The Sunday Gospel [November 21, 2010]
The Crucifixion
35[As Jesus hung on the cross,] the people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.” 36Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” 38Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” 39Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” 40The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The King Who Would Not Save Himself
The passion accounts, though substantially faithful to history, were not written primarily to provide us with historical information. The evangelists wanted to show us who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Mark and Matthew underline Jesus’ silence and suffering to remind us perhaps of the Suffering Servant of God in Isaiah 53, who “like a lamb led to slaughter… was silent and opened not his mouth.” John, on the other hand, heightens the mystery and majesty of Jesus. The Son of God controls his own destiny. No one takes away his life from him, he gives it up willingly.
The crucifixion scene in Luke, this year’s Gospel for Christ the King, gives us another picture of Jesus. “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself,” jeer the soldiers who join the Jewish leaders in tormenting him. What kind of a king is this who agonizes in total helplessness on the cross? He is known to have saved others before, why can he not save himself? Is he after all but a pretender to the messianic title?
Luke, with a touch of artistic irony, tells us that even as Jesus is being mocked for his helplessness, he is actually saving people. He does not save himself from suffering and death precisely because he wants to give life to others—life beyond death. Even while hanging on the cross, he does not forget why he was sent on earth by the Father. He prays for his tormentors: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). If not forgiven by God, those who have a hand in Jesus’ death will surely be meted severe punishment. He also reassures the repentant criminal with the promise of paradise: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23: 43). Paradise, a symbolic word of Persian origin, literally means “garden, a place of exquisite beauty.” Jesus uses it in response to the criminal’s use of the word kingdom. In the New Testament, paradise is synonymous with the kingdom of God. “To the victor,” the glorified Jesus says in Revelation (2:7), “I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is the garden (paradise) of God.”
At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples: “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those in authority over them are addressed as ‘Benefactors’; but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant” (Lk 22:25-26). On the cross, Jesus becomes an embodiment of his teaching.
Those who occupy a position of leadership among God’s people are especially challenged by Jesus’ example. Greatness in the kingdom is not a matter of having influence, prestige, or power. It is striving to serve others, to assist them to enter the kingdom. And the sacrifice of oneself makes one’s rule truly effective.
35[As Jesus hung on the cross,] the people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.” 36Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” 38Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” 39Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” 40The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The King Who Would Not Save Himself
The passion accounts, though substantially faithful to history, were not written primarily to provide us with historical information. The evangelists wanted to show us who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Mark and Matthew underline Jesus’ silence and suffering to remind us perhaps of the Suffering Servant of God in Isaiah 53, who “like a lamb led to slaughter… was silent and opened not his mouth.” John, on the other hand, heightens the mystery and majesty of Jesus. The Son of God controls his own destiny. No one takes away his life from him, he gives it up willingly.
The crucifixion scene in Luke, this year’s Gospel for Christ the King, gives us another picture of Jesus. “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself,” jeer the soldiers who join the Jewish leaders in tormenting him. What kind of a king is this who agonizes in total helplessness on the cross? He is known to have saved others before, why can he not save himself? Is he after all but a pretender to the messianic title?
Luke, with a touch of artistic irony, tells us that even as Jesus is being mocked for his helplessness, he is actually saving people. He does not save himself from suffering and death precisely because he wants to give life to others—life beyond death. Even while hanging on the cross, he does not forget why he was sent on earth by the Father. He prays for his tormentors: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). If not forgiven by God, those who have a hand in Jesus’ death will surely be meted severe punishment. He also reassures the repentant criminal with the promise of paradise: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23: 43). Paradise, a symbolic word of Persian origin, literally means “garden, a place of exquisite beauty.” Jesus uses it in response to the criminal’s use of the word kingdom. In the New Testament, paradise is synonymous with the kingdom of God. “To the victor,” the glorified Jesus says in Revelation (2:7), “I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is the garden (paradise) of God.”
At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples: “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those in authority over them are addressed as ‘Benefactors’; but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant” (Lk 22:25-26). On the cross, Jesus becomes an embodiment of his teaching.
Those who occupy a position of leadership among God’s people are especially challenged by Jesus’ example. Greatness in the kingdom is not a matter of having influence, prestige, or power. It is striving to serve others, to assist them to enter the kingdom. And the sacrifice of oneself makes one’s rule truly effective.
No comments:
Post a Comment