The Lord will come to judge the world

January 4, 2022 - Wednesday, Christmas Week

Psalm 98:1, 7-8, 9

Today, we complete the singing of psalm 98 which celebrates the reign of God over all creation. Our psalm ends with a proclamation that the Lord comes to rule or to judge “the world with justice and the peoples with equity”. In the Old Testament, there is a book called the Book of Judges. The judges described in that book are charismatic figures chosen by God to save the people from their enemies. But, they were far from being perfect and their actions were often morally questionable. It reminds us of our rulers and judges.

The Book of Judges has a very interesting refrain woven into its story: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25; see also 17:6; 18:1; 19:1). As the story of salvation moves from the Book of Judges to the First Samuel, the people wanted to have a king. They asked Samuel: “Give us a king to judge us” (1 Sam 8:5-6). This request is seen as a rejection of the Lord as their king (1 Sam 8:7) and the history of Israel’s kings began with Saul’s failure and ends with the demise of the Davidic dynasty. Israel’s kings, including David, failed to judge “the world with justice and the people with equity”.

Psalm 98 proclaims the coming of the Lord: “the Lord comes; he comes to rule the earth”. This is the hope of the Bible and the hope of many of us who are dismayed by the injustice and corruption perpetrated by our rulers and judges. But can there be a direct rule of God in this world? Jesus began his proclamation by announcing that the Kingdom of God is at hand and the first Christians identified Jesus with God’s kingdom. Origen, one of the early Christian writers, called Jesus the Kingdom of God in Person. But, the imperial and religious leadership of that time crucified our Lord, proclaiming, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

The story of Jesus does not end with his crucifixion. It continues with an incredible proclamation of His resurrection and it ends with the risen Jesus’ declaration: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18). In our proclamation the risen Christ rules over all creation. We call him Pantocrator - the “ruler of all” (see Rev 1:8). He is the judge of the living and the dead. And one day, He will come “to judge the world with justice and the peoples with equity”.