Hail, King of the Jews!

 

 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  

 

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

 

- Matthew 27:24-31 

 

On Saturday we read of Christ's trial before Pontius Pilate:  Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you way."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.  Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.   And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  

 

 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  My study Bible comments on the people's answer here, "His blood be on us and on our children."   It notes that this verse has been used by certain groups to try to justify persecuting Jews, which it calls a grave and terrible sin.  But what was seen by many as a curse is in fact a blessing invoked unwittingly, for the Lord's blood is the source of their redemption.  Moreover, these words are implicitly spoken by anyone who sins.  It quotes from St. John Chrysostom, who says that although these Jews "acted with such madness, so far from confirming a sentence on them or their children, Christ instead received those who repented and counted them worthy of good things beyond number."  My study Bible adds that St. Chrysostom furthermore notes the thousands who were converted in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41) as evidence of Christ's mercy.  

 

 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.  My study Bible notes here that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  although the intention here was mockery, it is prophetic that Jesus should be crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor.  (My study Bible also directs us to John 11:49-51, where Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies of Christ's redemptive work.)  The mockery by these soldiers shows that Jesus is the One despised and rejected by people, who bears the iniquity of us all (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  Additionally, my study Bible points out that Jesus is clothed in scarlet, which represents both His royalty and also the sins of humanity which He has taken upon Himself.  

 

As Jesus is led away to be crucified, He goes as one mocked and humiliated.  But even in this, as my study Bible has pointed out, there is truth and meaning -- even if given inadvertently by those who understand nothing but the material world they see in front of them, and cannot understand what they are doing.   The inadvertent truth is powerfully important, because it gives us a metaphor for what is happening here.  Although by all appearances, the devil and evil have won this day, and these forces against Him and their conspirators will put Him to the Cross, and even to human death, defeat is not at hand.  The Cross is rather a victory.  And this is the paradox of Christianity and of Christ.  St. Paul famously writes, "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;  but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:20-25).  In the wisdom of traditional understanding, whatever the divinity of Christ touches is healed and redeemed, and so it is and will be, even with this Cross upon which He will be put to death.  For the Cross becomes a victory against death, against opposition to God, a victory for all those who seek to follow Him -- for He, through His union of divinity and humanity, through His Incarnation and all of the experiences He endures, redeems all, transfigures all.  He is the ultimate life-giver and Physician in Himself.  As such, He also transfigures our experiences when we walk with Him, follow Him, listen to Him, obey His commands, and worship and pray.  These glimmers of truth show through even the derision of others, for He is indeed a King as my study Bible points out, He will take on the sins of the world, and through His blood redeem, cleanse, purify all those who come to Him in repentance.  Indeed, the first to be saved will be a thief next to Him on the Cross (Luke 23:42-43).  The next who comes to faith will be one of these soldiers of the garrison who mock Him today (Matthew 27:54).  For it is truly as St. Paul said, that "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."  Let us all cling to our faith through all that we see and experience, and remember that with God all things are possible.  For He is truly our redemption and our hope, even as He goes to the Cross and endures the shame and contempt that is set before Him.

 

 

 

 

 

Hail, King of the Jews!

 

 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. 

 

- Matthew 27:24-31 

 

On Saturday we read that Jesus stood before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.   Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"   

When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  My study Bible comments on the cry of the people, "His blood be on us and on our children."  It says that this verse has been used by certain groups to try to justify persecuting Jews, which is a grave and terrible sin.  What was seen by many as a curse here is actually, in fact, properly understood as a blessing which is unwittingly invoked, for it is the Lord's blood that is the source of our redemption.  Moreover, these words are implicitly spoken by anybody who sins.  St. John Chrysostom teaches that although this crowd stirred by the Jewish religious leaders "acted with such madness, so far from confirming a sentence on them or their children, Christ instead received those who repented and counted them worthy of good things beyond number."  He then notes the thousands who were converted in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41) as evidence of Christ's mercy.  

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.   My study Bible comments here that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention was mockery, it is another ironically prophetic act that Jesus should be crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor (see also John 11:49-51, where Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies of Christ's redemptive work).  This mockery, it says, shows Jesus as the One despised and rejected by human beings who bears the iniquity of all of us (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  Jesus is clothed in scarlet, which represents both His royalty and the sins of humanity which He has taken upon Himself.  

As we approach the Cross, the ironies build.  The looks that appear to deceive continue to build up.  We first had Barabbas, whose name means "son of the father" who was chosen by the crowd for mercy in the place of the true Son of the Father, Jesus, whom Pilate tried three times to save (see Saturday's reading and commentary).  In today's reading, the ironies multiply.  The crowd calls down on itself what is intended as a kind of curse.  But viewed through the lens of the Cross and through the faith of Jesus Christ, what they call out is a blessing.  We know that we are cleansed and redeemed through the blood of Christ which this crowd calls down upon itself, as my study Bible points out.  At the heart of Christianity is the understanding that the Incarnate Christ, both God and Man, heals all things precisely through this union in Himself of every component of our lives and our world with the divine.  He has taught us that in the Eucharist we mystically partake of His body and blood, and that this is done ultimately for our own healing, in every dimension, to cleanse what needs cleansing, to transform what needs transforming, to uplift what needs uplifting, to redeem and to bring ultimate peace and goodness.  This is the crux of our faith:  that all must be assumed by Christ for the purpose of salvation, of ultimate healing.  This is how we have to see our faith.  So the crowd inadvertently asks for His healing and salvation.  As the ironies continue, He is also treated as a king.  All of this is meant to mock, but it tells the truth in spite of those intentions.  For He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14).  So the Roman soldiers also inadvertently tell us a truth, despite their intentions to deride Jesus their prisoner destined for crucifixion.  In the compounding of ironies here, all of the intentions to subvert the truth are, in effect, displaying that truth in plain sight.  But, of course, one must know where to look -- and, most importantly, how to look.  One must look with the lens of faith.  For this is the only way to know revelation.  Hence, Christ's words are continually true as this story unfolds:  the one way to remain true to truth is to watch and pray (Matthew 26:41).  As Jesus said to Peter regarding our human condition, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We're subject to temptations such as fear and terror; the unthinkable images described in these scenes -- without faith -- would have doomed the Church to failure without it.  The greatest "irony" of all is to come, the Cross.  And yet it is the Cross that saves, the ultimate sign of the transfiguring healing power of God.