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How Christ Lived and Suffered for Us, According to St. Innocent of Alaska
12:58
What the video says
The basis of life is love of God and neighbor, but because of sinfulness no one loves perfectly except Jesus Christ. The narration recounts how Christ, being God, humbled himself: born in poverty, obedient to the law and his parents, serving people and washing his disciples' feet, praying constantly and doing good to all.
Despite his goodness, he was slandered, threatened with stoning, and hated by the Jewish leaders, who after the raising of Lazarus resolved to kill him. At the last supper he instituted Holy Communion, then suffered in Gethsemane, where he took upon himself the sins of all people from Adam onward and foresaw the hypocrisy and schisms that would come even among Christians.
He was arrested, tried by the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate, and the crowd chose Barabbas over him. Scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified at Golgotha between two robbers, he died the cruelest of deaths while the sun darkened and the earth quaked. He suffered for all mankind, for enemies and sinners who crucify him again by their sins, and the narration ends by asking who can comprehend this mystery of godly love.
Key moments
- Because of sinfulness, no one can love God and neighbor perfectly; only Jesus Christ loved everyone, even his enemies.
- Christ, the sovereign heavenly king, came down from heaven, was incarnate, and was born in poverty in a manger in a cave to restore our corrupted nature.
- He submitted to the Jewish law: circumcised on the eighth day, brought to the temple on the 40th day, obedient to his mother and Joseph, respectful to elders and governors, and paying taxes.
- He lived willingly in poverty, served people and washed his disciples' feet, prayed constantly, took part in synagogue prayers, and made pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem.
- People slandered him as a sinner, a carpenter's son, a friend of drunkards, and possessed; some tried to stone him or throw him from a mountaintop, yet he pitied them and prayed for their salvation.
- He raised Lazarus, who had been in the grave four days, and after this miracle many believed, but the high priests and scribes decided to kill both Christ and Lazarus.
- At the last supper he instituted Holy Communion; in Gethsemane his sweat became blood as he took on the sins of billions of people, and he foresaw hypocrites, false teachers, and schisms in the church.
- The Sanhedrin sentenced him to death for blasphemy; Pilate, though wanting to release him, gave in to the crowd, freed Barabbas, and Christ was scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified at Golgotha, where the sun darkened and the earth quaked.
A narration drawn from St. Innocent of Alaska's 'The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven' recounts the life and Passion of Jesus Christ. It begins with the premise that the basis of life is love of God and neighbor, but that because of sinfulness no one loves perfectly except Christ. The text describes how Christ, being God, humbled himself: born in poverty in a manger in a cave, circumcised on the eighth day, brought to the temple on the 40th day, obedient to his mother and Joseph, and paying taxes.
He lived willingly in poverty, washed his disciples' feet, prayed constantly, and made pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem. People slandered him as a sinner, a carpenter's son, a friend of drunkards, and possessed; some tried to stone him or throw him from a mountaintop, yet he pitied them and prayed for their salvation. After he raised Lazarus, who had been in the grave four days, the high priests and scribes resolved to kill both Christ and Lazarus.
At the last supper he instituted Holy Communion. In Gethsemane his sweat became blood as he took on the sins of all people from Adam onward, and he foresaw the hypocrites, false teachers, and schisms that would come even among Christians. The Sanhedrin sentenced him to death for blasphemy. Pilate wanted to release him but gave in to the crowd, freed Barabbas, and handed Christ over to be scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified at Golgotha between two robbers.
The sun darkened and the earth quaked at his death. The narration states that he suffered for all mankind, for enemies and sinners who crucify him again by their sins, and closes by asking who can comprehend this mystery of godly love.
Main points
- No one loves God and neighbor perfectly because of sinfulness; only Christ loved everyone, even his enemies.
- Christ, the heavenly king, was born in poverty in a manger in a cave and submitted to the law, his parents, and earthly authorities.
- People slandered him and tried to stone him or throw him from a mountaintop, yet he prayed for their salvation.
- After raising Lazarus, the high priests and scribes decided to kill both Christ and Lazarus; at the last supper he instituted Holy Communion.
- In Gethsemane he took on the sins of all people; sentenced by the Sanhedrin and handed over by Pilate, he was crucified at Golgotha while the sun darkened and the earth quaked.