SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING (Cycle C)
The Last Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings:
2 Samuel 5:1-3
Psalm 122:1-5
Colossians 1:12-20
Luke 23:35-43
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), NABRE (New American Bible Revised St. Joseph Edition), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Jesus Christ is the Promised
Davidic King
The Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King on
the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent. Today we end the Church's
liturgical year by reflecting on the sacrifice of the promised Davidic Messiah,
the promised return of Christ the King at the end of the age, and celebrating
His universal kingship.
In the First Reading, we remember the kingship of Jesus's ancestor, David, son of Jesse, the shepherd boy God told the prophet Samuel to anoint to become the shepherd of His people Israel (1 Sam 16:1, 12-13). God made an eternal covenant with David, promising him that his throne would endure forever (2 Sam 7:16; 29; 23:5; Sir 45:25; 47:11/13) and one of his descendants would be the promised the Redeemer-Messiah to redeem Israel and all humankind (Is 11:1-5, 10-12; Ez 34:23-25; Jer 23:5-76; Mt 1:1; Lk 1:31-33).
In the Responsorial Psalm, we journey with the psalmist "up" to the holy city, pass through the gates of Jerusalem, and come to the Temple of God. Reaching our destination, we acclaim the sacred city from which King David ruled with justice. Jesus also made pilgrimages to Jerusalem, where He brought the message of peace and justice, making this psalm His own. But the Jerusalem of Jesus's time chose to reject Him and His message, just as many in the current age decided to abandon the Gospel of salvation through Christ Jesus. The true Jerusalem that acknowledges Jesus's sovereignty is the Universal Church that guides us on our pilgrim journey through this life as we strive to reach our goal of passing through the gates of Heaven to enter the holy city of the heavenly Jerusalem.
In our Second Reading, St. Paul defined Christ's mission by giving a summary of redemption by the Father through the "beloved Son," He who is God's love revealed to humanity in human form. Christians share in the inheritance Jesus Christ won for us. The imagery St. Paul used recalls the Exodus liberation: we have been "delivered" and "transferred," and also Jesus's theme of the "kingdom" and our "redemption" and "forgiveness of sins" through belief in Christ Jesus (see Acts 2:38; Rom 3:24-25; Eph 1:7).
St. Luke calls us to witness the crucifixion of the Savior in the Gospel Reading. He tells the story of that climax in human history and shows that Jesus was entirely in charge of His fate. With His full consent, Jesus entrusted the unfolding events of His sacrificial death into the Father's hands (Jn 10:17-18; Eph 5:2). He understood that His enemies were sinning in ignorance and showed mercy to them by praying for them from the Cross.
Through Christ our King, we receive a royal inheritance (Heb 9:15; 1 Pt 1:4). We become heirs of Jesus Christ when we receive His anointing at our Baptism and become members of a royal family in Christ's Kingdom of the Church. As a royal people, we share in our King's crown. Most earthly kings wear jewel-encrusted crowns and sit on golden thrones, but our King wears a crown of thorns, and His throne is the wood of the Cross. We are called to share in His Kingdom of justice, self-sacrifice, peace, and freedom. The more we grow spiritually, the more we recognize the face of our royal ruler in the faces of the impoverished, the hungry, and the oppressed. Because of the promise of our royal inheritance, we can sing as the redeemed people of God in today's psalm: "Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord."
The First Reading 2 Samuel 5:1-3 ~ The Shepherd-King of Israel
1 In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David
in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh. 2 In days past when
Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be
commander of Israel.'" 3 When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron,
King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed
him king of Israel.
God chose David to rule over His people when he was still a boy tending his father's sheep. God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint him (1 Sam 16:1, 10-13) as the future king of Israel. Later, as a young man, David fought in the army of King Saul and became a mighty warrior and a poet, beloved and respected by the people. After Saul's death, David's tribe of Judah made him their king; however, it wasn't until seven years later, when he was thirty years old, that the other tribes of Israel came to David and asked him to be the king of all of the Israelite tribes (2 Sam 5:4). When the tribes said to David Here we are, your bone and your flesh, they were acknowledging their kinship link with him and the divine command that only Israelites anointed by God could be kings over the covenant people (Dt 17:15).
2 "In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who
led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, 'You
shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'"
The tribal elders acknowledged that Saul had been their
king, but David had God's blessing to lead the people. The phrase the elders
used to describe David's leadership was that he "led the Israelites out and
brought them back." Moses used the same wording in the Hebrew text of Numbers 27:17 when he petitioned God to set over the covenant people a man to act as a leader
in all things to guide the Lord's community. In the passage, when Moses
petitioned God for a leader over the covenant people, he asked God to
appoint a man:
Numbers 27:17 defines the ideal Mosaic leader that foreshadows David, the future Shepherd-King of Israel, as expressed by the elders in 2 Samuel 5:2-4. The literal Hebrew translation reads, "led Israel out and in" (IBHE, Vol. I, page 428). But it is also the Mosaic model fulfilled in the Messiah, David's heir, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus Christ is David's heir (Mt 1:1-16; Lk 1:32-33). He began His earthly mission to declare His kingdom when He was thirty years old, the same age His ancestor David became king of Israel (Lk 3:23; 2 Sam 5:4). Jesus fulfills the royal grant covenant God made with David that his throne would endure forever. The Kingdom over which Jesus Christ rules is the Church on earth and the Church of the Saints in Heaven. Through the New Covenant, Jesus, son of David and Son of God, has made us one "flesh" in kinship with Him through the gift of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist! We celebrate and renew our covenant in Christ in every Eucharist, giving thanks for our redemption and looking forward to the day we will be with Him in Paradise.
Responsorial Psalm 122:1-5 ~ Making the Pilgrimage to the
Holy City
The response is: "Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord."
1 I rejoice because they said to me, "We will go up to
the house of the LORD." 2 And now we have set foot within your gates, O
Jerusalem.
Response:
3 Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. 4a To it
the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD.
Response:
4b According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to
the name of the LORD. 5 In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of
David.
Response:
This is the third pilgrimage psalm or "Songs of Ascent" (Psalms 120-134). Jerusalem was built on the mountain ridges of central Israel, which, at its highest elevation, was about 2,500 feet above sea level. Therefore, going to Jerusalem was always said to be "going up." The psalmist is a pilgrim making the journey "up" to the holy city and the Temple of Yahweh. He has joyfully reached his goal as he enters the gates of Jerusalem with his traveling companions (verse 2). The city impresses the pilgrim with its strength and unity provided by the Temple of God at its center (verse 3). Reaching his destination, the psalmist acclaims the holy city of God from which King David ruled with justice (verses 3-5).
Jesus also made pilgrimages to Jerusalem (see, for example, Mt 20:17-18; Mk 10:32-33; Lk 13:22; 18:31; Jn 2:13, 23; 4:45; 5:1; 10:22; 11:55). Preaching there, He brought the message of peace and justice (Lk 19:42), making this psalm His own. But the Jerusalem of Jesus's time chose to reject Him and His message, just as many in our current age are deciding to reject Jesus's Gospel of salvation and baptism that opens the door to eternal life (Mk 16:16). The true Jerusalem that does acknowledge Jesus's sovereignty is His kingdom of the Church. The Church guides us on our pilgrim journey through this life as we strive to reach our goal of passing through the gates of Heaven to enter the heavenly Jerusalem. At the end of time, when Christ the King returns, the new Jerusalem of the Church will be seen coming down from the heights of Heaven in splendor, as described in symbolic language in St. John's vision in Revelation 21:9-27.
Applying this psalm to the Church on earth and the pilgrim to Christians on the path to salvation, St. Augustine told his congregation: "This solid city is the Church. Christ is the cement that binds it together. On earth, when pouring cement, walls are raised, and the weight of the walls presses down upon the foundation. But if our foundation, Christ, is in Heaven, then let us build up to Heaven. In the basilica you see before you, in which we are gathered together today, the architects spread the cement to build from the ground up, but when we are remade as a spiritual temple, the cement is poured upon us from on high. Let us make haste, then, to that place; let us run on until our feet are walking in your shadows, Jerusalem" (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 121.4).
The Second Reading Colossians 1:12-20 ~ The Royal primacy of Christ
12 Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit
to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 13 He delivered us from
the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For in him were created all
things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and
for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. 18 He
is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things, he himself might be preeminent. 19 For in him all
the fullness was pleased to dwell, 20 making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
St. Paul defines Christ in his letter to the Christians of Colossus. Verses 12-14 are a summary concerning redemption by the Father and precede the statement in verses 15-20 in which he writes about the "beloved Son," God's love revealed to humanity in human form (verse 13). Christians share the inheritance won for us by Christ in light with the holy ones (verse 12), probably referring to angels. St. Paul's imagery recalls the Exodus liberation: we have been "delivered" and "transferred," and also to Jesus's theme of the "kingdom" and our "redemption" and "forgiveness of sins" through belief in our Redeemer, Christ Jesus(see Acts 2:38; Rom 3:24-25; Eph 1:7).
Most Bible scholars believe verses 15-20 are an early Christian hymn used in the liturgy with which the Colossians were familiar. They present Jesus as the mediator of creation (verses 15-18a) and redemption (18b-20). Verse 15 states that He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Man and woman were created "in the image and likeness of God" (Gen 1:26). But Christ, begotten by the Father, is the very image of the invisible God. He can provide a spiritually "reborn" nature for all His disciples in every generation in the Sacrament of Christian baptism (see 2 Cor 4:4; Jn 1:3, 10-11; Jn 3:3, 5).
The title "firstborn" in this verse does not suggest that God created Jesus. Instead, the title refers to Jesus's rank and status as God's divine Son. Notice there is a parallelism between "firstborn of all creation" in verse 15 and "firstborn from the dead" in verse 18. The first acknowledges that Jesus ranks above all creation and created life. The second recognizes that He is the first of the Resurrected dead in what became the great harvest of souls into heaven and the promise of our bodily resurrection, like His, at the end of time.
Verses 16-17 proclaim Jesus's preeminent and supreme role as God's agent in creating all things "visible and invisible" in the material and spiritual realms. Everything is made through Him, and He holds all matter in the universe together (verse 17). These verses establish the preexistence of Christ before the Incarnation.
18 He is the
head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things, he himself might be preeminent.
When Christ arose from the grave, as the "firstborn from the
dead," He became the "head of the Body" of the New Covenant Church He brought
into existence, which is united to Him as part of His divine Body and from
which He will never be separated.
19 For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, 20 making
peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in
heaven.
Jesus Christ is the fullness of divine grace through which
He makes peace between God and humanity through His precious blood, shed for
the forgiveness of sins on the altar of the Cross. Through the merits of Jesus's
perfect sacrifice, everyone who calls on His name can be forgiven the penalty
of sin and restored to fellowship with God the Father through the work of the
Holy Spirit. This grace is extended to the faithful of the Church on earth
through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and has already been received by the
faithful of the Church who are saints in Heaven.
The Gospel of Luke 23:35-43 ~ The Crucifixion
35 They divided his garments by casting lots. The people
stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved
others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." 36 Even
the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine 37 they called
out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." 38 Above him there was an
inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." 39 Now one of the
criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save
yourself and us." 40 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you
no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41 And indeed, we
have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our
crimes, but this man had done nothing criminal." 42 Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom."
The crucifixion took place on the Nisan the 15th, during the morning liturgical service at the Jerusalem Temple on the first morning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 29:38-42; Ex 34:18-23; Lev 23:5-8; Num 28:3-8). St. Mark is the only Gospel writer who recorded the time the Roman soldiers placed Jesus on the Cross: It was the third hour when they crucified him (Mk 15:25). According to St. Mark, Jesus was crucified at third-hour of Jewish time, in modern time, 9 AM (Mk 15:25) before darkness engulfed the land at noon, the sixth-hour Jewish time (Mk 15:33; Mt 27:45; Lk 23:44).
The third-hour Jewish time was the beginning of the morning liturgical worship service as the first daily communal sacrifice of the Tamid lamb took place in the Temple. As a priest splashed the lamb's blood against the sacrificial altar, the Levites blew the silver trumpets, and the Temple doors opened for the morning worship service (Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, page 108). That morning was a compulsory Sacred Assembly, and all religious Jews were in attendance at the Temple, including the majority of Jesus's supporters who did not know about the events unfolding at Golgotha (Lev 23:7; Num 28:18-23). Hanging Jesus from the Cross was what the chief priests wanted to discredit Him with the people since only a man "cursed by God" would be hung on a tree (Dt 21:22-23). However, they wanted to accomplish this without a riot from Jesus's supporters, so they chose a time when most of the Jerusalem residents and pilgrims who had come to the seven-day pilgrim feast of Unleavened Bread were worshiping in the Temple (Ex 23:14-15; Dt 16:16; 2 Chr 8:13).
Jesus's enemies unknowingly fulfilled God's promise to Abraham (see Gen 22:15-18; Gal 3:13, 29). They were not defeating Jesus's Gospel; the unfolding events were all part of God's divine plan and the means He used to fulfill His promise of a worldwide blessing for all humankind. St. Paul wrote: Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree," that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal 3:13-14).
34a Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they know not
what they do."
In his account, St. Luke continues to show that Jesus is entirely
in charge of His fate. He entrusted the unfolding events of His sacrificial death
into the Father's hands (Jn 10:17-18; Eph 5:2). Jesus understood that His
enemies were sinning in ignorance and showed mercy to them by praying for them
from the Cross (1 Pt 2:23). His statement recalls Isaiah 53:12 and is the same
view of His death repeated by St. Peter in Acts 3:17; 13:27, and by St. Paul in
1 Corinthians 2:8. In his martyrdom, St. Stephen followed Jesus's example (Acts 7:60), and St. James, bishop of Jerusalem, spoke the same words of forgiveness
before his execution (Eusebius, Church History, II.23.16). St. Peter, in
1 Peter 2:21-25, taught that all Christians should follow the same spirit of
forgiveness.
Verse 34a is the first of the seven statements Jesus made from the altar of the Cross, two of which are quotations from the Psalms of David:
*Jesus alluded to Psalms 22 in Mt 27:35, 39, 43, and 46. Matthew records the Hebrew as it would have been written in the Hebrew scroll of Psalms 22, while Mark records Jesus's actual Aramaic statement. + It is hard to know which of the two statements were Jesus's last words from the Cross.
34b They divided his garments by casting lots.
Psalm 22, written by Jesus's ancestor King David in the 10th
century BC, describes David's sufferings. But it is also a graphic description
and prediction of Jesus's crucifixion long before the Persians invented
crucifixion as a form of capital punishment. Included in the psalm is the prophecy
that men would cast lots for Jesus's garments, an event that was not part of
David's history. In verses 17-19, David wrote: Many dogs surround me; a pack
of evildoers closes in on me. So wasted are my hands and feet that I can count
all my bones. They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them;
for my clothing, they cast lots.
It was the custom for the soldiers overseeing executions to divide the possession of the condemned. Matthew also records that the Roman soldiers "kept watch" over Him (Mt 27:36). Posting a guard was a standard measure to prevent any attempt to rescue the condemned men. The Roman soldiers divided Jesus's four garments, and they cast lots for His expensive seamless tunic. In doing this, they fulfilled the prophecy in Psalms 22:19. Jesus's seamless tunic was theologically symbolic of the seamless tunics only worn by the priests serving God in the Temple. As such, the garment is a symbol of Jesus's high priesthood. After His Ascension to the Father, Jesus took His place as High Priest and King of the Heavenly Sanctuary (Heb 8:1-2).
The High Priest dressed in his priestly robes symbolized man fully restored in God's image. Jesus is not only our King but also our High Priest, offering the pure and holy sacrifice of Himself to God the Father (Rev 5:6). In Exodus 28:4, Leviticus 16:4 and 21:10, the word chiton in the Greek translation and ketonet in Hebrew refers to the priestly tunic. The priestly robe is described as "a woven piece" in Exodus 28:32. The word seamless (Hebrew = arraphos) does not appear in the Greek (Septuagint) translation. However, the first-century AD priest and historian, Flavius Josephus, describes the ankle-length tunic of the high priest as one seamless, woven cloth: Now this vesture was not composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the soldiers and the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven as to have an aperture for the neck ... it was also parted where the hands were to come out (Antiquities of the Jews, 3.7.4 [161]; also see The Jewish Wars, 5.5.7 [231]).
By wearing a seamless garment during the Last Supper and at His crucifixion, Jesus elevated those events to liturgical sacrifices since wearing the seamless priestly tunic was limited to offering service to the LORD God (Ezek 42:14). Jesus wearing a priestly garment at the Last Supper implies that it was a liturgical worship service at which Jesus officiated as the New Covenant High Priest of the sacred meal. That He wore the same garment at His crucifixion implies that Jesus was acting as the New Covenant High Priest officiating at the offering of His sacrifice on the altar of the Cross for the atonement and sanctification of all people. See Ex 28:4; Lev 16:4; Ez 42:14; Heb 2:17; 5:10; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1-3; 9:11, 25.
35 The people stood by and watched; the rulers,
meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if
he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." 36 Even the soldiers jeered at him. As
they approached to offer him wine, they called out, "If you are King of the Jews,
save yourself."
The people watching were violating God's command to attend
the Sacred Assembly and morning liturgical worship service for the Feast of
Unleavened Bread at the Temple on the 15th of Nisan, the day after
the Passover sacrifice and sacred meal (Num 28:16-23). This is probably why
Jesus's male disciples, except John, did not realize Jesus was condemned to be crucified.
Written centuries earlier, Davidic Psalm 22 describes these same repugnant actions
that Jesus's tormentors committed. In verses 8-9, David wrote: All who see
me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me. "You
relied on the LORD, let him deliver you; if he loves you, let him rescue you."
Psalm 22 vividly describes Jesus's suffering and the tormenting posture of the
crowd.
The scene of Jesus's crucifixion in the Gospels and the hostility toward Him by the chief priests, Pharisees, and elders also recalls the condemnation of the righteous by the wicked described in Wisdom 2:12-24. At Jesus's crucifixion, the Gospels record that the crowd called out to Him (also see Mt 27:39-43; Mk 15:29-32):
Jesus's Passion fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 ~ Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. And as St. Peter wrote: When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the Cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed (1 Pt 2:23-24).
In three verses, the people in the crowd challenged Jesus to prove His divinity by saving Himself:
36b As they approached to offer him wine
The other Gospels include the information that the Roman
soldiers tried to give Jesus wine mixed with myrrh to dull His pain (Mk 15:23).
Flavius Josephus confirmed the historicity of the Gospel account. He wrote that
wealthy women of Jerusalem provided wine mixed with narcotics for those
destined for crucifixion. Jesus would not drink the narcotic-laced wine at the
time of His crucifixion, but He did drink cheap wine just before He surrendered
His life (Mt 27:48; Jn 19:28-30).
Jesus only tasted the narcotic-infused wine but did not drink it. He had sworn at the Last Supper that He would not drink the fruit of the vine until He came into His kingdom (see Mt 26:29 and Lk 22:18). The slight taste of the wine may be to further connect Jesus's perfect sacrifice to the sacrifice of the morning Tamid unblemished male lamb at the Temple who received a drink before its sacrifice (Mishnah: Tamid, 3.4). The Tamid was a sacrifice that had for centuries prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus as the true Tamid "standing" (as in continual or perpetual) Lamb of God, as St. John the Baptist identified Jesus in John 1:29 and 36. St. John could not have been referring to the Passover victim, which could be either a lamb or a goat kid and for which multiple sacrifices were made once a year at the Passover. The Tamid lamb was a single sacrifice offered twice daily for the atonement and sanctification of God's covenant people, signifying Jesus's humanity and His divinity (Ex 29:38-42; Lev 6:2-6; Num 28:3-8).
38 Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is
the King of the Jews."
In the Gospel of John 19:20, Pilate had "Jesus the
Nazarene, King of the Jews" written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek on a plaque
that the crowds could read. It was a common Roman practice to post the crime
and the condemned man's name. Such a plaque was called in Greek a titulus.
Pilate himself ordered the sign's wording, much to the displeasure of the chief
priests.
Luke 23:39-43 ~ Jesus's exchange with the criminals
crucified with Him
39 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus,
saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." 40 The other, however,
rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to
the same condemnation? 41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the
sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man had done nothing
criminal." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom." 43 He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me
in Paradise."
All four Gospels agree that there were two criminals crucified on either side of Jesus (see Mk 15:27; Lk 23:33; Jn 19:18), but St. Luke is the only Gospel writer to include the story of the penitent criminal. Jesus, situated between two men on an elevation with His arms outstretched on the Cross, commanded the climactic battle between good and evil. The scene is reminiscent of Moses standing on a hill with outstretched arms between Aaron and Hur in the Israelites' battle with the wicked Amalekites (Ex 17:8-13; CCC 440). However, unlike the temporal consequences of Moses and the Israelites' conflict, the outcome of Jesus's battle had cosmic and eternal implications that have reverberated through salvation history.
Jesus said to the criminal on His right: "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Why did Jesus promise salvation to one of the criminals? His act of righteousness in defending Jesus, his penance in acknowledging his sins, and his profession of faith in Jesus as the promised Davidic Messiah and king won him Jesus's promise of eternal salvation. This was Jesus's second statement from the altar of the Cross. According to the ancient non-canonical document entitled "The Gospel of Nicodemus," the name of the criminal on the right was Dismas, and the criminal on the left was Gestas. There is no verification that these were their real names and may have only been the names given to them for the story's sake.
The question for each of us is, will my name be recorded in the heavenly "Book of Life" that lists those humble and penitent souls destined for salvation (Ex 32:32-33; Ps 69:28; Dan 7:10; 12:1; Mal 3:16-18; Rev 20:12-14; 21:27)? We all have the same opportunity as the good thief to confess our sins to Christ and to acknowledge Him as our sovereign Lord and King. If we do, we have the assurance that one day, we will also hear Him say to us: "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise," as Jesus liberated the good thief from the bonds of Sheol when He descended there from His tomb to preach His Gospel of salvation (1 Pt 4:6; Apostles' Creed).
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture is quoted
or paraphrased in the citation):
Colossians 1:12-14 (CCC 517*, 1250*);
1:14 (CCC 2839),
1:15-20 (CCC 2641*);
1:15 (CCC 241, 299, 381, 1701);
1:16-17 (CCC 331, 291);
1:18-20 (CCC 624*);
1:18 (504*, 658, 753*, 792)
Luke 23:39-43 (CCC 440*, 2616*), 23:40-43 (CCC 2266*), 23:43 (CCC 1021*)
Christ as Lord and King (CCC 440*, 446*, 447*, 448*, 449*, 450*, 451*, 668*, 669*, 670*, 671*, 672*, 783, 786*, 908*, 2105, 2628*)
Christ as Judge (CCC 678*, 679*, 1001*, 1038*, 1039*, 1040*, 1041*)
"Thy Kingdom Come" (CCC 2816, 2817*, 2818*, 2819*, 2820, 2821*)
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2013; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.