(Ref. Texts: 2Sam 5:1–3; Ps 122⁄121; Col 1:12–20; Luke 23:35–43)
“For that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10–11).
“O Jesus Christ, I acknowledge you as universal King. All that has been made has been created through you and for you. Exercise all your rights over me. I renew my baptismal vows. I renounce every evil, falsehood, injustice; I promise to live as a just and honest person. And, in particular do I pledge myself to labour, to the best of my ability, for the triumph of justice and truth. Divine Heart of Jesus, to you do I offer my services, labouring that all hearts may acknowledge your sacred kingship, and that thus the reign of your shalom be established throughout the whole universe. Amen.”
Preamble
According to the liturgical calendar of the Church, this Sunday marks the last Sunday of the year. Hence, the Church’s liturgical year ends today with the celebration of Jesus as the universal king. In primis, I thank God for blessing, guiding, enlightening and protecting all of us. I equally thank you dear friends, for manifesting God’s goodness in your lives and for witnessing to the Gospel in your various capacities, and especially, for making out time to read my reflections on https://www.uchennabiblia.com. God bless you!
The Feast of Christ the King is a feast of happiness and spiritual growth. In this regard, Pius XI pointed out that Jesus is the author of happiness. He wrote “Oh, what happiness would be Ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations, would but let themselves be governed by Christ!”
The audience under the cross
The Jewish Assembly (the Sanhedrin) laid a triple accusation against Jesus. When they brought Jesus before Pilate, they said “we found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah, a king” (Luke 23:2). Since the Romans were not interested in the religious accusations and condemnation of Jesus, the Sanhedrin quickly presented political motivations. By accusing Jesus of misleading the people, they meant he was discouraging them from being loyal to Rome. That he forbade people from paying tribute to Caesar is totally false (cf. Luke 20:20–26). As regards his claim of being the messiah and king, Jesus clarified this directly to Pilate (cf. John 18:33.36–37). Even the chief priests, scribes and Herod accused Jesus and maltreated him. Despite finding him innocent, Pilate preferred maintaining his earthly throne and handed Jesus over to be crucified. What a world!
While on the cross, Jesus was watched by four sets of people. First, we have the powerless people who could not do anything even if they wanted. In verses 26–27, Luke reports that as the soldiers led Jesus away from Pilate’s house to be crucified, a large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed. Definitely, the same people stood there, under the cross watching Jesus while he hung on the cross, suffering. They could only watch, mourn and wail. They had no power to change the situation, so, watching became the only option. Has this situation changed today?
Secondly, the rulers/leaders (Greek: archontes) who had power and could do something, but refused to offer any help to Jesus. Instead, they ridiculed (Greek: ekmuktērizō) him saying: He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen/Elected (Greek: eklektos) One! An archon is a high official, a respected leader (cf. Matt 9:18), one invested with authority (cf. Rom 13:3). The archontes were the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish authority. Instead of pitying Jesus and standing by the truth, they ridiculed and insulted him. The Greek verb ekmuktērizō is a nasal gesture. Literally, it means to turn a person’s nose at another person, hence, to sneer at, to scoff at, to ridicule (cf. also Luke 16:14). This was what the Jewish highest authority did to Jesus. With their sneering at Jesus, Luke made a distinction between them and the people who could not confront them. How often do we see those in authority misbehave, yet, we prefer to be statues who neither see, hear, move, reason nor speak? In the face of pronounced injustice by those in authority (civil and religious), some stay and watch like those people under the cross of Jesus. They watched because they were helpless and could not do anything. On the other hand, there are those who can do something but they prefer to remain blind because they are aspiring for something. Those are hypocrites and godless. You find these people everywhere including our Churches. The ruthlessness of the Sanhedrin is summed in these words “he saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the chosen One” (Luke 23:35). They thought they were mocking Jesus, not knowing they were mocking themselves.
Thirdly, the next set of those who stood under the cross of Jesus were the soldiers. Like the rulers whose (unjust) order they obeyed, they mocked (Greek: empaizō) Jesus instead of feeling his pains and agony. They furthered their mockery by going to him and offering him sour wine, challenging his kingship by inviting him to save himself if he is truly the king of the Jews. This is as a result of the inscription over him in Latin, Greek and Hebrew which read “this is the king of the Jews” (cf. Luke 23:38). According to the Johannine narration, when the Chief priests of the Jews saw this inscription, they protested to Pilate saying, “do not write the king of the Jews, but that he said I am the king of the Jews” (John 19:21). Naturally, Pilate refused and told them “ho gegrapha gegrapha – what I have written, I have written” (John 19:22). Yes, what he has written, he has written. And what did he write? That Jesus is the king of the Jews and the entire universe. It is this universality of Jesus’ kingship that we are celebrating today. Again, like the Sanhedrin, they thought they were ridiculing Jesus, but they never knew they were mocking and making fool of themselves. The wine vinegar offered to Jesus was the common drink of labourers and soldiers. Matthew notes that Jesus refused to drink it (cf. Matt 27:34). On his part, Luke notes this drink was offered in mockery. They later offered Jesus vinegar drink when he cried out in thirst (cf. John 19:28–30).
Finally, even a professional and confirmed criminal (Greek: kakourgos) hanging on the cross by his side reviled (Greek: blasphēmeō) him, challenging him to prove his anointedness (messiaship) by saving himself and saving him and his companion (cf. Luke 23:39). Although Luke did not give the content of this blasphēmeō, but from its meaning, we know the criminal reviled, spoke injuriously, insulted and defamed Jesus’ reputation (cf. Matt 26:65; Titus 3:2). Among other things, Jesus also brought freedom of expression. Yes, he granted freedom of expression to all, even to the guilty. A criminal who should have remained quiet joined the Sanhedrin and the soldiers to insult Jesus. I am sure the Sanhedrin and the soldiers allowed him to speak because he was reviling Jesus, else, they would have acted otherwise. However, this scene should not be taken literally. Luke must have included it to show how adamant and unrepentant some can be even in the midst of death. Sometimes, the other criminal who reprimanded his companion is wrongly tagged good thief. This is wrong! No thief is good. Again, by adding this scene, Luke may have wanted to indicate that it is only the criminal who recognized the kingdom of God in his midst. Furthermore, there is also the suggestion that Luke used the scenario to re-create the Fall and loss of the kingdom as documented in the Book of Origin (Genesis) 2:8–9. Therefore, Jesus’ words, “Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), might be a reference to the restoration of the personal relationship with God in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. As Adam was chased away from the Garden of Eden, so this criminal was welcomed into the kingdom of God. That which Adam lost by sinning, this criminal gained by repenting. Rather than a social account, Luke 23:39–43 is a theological event.
Further Reflection on Luke 23:43
To one of the criminals who reprimanded his colleague for reviling Jesus crucified unjustly, and who pleaded with Jesus to welcome him into his kingdom, Jesus said: Amēn soi legō, sēmeron met’emou esē en tō paradeisō. Generally, in Luke, today has a theological and salvific connotation. And he is known for constant use of sēmeron – today. For instance, after reading out his mission program (Luke 4:16–19) in the Nazareth Synagogue, Jesus in his interpretation of the passage just read, informed his listeners that today, the Scripture they heard is fulfilled in their ears (4:21). Again, in 19:9, after confessing his sins and promising to return whatever he might have taken unjustly, Jesus informed Zacchaeus that today, salvation (Greek: sōtēria) has entered his house. In these instances, today should not be understood as a day different from yesterday and tomorrow. Like the Lukan kairos (time), it is the moment of salvation, it is a theological today. Again, amen is a solemn declaration. When used in conjunction with legō (to say/speak), it is meant to emphasize that what is being said is a solemn declaration of what is true. It is a form of swearing. Hence, Jesus swore to the repented thief that today, he will be with him in the kingdom of his Father. Alleluia!