CHAPTER XXIV Of the illustrious title of the Name of Jesus set up above His Head upon the Cross
CHAPTER XXIV
Of the illustrious title of the Name of Jesus set up above His Head upon the Cross
I BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Prince of Almighty Power, and King of every creature, for the illustrious title of Thy Holy and Blessed Name, openly displayed above Thy Head. It was carefully written, by Pilate the Governor, in the three most renowned languages of the world, in letters of Hebrew and Greek and Latin, in this form, and in these words: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
O title in very truth illustrious, not the creature of man’s ingenuity, but rather of Divine ordinance, foreseen, and dictated by God, from all eternity. Pilate, indeed, could not, and ought not, to have written otherwise than as he was inspired by Thee to write; and so it is that the mystic sense of this title is found in the famous scriptures of the prophets expressed in their own words. What, therefore, the sacred page had long before predicted, what clear tradition had handed down along the ages, in praise of Thy life-giving Name, that the heathen Governor, inspired by God, wrote upon a small tablet, as an everlasting memorial of the Crucified, in these words: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” When, therefore, many of the Jews had read this title, the priests, in the fury of their ill-will, could not bear that the glory of Thy Name, which they had been struggling with all their might to obscure, and—which was yet more senseless—to wipe out at the same time as Thy life, should be thus proclaimed to the world: and so they came to Pilate the Governor with their complaints as to the honour needlessly conferred by such a title, saying: “Write not, the King of the Jews; but that He said: I am the King of the Jews.” For they feared that they would be confounded, and that their wicked cruelty in having crucified their King would be laid to their charge; and to prevent this being any longer spread abroad, they asked to have the title changed, so that Jesus might not appear to have been crucified on account of their malice; but that He might rather seem to have been condemned as a pretender to a throne, and because He Who had never in this world exercised any royal authority, had dared to say that He was a King.
O ye Jews, most impious of men, the fact is not as ye would make it out to be; but it is ye yourselves who are guilty of all this, it is ye who are the ringleaders in the killing of the Son of God. Ye are without excuse, try with all the artful cunning that ye may to cover up your grievous crime; for, before Pilate, ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you: and now ye have come to this, that ye would fain get rid of the truth of this title, and make yourselves out to be guiltless. But Pilate, who, in condemning the Lord to death, was much less guilty than yourselves, and in writing the title was more truthful, in his answer to your envious appeal showed himself to be also more consistent; for he said: “What I have written, I have written.” It was as if he had said: “Read it, or not, as you please, but do not think to turn me from my purpose: what I have written I have written: I did not take your advice as to the title I should write; nor will I change what I have written because you wish it: it will remain as I have set it out: God inspired it, not man: I affirm it, therefore, and maintain its truth: nor will I be prevailed upon by any one to alter it: to all people and languages I declare His dignity and order Him to be proclaimed, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” O brave Governor, thy inscription was very good, and thy answer to those priests was just. I praise thee for having framed so holy and beautiful a title for the Cross of Jesus of Nazareth, and for having so boldly put the Jews to silence: but in this I praise thee not, that thou didst consent to the death of Christ—in so doing thou didst grievously sin.
And be thou also careful, O faithful disciple of Jesus, discreetly to think over the words of this sacred title, to read them thoughtfully, and to utter them reverently; for to read this title, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is a very strong protection against fear of the enemy. Make the sign of the Holy Cross, sign thyself with it on thy forehead and on thy breast, and then read devoutly the words of this title; and in place of anxiety and distress, thou shalt perceive in thyself such help as will leave its mark on thee: for if thou invoke the saving Name of Jesus by using the words, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” the power of Christ, and a sure trust in God, will not suffer thee to be exposed to danger. The full sweetness of this most illustrious title no words can express, no mind can adequately grasp. The words are but four in number; and yet do they invite the whole world to give honour to the Holy Name. All ye princes of the world, therefore, all ye nations and people, give ear to them, read them and say: “Hail, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Who didst suffer for the Salvation of all men.”
O Jesus of Nazareth, bright flower of the Virgin Mary; O illustrious Son of David, the Only-Begotten of the Supreme Father, write, I pray Thee, with a strong and clear hand, upon the tablets of my heart, Thy sweet and glorious Name, along with that sacred and brightly-shining Title of Thy Passion, which declared the cause of Thy death; that so I may keep it ever before my eyes, and may often read it to the praise of Thy Most Holy Name. May that Title be the comfort of my heart in distress, may it be my special protection when temptations assail me; may the evil spirit depart from me; may the lust of concupiscence die out within me; may the whole world have a bitter taste to me, when I think, or read, of “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” For of a truth nothing is more sweet than Jesus, nothing more wholesome, nothing more helpful; nothing can be brighter, nothing more pure, nothing more holy than the Nazarene; nothing can be more worthy of honour than the King of the Jews, nothing more powerful, nothing more exalted. Therefore let no enemy think to withstand me; let no plague think to touch me; let no calamity think to crush me, so long as I humbly invoke Thy aid, O my Jesus, or call to mind Thy Passion, or dwell with heart and lips upon Thy Title “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
O Jesus, above all else deserving of my love, Thou art my King and my God, dear to me above everything, far above all the praise that I can give Thee. Dear to me wert Thou in the Manger, still dearer wert Thou on the Cross; dearest of all art Thou when sitting upon the Throne of Thy Kingdom; for though, in the weakness of Thy flesh, Thou didst hang upon the Cross, yet now by the Power of God, Thou livest, and art sitting at the Right Hand of the Father, exalted above every creature for ever and ever. Amen.