MOCKED by those who think God will not help him, the oppressed and suffering one nonetheless calls on God to hasten and save him (Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24). Luke’s passion narrative portrays Jesus as the innocent victim of the unwarranted hatred of people for whom He will shortly lay down His life (Luke 22:14–23:56).
Lord, hasten to help me
ON the cross, the dying Jesus uttered the opening line of Psalm 22 (Mark 15:34), and several of its expressions have been borrowed in the passion accounts. The derision the psalmist endures from the onlookers is graphically described: with curled lips and wagging heads they sneer at him for relying still on God. “Let Him come to his aid if He loves him so much,” the scorners mock him. Like a pack of wild dogs, they surround him tearing at his hands and feet. His ridiculers are also rapacious thieves who divide his garments among them, casting lots for his robe. Stripped naked, with his bones easily visible under his dried lacerated skin, he appears ready to be dumped in the pit and buried.
In his dire situation, his trust in God remains strong; his suffering does not keep him separated from Him. He asks God to rescue him from his predicament. “Do not be far off, Lord; you are my strength, come quickly to my aid!” And in all confidence, the psalmist promises to glorify God’s name and to proclaim before the assembly of the people of God the divine praises. Ending with an exclamation typical of a thanksgiving, as if his prayer has been already answered, or at least because he is convinced it will happen anyway, the psalmist publicly summons all who fear the Lord and the descendants of Jacob and Israel to give glory to the Lord.
The savior as innocent victim
Luke’s account of the passion accented Jesus’ innocent martyrdom. He was dragged from one judgment seat to another, accused of being a revolutionary, of forbidding taxes to Caesar, of claiming to be a king, the Messiah, the Son of God. The earlier adulation of the multitude had now become rejection and hatred. Pilate thrice pronounced the innocence of Jesus. Herod, too, found Him innocent. The centurion witnessing all declared, “This man was innocent beyond doubt.” Even one of the criminals executed with Him believed in the innocence of Jesus. Still, He was condemned to death.
Whipped and mocked, defenseless under His captors, Jesus conducted Himself with dignity. Moreover the nonviolent, innocent victim continued to minister and be compassionate to others, to the grieving women of Jerusalem, and to one of those crucified with Him. The false accusation and the unjust judgment, the entire travesty brought to focus the victory of Jesus over evil and adversity. Triumphant, Jesus pardoned his executioners and extended reconciliation to the criminal at His side. Innocent, He suffered; dying, He gave others new life; rejected by the people, He was in the end vindicated by God, to whom He offered everything in an act of self-emptying.
Alálaong bagá, faithfulness to God means to us imitation of Jesus, who said, “Whoever does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Our cross now to carry as a nation is the poverty of the masses and the corruption of so many, the untruth and injustice slammed on the public, the incompetence and empty promises of would-be leaders. Joining Jesus in His passion, in order to share in His victory and joy, means resisting injustice without ourselves becoming unjust, condemning lies without giving up on the truth, rejecting evil with the readiness to suffer if need be.
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