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It seems that Christ was not slain by another, for He said: "No
man taketh My life from Me."[1784] But, on the other hand,
He declared of Himself: "And after they have scourged Him, they
will put Him to death."[1785]
Reply. There are two parts to this answer.
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1) Christ was not the direct cause of His death, for He did not
kill Himself, but His persecutors killed Him, as He Himself
declared: "they will put Him to death."[1786]
2) But Christ was the indirect cause of His passion and death,
because He did not prevent it when He could have done so.[1787]
"This He was able to do: (1) by holding His enemies in check so
that they would not have been eager to slay Him, or would have been
powerless to do so; (2) because His spirit had the power of
preserving His fleshly nature from the infliction of any injury....
Thus He is said to have laid down His life, or to have died
voluntarily."[1788]
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Similarly Christ could say: No man taketh away life from Me, that
is, against My will, and this He manifested for "He preserved the
strength of His bodily nature so that at the last moment He was able
to cry out with a loud voice, and hence His death should be computed
among His other miracles."[1789]
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