and words constituted a "sign of contradiction",³²¹ but more so for the religious authorities in Jerusalem, whom the Gospel according to John often calls simply "the Jews",³²² than for the ordinary People of God.³²³ To be sure, Christ's relations with the Pharisees were not exclusively polemical. Some Pharisees warn him of the danger he was courting;³²⁴ Jesus praises some of them, like the scribe of Mark 12:34, and dines several times at their homes.³²⁵ Jesus endorses some of the teachings imparted by this religious elite of God's people: the resurrection of the dead,³²⁶ certain forms of piety (almsgiving, fasting and prayer),³²⁷ The custom of addressing God as Father, and the centrality of the commandment to love God and neighbour.³²⁸

576 In the eyes of many in Israel, Jesus seems to be acting against essential institutions of the Chosen People: - submission to the whole of the Law in its written commandments and, for the Pharisees, in the interpretation of oral tradition; - the centrality of the Temple at Jerusalem as the holy place where God's presence dwells in a special way; - faith in the one God whose glory no man can share.

I. JESUS AND THE LAW

577 At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus issued a solemn warning in which he presented God's law, given on Sinai during the first covenant, in light of the grace of the New Covenant:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets: I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law, until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.³²⁹

578 Jesus, Israel's Messiah and therefore the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, was to fulfil the Law by keeping it in its all embracing detail - according to his own words, down to "the least of these commandments".³³⁰ He is in fact the only one who could keep it perfectly.³³¹ On their own admission the Jews were never able to observe the Law in its entirety without violating the least of its precepts.³³² This is why every year on the Day of Atonement the children of Israel ask God's forgiveness for their transgressions of the Law. the Law indeed makes up one inseparable whole, and St. James recalls, "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."³³³

579 This principle of integral observance of the Law not only in letter but in spirit was dear to the Pharisees. By giving Israel this principle they had led many Jews of Jesus' time to an extreme religious zeal.³³⁴ This zeal, were it not to lapse into "hypocritical" casuistry,³³⁵ could only prepare the People for the unprecedented intervention of God through the perfect fulfilment of the Law by the only Righteous One in place of all sinners.³³⁶

580 The perfect fulfilment of the Law could be the work of none but the divine legislator, born subject to the Law in the person of the Son.³³⁷ In Jesus, the Law no longer appears engraved on tables of stone but "upon the heart" of the Servant who becomes "a covenant to the people", because he will "faithfully bring forth justice".³³⁸ Jesus fulfils the Law to the point of taking upon himself "the curse of the Law" incurred by those who do not "abide by the things written in the book of the Law, and do them", for his death took place to redeem them "from the transgressions under the first covenant".³³⁹

581 The Jewish people and their spiritual leaders viewed Jesus as a rabbi.³⁴⁰ He often argued within the framework of rabbinical interpretation of the Law.³⁴¹ Yet Jesus could not help but offend the teachers of the Law, for he was not content to propose his interpretation alongside theirs but taught the people "as one who had authority, and not as their scribes".³⁴² In Jesus, the same Word of God that had resounded on Mount Sinai to give the written Law to Moses, made itself heard anew on the Mount of the Beatitudes.³⁴³ Jesus did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it by giving its ultimate interpretation in a divine way: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old. . . But I say to you. . ."³⁴⁴ With this same divine authority, he disavowed certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were "making void the word of God".³⁴⁵

582 Going even further, Jesus perfects the dietary law, so important in Jewish daily life, by revealing its pedagogical meaning through a divine interpretation: "Whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him. . . (Thus he declared all foods clean.). . . What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts. . ."³⁴⁶ In presenting with divine authority the definitive interpretation of the Law, Jesus found himself confronted by certain teachers of the Law who did not accept his interpretation of the Law, guaranteed though it was by the divine signs that accompanied it.³⁴⁷ This was the case especially with the sabbath laws, for he recalls, often with rabbinical arguments, that the sabbath rest is not violated by serving God and neighbour,³⁴⁸ which his own healings did.

II. JESUS AND THE TEMPLE

583 Like the prophets before him Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the Temple in Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that Joseph and Mary presented him forty days after his birth.³⁴⁹ At the age of twelve he decided to remain in the Temple to remind his parents that he must be about his Father's business.³⁵⁰ He went there each year during his hidden life at least for Passover.³⁵¹ His public ministry itself was patterned by his pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts.³⁵²

584 Jesus went up to the Temple as the privileged place of encounter with God. For him, the Temple was the dwelling of his Father, a house of prayer, and he was angered that its outer court had become a place of commerce.³⁵³ He drove merchants out of it because of jealous love for his Father: "You shall not make my Father's house a house of trade. His disciples remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for your house will consume me.'"³⁵⁴ After his Resurrection his apostles retained their reverence for the Temple.³⁵⁵

585 On the threshold of his Passion Jesus announced the coming destruction of this splendid building, of which there would not remain "one stone upon another".³⁵⁶ By doing so, he announced a sign of the last days, which were to begin with his own Passover.³⁵⁷ But this prophecy would be distorted in its telling by false witnesses during his interrogation at the high priest's house, and would be thrown back at him as an insult when he was nailed to the cross.³⁵⁸

586 Far from having been hostile to the Temple, where he gave the essential part of his teaching, Jesus was willing to pay the Temple-tax, associating with him Peter, whom he had just made the foundation of his future Church.³⁵⁹ He even identified himself with the Temple by presenting himself as God's definitive dwelling-place among men.³⁶⁰ Therefore his being put to bodily death³⁶¹ presaged the destruction of the Temple, which would manifest the dawning of a new age in the history of salvation: "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father."³⁶²

III. JESUS AND ISRAEL'S FAITH IN THE ONE GOD AND SAVIOUR

587 If the Law and the Jerusalem Temple could be occasions of opposition to Jesus by Israel's religious authorities, his role in the redemption of sins, the divine work par excellence, was the true stumbling-block for them.³⁶³

588 Jesus scandalized the Pharisees by eating with tax collectors and sinners as familiarly as with themselves.³⁶⁴ Against those among them "who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others", Jesus affirmed: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."³⁶⁵ He went further by proclaiming before the Pharisees that, since sin is universal, those who pretend not to need salvation are blind to themselves.³⁶⁶

589 Jesus gave scandal above all when he identified his merciful conduct toward sinners with God's own attitude toward them.³⁶⁷ He went so far as to hint that by sharing the table of sinners he was admitting them to the messianic banquet.³⁶⁸ But it was most especially by forgiving sins that Jesus placed the religious authorities of Israel on the horns of a dilemma. Were they not entitled to demand in consternation, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?"³⁶⁹ By forgiving sins Jesus either is blaspheming as a man who made himself God's equal, or is speaking the truth and his person really does make present and reveal God's name.³⁷⁰

590 Only the divine identity of Jesus' person can justify so absolute a claim as "He who is not with me is against me"; and his saying that there was in him "something greater than Jonah,. . . greater than Solomon", something "greater than the Temple"; his reminder that David had called the Messiah his Lord,³⁷¹ and his affirmations, "Before Abraham was, I AM", and even "I and the Father are one."³⁷²

591 Jesus asked the religious authorities of Jerusalem to believe in him because of the Father's works which he accomplished.³⁷³ But such an act of faith must go through a mysterious death to self, for a new "birth from above" under the influence of divine grace.³⁷⁴ Such a demand for conversion in the face of so surprising a fulfilment of the promises³⁷⁵ allows one to understand the Sanhedrin's tragic misunderstanding of Jesus: they judged that he deserved the death sentence as a blasphemer.³⁷⁶ The members of the Sanhedrin were thus acting at the same time out of "ignorance" and the "hardness" of their "unbelief".³⁷⁷

IN BRIEF

592 Jesus did not abolish the Law of Sinai, but rather fulfilled it (cf ⇒ Mt 5:17-19) with such perfection (cf ⇒ Jn 8:46) that he revealed its ultimate meaning (cf ⇒ Mt 5:33) and redeemed the transgressions against it (cf ⇒ Heb 9:15).

593 Jesus venerated the Temple by going up to it for the Jewish feasts of pilgrimage, and with a jealous love he loved this dwelling of God among men. the Temple prefigures his own mystery. When he announces its destruction, it is as a manifestation of his own execution and of the entry into a new age in the history of salvation, when his Body would be the definitive Temple.

594 Jesus performed acts, such as pardoning sins, that manifested him to be the Saviour God himself (cf ⇒ Jn 5:16-18). Certain Jews, who did not recognize God made man (cf ⇒ Jn 1:14), saw in him only a man who made himself God (⇒ Jn 10:33), and judged him as a blasphemer.

第二節 耶穌被釘死在十字架上

一、耶穌受審

猶太當局對耶穌不同的看法

595. 在耶路撒冷的宗教首領中，不祇是法利塞人尼苛德摩，或顯要阿黎瑪特雅人若瑟，暗中作了耶穌的門徒，而且為了耶穌的緣故，在首領中長期地存有不同的意見，以致在耶穌受難前夕，聖若望能說，在首領中，「仍有許多人信從了祂」，縱使其方式很不完善(若 12:42) 。此事毫不令人驚奇，只要想到五旬節翌日，「司祭中也有許多人，服從了信仰」(宗 6:7) ，而且「有幾個法利塞黨人也信了」(宗 15:5)，以致聖雅各伯對聖保祿說：「在信教的猶太人中盈千累萬，都是熱愛法律的人」(宗 21:20)。

596. 耶路撒冷的宗教首領對於耶穌所持的態度並不一致。法利塞人曾經威脅那些跟隨祂的人將被逐出會堂。對那些害怕「眾人都會信從祂，羅馬人必要來，連我們的聖殿和民族都要除掉」(若 11:48) 的人，大司祭蓋法提議並預言說：「寧可叫一個人替百姓死，以免全民族滅亡」(若 11:49-50)。公議會以耶穌是褻聖者的罪名，宣布祂「該死」(瑪 26:66) ，但公議會由於失去了處死的權力，所以把耶穌交給了羅馬人，控告祂政治叛亂，如此祂與被控「造反」的巴辣巴(路 23:19)被置於同等地位。大司祭向比拉多所施的恫嚇，也屬於政治性的，就是要他定耶穌死罪。

耶穌的死亡不能歸咎全體猶太人

597. 福音所敘述的耶穌及其受審過程確有其歷史的複雜性，只有天主才知道與此案有關的人(猶達斯、公議會、比拉多)的個人罪咎。縱使受人操縱的 群眾曾呼喊，宗徒在聖神降臨後勸人悔改時也作全面的指責，但我們還不能把責任歸咎耶路撒冷的全部猶太人，因為耶穌自己曾在十字架上寬恕了他們；伯多祿效法了祂，承認耶路撒冷的猶太人以及他們首領的 「無知」(宗 3:17)。我們更不能由民眾的呼聲：「祂的血歸在我們和我們的子孫身上」(瑪 27:25) (它只是一種認可的格式)，而在時空上把責任擴展至其他的猶太人身上：

教會很恰當地在梵二大公會議中宣布：「他們在基督受難時所犯的過錯，不應毫無辨別地歸咎於當時生活的全體猶太人，也不可責怪今日的猶太人……不應將猶太人視作被天主遺棄或被詛咒的，就好像這事出自聖經」。

所有的罪人造成基督的苦難

598. 教會在其信仰的訓導及聖人的見証中，從未忘卻「每個罪人確實是使神聖救主受苦受難的兇手和刑具」。想到我們的罪觸犯基督本人，教會毫不猶豫地把耶穌苦難的最嚴重責任歸咎於基督徒，而基督徒卻往往把此責 任完全推給猶太人：

《羅馬教理》：我們應把那些繼續再次失足犯罪的人，視為犯了這種嚴重過失的人。 因為是我們的罪使基督受十字架的苦刑，那些沉溺於邪惡的人，無疑地是「重新在心內釘天主子在十字架上，並凌辱祂，因為祂在他們心中」，我們該承認，在此情況下，我們的罪較諸猶太人的罪更嚴重，因為保祿曾為他們作証說：「如果他們認識了，決不至將光榮的主釘在十字架上」(格前 2:8)。反之，我們基督徒雖承認自己認識祂，但當我們以行為否認祂時，在某種程度上就是在耶穌身上下毒手。

聖方濟•亞西西，《勸言》：也不是魔鬼釘耶穌在十字架上，而是你和魔鬼一起釘死祂，而且當你沈迷於惡習和罪惡時，你再次釘死祂。

二、在天主救恩計劃中基督救贖性的死亡

「按天主預定的計劃耶穌被交付」

599. 耶穌的慘死並非環境不幸的巧合的偶然結果。它屬於天主計劃的奧秘，正如聖伯多祿在五旬節第一次講道中，向耶路撒冷的猶太人所解釋的：「祂照天主已定的計劃和預知，被交付了」(宗 2:23)。聖經的這句話， 並不表示那些「交付耶穌」(宗 3:13)的人，只是天主預先寫好的劇本的消極執行者。

600. 時間的每一刻都真真實實地呈現在天主面前。所以祂「預定」自己的永遠計劃時，也包括每人對祂恩寵的自由回應：「實在，黑落德和般雀比拉多，與異民和以色列人聚集在這座城內，反對祢的聖僕人耶穌，反對祢的受傅者，實行了祢的手和計劃所預定要成就的事」(宗 4:27-28)。天主允許了他們的盲目行為，以完成祂救恩的計劃。

「按聖經所載祂為我們的罪而死」

601. 天主透過義者僕人之死的這項救恩計劃，曾預先在聖經上被宣布為救贖普世的奧跡，即是解救人類脫離罪惡奴役的奧跡。聖保祿在一次信仰的宣認中，聲稱他曾「領受了」此項訊息，即「基督照經上記載的，為我們的罪死了」(格前 15:3)。耶穌的贖罪死亡特別應驗了受苦僕人的預言，耶穌自己也在受苦僕人的光照下，去解釋祂生命和死亡的意義。祂復活後，把聖經的這項解釋教導厄瑪烏的門徒，然後也教導宗徒。

「天主使祂替我們成了罪人」

602. 因此，聖伯多祿能在天主的救恩計劃內寫出宗徒的信仰：「該知道：你們不是用能朽壞的金銀等物，由你們祖傳的虛妄生活中被贖出來的，而是用寶血，即無玷無瑕的羔羊基督的寶血。祂固然在創世以前就被預定了的，但在這最末的時期為了你們才出現」(伯前 1:18-20)。隨原罪而來的人類罪惡，受到了死亡的制裁。天主派遣自己聖子取了奴僕的形體，即是那因罪惡而墮落及被註定要死的人類形體，「天主使那不認識罪的，替我們成了罪，好叫我們在祂內成為天主的正義」(格後 5:21)。

603. 從未有人指責耶穌犯過罪，耶穌說：「你們中誰能指証我有罪」，但在祂常與父契合的救贖之愛中，祂接受我們因罪遠離天主的處境，致使祂能 以我們的名義在十字架上說道：「我的天主，我的天主，祢為甚麼捨棄了我？」 (谷 15:34; 詠 22:2)。由於祂跟我們罪人如此團結一致，「天主沒有憐惜自己的兒子，反而為我們眾人把祂交出了」(羅 8:32)，為使我們「因著祂聖子的死，得與天主和好」(羅 5:10)。

天主主動地顯示祂救贖普世人類的愛

604. 天主為了我們的罪而把自己的兒子交出時，顯示了祂對我們的計劃是一項慈愛的計劃，先於我們的任何功績。「愛就在於此：不是我們愛了天主，而是祂愛了我們，且打發自己的兒子，為我們做贖罪祭」(若一 4:10)。「基督在我們還是罪人的時候，就為我們死了，這証明了天主怎樣愛我們」(羅 5:8)。

605. 這愛不是排斥性的，耶穌在亡羊比喻的結論中說過：「同樣，使這些小子中的一個喪亡，決不是你們在天之父的意願」(瑪 18:14)。祂強調「交出自己的生命，是為大眾作贖價」(瑪 20:28) ；這「大眾」一詞並不表示有 所限制，只是把整個人類與捨生救他們的唯一救贖者相對而已。教會追隨宗徒們的訓誨而宣認，基督為所有人而死，沒有一個例外，「無論過去、現在或將來，沒有一個人，基督沒有為他受過苦的」。

三、基督為我們的罪將自己奉獻給天父

基督將整個生命奉獻給天父

606. 天主子「從天降下，不是為執行祂的旨意，而是為執行派遣祂來者的旨意」(若 6:38)，「基督一進入世界便說：……看，我已來到……天主， 我來為承行祢的旨意……我們就是因這旨意，藉耶穌基督的身體，一次而為永遠的祭獻，得到了聖化」(希 10:5-10)。聖子在降生之初，就把天主的救恩計劃納入自己的救贖使命中：「我的食物就是承行派遣我來者的旨意，完成祂的工程」 (若 4:34)。耶穌為「全世界的罪」(若一 2:2) 而作的贖罪祭，是祂跟聖父共融之愛的表現：「父愛我，因為我捨掉我的性命」(若 10:17)，並且「為叫世界知道我愛父，父怎樣命令我，我就照樣去行」(若 14:31)。

607. 這種遵從天父贖世慈愛計劃的願望， 激勵著耶穌整個的生活，因為祂那贖罪的苦難正是祂降生的理由：「父啊！救我脫離這時辰吧！但正是為此，我才到了這時辰」(若 12:27)。「父賜給我的杯，我豈能不喝嗎？」 (若 18:11)。而且當祂被釘十字架上，在一切完成之前，祂還說：「我渴」(若 19:28)。

 「除免世罪的天主羔羊」

608 若翰答應在罪人中為耶穌施洗後，便望著祂，指出祂是「天主的羔羊，除免世罪者！」(若 1:29) 這樣，他顯示耶穌也是那默默地被人牽去宰殺、 承擔大眾罪過的受苦僕人；逾越節羔羊是第一次逾越節使以色列民得救的象徵。基督的一生都表達祂的這項使命：「服事人類，並交出自己的性命，為大眾作贖價」(谷 10:45)。

耶穌自由地擁抱父的救贖之愛

609. 耶穌在其人性的內心深處，由於懷有天父對人的愛，祂就「愛他們到底」 (若 13:1)，「因為為自己的朋友捨掉性命，再沒有比這更大的愛情了」 (若 15:13)。這樣，在祂的苦難和死亡中，祂的人性成了天主之愛的自由和完美工具，這是天主願意人得救的愛。事實上，為了愛天父和愛天父所願拯救的人類，祂自由地接受了祂的苦難和死亡：「誰也不能奪去我的性命，而是我甘心情願捨掉它」(若 10:18)。由此耶穌自由地走向死亡的時候，顯示出天主子的至高自由。

耶穌在最後晚餐中預先自由地奉獻祂的生命

610. 耶穌甘願自我奉獻的至高表現，就是在「祂被交付的那一夜」(格前 11:23)，當祂與十二位宗徒吃晚餐的時候所作的：耶穌在受難前夕，當祂還是自由的時候，就把這與宗徒們共進的最後晚餐，作為祂甘願自獻於父，以拯救人類的紀念：「這是我的身體，為你們而交付的」(路 22:19)。「這是我的血，新約的血，為大眾傾流，以赦免罪過」(瑪 26:28)。

611. 祂在這時所建立的聖體聖事，將是祂祭獻的「紀念」。耶穌也將宗徒們包括在祂的奉獻中，並要求他們，把這祭獻持續下去 。藉此，耶穌把自己的宗徒們建立為新約的司祭：「我為他們祝聖我自己，為叫他們也因真理而被祝聖」(若 17:19)。

山園祈禱

612. 耶穌在最後晚餐自我奉獻時所預嘗的新約之杯，稍後在山園祈禱時從父的手中接受下來， 使自己「聽命至死」(斐 2:8)耶穌祈求說：「我父！若是可能，就讓這杯離開我吧！」(瑪 26:39)。祂藉此表達了祂人性對死亡所懷的恐懼，因為祂的人性一如我們的人性，原是註定為承受永生的。 此外，祂的人性與我們的人性不同之處，是前者完全免於罪惡，而罪則是死亡的成因；但最重要的，耶穌的人性是被「生活的」(默 1:17)「生命之源」(宗 3:15)的天主性的位格所攝取。耶穌藉人性意願去承行天父的意願，接受了祂贖罪性的死亡，為的是「在祂身上，親自承擔我們的罪過，而上了木架」(伯前 2:24)。

基督的死是唯一和決定性的祭獻

613. 基督的死是逾越祭獻，藉此「除免世罪的羔羊」(若 1:29)完成了人類決定性的救贖，它又是使人與天主重新共融的新約祭獻，藉那「為大眾傾流，以赦免罪過」(瑪 26:28)的血，使人與天主重歸於好。

614. 基督的這個祭獻是唯一的：它完成及超越一切其他的祭獻。它首先是天主父自己的恩賜：是父把自己的兒子交出，為使我們與祂重修舊好。這祭獻同時是降生成人的天主子的奉獻，祂自願地並為了愛情，藉著聖神奉獻自己的生命予聖父，為賠補我們的抗命行為。

耶穌以祂的服從代替我們的抗命

615. 「正如因一個人的悖逆，大眾都成了罪人；同樣，因一個人的服從，大眾都成了義人」(羅 5:19)。耶穌服從至死，藉此完成了受苦僕人對他人罪過的承擔，祂「犧牲了自己的性命，作了贖罪祭」並「承擔大眾的罪過，使多人成義，因為祂承擔了他們的罪過」。耶穌賠補了我們的過錯並為我們的罪向父作了賠償。

耶穌在十字架上完成祂的祭獻

616. 是基督那「愛到底」(若 13:1)的愛，給予祂的祭獻以救贖、賠補、贖罪、 和補償的價值。祂在奉獻自己的性命時，認識和愛了我們眾人。「基督的愛催迫著我們，因我們曾如此斷定，既然一個人替眾人死了，那麼眾人就都死了」(格後 5:14)。無論甚麼人，即使是最聖的，也不能承擔眾人的罪過，並為所有人自作祭獻。唯有在基督身上的天主子位格──既超越又包含眾人，且使祂成為人類的元首──才能為所有人作出救贖的祭獻。

617. 特倫多大公會議教導說：「祂那在木架上的極其神聖的苦難，為我們賺得了成義」，並強調基督祭獻作為「永遠救恩之源」(希 5:9) 的唯一特色。 而教會在尊崇十字架時，唱道：「萬福，十字聖架，唯一的希望！」。

我們參與基督的祭獻

618. 十字架是基督的唯一祭獻，基督是「天主與人之間的唯一中保」(弟前 2:5)。但因天主子降生成人，「在某種程度上，與每個人結合在一 起」。「聖神給眾人提供參加逾越奧跡的可能性，但其方式只有天主知道」。基督叫自己的門徒們背起他們的十字架跟隨祂，因為祂為我們受了苦，給我們留下榜樣，叫我們追隨祂的足跡。事實上，祂願那些首先受惠者也參與祂的贖罪祭獻。此事以最完美的方式在祂的母親身上完成，她比任何人都更密切地與基督救贖的苦難奧跡相連。

聖羅撒•利馬，《奇妙的生命》：十字架以外，沒有其他上天之梯。

撮要

619. 「基督照經上記載的，為我們的罪死了」(格前 15:3)。

620. 我們的救贖來自天主對我們主動的愛，因為「是祂愛了我們，且打發自己的兒子，為我們做贖罪祭」(若一 4:10)。「原來天主在基督內，使世界與天主和好」(格後 5:19)。

621. 耶穌為救我們而甘願犧牲了自己。在最後晚餐中，祂預先表達及實現了此項犧牲：「這是我的身體，為你們而捨棄的」(路 22:19)。

622. 基督的救贖在於此：祂「來……交出自己的生命，為大眾作贖價」(瑪 20:28)，就是「愛祂自己的人到底」(若 13:1) ，為把他們「由他們祖傳的虛妄生活中救贖出來」(伯前 1:18)。 

623. 耶穌藉服從父，「甚至死在十字架上」(斐 2:8)的那種愛，完成了受苦僕人的贖罪使命，使許多人成義，因為祂承擔了他們的罪過。

Paragraph 2. JESUS DIED CRUCIFIED

I. THE TRIAL OF JESUS

Divisions among the Jewish authorities concerning Jesus

595 Among the religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both secret disciples of Jesus, but there was also long-standing dissension about him, so much so that St. John says of these authorities on the very eve of Christ's Passion, "many.. . believed in him", though very imperfectly.³⁷⁸ This is not surprising, if one recalls that on the day after Pentecost "a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith" and "some believers. . . belonged to the party of the Pharisees", to the point that St. James could tell St. Paul, "How many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed; and they are all zealous for the Law."³⁷⁹

596 The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus.³⁸⁰ The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers.³⁸¹ To those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."³⁸² The Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition.³⁸³ The chief priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus to death.³⁸⁴

Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus' death

597 The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. the personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles' calls to conversion after Pentecost.³⁸⁵ Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept "the ignorance" of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their leaders.³⁸⁶ Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: "His blood be on us and on our children!", a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence.³⁸⁷ As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council: . . .

Neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion. . . the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture.³⁸⁸

All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion

598 In her Magisterial teaching of the faith and in the witness of her saints, the Church has never forgotten that "sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured."³⁸⁹ Taking into account the fact that our sins affect Christ himself,³⁹⁰ The Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone:

We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into their sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross, those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him up to contempt. and it can be seen that our crime in this case is greater in us than in the Jews. As for them, according to the witness of the Apostle, "None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." We, however, profess to know him. and when we deny him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on him.³⁹¹

Nor did demons crucify him; it is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.³⁹²

II. CHRIST'S REDEMPTIVE DEATH IN GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION

"Jesus handed over according to the definite plan of God"

599 Jesus' violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God's plan, as St. Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on Pentecost: "This Jesus (was) delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God."³⁹³ This Biblical language does not mean that those who handed him over were merely passive players in a scenario written in advance by God.³⁹⁴

600 To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination", he includes in it each person's free response to his grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place."³⁹⁵ For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness.³⁹⁶
"He died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures"

601 The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of sin.³⁹⁷ Citing a confession of faith that he himself had "received", St. Paul professes that "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures."³⁹⁸ In particular Jesus' redemptive death fulfils Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering Servant.³⁹⁹ Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of God's suffering Servant.⁴⁰⁰ After his Resurrection he gave this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the apostles.⁴⁰¹

"For our sake God made him to be sin"

602 Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers... with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake."⁴⁰² Man's sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death.⁴⁰³ By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God "made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."⁴⁰⁴

603 Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned.⁴⁰⁵ But in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the point that he could say in our name from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"⁴⁰⁶ Having thus established him in solidarity with us sinners, God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all", so that we might be "reconciled to God by the death of his Son".⁴⁰⁷

God takes the initiative of universal redeeming love

604 By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his plan for us is one of benevolent love, prior to any merit on our part: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins."⁴⁰⁸ God "shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."⁴⁰⁹

605 At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God's love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."⁴¹⁰ He affirms that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many"; this last term is not restrictive, but contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique person of the redeemer who hands himself over to save us.⁴¹¹ The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: "There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer."⁴¹²

III. CHRIST OFFERED HIMSELF TO HIS FATHER FOR OUR SINS

Christ's whole life is an offering to the Father

606 The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do (his) own will, but the will of him who sent (him)",⁴¹³ said on coming into the world, "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." "and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."⁴¹⁴ From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his redemptive mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work."⁴¹⁵ The sacrifice of Jesus "for the sins of the whole world"⁴¹⁶ expresses his loving communion with the Father. "The Father loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord, "(for) I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father."⁴¹⁷

607 The desire to embrace his Father's plan of redeeming love inspired Jesus' whole life,⁴¹⁸ for his redemptive passion was the very reason for his Incarnation. and so he asked, "and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour."⁴¹⁹ and again, "Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?"⁴²⁰ From the cross, just before "It is finished", he said, "I thirst."⁴²¹

"The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world"

608 After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".⁴²² By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first Passover.⁴²³ Christ's whole life expresses his mission: "to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."⁴²⁴

Jesus freely embraced the Father's redeeming love

609 By embracing in his human heart the Father's love for men, Jesus "loved them to the end", for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."⁴²⁵ In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men.⁴²⁶ Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death: "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."⁴²⁷ Hence the sovereign freedom of God's Son as he went out to his death.⁴²⁸

At the Last Supper Jesus anticipated the free offering of his life

610 Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night he was betrayed".⁴²⁹ On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the salvation of men: "This is my body which is given for you." "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."⁴³⁰

611 The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his sacrifice.⁴³¹ Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering and bids them perpetuate it.⁴³² By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."⁴³³

The agony at Gethsemani

612 The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani,⁴³⁴ making himself "obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. . ."⁴³⁵ Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly exempt from sin, the cause of death.⁴³⁶ Above all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine person of the "Author of life", the "Living One".⁴³⁷ By accepting in his human will that the Father's will be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree."⁴³⁸

Christ's death is the unique and definitive sacrifice

613 Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world",⁴³⁹ and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the "blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins".⁴⁴⁰

614 This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices.⁴⁴¹ First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience.⁴⁴²

Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience

615 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous."⁴⁴³ By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who "makes himself an offering for sin", when "he bore the sin of many", and who "shall make many to be accounted righteous", for "he shall bear their iniquities".⁴⁴⁴ Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father.⁴⁴⁵

Jesus consummates his sacrifice on the cross

616 It is love "to the end"⁴⁴⁶ that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life.⁴⁴⁷ Now "the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died."⁴⁴⁸ No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. the existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.

617 The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the source of eternal salvation"⁴⁴⁹ and teaches that "his most holy Passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for us."⁴⁵⁰ and the Church venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only hope."⁴⁵¹

Our participation in Christ's sacrifice

618 The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men".⁴⁵² But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" is offered to all men.⁴⁵³ He calls his disciples to "take up [their] cross and follow (him)",⁴⁵⁴ for "Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example so that (we) should follow in his steps."⁴⁵⁵ In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries.⁴⁵⁶ This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering.⁴⁵⁷ Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.⁴⁵⁸

IN BRIEF

619 "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures" (⇒ I Cor 15:3).

620 Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because "he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (⇒ I Jn 4:10). "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (⇒ 2 Cor 5:19).

621 Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really present: "This is my body which is given for you" (⇒ Lk 22:19).

622 The redemption won by Christ consists in this, that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (⇒ Mt 20:28), that is, he "loved [his own] to the end" (⇒ Jn 13:1), so that they might be "ransomed from the futile ways inherited from [their] fathers" (⇒ I Pt 1:18).

623 By his loving obedience to the Father, "unto death, even death on a cross" (⇒ Phil 2:8), Jesus fulfils the atoning mission (cf ⇒ Is 53:10) of the suffering Servant, who will "make many righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities" (⇒ Is 53:11; cf. ⇒ Rom 5:19).

第三節 耶穌基督被埋葬

624. 「這原是出於天主的恩寵，使祂為每個人嘗到死味」(希 2:9)。天主在祂的救恩計劃中，安排了祂的兒子，不但「為我們的罪死了」(格前 15:3)，而且也「嘗到死味」，就是在祂於十字架上斷氣及復活之間的那段時期經驗死亡，靈魂與肉身分離的處境，基督死後的情況就是埋葬和下降陰府的奧跡。這就是聖週六紀念的奧跡，基督被安放在墓穴裡，顯示天主在完成人類的救恩，給宇宙帶來和平後，進入「第七日」偉大的安息中。

基督的身體留在墓中

625. 基督在墓中的逗留，構成了兩個狀態的真實聯繫，一是逾越前的能受苦狀態，另一個是復活後現有的光榮狀態。這同一位「生活者」可以這樣說：「我曾死過，可是我如今卻活著，一直到萬世萬代」(默 1:18)。

聖額我略•尼撒，《教理講述》：天主子並沒有阻止死亡把靈魂與身體分離，一如自然界所發生的，但祂以復活把兩者重新結合起來，為的是在祂身上，成為死亡與生命的相遇，阻止在祂身上產生死亡的自然分解，而祂自己則成為那分離部分重新結合的根源。

626. 由於曾被殺害的「生命之原」就是同一位「死而復活的生活者」，天主子的屬神位格必須繼續攝取祂那因死亡而分開的靈魂與肉體：

聖若望•達瑪森，《論正統信仰》：事實上，在基督死亡時，靈魂曾與肉身分離，但獨一的位格並未因此被分為兩個，因為基督的肉身和靈魂，一開始就以同等地位存在於聖言的位格上；故在死亡時，雖然兩者分離，但仍各自留在聖言的同樣和唯一的位格中。

「祢絕不讓祢的聖者見到腐朽」

627. 基督的死亡是真實的死亡，因為它結束了祂的塵世生活。但由於祂的肉身跟聖子位格的結合，並未受到其他屍體一般的遭遇，因為「祂不能接受死亡的控制」，所以「天主的能力使基督的肉體免遭腐朽」。對於基督可以同時說：「祂從活人的地上被剪除」(依 53:8)，並說：「我的肉軀無憂安眠，因為祢絕不會將我遺棄在陰府，祢也絕不讓祢的聖者見到腐朽」(詠 16:9-10)。耶穌「第三天」 (格前 15:4; 路 24:46)復活就可証明此點，因為一般相信由第四天起，屍體會開始腐爛。

「與基督同葬」

628. 聖洗的原始和圓滿的標記是浸水，它有效地表示基督徒進入墳墓，與基督死於罪惡，以獲得新生：「我們藉著洗禮已歸於死亡與祂同葬了，為的是基督怎樣藉著父的光榮，從死者中復活了，我們也怎樣在新生活中度生」(羅 6:4)。

撮要

629. 耶穌為造福每個人而嘗到了死亡的滋味 ，死而被埋葬的那一位確是降生成人的天主子。

630. 在基督被埋在墓中的期間，祂天主性的位格仍繼續統攝著被死亡所分離的靈魂和肉身。為此，基督死後的身體，並「沒有見到腐朽」(宗 13:37)。

Paragraph 3. JESUS CHRIST WAS BURIED

624 "By the grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every one".⁴⁵⁹ In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our sins"⁴⁶⁰ but should also "taste death", experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. the state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the tomb,⁴⁶¹ reveals God's great sabbath rest⁴⁶² after the fulfilment⁴⁶³ of man's salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe.⁴⁶⁴

Christ in the tomb in his body

625 Christ's stay in the tomb constitutes the real link between his passible state before Easter and his glorious and risen state today. the same person of the "Living One" can say, "I died, and behold I am alive for evermore":⁴⁶⁵

God [the Son] did not impede death from separating his soul from his body according to the necessary order of nature, but has reunited them to one another in the Resurrection, so that he himself might be, in his person, the meeting point for death and life, by arresting in himself the decomposition of nature produced by death and so becoming the source of reunion for the separated parts.⁴⁶⁶

626 Since the "Author of life" who was killed⁴⁶⁷ is the same "living one [who has] risen",⁴⁶⁸ The divine person of the Son of God necessarily continued to possess his human soul and body, separated from each other by death:

By the fact that at Chnst's death his soul was separated from his flesh, his one person is not itself divided into two persons; for the human body and soul of Christ have existed in the same way from the beginning of his earthly existence, in the divine person of the Word; and in death, although separated from each other, both remained with one and the same person of the Word.⁴⁶⁹

"You will not let your Holy One see corruption"

627 Christ's death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union his body retained with the person of the Son, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for "divine power preserved Christ's body from corruption."⁴⁷⁰ Both of these statements can be said of Christ: "He was cut off out of the land of the living",⁴⁷¹ and "My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption."⁴⁷² Jesus' Resurrection "on the third day" was the proof of this, for bodily decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death.⁴⁷³

"Buried with Christ. . ."

628 Baptism, the original and full sign of which is immersion, efficaciously signifies the descent into the tomb by the Christian who dies to sin with Christ in order to live a new life. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."⁴⁷⁴

IN BRIEF

629 To the benefit of every man, Jesus Christ tasted death (cf ⇒ Heb 2:9). It is truly the Son of God made man who died and was buried.

630 During Christ's period in the tomb, his divine person continued to assume both his soul and his body, although they were separated from each other by death. For this reason the dead Christ's body "saw no corruption" (⇒ Acts 13:37).