Let Us Test Him With Insult And Torture

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Course 2024

About fifty years before the birth of our Savior Jesus, an unknown Jew, probably living in Egypt because of the dispersal of Israelites by Assyria and Babylon, wrote what is called the Book of Wisdom. It’s written in Greek in the style of the Hebrew wisdom literature. It is part of the list of OT books found in Catholic and Orthodox bibles, but not in those read in other Christian churches. But whether you accept Wisdom as inspired Scripture or not, you ought to be taken by the parallel between words like “he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training” or “Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance” and the accounts of Christ’s passion and death, about eighty years after this was written. You can even hear the Pharisees and Sadducees whispering to each other what they want to do to Jesus. And in the psalm, you can hear Christ responding meekly to their taunts: “Save me, O God, by thy name, and vindicate me by thy might.”

Here and in other sources we see that there was at the time of Jesus a current of thought imagining that the Messiah, or some other righteous man, would die for the sins of the people. That is exactly what our Lord did for all humans, his life freely given for the remission of sin. Jesus had predicted His passion, death and Resurrection, at least three times during His public ministry, but His disciples appear in the Gospels right after it all came true to be completely clueless. Such is the pathetic understanding we all bring to Christ’s mission without faith.

Throughout our four Scriptures today we hear conflict--conflict between fallen human nature exemplified by the conspirators in the reading from Wisdom and restored human nature in Jesus Christ and the disciples who lived in faith. James describes wisdom: “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity.” That is an accurate description of Jesus Himself, isn’t it? It should be also a description of each of us as we live day to day in a world of selfishness and betrayal. James asks, “What causes wars, and what causes fighting among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?” Anger, greed, lust, jealousy. You know the deadly sins, stemming from pride and the arrogance that goes along with pride. Our self-interest conflicts with the self-interest of others and causes all manner of resentment and violence.

What is the answer, short of our passing on and living with Christ in the Kingdom? What do we do while here in the body? The disciples on the way to Capernaum triggered the answer Jesus longs to give each one of us. He took from His audience a little child. I don’t mean a two-year old ready to throw a tantrum if she didn’t get what she wanted, but probably one just learning how to walk and talk. He wanted to exemplify his advice: If you would be the leader, you must consider yourself least and serve all you want to lead. A little one like His child-model is constantly learning, always trying new things. She looks to the older kids and adults around her for examples of good human behavior. She models herself after them, and never thinks she has a better way. And as a result, she loves and is loved by those around her.

That’s how Jesus wants us to be and become like Him. He was always the model child of the Father, obeying constantly, in perfect love for humanity all the way down to dying on the cross, forever earning our praise: Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.