(Translated from Greek to English using AI)

My brethren,

In the account of the Passion of the Lord, Holy Scripture states:

In the Gospel according to Mark:

“And they clothed Him with purple… and began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Mark 15:17–18).

Also, in the Gospel according to Matthew:

“And kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matt. 27:29).

And in the Gospel according to John John:

“And they said, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and they struck Him with their hands” (John 19:3).

Comment:

That is, those who mock Christ and crucify Him call Him “King” —even if ironically— yet in the end, by God’s providence, they confess the truth!

In the Gospel passage referring to Pilate, the Evangelist John says:

“Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19)

Comment:

Pontius Pilate, although he did not believe in Christ, officially writes the truth upon the Cross: that Jesus is “the King of the Jews.” And when the chief priests ask him to change it, he answers: “What was written, stays written.” (John 19:22)

Thus, those who mock and crucify Him call Him “King”—mockingly indeed—but ultimately confess the truth!

Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that this happened by divine economy, so that even the enemies of the truth might become its heralds. In other words, God allows the truth to be revealed even through the mouths of unbelievers.

Now listen to what also happened with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu:

Transcript of the above video:

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared:

“He (the historian Will Durant) also wrote The Lessons of History, a very brief, 100-page book, in which he said, well, history proves that, unfortunately and unhappily, JESUS CHRIST has no advantage over Genghis Khan.

Because if you are not strong enough, ruthless enough, powerful enough—evil will overcome good. Aggression will overcome moderation.”

Comment:

Did you understand what the Jewish Prime Minister said? While intending to convey the words of the historian Will Durant—presenting the “weakness” of Christ and comparing Him to an ordinary man, Genghis Khan—he named and confessed, without understanding the weight of his words, JESUS CHRIST.

Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that Christ “orders” all things with wisdom, gradually revealing the truth so that people are not scandalized before they understand the mystery of the Cross.

The Lord Himself asks that it not be prematurely revealed that He is the Messiah (Christ):

1. He forbids the demons to reveal that He is the Christ:

“…and He cast out many demons; and did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him to be Christ” (Mark 1:34).

2. He tells the disciples not yet to say that He is the Christ:

“…then He strictly charged the disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ” (Matt. 16:20).

3. He reveals His identity gradually, yet to the Samaritan woman. He openly confesses that He is the expected Christ:

“…the woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ); when He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” (John 4:26).

It is truly so serious and important that Jesus be called “Christ”, that the Evangelist John writes:

“…every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2).

A Jew would say: “How does the Israeli Prime Minister dare to call Jesus ‘Christ’?”

Because Christ = Messiah.

When the Apostle Andrew found Christ, following the indication of the Honorable John the Forerunner, he first went and found his brother Simon Peter and said to him:

“We have found the Messiah; which is translated, Christ” (John 1:42).

Mr. Netanyahu used these two words: Jesus Christ.

The word “Jesus” is a human Hebrew name and in Greek means “the Lord saves”; in Hebrew it is Yehoshua/Yeshua.

Here, I say, Netanyahu acknowledges, on the one hand, the historicity of our Lord Jesus Christ regarding his human nature.

On the other hand, he also indirectly confesses Jesus and attributes to Him the title “Christ.”

The Jewish Prime Minister does not know Greek; because if he did, I doubt whether he would accept calling Jesus “Christ”!

For, as I wrote above, Christ = Messiah.

In Hebrew, Mashiach, which is translated as “Messiah,” means “the special one anointed by God” —and in Greek it is rendered as “Christ,” meaning again “the special one anointed by God.”

In other words, without intending it and without understanding what he says, the Jewish Prime Minister accepted and repeated the title “Christ” for our most sweet Jesus, which, as we explained, means Messiah! (Indeed, I was truly astonished when I heard him accept to call Jesus ‘Christ’!!!)

(Exactly what happened during the Passion of our Lord, where unbelievers and mockers called Him the King of the Jews!)

Indeed, God allows the truth to be revealed even through the mouths of those who do not acknowledge Christ as the one true God…