As Christians worldwide commemorated Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ died on the cross, Father Frank Pavone told Newsmax that Christ had more freedom going to his death on the cross than the Roman official, Pontius Pilate, who condemned him to death.
"Looking at it on a human level one might say, 'Well, of course, Pilate [was freer]; Jesus was being condemned and crucified.' No, it was Jesus Christ who was freer," Pavone said during "Rob Schmitt Tonight" Friday.
"[Jesus] went to that cross freely. This was not the triumph of Jesus' enemies over him; this was Jesus jumping into our struggles, our life, our death, and freeing us from our enemies."
Pavone said those who opposed and wanted to persecute Christ hated the good news his life and acts brought to the world.
"They're the same enemies: those who hate truth, those who hate life, and those who hate freedom," he said. "Jesus Christ got crucified freely — not because he went to Pilate and he said, 'Hey, nail me to a cross,' but because he kept saying the things that were true despite how many people got upset; he kept doing the things that were right."
Pavone said that Christ knew how much his actions and speech would "rile" up the civic authorities and that it would culminate in his death and sacrifice for the sins of humanity, but continued to freely do what he needed to because it was right.
"He knew it would lead him to the cross so that he could not only show us the example but give us the power to do the same thing," Pavone said. "We're not just working for victory. We're working from victory. Victory is our starting point, and it starts today when Jesus Christ conquered sin and death."
He said that while Christ was free to carry out his mission on Earth, Pilate was the one actually enslaved because he could not do the right thing and release the innocent Christ but succumbed to the angry mob calling for his crucifixion.
"[Pilate] couldn't do what he knew was right," Pavone said. "He knew Jesus wasn't guilty. He couldn't do anything because he yielded to the pressure of the crowds. He was yielding ... to the political correctness of his day. This is our hope, and this is why there are these parallels [today] because it really is the same battle against the enemies of truth, life, and freedom."
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