NOTES for Luk 23:12

Many people have no doubt heard this story. The remarkable actress Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya is walking through the theater, sees several young actresses whispering among themselves, and asks them: "Whom are we being friends against, girls?"

It is characteristic of us human beings, is it not, to be friends "against someone." One only has to find a common enemy. In Gospel times we see a similar plot. Pilate and Herod were enemies because each wanted undivided rule over Judea: one as the authorized representative of the emperor of Rome, the other as a representative of the Hasmonean dynasty. Let us note that from the point of view of the Law of Moses, both were illegitimate rulers.

And suddenly there appears the One who is called the Messiah, the King of the Jews, the Anointed One of God. Both Pilate and Herod have the opportunity to acknowledge Christ, and not even from hearsay, but in a personal meeting. Yet both prefer to reject Him, to regard Jesus as an "enemy," and in this to find a common interest.

In the history of the Church it has happened more than once that political interests led to the strangest alliances. Of course, they did not last long, for what is not from God falls apart.