CHRIST THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE (C)

"Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Lk 23:35-43

v. 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."

Luke presents to us the different attitudes of the spectators: the silent curiosity of the crowd; the contempt of the rulers; the callousness of the guards; the bitter invectiveness of one criminal and the goodness of the other.

“Chosen one” alludes to the transfiguration (Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him" Lk 9:35.) and to the Servant chosen by God for his work of salvation and despised by men (Is 49:7).

v. 36 - Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine….

In Luke the offer of vinegar was an act of mockery and not of compassion. See Ps 69:21.

v. 37 – 38 - They called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."

Luke wants to point out the majesty of Jesus. Ironically truth about Jesus is proclaimed in the derision of the soldiers.

v. 40 – 41 - The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal."

This intervention of the good thief is found only in Luke who is interested in episodes of conversion: 7:36-50; 19:1-10; Acts 9:1-25; 10; 16:14-15. 29-34.

v. 42 - Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

This request echoes the prayer of the dying found frequently in Judaism.

Again Luke highlights the majesty of Jesus when he returns.

v. 43 - He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Paradise comes from a Persian word which means park or garden. In the Septuagint (Greek bible), it is used for the Garden of Eden which is believed to be a copy of the heavenly paradise, the future home of the just.

The Jewish belief in the after-life takes two forms. One believes in Sheol, the universal graveyard. There all the dead waited in the sleep of death until the general judgment and resurrection. The other is the just going to heaven immediately after death. This second belief is behind the promise of Jesus to the good thief.

In the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, we find another description of the after-life: the rich man found himself in the netherworld while Lazarus found himself in the bosom of Abraham, that is, heaven (Lk 16:22-31).