THE KING OF THE JEWS
Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
Every Passion Week, the drama of the
judgement of Jesus is re-enacted. Till today, many people are condemned through
jungle justice. The judgement of Jesus should remind all men and women who are suffering
deprivations and persecutions for their gifts and positions in life that they
are not alone in their suffering. The judgement of Jesus should be a source of
consolation for those who are unjustly detained and executed in the world
today. The passion of Jesus is an occasion for us to have a deeper union with
God and dialogue with Him about our predicaments in our various trying
situations. Jesus was judged, sentenced and killed for actualizing his
messianic mission. This phenomenon still live with us today, where some people
who have attained very high positions
and recognition in life see every other person coming up as a threat. Others
who do not have the capacity to attain admirable heights seek for dubious ways
of bringing down those who are making strenuous efforts to develop their
charisma and aptitude in life.
Matthew’s
narrative of the nativity reveals the extent human beings can go in conserving
power and authority for themselves. The Magi (wise men from the East) went to
see King Herod the Great in Jerusalem to ask, “Where is he that is born King of
the Jews” (Matthew 2, 2). This was an innocent question and a sincere enquiry
from Kings/Scientists (astrologers) who believe that honour belongs to those who are naturally
endowed with it and to those to whom God has conferred it. Royalty is a divine
gift hence the great prophets and kings of old always expressed a sense of
unworthiness whenever they were called by God. Sometimes a royal title
conferred on somebody can be bad news for someone else. This explains why the
question from the Magi troubled Herod causing him to plan for the immediate
elimination of the purported new born king; to protect his monopoly of the
title “King of the Jews”. To execute his evil plan to kill the infant king, he
employed deceit in debriefing the Magi employing them as his scouts for the new
born king (Matthew 2, 7-8). When his evil plan failed and his deception failed
him, he took immediate action and executed all the young male innocent children
from two years and under, just to preserve his throne (Matthew 2, 16).
The Magi were
informed and moved by a natural sign. They said, “We have seen his star in the
east, and have come to worship him (Matthew 2, 2). This is a clear sign that
each and every one of us is endowed with a potential that glow from within us.
No matter what human beings may do to switch off the light of our destiny, our
commitment and perseverance will see us through if we only listen to the voice
of God in the quiet of our lives.
In the passion
narrative, the four Gospels agree that the crucifixion of Jesus was based on
the charge that Jesus claimed to be “the king of the Jews” which in Greek is
“βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων” (Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3 and John 18:33). It is
pertinent to note that this charge did not originate with Pilate (John 18, 34).
This clearly shows that the main issue for the Jews was rather the claim to be
a messiah, an issue that did not make sense to the Romans. That is to say that
the charge based on religion did not condemn Jesus. It was a political charge
that could convince the Romans to condemn Jesus. From the very beginning Jesus
was a target for condemnation in spite of his good works. The existing powers
were threatened by his key performer’s indicators (KPI) especially when his
actions became a search light for the incumbent authority.
A brief reflection on the passion tribunal
may elucidate the point I am trying to make. When they brought Jesus to Pilate,
he came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man”
(John 18, 29)?” “The chief priests
accused him of many things” (Mark 15, 3).
“We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of
taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king” (Luke 23, 2). “Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor
and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews” (Matthew 27, 11)? In
Luke, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews” (Luke 23, 3)? The response of Jesus “Yes, it is as you
say,” in Matthew and Luke are the same, which shows the seriousness and
accuracy of the passion narrative.
In the gospel
of John Pilate said, “You are a king, then!” Jesus answered, “You are right in
saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came
into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens
to me” (John 18, 37). Nothing has suffered in the world like truth.
Unfortunately, those who should defend the truth are easily swayed by
corruption. Pope Benedict XVI in explaining his Episcopal motto: “Cooperators of the truth” said “I chose
that motto because in today’s world the theme of truth is omitted almost
entirely, as something too great for man, and yet everything collapses if truth
is missing”.[1]
Jesus clearly
understood the nature of his kingdom and so did not deny the title even at the
point of death. “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18, 36). While the Jews
mocked Jesus by crowning him with thorns and dressing him with purple robe as
the King of the Jews; the real meaning of who Jesus is was confirmed by
the acronym that Pilate placed above the cross of our crucified Lord, which he
refused to Change and exists till today: Written in three languages: Hebrew,
Latin and Greek INRI (Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) in Latin
inscription. In English it reads “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews”. The
Greek version, ΙΝΒΙ represents Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν
Ἰουδαίων. (John 19, 20). Only the gentiles (the Magi, Pontius Pilate and the
Roman soldiers) used this title. The Jews refused to use it. In contrast, the Jewish leaders use the
designation “King of Israel”. They even
told Pilate: “Do not write King of the Jews” but instead write that Jesus
claimed to be the King of the Jews, and Pilate stood his grounds saying, “What
I have written I have written (John 19, 21).
This is very important in African context where it is believed that “God is
the king maker” and “whatever is ordained for a person by God cannot be taken
away from him by the world.” Little did
they know that they were affirming the royalty of Jesus with the royal symbols
when after the trial by Pilate, the
soldiers mock Jesus as the King of the Jews by putting on him a purple robe,
and crowing him with thorns. (Matthew 27:29-30, Mark 15:17-19; John 19:2-3). People who
are jealous and ambitious are blind to the implications of their actions. When
Pilate wanted to release Jesus, the Jews objected saying: “If you release this
man, you are not Caesar’s friend: every one that makes himself a king is
against Caesar” (John 19:12). They ended
up heaping a curse on themselves. You
can make yourself a slave in the unbridled effort to undo a rival.
Pilate was convinced that Jesus did not deserve death but the Jews cried
out: “Crucify him! “Crucify him! We have
no king but Caesar” (John 19, 12). Pilat pass
the death sentence to please the Jews. What lessons can we learn from this?
What message has the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ for us today in relation
to dialogue? To what extent do we affirm one another? What role do we play when
we are convinced that an innocent person is being condemned just to protect
some incumbent powers? Let us look at
how we represent ourselves when we put others down as compared to when we
recognize and uplift others. Human beings, human society crave for
Kings/Presidents/Prime Ministers/Leaders with their various titles, hoping for
a good one yet only God is good. If the
King kills the young who are coming up, who will sustain and support him as a
king and what kingdom will he rule over?
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on
earth?”
(Luke 18, 8)
No comments:
Post a Comment