Are You the King of the Jews?

 

 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  

 

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at this time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 

- Luke 23:1–12 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Christ's betrayal and arrest, the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.   As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  and they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

  Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."   My study Bible tells us that the religious accusations against Jesus (Luke 22:66-71) would not be enough to justify a death sentence under Roman occupation.  So, therefore, the chief priests invent false (Luke 20:20-26) and politically charged accusations in order to persuade Pilate to put Jesus to death.  Pilate's question ("Are You the King of the Jews?") is more a mockery of the accusation itself than of Jesus.  Clearly, he doesn't take the political charges seriously ("I find no fault in this Man").  The answer Jesus gives, "It is as you say," can also be translated more ambiguously, "You say so."

 

 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at this time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  My study Bible comments that Herod sees Jesus as a novelty.  (Perhaps this is the way he had also viewed St. John the Baptist; see Mark 6:20.)  Christ's silence in this instance before Herod is an act of compassion.  To reveal divine mysteries in the face of such blasphemy would have brought Herod even greater condemnation.  According to St. Ambrose of Milan, says my study Bible, Herod is a figure who represents all unrighteous people who, if they don't recognize Jesus as the Christ, will never understand His words nor recognize His miracles.  

 

In terms of the "darkness" which we read about over the past few readings and those to come (see But this is your hour, and the power of darkness, Monday's reading), we see that darkness expressed in certain ways in today's reading as well.  There are first of all the deliberate falsehoods told to Pilate in order to extricate from him the death penalty for Jesus.  This is one level of darkness indeed, in which malice, spite, and envy play a great part in this devious behavior.  Note also that the chief priests and scribes offer to Herod the same false accusations.  There's the particular darkness of Pilate, who in fact can see that Jesus is innocent and that the accusations are preposterous, but who doesn't know nor understand Jesus.  And then there is the peculiar darkness of Herod, a Jew in some sense only by "training" in order to rule as tetrarch.  He knew John was a holy man, Mark's Gospel told us, and he delighted in asking questions and treating John as a sort of curiosity he had in his court for a while.  Here, Herod once again delights in being able to see Jesus, someone who is different and extraordinary, about whom we know he has heard much (Luke 9:9).  We're told that when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  Perhaps because he's been rebuffed by Jesus, who is not a pleasing plaything or curiosity as He answers nothing, and perhaps feeling justified through the vehement accusations of the chief priests and scribes, Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  Luke's Gospel here witnesses the same mocking and humiliating behavior given to Jesus at His detention overnight in the home of the high priest (see yesterday's reading, above).   Jesus, responding to this kind of "darkness," which is based in a type of ignorance, answers nothing.  St. Ambrose, as noted in my study Bible, categorizes unrighteous people such as Herod as those who will never understand His words or even comprehend his miracles because they don't recognize Him as the Christ to begin with.  Perhaps it would be more clear to say that, because of their own blindness, they cannot.  There is a blindness (or darkness) which is born of not simply ignorance but a preference for a kind of brutality, a sheerly material outlook, one characterized by the kind of indulgence we can observe of Herod throughout the Gospels.  This is a man who cares for power and what he gets thereby, more interested in pleasing his men of war and his own sense of "honor" before them than the things which are God's.  It's a very interesting note that Luke adds for us to this passage: that very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  Those familiar with any sort of hierarchy or bureaucracy can recognize such a friendship, based as it is on a kind of complement or courtesy of power, in that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod in what might be interpreted among the powerful as a gracious gesture of acknowledgment of his authority.  But there also might be a deeper sense here, also part of the darkness of the time, in that shared guilt or responsibility for injustice also seems to act as a kind of bind, even enslavement between people, a pact that ensures conspiracy when desired.  There are plenty of public scandals today which testify to this phenomenon at work among the powerful.  But let us consider here the grace of Jesus which stands alone among this darkness, mockery, lies, and injustice.  We -- especially in the modern Western world -- may be conditioned by our secular political perspectives to believe that it is always proper to speak out.  But Jesus knows something different, something better, and a deeper truth.  That not only would revealing more of the truth about Himself deliver an even greater condemnation to these men when they reject it, as they are bound to do (for it is judgment that is at work, the Judge who is standing before them), but that there is no purpose in delivering truth to those who cannot and will not see.  As He tried so hard to save Judas by any means available, so no doubt He would also try to save these others, if it were at all possible.  He gives us this touch -- a hint of wisdom, if we can but see it -- that there are times when it is proper not to speak, but to withdraw.  And so He does.  Midst the indignities, He holds His dignity, but the ignorant, in their darkness, cannot likely see it.  And so, this also explains His answer to Pilate, which might be translated, "You say so."   There is no point to answer what will not be clearly understood.  Perhaps it is Christ's humble demeanor which Pilate can easily read, for he's a shrewd man who's reached a position of authority in the Roman hierarchy.  Let us consider the time, and consider also what we might see around us in our own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder

 

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  

'The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone'?

"Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

 

- Luke 20:9-19 

 

On Saturday we read that it happened on one of those days, as Jesus taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  

 

  Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  My study Bible explains that, in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God, while the beloved son is a reference to Christ Himself.  So, when the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, it is understood on two levels.  First, Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem (Golgotha, the site of Crucifixion, was outside the city gates).  Second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own vineyard.  The others who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  

  

Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone'? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken  this parable against them.  That stone, my study Bible explains, is Christ.  It notes that, according to St. John Chrysostom, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those falling on the stone are people who suffer the effects of their own sins while yet in this life, whereas those on whom the stone falls are unrepentant people who become powder in the final judgment.

 

Christ speaks of Himself in today's reading, as "the stone which the builders rejected," and which in turn becomes "the chief cornerstone."   This is a quotation from Psalm 118:22, and He's clearly indicating that He is the fulfillment of this Psalm.  The religious leaders understand this perfectly as His meaning and context, but their response is to seek to lay hands on Him to kill Him.  The only thing that stops them at this point is their fear; they fear the people who delight to hear Christ speak (Luke 19:47-48).  When Jesus says, "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder," He is speaking of Himself as the Judge. When Jesus says, "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father" (Luke 10:22; Matthew 11:27), He is indicating that, upon completion of His mission in this world, of His Crucifixion, death, Resurrection and Ascension, all things in all of creation will be in His hands, and He will have authority over all things -- including Judgment at the end of the age.  So when these men, the chief priests and the scribes, immediately plan to lay hands on Him, they are in effect rejecting His authority over them, rejecting His role as Judge, rejecting Him as the Almighty; see John 5:22-23. What does it profit us to reject Christ as the Judge, to reject His word and teachings for us, even His way for us (John 14:6)?  From the standpoint of this authority to which He will ascend and fulfill, we might as well curse the laws of physics, and reject the fact that we need to breathe because we just don't feel like it.  For a rejection of Christ and His role that He will play is a rejection of the reality of the Lord, of the power of the universe and the spiritual truths behind it and all that we know.  This is what is meant in St. John's Gospel, when we are told, "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).  If we reject, we exclude ourselves from that authority and judgment, we exclude ourselves from the life that He has on offer to us.  This is not to say that we are punished, but that we have excluded ourselves from the eternal life He offers.  In the context of our faith, earthly death comes when our human soul is separated from our earthly body.  But true death, spiritual death, happens when our soul is separated from God, the Source of life.  We have no idea and cannot predict what happens when Christ will judge, and we cannot judge one another.  It seems that we cannot even judge ourselves, for we don't know ourselves as Christ knows us.  But we can accept with confidence what Jesus teaches us about His authority, and what he says regarding the stone the builder rejected.  We ourselves can stumble upon that stone in our lives in this world, suffering the effects of our own sins and errors, and learn from that, repent and change in our brokenness and failure.  Or we can carry on heedless and face the stone that that can crush to powder -- spiritual death -- in judgment.  Let us consider this warning of the One who loves us so much He's willing to suffer and die, to suffer judgment of the world, rejection by His own community, and a voluntary, literally excruciating death on the Cross, all so that we can live with Him.  Let us, unlike these men in today's reading, take His warnings seriously, for the life of the world, and our whole lives, depend upon it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus told the people this parable, as He was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  This is a continuation from yesterday's reading (see above) in which Jesus had told the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers to the people, in which those wicked vinedressers were clearly meant to be the religious leaders.  The chief priests and scribes sought to lay hands on Him to have Jesus arrested and put to death.  The governor is Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, whose power and authority is Rome's. 

 

 Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. My study Bible notes that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and it shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As this denarius coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to the emperor, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises, my study Bible says, only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

 

How do we discern the things that are Caesar's from the things that are God's?  Perhaps we might better consider this question if we ask ourselves what we render to either one.  What is it that we render to God?  When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment in the Law, He replies that there are two:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).  If we read those commandments carefully, we're given a text that teaches us what we should render to God:  our heart, our soul, and our mind.  And to love one's neighbor as oneself is also something we render to God, for this makes us God's community.  To follow the commands of God is to render unto God the things that are God's.  In Monday's reading and commentary, we pondered the question of authority, with which the religious leaders quizzed Jesus.  We considered this statement in the Epistle of James:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  If every good and perfect gift is from God, then clearly we must render unto God our thanks for all that we have, for this also is rightfully God's.  What must we render unto the state, or "unto Caesar" as the text says?  In Christ's time, let us keep in mind, the Romans were hated by most of the Jewish people, and collaborators were despised.  The coin, with Caesar's image on it, was considered to be defiling in the temple, for Caesar was worshiped as a god.  So Jesus is clearly not talking about a government which any of the people in the temple would agree is all "good" or even desirable.  There was great unrest among the people, including many movements seeking to overthrow the Romans, or at least to assassinate their leaders and authorities who held power and used it in ways considered to be abusive and even unbearable.  But even with such a worldly authority over them, Jesus still recognizes that there are things in the world which are required of us, and that there will be worldly authorities -- even those which we find abhorrent -- which nevertheless we may find ourselves living under in our societies.  The Romans printed their coins just as our governments print our money.  But the things we render unto Caesar do not include our hearts and souls and minds.  Those things belong to God, and as such we seek God's guidance and blessing for all things in our lives, the choices we make, and how we conduct ourselves within the society.  Paying taxes is something every government will ask, and so we might ask ourselves about other ways in which Christ proposes we use our assets in this realm of "mammon," or money, material things.  In chapter 16, Jesus tells the disciples, "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (Luke 16:9).  This is understood as a prescription for helping others, particularly the poor, by sharing wealth with them (see the parable of the Unjust Steward, in Luke 16:1-13).  So there are ways in which even that which is Caesar's might be used in service to what is God's (the "everlasting home" of God's kingdom).  So what Jesus is advocating here is a perspective on life that does not divide our world into the sacred and secular in stark ways that allow only for black and white thinking.  As my study Bible puts it in commenting on this story as told in Matthew 22:15-22, God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  It notes also that -- as the statements from Jesus in today's reading tell us -- paying taxes and similar civil duties are not detrimental to holiness.  In discerning, therefore, the things we are to render unto Caesar and the things we are to render to God, let us conclude that in a properly prayerful life, we place these decisions into the hands of God, and seek God's will for us for all things.  For if even what is to come at Christ's Passion can be used by God for the ultimate good and redemption of all the world, imagine what God can do with all things in our lives.  Let us take our direction from Jesus, and follow His way.

 

 

 

Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?

 

 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

 

- Luke 20:1–8 

 

On Saturday we read that as Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 

  Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  My study Bible comments that these things about which Christ's authority is question by the religious leaders include Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:35-38), His cleansing of the temple (in Saturday's reading; see above), and His preaching (they questioned Him as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel).  These elders confront Jesus, my study Bible explains, as it was the duty of the priestly descendants of Levi to manage the temple.  Christ is descended from the Judah (Luke 3:33), but He is the High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4), a priestly line which is much greater than that of Levi, for His authority is from the Father. 

 

How do we think of authority?  Jesus acts with His own authority, a kind of autonomy, which is unheard of to these religious leaders in the temple.  They don't recognize that He is the divine Son, even though He refers to Himself by a messianic title, Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).   As my study Bible points out, He's not a part of the Levitic priesthood.  (That is, those who inherit the priestly roles in the temple.)  So, this question of authority becomes all-important when we consider our faith.  But to think about the question appropriately, we need to consider where any and all authority comes from in the first place.  Jesus Himself gives us an example of authority to consider when He mentions John the Baptist.  Like many prophets before him, John didn't have a mandate from the powerful in high positions in the society to carry out his ministry of baptism and repentance in preparation from the Messiah.  He had no recognized authoritative position.  Although John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, was a Levitical priest, and Luke's Gospel tells us that his mother, Elizabeth, was "of the daughters of Aaron" (Luke 1:5-7), John the Baptist followed a different pattern, a path set for him by the Holy Spirit, and lived a life of radical poverty dedicated purely to God and the message entrusted to him.  So where did his authority come from?  Jesus poses this question to the religious authorities to posit a kind of authority that is only recognized through a willing perception of the things of God, a response from a heart capable of responding to God.  In his Epistle, St. James, "the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:19) and first bishop of Jerusalem, writes the following, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:17-18).  Verse 17 is famously included in the Prayer Behind the Ambon, a prayer that is included in every Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Churches.  If "every good and perfect gift" comes from above, from the Father of lights (our heavenly Father), then we must consider God the Father the Source of all, as is declared in the Nicene Creed.  So, this would include the gift of authority, true authority.  Clearly this is the guiding principle of Christ's entire ministry, as He speaks over and over again of His loyalty to God the Father, even invoking the Father in His response to the temptations of the devil just prior to beginning His public ministry (Luke 4:1-13).  When Christ begins His first public act of ministry, He reads from the Book of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to  preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."  Subsequently, Jesus says to those who listen, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing," a declaration that He is anointed by the Spirit to do what He does (Luke 4:16-21).  Tellingly, Jesus is immediately and violently rejected by His neighbors in His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30).  This anointing is witnessed by John the Baptist when he baptizes Jesus and the Spirit descends "like a dove" upon Him (Luke 3:21-22).  So, we have a sense of Christ's authority and where it comes from.  When Jesus brings up John the Baptist to the religious authorities, let us note how once again it is the deep-seated response of the people to the truth of John's ministry that these leaders fear.  Jesus wisely senses this, of course, and so the men who question Christ will not respond.  Let's take note also of Jesus' response:  He says, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  We are repeatedly told that the Lord responds in kind to our own impulses; in order to be forgiven, we must forgive, for example (Matthew 6:15); here, these men refuse to answer a direct question from Him, and so neither do they receive an answer.  Psalm 18 reads, "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd, for You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks" (Psalm 18:25-27).  If we look once again at the Prayer Behind the Ambon, written by St. John Chrysostom and composed nearly completely of Scripture, we see that it begins this way, addressing God: "O Lord, who blesses those who bless You and sanctifies those who put their trust in You."  Christ lives all His life by the authority of God, turning to the Father for each new step of His ministry, for every direction, even those He will be loathe to take (Luke 22:42).  He tells the disciples, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . . The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves" (John 14:9-11).  Christ's authority comes from the Father, an authority which conveys all other authority, just as every good and perfect gift comes from above -- even though there are those who are deaf and blind to the gifts from heaven.

 

 

 

 

And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh

 

 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  

 

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

    'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

    For out of you shall come a Ruler

    Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

 

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

- Matthew 2:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that, following Christ's death on the Cross and burial by Joseph of Arimathea, when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demon; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

 

 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  This Herod is Herod the Great, who ruled Judea from 37 - 4 BC, and was the father of Herod Antipas who would rule Galilee during Christ's lifetime.  Herod the Great was also known as Herod the Builder, who remodeled and expanded the temple in Jerusalem into an architectural wonder.  My study Bible notes that he was a great builder but a cruel leader.  An ancient prophecy of Jacob indicated that the Messiah would come when a king ruled who was not from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  Herod was a non-Jew who ruled for Rome, and called himself the king of Judea.  Under such circumstances, messianic expectation ran very high.  These wise men, or magi, who come from the East (most likely Persia), were the scholars of their time.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible notes, Balaam (Numbers 23; 24) was one of their predecessors, a Gentile who anticipated the Messiah.  These foreigners prefigure the Church, in which membership is determined by faith, and not by ethnic lineage.  The star proclaims the extraordinary birth of Christ.  My study Bible says that to ancient pagans, a star signified a god, a deified king (Numbers 24:17).  Christ being born under this star fulfills the prophecy in Psalm 110:3 (LXX) and shows all of creation participating in the Incarnation.  (See also Psalms 19:1; 148:3).  

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"  Herod the king had to summon the Jewish leaders (the chief priests and scribes) because he knew little about the Jewish Messiah, and he feared losing his throne to this newborn king.  The chief priests, my study Bible explains, were the political and religious leaders of the Jews, and the scribes were high cabinet officers.  They knew where the Messiah was to be born, but in spite of all the signs being in place, they had no idea that He had come (see Matthew 16:1-3).  They quote to the king from the prophesy of Micah (Micah 5:2).  

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.   My study Bible comments that whereas the Jewish shepherds worshiped the Savior in the cave on the day He was born (Luke 2:8-20), the Gentile magi came to worship Him some time later.  By then, Joseph and Mary had found a house in which to stay.  This indicates, it notes, that Christ first came to the Jews and then afterward was worshiped by the Gentiles.  The significance of the Magi's gifts is told in an Orthodox hymn sung at Compline of the Nativity:  "Gold is for the King of ages.  Frankincense is for the God of all.  Myrrh is offered to the Immortal One, who shall be three days dead."

The extraordinary beginnings of the story of Jesus Christ are meant to prepare us for its extraordinary end, which proceeds beyond all expectations to lead humankind into a new era, a new aeon in the Greek theological language of the Church.  In today's reading, we get this quality that typifies the beginnings of Christ's life and infancy in both Matthew and Luke's Gospels.  A great star is a portent of a singular event.  These mysterious men from the East have a knowledge that others do not -- not even the religious leaders of the Jews.  The Magi are divinely warned through a dream to avoid King Herod and return to their country.  These elements have a quality which is dream-like, a truly ancient sense to them of the mythological, and are filled with symbolism.   Perhaps this is why our modern celebrations of Christ's birth take on such qualities of wonder.  We are meant to understand a star as that which was seen by ancient people as not simply a planetary body traversing an ancient universe, but something filled with an energy that imparted even a god-like presence, a force, a message, and wisdom.  This is an extraordinary signal, a sign of a king.  The wise men, or Magi, who come from the East are, as my study Bible says, the learned of their time.  They are likely Persian, those who have studied astronomy and who recognize this extraordinary stellar event as a great sign.  The text doesn't tell us what methods they used, and it's not meant to be focused on as retroactive evidence for a curious age.  (I once used some software which plotted planetary movement on a given date, and filled in one suggested date for the birth of Christ.  All of the planets in our solar system seemed to be aligned so that they would look from the earth like one huge blazing star.)  But this story is meant, instead, to teach us about the awareness of what is true about the Person who is truth (John 14:6), discernible by and through other peoples in their own understanding through their systems of knowledge and learning.  It teaches us something about the universality of Christ and what He was born to bring into the world for all of us.  The magical-seeming mythological quality to these stories gives us a sense of ancient peoples yearning for what was to be revealed, brought forth to us -- and their quiet, humble understanding they take back with them, even as they have left their great gifts appropriate to a king, to God, and for One who would be in the tomb three days and rise again.  In Church services today, we find golden vessels, the use of incense for prayer (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 8:4), and myrrh that scents the oil of chrismation and unction.  Yesterday's reading was, appropriately, the final one in Mark's Gospel, in which we read that the Myrrhbearing Women were the first to hear and to proclaim the good news of Resurrection to the other apostles (for this reason, Mary Magdalene bears the title "Apostle to the Apostles").  Let us think upon these gifts in today's reading left by the Magi, and their prophetic symbolism for all He would bring into the world, how He would change it, and usher in for us the era in which we now live.  Let us consider what potent symbols may hide in plain sight even in our own lives as we prepare for the future at this time of the world's history.  For it is by faith we must live in order to build a world in which life can thrive.  Without it we lose the things that sustain us.

 

 

 

If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go

 

 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

- Luke 22:63-71 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house.  But Peter followed at a distance.  Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.  And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."  But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."  And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them."  But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"  Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."  But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!"  Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

 

  Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  For commentary on this, we need only go to St. Peter's own words, for which yesterday's reading serves as illuminating backdrop.   St. Peter writes of Jesus that "when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23).   St. Cyril of Alexandria comments, "This One is despised as one of us, patiently endures beatings, and submits to the ridicule of the wicked. He offers himself to us as a perfect pattern of patience. He rather reveals the incomparable greatness of his godlike gentleness" (Commentary on Luke, Homily 150).

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go."  My study Bible says here that Jesus asked many questions of the Jewish leaders which they refused to answer, because doing so would have meant confessing Him as the Christ (Luke 20:4-7; Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 3:4).  

Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."  By this claim, Christ declares Himself to be equal with God.  The leadership clearly understands this.

We notice Christ's peaceful and longsuffering behavior when abused by the soldiers.  But it seems to me more accurate to understand Christ's behavior as that which has as its basis what is truly effective and what is not.  In terms of responding to this abuse, it would do Him little good, even in a pragmatic sense.   Jesus is the One who has taught us, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6).  Apparently He has gauged, we might assume, that no one would benefit, not even the soldiers, by His responding in a more open and assertive way.  He makes this clear in the verses that follow, when He says to the religious leaders in response to their question:  "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go." Jesus has assessed the circumstances, and He understands well what is happening and who these men are.  If it were possible that through His words He could teach, or could save any of them -- the religious leadership or the soldiers who beat and mocked Him -- we may be confident, judging by all of His previous behavior, that He would do so.  Clearly He has decided that none of these are receptive to the truth He has to tell, and which He has given to the world through His ministry.  When Jesus answers their next question, "Are You then the Son of God?" by saying, "You rightly say that I am," He does so with the full knowledge of the result -- they will vilify Him as a blasphemer.  But Jesus has understood long before this what He would be walking into, and what His Passion is going to be.  He has known that He will suffer, and has warned His disciples several times what was to come (Luke 9:21-22, 43-45; 18:31-33).  But there is something here that asks us to delve more deeply into what is happening.  We view an injustice, and we view abuse -- an innocent Man being railroaded by those who feel their power and authority is threatened.  But the "more" that might not be obvious is what kind of a fight Jesus has entered into with His public ministry, and with the Kingdom He brings into the world and leaves to us.  This is a Kingdom that carries with it a spiritual battle, something more deeply true than any kind of a side that would fight in a material way.  He has said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).  He has also said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).  His Kingdom and His sword are one and the same thing:  they are truth.  He has come to bring spiritual truth to the world -- and the battle is a spiritual one between that truth and lies.  That is, the spiritual truth of a God who loves us and wants what is best for us, the truth about who Christ is, and the lies that would darken that light.  So Jesus' very measured responses to what might outrage us under even "normal" circumstances (let alone the unique circumstance here and in the faith that Jesus is Christ the Son), comes as a part of that "good fight" which is "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).   So, therefore, we must see Christ's response on these terms.  For Christ's fight is not one of material might and manipulation, but one of truth -- and everything He does, including going as He goes to His Passion, is in service to that fight for truth, which is a spiritual battle.  So while He looks like He's not "fighting back" on worldly terms, He is fight the good fight with truth.  He won't waste His words on those for whom they will be meaningful, but leaves a more sure judgment and power to God, as St. Peter writes in our quotation above,   Jesus has "committed Himself to Him who judges righteously."   This is the deeper and bigger picture, the one we miss if we fail to understand the true battle, which still rages and in which -- whether people know it or not -- this world remains caught.  When Christ fights, it's not with weapons of conventional war, but with weapons of truth.  And when we follow Him, so we must engage and participate in the same battle.  It's one thing for people to engage in what we call fighting or argument or battle for its own sake.  But to enter into spiritual battle is simply to tell the truth, to stand in its grace, to follow where it leads, and to accept even the patience and forbearance which Christ embodies here in today's reading.  For He is not fighting in any conventional sense, He is telling the truth.  If we fail to see the greater result, the bigger battle, and the spiritual reality of God, we will fail to understand.  We won't see the protective justice systems which have evolved in our nominally Christian societies to protect the rights of the innocent.  We won't see the principle of human freedom which has evolved out of an overwhelming sense of what Christ has taught us and stood for.  We won't see the therapeutic benefits of forgiveness, and we might not even have any notion of what it is to be gracious, even to receive an "unmerited" mercy for its own sake.  But Christ's truth yet remains despite the darkness which doesn't comprehend it, and we still must stand in the light.  What looks like fighting remains simply just, in that we remain in the truth, following Him.

 

 

 

Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him

 

 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

 

- Matthew 2:1–12 

 

Yesterday, we read the final chapter of Mark's Gospel:  Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee;  there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  This Herod the king is also known as Herod the Great, who ruled Judea from 37-4 BC.   He was the father of Herod Antipas, who will play a role in Jesus' adult life.  Herod the king was a great builder; he was also known as Herod the Builder.  His greatest project was the remodeling and expansion of the temple in Jerusalem, which became known as one of the architectural wonders of the world.  But he was also a cruel leader, even in a world in which leaders were known for their cruelty and absolute use of power.  My study Bible says that an ancient prophecy of Jacob indicated the Messiah would come when a king ruled who was not from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  As Herod was a non-Jew calling himself the king of Judea, the coming of Christ was surely at hand.   The wise men, or magi, who come from the East (most likely Persia), were the scholars of their time.   In the Old Testament, my study Bible notes, Balaam (Numbers 23, 24) was one of their predecessors -- a Gentile who anticipated the Messiah.  These foreigners, it says, prefigure the Church, in which membership is determined by faith and not by ethnic lineage.  The star proclaims the extraordinary birth of Christ.  To the ancient pagans, a star signified a god, a deified king (Numbers 24:17).  Christ being born under this star fulfills the prophecy in Psalm 109:3 (Septuagint) and shows all of creation participating in the Incarnation.  (See also Psalms 19:1, 148:3.)

 

 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"  My study Bible comments that Herod had to summon the Jewish leaders because he knew little about the Jewish Messiah and he feared losing his throne to this newborn King.  The chief priests were the political and religious leaders of the Jews, and the scribes were high cabinet officers.  They knew where the Messiah was to be born, but in spite of all the signs being in place, they had no idea that He had come (see Jesus' remark at Matthew 16:3).  The text quotes from the prophecy of Micah 5:2.

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.   On the fact that the wise men came into the house, my study Bible remarks that whereas the Jewish shepherds worshiped the Savior in the cave on the day He was born (Luke 2:8-20), the Gentile magi came to worship Him some time later.  By then, Joseph and Mary had found a house in which to dwell with Jesus.  This indicates, it says, that Christ first came to the Jews and then afterward was worshiped by the Gentiles.  In an Orthodox hymn which is sung at Compline of the Nativity, the significance of the Magi's gifts is revealed:  "Gold is for the King of ages.  Frankincense is for the God of all.  Myrrh is offered to the Immortal One, who shall be three days dead."

 

What are the significance of these gifts to Jesus brought by the worshiping Magi?  Gold is a traditional gift fit for a king, the most precious metal and purified substance.  Frankincense was such a precious commodity in the ancient world, as it was used for worship all around the Mediterranean and Near East, that the first great trade route of the world was the Incense Route, long before there was a Silk Route.  So frankincense was proper for a god.  Also traded on the Incense Route was myrrh, used in worship but also especially as preservative for the important rites of the dead, thus fit, in the words of the hymn, for "the Immortal One, who shall be three days dead."  What we have in these gifts, then, is a testimony to the understanding of these ancient wise men who come from the East, suggesting the universality of the Christian message and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  For if even these men, simply because they are the scholars of their time, understand this about Jesus, then surely it reveals that although He is born a King in Bethlehem, and from the tradition and prophecy of the Jews, He is meant for the world and to be grasped and understood around the world.  That these ancient wise men could understand the significance of the Christ is testimony to the universal capacity for the reception of the gospel and Person of Jesus Christ the Savior.  As my study Bible points out, Luke gives us the similar reception of the shepherds in the cave, as they were made wise, so to speak, by the revelation of the angels (Luke 2:8-20).  Let us note also the role that the "unseen world" of the angels plays in the wisdom of the Magi, for they comprehend the divine warning given in a dream, and heed the message.  Let us note the contrast with the powerful King Herod, and his advisors the great and learned men of Israel, the chief priests and the scribes, who are the experts in Scripture, and should know about this King born in Bethlehem even if no one else knows.  But, as St. Paul writes, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men . . . God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (see 1 Corinthians 1:25-27).   As we begin reading in Matthew's Gospel, let us ponder the nature of this revelation of Christ to the world, right from the beginning:  it hides itself from the mighty and their powerful learned advisors, and imparts divine wisdom to the humble and foolish, the outsiders and those on the margins, to come to worship and honor the One who is Lord of lords and King of kings.   So it was then, and so, it seems to me, it continues now.

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, after disputing with the religious leaders over His authority regarding His Triumphal Entry, and also to preach and to cleanse the temple, Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  This verse refers to Jesus' telling of the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, in yesterday's reading, above.  

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible explains that this question on taxation is a trap designed to catch Jesus one way or the other.  A "yes" answer will turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" answer can bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But the way that He chooses to answer is a defeat of the trap, and those who designed it.  What it shows is that a believer can render the state its due, while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible explains that as the coin bears the image of the emperor, and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God, and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises in the instance when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

Jesus' brilliance in dialogue is always striking, and it teaches us something powerful about argument.  As the religious leaders "spar off," so to speak, against Jesus, what we witness is not a battle with munitions and soldiers and armaments of all kinds, but rather a battle for truth.  This is because it is essentially a battle at the deepest levels of human capacity for awareness and understanding, and it's a battle for truth at the deepest root of what truth is.  This is, in effect, a kind of spiritual battle, and it's one where the battleground is hearts and souls and minds.  It is a battle in the place where we are to love God, according to what Jesus has called the "first and great commandment" -- "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  He coupled it with the commandment to love neighbor as oneself, and proclaimed that upon these two hang all the Law and the Prophets.  See Matthew 22:36-40.  But this place of the heart, soul, and mind is the place where this conflict between Christ and the religious leaders is really taking place, and so, at this stage, it takes place in debate, in words, in Christ's expression of the truth that finds loopholes in all of their arguments, and reasons beyond their capacity to grasp in the first place.  This is a battle waged by the very Person who is Logos Himself, and it is a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of all people.  It is the very thing for which He has come into the world.  It is the light that He has brought into the darkness (John 1:5).  This is a battle for truth of the deepest kind, that lies most deeply within a person and unites a cosmological order.  In the modern world, we are used to the bandied use of words that whittles their meanings down to nothing.  We're used to loose language, that today expresses one thing, and tomorrow another.  We hear theories and slogans of all kinds that are often deceptive -- used to imply conclusions that the words themselves don't actually mean -- or twisted meanings that seem to link a political or social movement with some "good" things we know from the past, but used in fact to contradict the very things the words refer to.  If equality once implied a democratic meritocracy, or the measure of a person based on the content of their character, today we might hear slogans and theories claiming to be democratic but demeaning the whole concept of character at all.  Such assertions have even been made supposedly while evoking great figures of the past whose very words extolled the virtue of character as measure of a person, while effectively denouncing that very thing for which they advocated.  When language is used in such way for manipulation -- effectively telling lies in order to coerce others to follow for another's political or social gain -- then truth is absent.  It is a way to mess with hearts and souls and minds, and to destroy meaning itself.  But Christ is the Logos:  He is the spoken truth, the word, the logic and reason, the wisdom, the One who puts things in order and gives us the things of God that form the deepest substance of truth and reality.  Jesus says of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  And in this debate in the temple what we have is essentially the Logos who comes into the world and teaches the truths that we need to hear.  He evades the traps of the religious leadership by brilliantly staking out His own ground upon which this battle takes place:  there is another way to answer the question which they can't possibly anticipate.  Let us note that for every parry and thrust of these debates in the temple, all the people are listening.  They are the ones whose hearts and minds and souls form the real battleground where this challenge for truth takes place.  It is Jesus who has taught us that to know the truth makes us free (John 8:32), and we must also carefully understand its opposite:  those who seek to mislead, to twist meaning beyond its truth, to misuse meanings and language, always seek to make others slaves in some sense.  One popular term for performed magic on a stage is "sleight of hand," and the manipulation of words is used in this same way, to distract from what is really happening.  If it is the truth that makes us free, it is clearly lies that bind us in chains and keep us in darkness, so that we cannot make choices which are best for us.  This is why we trust in Christ, the Logos, who comes into the world to bring us light and truth so that we are no longer slaves to that which seeks to manipulate, to lie, to coerce, and to make us servants to that which only seeks its own power, and not the well-being and welfare of human beings that Christ the Physician -- the One being condemned for healing on the Sabbath -- brings to us.  He is the One who has declared that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).  This is the One who proclaims the reality of God -- who is love, and healing, and the bedrock of truth; He is the One in whom we can trust.  My study bible explains that Logos can mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word," and all of these are attributes of the Son of God.  He speaks to us the realities of the Father (John 14:7), teaching us the truth that we are loved, worthy of salvation and effort of all kind to heal and to retrieve in loving embrace of our Creator.  Let us put our trust in Him, even when -- and especially then -- when all else seems designed to confuse and distract.  For worship belongs only to God, and all else is a false idol.