Christ, the Righteous Ruler

Gospel Reflection for November 23, 2025 -Luke 23:35-43

And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with them derided him, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying: If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And there was also a superscription written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of those robbers who were hanged, blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:35-43 DRA)

The readings for this Sunday, particularly the Epistle and Gospel, illustrate the New Testament’s connection with my personal favorite of the Wisdom Books, the last written book of the Old Testament and its most explicitly Christian in character: the Wisdom of Solomon, one of the ‘deuterocanonical’ books. Alongside its clear prophecy of the Passion, its hypostatization of the Wisdom and Word of God and the Holy Ghost and its strong affirmation of natural reason’s capacity to know God through analogy, this book, likely written by an Alexandrian Jew around a century before Christ (though this is disputed), is also the first and only Old Testament volume to use the phrase “kingdom of God,” (Wis 10:10) thus making it quite appropriate as the object of reflection for this feast day.

In the Epistle, St. Paul practically quotes from Wisdom in several places (n.b. Wisdom, Sophia, in the Greek is grammatically feminine and so represented with the pronoun ‘she’ in English): (unfortunately these wouldn’t paste as tables)

Theme / Attribute

Book of Wisdom (selected passages)

Colossians 1:15–20

Notes on the Connection

Image / Likeness of God

“A reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.” (Wis 7:26)

“He is the image of the invisible God.” (1:15)

Colossians directly adopts Wisdom’s language: Christ is the fully personal form of what Wisdom personifies.

Radiance / Glory of God

“A pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty.” (7:25)

“In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” (1:19)

Christ contains the fullness, not merely a ray or emanation. Hebrews 1:3 also uses Wisdom’s wording (“radiance”).

Agent of Creation

“Wisdom… ordered all things well.” (8:1)

“All things were created through him and for him.” (1:16)

Wisdom is God’s artisan (cf. Prov. 8); Christ is made the Creator’s personal agent.

Pre-existence

Implied throughout Wisdom 7–9; especially her presence before creation (cf. 9:9).

“He is before all things.” (1:17)

St. Paul makes explicit what Wisdom implies.

Sustainer of All Things / Holding Creation in Being

“For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made… you spare all things.” (11:24–26) “In Wisdom is a spirit… that penetrates and pervades all things.” (7:24) “She reaches mightily… and orders all things.” (8:1)

“In him all things hold together.” (1:17)

The strongest parallel. Colossians attributes to Christ a sustaining role that Wisdom attributes to God/Wisdom.

God’s Providence / Governance

“Your providence, O Father, guides it.” (14:3)

“In him all things hold together.” (1:17)

Control, cohesion, and preservation of the cosmos are shared motifs.

Indwelling of Divine Fullness

Wisdom is a “pure emanation,” “image,” and “mirror,” not fullness (7:25–26).

“All the fullness (pleroma) of God dwells in him.” (1:19)

A major intensification: Christ possesses the fullness, not a portion.

Universal Presence / Pervading All Creation

“Wisdom… is a mobilization of all kinds of things; she is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she penetrates and pervades all things.” (7:24)

Christ is the pervasive principle “in,” “through,” and “for” whom all exists (1:16–17).

St. Paul gives personal agency and metaphysical priority to Christ.

Revelation of God

“She makes friends of God and prophets.” (7:27) “Who has learned your counsel unless you have given Wisdom?” (9:17)

Christ reveals the invisible God (1:15; cf. 1:26–27).

Christ is the definitive revelation, fulfilling Wisdom as the mediator of knowledge.

Benefactor and Life-Giver

“She renews all things.” (7:27) Wisdom gives immortality (8:13).

Christ reconciles, sanctifies, and brings new life (1:20–22).

Christ’s giving of life includes salvation and reconciliation, a deeper fulfillment.

Mediator Between God and Humanity

Wisdom is the intermediary by which God acts in the world (7:22–30; 9:1–2).

“Through him to reconcile all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.” (1:20)

Christ’s mediatorship includes redemptive suffering — something Wisdom never does.

God’s Power Operating in Creation

“She is a breath of the power of God.” (7:25)

Christ is implicitly the power of God (cf. 1 Cor 1:24).

New Testament often equates Christ with God’s Power and Wisdom.

Presence at God’s Side

“She was present with you when you made the world.” (9:9)

Christ is the one “through whom” and “for whom” the world was made (1:16).

Identical roles applied to Christ personally.

Moral Purity and Divine Attributes

“Holy, unique, manifold… all-powerful, overseeing all and penetrating all.” (7:22–23)

Christ’s holiness and moral perfection appear in the surrounding context (1:22; 2:3).

Shared attributes conventional for divine Wisdom.

There are also parallels here to other passages in the New Testament, especially the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel, but Colossians 1 is particularly clear.

Similarly, the Passion narrative this Sunday, and Luke’s account more broadly, is a direct fulfillment of the prophecy of the persecuted righteous man in Wisdom 2, one of the most explicit in all the Old Testament alongside Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53:

Theme / Element

Wisdom 2: The Righteous Man

Luke 23: Passion Narrative

Notes on the Connection

The Righteous Man is hated for his holiness

“He professes to have knowledge of God… he calls himself a child of the Lord.” (2:13)

Jesus proclaims God as His Father; His righteousness provokes hostility (23:2, 23:10).

Christ perfectly fits the description of the “righteous man” whose holiness enrages the wicked.

Accused of claiming divine sonship

“He calls God his Father.” (2:16)

Jesus is condemned for calling Himself the Son of God (23:35, 23:46).

The mockers say, “He is the Messiah, the chosen one,” echoing Wisdom’s phrasing.

The wicked plot to kill him

“Let us lie in wait for the righteous man… let us condemn him to a shameful death.” (2:12, 20)

Plots by chief priests and scribes culminate in Jesus’ crucifixion (23:1, 23:18–21).

“Shameful death” anticipates crucifixion, the most shame-filled execution.

They test whether God will save him

“If the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him… let us see if his words are true.” (2:18)

Crowd and rulers: “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the chosen one of God.” (23:35)

Almost verbatim fulfillment — the mockers quote Wisdom’s scenario.

Mockery during his suffering

The wicked laugh him to scorn and insult him (2:19–20).

“The soldiers also mocked him.” (23:36); rulers sneer (23:35).

Both passages describe humiliating mockery as part of the righteous man’s suffering.

He is seen as a reproach to the wicked

“He is a reproof to our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden.” (2:14–15)

Jesus’ innocence contrasts sharply with His accusers; Pilate repeatedly says “I find no guilt in him.” (23:4, 14, 22)

Christ’s holiness exposes the malice of His persecutors.

He teaches against their way of life

“His manner of life is unlike that of others… he accuses us of sins against the law.” (2:15)

Jesus’ teachings condemn hypocrisy, injustice, and oppression—reasons the leaders seek His death. (cf. Luke 20–22)

A close moral correspondence.

He is put to the test by torture and death

“Let us test him with insult and torture… let us test him by death.” (2:19–20)

Jesus is scourged, mocked, crucified—tested unto death (23:16, 23:33).

This aligns remarkably with Roman crucifixion.

Certainty of his righteousness

The wicked admit he is “righteous” but hate him for it (2:10–12).

The centurion declares: “Certainly this man was righteous.” (23:47)

A direct narrative echo — Luke repeats Wisdom’s descriptor.

Innocence despite condemnation

“He professes to know God… his life is blameless.” (2:13, implied)

Pilate declares Jesus innocent three times (23:4, 14, 22).

Luke emphasizes innocence more than any other Gospel — matching Wisdom’s portrait.

His trust in God is central to his identity

“He boasts that God will take care of him.” (2:20)

Jesus entrusts His spirit to the Father: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (23:46)

Both present filial trust as the climax of the righteous man’s suffering.

His death brings revelation

The wicked realize too late how wrong they were (Wis 5:1–6, following the same theme).

The repentant thief recognizes Jesus’ kingship (23:40–42); the centurion recognizes His righteousness (23:47).

Luke continues the Wisdom pattern by showing post-mortem recognition of the righteous man’s identity.

These connections are truly amazing. Just as Isaiah 53 is sometimes called the “Fifth Gospel” because of its undeniable Christological imagery, so the Wisdom of Solomon, especially these sections we’ve examined, make it also a kind of Protoevangelium – indeed, in the Muratorian Canon, the earliest patristic list of books considered to be inspired Scripture by the Church, the Wisdom of Solomon is even listed among the books of the New Testament!

For this feast day, I pray that we will meditate on these prophetic links between Wisdom and Christ and on the true nature of kingship which both reveal. One of the primary themes of the Book of Wisdom is its exhortation, in the voice of Solomon, for rulers to pursue wisdom, that righteousness through wisdom is better than any worldly power or prosperity – something Christ exemplified most perfectly of all. Thus, as Wisdom says, “The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds. They shall judge nations, and rule over people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.” (3:7-8)

When you pursue Wisdom and, as Fr. Ronald Knox beautifully translated it, “you should have to suffer in the cause of right, yours is a blessed lot. Do not be afraid or disturbed at their threats; enthrone Christ as Lord in your hearts.” (1 Pt 3:14-15) May we pray for the grace to enthrone Christ in our hearts today by imitating His patient suffering, His unfailing charity and His divine wisdom.

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