113. The Efficient Cause of Christ's Passion

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Direct vs. Indirect Causation in Christ’s Death: The persecutors of Christ acted as direct efficient causes by inflicting violence with intention to kill; Christ was the indirect cause by not impeding his own death when he possessed the power to do so
• The Problem of Voluntary Death Under Violence: How Christ could simultaneously undergo violent death inflicted by others and yet voluntarily lay down his life
• Christ’s Retained Strength at Death: Christ cried out with a loud voice before expiring, demonstrating he retained bodily vigor and voluntarily surrendered his spirit rather than gradually weakening like typical crucifixion victims
• The Role of Christ’s Soul: Christ’s soul had the power to conserve his body’s nature and could have repelled injuries, but willed that the bodily nature succumb to harm

Key Arguments #

Against the Claim That Christ Killed Himself (Objections) #

• Christ himself said “no one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down” (John 10:18), suggesting he was not killed by others
• Those killed by others gradually fail as nature becomes debilitated; Christ cried out with a great voice, indicating voluntary death
• Those killed by others die by violence, opposed to the voluntary; but Augustine says Christ’s spirit departed willingly, not unwillingly

Thomas’s Resolution: Two Modes of Causation #

Direct Efficient Causation:

• The persecutors killed Christ by acting directly toward death
• They inflicted sufficient cause of death through violence and intention to kill
• The effect (death) followed from this cause

Indirect Causation:

• Christ was cause of his own passion by not impeding death when able to do so
• He could have reprimanded adversaries so they would not wish or be able to kill him
• His soul had power to conserve his flesh through its union with the Word, but he willed that the body succumb to injury
• By not impeding, he “laid down his soul” and “voluntarily died”

On the Apparent Contradiction (Voluntary Death + Violence) #

• Christ underwent violence and yet died voluntarily because the violence inflicted on his body overcame it only as much as he willed it to overcome it
• The persecutors’ violence was sufficient cause of death in the natural order
• Christ’s will did not resist or impede this natural effect
• This is analogous to a condemned person who does not resist when executed: they do not impede what is within their power to impede

On Christ’s Miraculous Strength in Death #

• Unlike typical crucifixion victims who gradually weaken and lose the power to speak, Christ retained strength to cry out with a loud voice
• This cry is counted among the miracles of Christ’s death
• It demonstrated that his death came not from nature’s weakness but from his voluntary surrender
• The centurion witnessing this cry with great voice was converted, declaring “Truly this man is the Son of God” (Mark 15:39)
• Christ’s body was not broken (unlike the other crucified men) because he was already dead—showing his death came quickly by his will rather than from the effects of crucifixion

Important Definitions #

Efficient Cause: That which acts directly to produce an effect; in Christ’s case, the persecutors who inflicted violence

Indirect Cause (Causa per se non, sed per accidens): One who fails to impede an effect when possessed of the power to do so; in Christ’s case, his voluntary non-resistance to death

Passion (in general sense): Undergoing that is proper to a power or the undergoing of the subject in which a power is rooted; distinct from the active power to resist

Suppositum (Latin) or Hypostasis (Greek): The person or individual substance that possesses both divine and human natures; Christ is one suppositum with two natures

Examples & Illustrations #

• The Open Window: If someone leaves a window open and rain enters the house, that person is an indirect cause of water damage by not impeding it when able to close the window. Similarly, Christ was an indirect cause of his death by not impeding the persecutors’ action
• The Crucifixion vs. Voluntary Death: Ordinary victims of crucifixion gradually weaken and lose power; Christ retained strength to cry out with a loud voice, showing his death was not from weakness but from voluntary surrender
• The Centurion’s Conversion: The centurion standing opposite witnessed how Christ expired by crying out with a loud voice and was thereby converted, declaring Christ to be the Son of God (Mark 15:39)
• The Unbroken Legs: The soldiers broke the legs of the other two crucified to hasten their death, but found Christ already dead and did not break his legs—evidence his death came quickly by his will, not from the prolonged effects of crucifixion
• Thomas More: The example of laying down one’s head on the block voluntarily while possessing the power to resist (as with Thomas More and Franciscan martyrs)

Questions Addressed #

Was Christ killed by others or by himself?

• Answer: Both. The persecutors acted as direct efficient causes by inflicting lethal violence. Christ was the indirect cause by possessing the power to impede his death but voluntarily not using it.

How could Christ undergo violence and yet die voluntarily?

• Answer: The violence inflicted on Christ’s body was sufficient to cause natural death, but it overcame his body only insofar as he willed it to overcome it. His will did not resist or impede what was in his power to impede.

Why did Christ retain strength to cry out if he was truly being killed?

• Answer: This was miraculous and demonstrated his voluntary surrender. Unlike typical victims, his death did not result from nature’s weakness but from his willing surrender of his spirit when he chose.

Connections to Broader Thomistic Framework #

• Continues Question 46 on the passion itself; part of the examination of Christ’s exit from this world (passion, death, burial, descent to hell)
• Demonstrates how the same action can be variously characterized depending on the agent’s intention and will
• Illustrates the principle that causation is not purely mechanical but involves the cooperation of will and intellect
• Shows how Christ’s voluntary obedience (from a later question) complements his voluntary death