Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice
25 NOVEMBER (Jn 18,33b-37)
The Ancient Prophecies announced the coming of the Lord in Zion as a powerful, victorious, strong and brave king. They saw him as the Lord of the heavenly hosts.
The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. (Psalm 24 (23) 1-10).
Surely this prophecy sees the Lord in the perspective of the faith in Exodus, that sings the God who has triumphed gloriously, throwing horses and riders in the deep sea.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: I will sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. He is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him. The Lord is a warrior, Lord is his name! Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea; the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea. The flood waters covered them, they sank into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, magnificent in power, your right hand, O Lord, has shattered the enemy. In your great majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you loosed your wrath to consume them like stubble. At a breath of your anger the waters piled up, the flowing waters stood like a mound, the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea. The enemy boasted, “I will pursue and overtake them; I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them; I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!” When your wind blew, the sea covered them; like lead they sank in the mighty waters. Who is like to you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like to you, magnificent in holiness? O terrible in renown, worker of wonders, when you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them! In your mercy you led the people you redeemed; in your strength you guided them to your holy dwelling. The nations heard and quaked; anguish gripped the dwellers in Philistia. Then were the princes of Edom dismayed; trembling seized the chieftains of Moab; All the dwellers in Canaan melted away; terror and dread fell upon them. By the might of your arm they were frozen like stone, while your people, O Lord, passed over, while the people you had made your own passed over. And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance – the place where you made your seat, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. (Ex 15,1-18)
Later the prophecy sees the King of Israel under other guises. It sees him as a humble, little man of peace and not of war, of love and not of hatred, of justice and not of revenge.
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; The warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.(Zac 9,9-10).
Before Pilate, Jesus reveals himself as the true King; however, not the King of this world. He is a particular, special and unique King. He is the witness of the truth. He is the witness of the truth of God and man, of time and eternity, of the individual and of peoples, of history.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us in Christ, with Christ, through Christ, true witnesses of truth. This is the way of the salvation of the world.