Matthew 11:2–11

²  Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³  and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” ⁴  And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵  the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶  And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

⁷  As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸  What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹  What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.¹⁰  This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹  Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Matthew 112–11 ESV – Bible Gateway

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The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture puts this chapter of Matthew into context:

Matthew 11 is a hinge chapter that swings the storyline of the Gospel into its next major phase. It begins by addressing what Jesus’ mighty words and deeds indicate about his identity. It also begins a long section, extending to 16:16, that reports how different people respond to Jesus. Some believe he is the Messiah and Son of God (14:33; 16:16). Others are sufficiently impressed to think he is a prophet (14:2; 16:14). Still others reject him and his message (11:20–24; 13:53–58). Most disturbing of all, the Pharisees accuse him of wielding the power of Satan (12:24) and begin to plot his demise (12:14).[1]

This question, from John the Baptist to Jesus, sent via John’s disciples, can be perplexing. How can John, who proclaims Jesus as the “Lamb of God” come to what appears to be doubt regarding this?

The Church Fathers also asked the same question regarding this passage and provided some interpretations:

St. Gregory. We must enquire how John, who is a prophet and more than a prophet, who made known the Lord when He came to be baptized, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world!—why, when he was afterwards cast into prison, he should send his disciples to ask, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another? Did he not know Him whom he had pointed out to others; or was he uncertain whether this was He, whom by foretelling, by baptizing, and by making known, he had proclaimed to be He? [2]

St. Ambrose. Some understand it thus; That it was a great thing that John should be so far a prophet, as to acknowledge Christ, and to preach remission of sin; but that like a pious prophet, he could not think that He whom he had believed to be He that should come, was to suffer death; he doubted therefore though not in faith, yet in love. So Peter also doubted, saying, This be far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee. (Mat. 16:22) [3]

St. Hilary. John then is providing not for his own, but his disciples’ ignorance; that they might know that it was no other whom he had proclaimed, he sent them to see His works, that the works might establish what John had spoken; and that they should not look for any other Christ, than Him to whom His works had borne testimony.[4]

It is easy to assume that the question John the Baptist is asking is a straightforward question whether Jesus is the Messiah. That is not the question he actually asks, but “Are you he who is to come?” This terminology provides a clear allusion to a prophecy in the book of Malachi.

Dr. Brant Pitre dives into this aspect of John’s question in Jesus’ reply.

Here Jesus alludes to a very important prophecy from the book of Malachi. I mentioned Malachi last week as prophesying that one day Elijah would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord, before the coming of the Lord (see Mal 4:5). And at the end of Malachi it also says that God is going to send his messenger to prepare his way (see Mal 3:1). So here Jesus identifies John as the messenger who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord himself (see Matt 11:10). Now that’s very interesting because a lot of times Christians assume that he’s just talking about the coming of the Messiah. But if you go look at the book of Malachi, it doesn’t say anything about the coming Messiah, it says something about the coming of the Lord, about the coming of Yahweh, about the God of Israel coming on this great day of judgment. So what Jesus is saying here is that he’s more than a prophet because he’s the one who heralds the coming of the Lord himself.[5]

John’s question might be something deeper than asking if Jesus is the expected Messiah. Whether the Messiah is something much greater than the general expectations of what the coming of the Kingdom of God means?

There are multiple ways to look at this and there might be both/and with some interpretations. He could ask this question as a teaching moment for his disciples and also asking a deeper question for himself. John was always working to point to Jesus instead of himself.

In most modern commentaries I read, there is much more openness to the idea that John had some doubts, or more accurately, some questions. I don’t believe he actually doubted in the theological sense. I refer to St John Henry Newman quote, “Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt.”

Is St. John the Baptist going through a dark night of the soul?

Dr. John Bergsma writes:

Even great saints can go through a dark night and experience trials of faith. Such is not incompatible with holiness. As John suffers in the physical and spiritual darkness of Herod’s dungeon, he reaches out to Jesus for consolation: “Are you the one who is to come? Don’t you know I’m imprisoned for speaking up for marriage?”[6]

When St. Thérèse of Lisieux was going through her dark night, she wrote: “I believe that I have made more acts of faith in this past year than all through my whole life.”

St. John the Baptist was not the man to wax and wane in his spiritual life, as Jesus attested when he asked if John was “A reed shaken by the wind?”

Asking questions of God when you are amid suffering is not an act of denial, but of trust. That even if you do not understand what is going on, that in God’s providence and personal love of you, that there are answers. Coming to a Jobian understanding of this is difficult because we have to put away our pride in thinking we can see everything from God’s point of view. Our asking questions of him shows we realize the intelligibility of God’s plan and that there are answers even if we can’t grasp them.

What I find interesting is that John’s question and Jesus’ answer do much more than shoring up either his own faith or the faith of John’s disciples. Jesus’ answer lets us also so that we might see God’s plan. His answer points to the passage in Isaiah, which is in the first reading today. That it was always part of God’s plan that he heal us of our infirmities. Faith removes the blindness of doubt, the dead raised into the beatific vision, those contaminated with the leprosy of sin, restored. Those who are deaf to others move out of themselves to hear and to help them.

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture has an interesting observation on these verses:

Verses 7–15 are the mirror opposite of verses 2–6. Just as John, by asking a question, brought to light the true identity of Jesus, so now it is Jesus who poses a series of questions in order to reveal the true identity of John. And just as Jesus explained his messianic mission by alluding to Scripture, so now he explains the preparatory mission of John by referencing Scripture. The parallels are significant, for each in his own way is described as “one who is to come” (Jesus, 11:3; John, 11:14).

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CCC §719: John the Baptist is “more than a prophet.” In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah. He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he is the “voice” of the Consoler who is coming. As the Spirit of truth will also do, John “came to bear witness to the light.” In John’s sight, the Spirit thus brings to completion the careful search of the prophets and fulfills the longing of the angels. “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.… Behold, the Lamb of God.” (2684; 536)[7]

Sources

• The Gospel of Matthew (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture)
• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A – John Bergsma
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. The Gospel of Matthew, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Edward Sri and Curtis Mitch  ↩
2. St. Gregory I. Pope, A.D. 590. (Hom. in Ev. vi. 1.) Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew (J. H. Newman, Ed.; Vol. 1, p. 404)  ↩
3. St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, A.D. 374. (in Luc. 7. 19.) Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew (J. H. Newman, Ed.; Vol. 1, p. 404)  ↩
4. St. Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers, A.D. 354. Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew (J. H. Newman, Ed.; Vol. 1, p. 404)  ↩
5. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
6. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A, John Bergsma  ↩
7. Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference.  ↩

Matthew 31–12 ESV – Bible Gateway

³  In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ²  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

⁴  Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵  Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶  and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸  Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.¹⁰  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹  “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

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They circumcise John the Baptizer on the eighth day, his neighbors and relatives declare:

“What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. (Lk 1:66) [1]

They only knew that God had mysteriously entered the lives of Elizabeth and Zechariah and Zechariah’s mouth being opened and his tongue loosed, confirms this. They talked about this event throughout Judea and now John the Baptist enters the scene showing the hand of the Lord in preaching repentance.

Turning to the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture regarding this passage:

But John’s call to repentance comes with an even greater sense of urgency because he announces something no prophet before him could proclaim: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Israel faces a unique, now-or-never opportunity to repent. The “kingdom of heaven” does not refer to a place—a place, for example, where God and the angels dwell—but to God’s dynamic activity as ruler. God alone was king over Israel, and the prophets foretold that he would come as king, establish his reign in Jerusalem, and bring justice on earth. Thus in proclaiming that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” John is announcing that God’s promised reign is now dawning on Israel and the world …[2]

John’s popularity is surprising. He was not a man to sugarcoat or make his message palatable. Usually, if you want to disperse a crowd, you simply call for those around you to repent of their sins. There was a heightened awareness in Israel of the imminent coming of the Messiah. That perhaps this man, talked about from his birth, appearing in the very garb of Elijah, might indeed by him. John’s location was not convenient and yet they sought him out. Expecting perhaps to hear about the glorious coming of the kingdom of God, only to be confronted by their personal need to repent of their sins. John told them what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear, and grace moved them to respond by acknowledging this and seeking John’s baptism.

Dr. Brant Pitre gives us an idea about the popularity of St. John the Baptist:

This is one of the reasons by the way, if you noticed the passage, John was so popular. It says all Jerusalem, all Judea, everyone around the Jordan, they all went out to him to be baptized. Sometimes we forget that although John was the forerunner of Jesus, he was actually in some ways more popular than Jesus in his day. In fact, if you read the writings of the first century Jewish historian Josephus, he gives much more space to his description of John the Baptist than he does to Jesus of Nazareth. And that is kind of indicative of the immense popularity that John the Baptist had with the Jewish people. He was an extremely popular prophet because they knew what he was doing. This guy is out at the river Jordan talking about the prophecies being fulfilled and the way in the wilderness being made. That means that the time for the new exodus is at hand, that the prophecies of God are going to be fulfilled.[3]

He further points out the excitement regarding him that “there hadn’t been a prophet, a true prophet of God, on the scene since the time of Daniel, Ezekiel and Malachi. Centuries had gone by without any true prophet arising and now John arises and everyone recognizes that this guy is a prophet of God, and he’s come to herald this one who is ‘mightier than I’” (Matt 3:11)[4]
Verse 4 mentions John’s clothing and diet and Edward Sri and Curtis Mitch comment on the importance of this:

But the biblical connections between John and Elijah are deeper than clothing. Both prophets confronted wicked kings with their sinfulness and were persecuted for it. Both prepared the way for another prophetic figure who would succeed them. Elijah’s ministry was passed on to the prophet Elisha, who cleansed a leper (2 Kings 5:1–19), raised a child from the dead (2 Kings 4:32–37), and multiplied loaves of bread to feed a crowd (2 Kings 4:42–44). Similarly, John the Baptist was the forerunner of an even greater prophet, Jesus, who also cured a leper (8:2–4), raised a child from the dead (9:23–25), and multiplied loaves to feed a multitude (14:15–21; 15:32–38).[5]

and

Perhaps the most significant link between John and Elijah is the place that marked the culmination of their ministries: the Jordan River. Elijah passed on his ministry to Elisha at the Jordan just before being taken up to heaven in the fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:6–14). Now, centuries later, John appears as a prophet, at the same river, dressed like Elijah and calling people to repent. And there at the Jordan, John, like Elijah, will pass on his ministry to the one who comes after him, Jesus Christ (3:13–17).[6]

Dr. John Bergsma in his commentary writes:

I think this is meant to indicate some typical foods, not that his diet was entirely limited to just these two items. This would mean he was living off the land, eating whatever was edible in the environment. Locusts and wild honey were clean foods and permissible, according to Mosaic Law.[7]

He also notes some interesting correlations between this and the possibility that John had once been part of the Essene community and expelled from it. We gathered this from what we have learned of this community from Josephus and other sources. He goes into these connections in his book Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity

While some note that John’s baptism does not include the remission of sins and only points to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is still significant. There had been various ceremonies using water to maintain ritual purity in the life of the Jews. The Qumran community, which was in proximity to where John was, practiced a routine of ritual washings.

A third possible background to John’s baptism is the Jewish practice of proselyte baptism: the ritual cleansing of a Gentile converting to Judaism that symbolized the rejection of one’s sinful ways and a commitment to the Jewish way of life. Although it is not certain that this practice was already in place in the time of John the Baptist, John’s rite does seem to entail the same kind of radical renunciation of a lifestyle found among Gentiles converting to Judaism… If John’s baptism does reflect proselyte baptism, he would be requiring all of Israel to repent like the Gentiles.[8]

In verse 7, John discerns the motive of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to see him. Like encounters between them and Jesus, there is likely some intellectual curiosity at play here, along with already making up their minds that John and Jesus are a threat to the status quo and their leadership.

Remigius. There is a tradition, that John preached at that place of the Jordan, where the twelve stones taken from the bed of the river had been set up by command of God. He might then be pointing to these, when he said, Of these stones.[9]

In verses 11–12, we get to the major thrust of John’s life. That he is a pointer to Jesus and desires repentance for others that they may know the Messiah. John is the oddity that knows he is a warm-up act and desires nothing more. Totally subsumed in this task to only decrease so that Christ may increase. When asked questions about who he is, he points to Christ. Totally content to live in Jesus’s shadow where there is no darkness at all.

This is an Advent reminder to myself to evaluate how much pride warps me by pointing to myself other than Jesus. Wanting to point to myself and Christ at the same time.

Sources

• The Gospel of Matthew (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture)
• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A – John Bergsma
• Catena Aurea Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers, Volume 1 St. Matthew – Verbum
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. (Lk 1:66). ESV-CE (2019). Augustine Institute.  ↩
2. The Gospel of Matthew, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Edward Sri and Curtis Mitch  ↩
3. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
4. ibid  ↩
5. The Gospel of Matthew, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Edward Sri and Curtis Mitch  ↩
6. ibid  ↩
7. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A, John Bergsma  ↩
8. The Gospel of Matthew, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Edward Sri and Curtis Mitch  ↩
9. Remigius, Presbyter and Monk of Anxerre, A.D. 880. Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Matthew (J. H. Newman, Ed.; Vol. 1, p. 92)  ↩

Matthew 24:37–44 ESV – Bible Gateway

³⁷  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.³⁸  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,³⁹  and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰  Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴²  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.⁴⁴  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

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The suddenness of the Second Coming seems to be implied here. That people will go about their lives performing the range of daily human acts. The suggestion that this will be a surprise to them, the same as it was for the people in the days of Noah. This astonishment results because they were oblivious to any warnings there were.
In Genesis, regarding the story of Noah, we have no sign that he was actively warning others about the coming judgement and their destruction because of their corruption and violence. It would be amazing if he did not do so. We have no exact time line regarding how long he took building the ark, but some indications regarding his children’s ages and when they might have started their families show a fairly long period of perhaps around a 100 years.

St. Peter writes:

if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (2 Pe 2:5)
That Noah was a herald/preacher/proclaimed of righteousness seems clear and his message ignored. Jesus is warning us of complacency. We do not know the day or the hour of or own judgement upon death.

St. Augustine. He said this Watch, not to those only who heard Him speak at the time, but to those who came after them, and to us, and to all who shall be after us, until His second coming, for it touches all in a manner. That day comes to each one of us, when it comes to him to go out of the world, such as he shall be judged, and therefore ought every Christian to watch that the Lord’s coming may not find him unprepared; and he will be unprepared for the day of His coming, whom the last day of his life shall find unprepared.[1]

Dr. John Bergsma provides an excellent summary for today’s readings:

The First Reading and the Psalm present the Christian life as a “pilgrimage” to Zion. The Second Reading and Gospel present the Christian life as “wakefulness” and abstaining from sensual indulgence in this life. The two images can be combined. On a pilgrimage, one doesn’t get caught up in pleasure-seeking. You have to walk long hours on the camino during the day and sleep where you can—sometimes in austere places—during the night. And if you make a habit of stopping and “hanging out,” you’re not going to finish the way. The readings for this Mass call us to renew our commitment to living this present life as a pilgrimage to the heavenly Zion.[2]

In verses 40–41 follow the “scenario follows Jesus’ example of Noah and the flood (24:37). The righteous will be left, just as Noah and his family were spared (Sir 44:17); the wicked will be taken, as Noah’s generation was swept away by the flood.”[3]

Because of the influence, especially here in America, of the novel Rapture theology proposed by some, we culturally assume that those who are “taken” in this Gospel passage are righteous.

This is further pointed out by Dr. Brant Pitre:

If you look at it, you can see that when Jesus says one is taken and one is left, whether one man is taken and one man is left or one woman is taken and one woman is left (again if you think about the imagery of the of the flood as the background to what he is saying), what happened here? Noah’s family was taken. In other words, they were saved from the judgment of the flood, and the rest of people were left, but they weren’t left behind to live on the world and have time to repent or something like that, they were left out of the salvation and exposed to the flood, and they perished in the judgment of God. So what Jesus is essentially getting at here is the separation of the righteous and the wicked that will take place at the final judgment.[4]

As does the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture:

More likely Jesus speaks in the idiom of the prophets, where those who are taken are those captured or killed in judgment (Isa 8:13; Jer 6:11; Zech 14:2) and those who are left constitute the surviving remnant that is spared (Isa 1:9; 4:3; Jer 40:11; Ezek 14:22).[5]

Regarding Jesus’ knowledge regarding when this will happen:

St. Jerome. Having declared that of that hour knoweth no man, but the Father only, He shews that it was not expedient for the Apostles to know, that being ignorant they might live in perpetual expectation of His coming, and thus concluding the whole, He says, Watch therefore, And He does not say, ‘Because we know not,’ but Because ye know not, shewing that He Himself is not ignorant of the day of judgment.[6]

The Catechism regarding Jesus’ knowledge makes these distinctions:

472 This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time. This is why the Son of God could, when he became man, “increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man,” and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience. This corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking “the form of a slave.”

473 But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God’s Son expressed the divine life of his person. “The human nature of God’s Son, not by itself but by its union with the Word, knew and showed forth in itself everything that pertains to God.” Such is first of all the case with the intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father. The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts.

474 By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal. What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal.

Sources

• Catena Aurea Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers, Volume 1 St. Matthew – Verbum
• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A – John Bergsma
• The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible꞉ The New Testament
• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• The Gospel of Matthew (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. S. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, A.D. 396. (Ep. 199, 3.) Thomas Aquinas. Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, St. Matthew (J. H. Newman, Ed.; Vol. 1, p. 836).  ↩
2. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A, John Bergsma  ↩
3. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament  ↩
4. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
5. The Gospel of Matthew, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Edward Sri and Curtis Mitch  ↩
6. St. Jerome, Presbyter and Monk of Bethlehem, A.D. 378. From the Commentary on the Four Gospels, St. Matthew (J. H. Newman, Ed.; Vol. 1, p. 836).  ↩

³⁵  And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” ³⁶  The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine ³⁷  and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸  There was also an inscription over him,[a] “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹  One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[b] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²  And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³  And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

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There seems to be quite the transition from the first reading, where David is now accepted as King of the twelve tribes, to Jesus hanging on the Cross. His kingship is portrayed only as a mockery by the rulers, soldiers, and the people present. The rulers taunt him regarding his apparent powerlessness. The soldiers had costumed him with a crown of thorns and a reed scepter in jest of his kingship. Pontius Pilate had a titulus placed above the Cross with the words, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (Jn 19:19).

From the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture for the Gospel of Luke:

The rulers also derisively refer to Jesus as the chosen one (see 9:35), a title pointing to another biblical passage that sheds light on the crucifixion: “Here is my servant whom I uphold, / my chosen one with whom I am pleased” (Isa 42:1 ❲emphasis added❳). Jesus is this †servant foretold by Isaiah (Isa 52:13) who at his crucifixion is “counted among the wicked” (Luke 22:37, quoting Isa 53:12). Moreover, Moses was also called God’s “chosen one” (Ps 106:23). At the transfiguration, Jesus spoke with Moses about his “exodus” to take place “in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31), and the voice from heaven referred to him as the “chosen Son” (9:35). This exodus of God’s chosen one is now being accomplished.[1]

We can look at this scene and want to deride those who mocked him as he revealed his kingship. Yet, I can think of all the instances where I have either mocked his kingship or lessened it. The times I have made idols of the things of this world.

“Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Lk 20:25)

I know how often I need to get this balance right. I am rendering too much to Caesar, trusting too much in fixing everything via political processes. Forgetting that Jesus is indeed King and that I should always give glory to him first and strengthened in discerning my Caesar rendering and never forget that I am a subject of Christ the King first and always. Instead, I try to caveat the call to love my enemies, thinking this does not apply to those I disagree with politically. I am dehumanizing those who are also subjects of Christ the King.

Our forgetfulness of Jesus’ kingship and the priority of Christ is nothing new, but perhaps our amnesia has deepened. Dr. Brant Pitre points out Pius XI, Encyclical Quas Primas, On the Feast of Christ the King ❲December 11, 1925❳. This encyclical letter instituted this Feast.

In the first Encyclical Letter which We addressed at the beginning of Our Pontificate to the Bishops of the universal Church, We referred to the chief causes of the difficulties under which mankind was laboring. And We remember saying that these manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics: and we said further, that as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations. Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ; and that We promised to do as far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord.

Still, we can always move our faces to Jesus. Despite how we have darkened our life in sin, Jesus is always ready to receive us and to restore us to the true human dignity that he has given us. In Matthew and Mark, both thieves on Calvary mocked Jesus. In Luke, we see a point of conversion where one thief repents his mockery and his own life and, as a result, rebukes the other thief. Grace moves him towards Jesus while not diminishing his sinfulness. In his humility, he sees the humanity of Jesus and something more. He recognizes Jesus is indeed King and is desirous of his kingdom, which is not of this world. He asks, only to be remembered as Jesus arrives in his kingdom. Sometimes our eyes are only opened via suffering when we move out of the orbit of our ego and see those around us. The repentant thief looked beyond his pain and suffering and saw Jesus before him.

From Venerable Fulton J. Sheen’s classic Life of Christ.

A dying man asked a dying man for eternal life; a man without possessions asked a poor man for a Kingdom; a thief at the door of death asked to die like a thief and steal Paradise. One would have thought a saint would have been the first soul purchased over the counter of Calvary by the red coins of Redemption, but in the Divine plan it was a thief who was the escort of the King of kings into Paradise. If Our Lord had come merely as a teacher, the thief would never have asked for forgiveness. But since the thief’s request touched the reason of His coming to earth, namely, to save souls, the thief heard the immediate answer:

“I promise thee, this day thou shalt be With Me in Paradise.” (LUKE 23:43)

It was the thief’s last prayer, perhaps even his first. He knocked once, sought once, asked once, dared everything, and found everything. When even the disciples were doubting and only one was present at the Cross, the thief owned and acknowledged Him as Savior. If Barabbas came to the execution, how he must have wished that he never had been released, and that he could have heard the words of the compassionate High Priest. Practically everything about the Body of Christ was fastened by nails, or tortured by whips and thorns, except His Heart and His tongue—and these declared forgiveness that very day. But who can forgive sins, but God? And who can promise Paradise except Him Who by nature is eternal to Paradise?[2]

The two thieves, on each side of Jesus, were at a cross-road, and I intentionally mean the pun of cross-road. Suffering can turn us inward or outward. If we have been prudent in following the narrow road that leads to Christ, we can still narrow in on him and others. To open ourselves to the grace that is constantly given to us.

CCC §1021 Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul—a destiny which can be different for some and for others.[3]

Sources

• The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
• Life of Christ
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz  ↩
2. Sheen, Fulton J.. Life of Christ (p. 545). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  ↩
3. Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference.  ↩