I write this on Easter Sunday, 2019, and the secular world, particularly the anti-Christian secular world, is losing its mind again.
This time, the left’s insanity arises from the final report of the special investigator, Robert Mueller, into alleged crimes committed by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2015 and 2016.
Amazingly, what we are seeing in the reaction to that Mueller report was seen by an early father of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, in his Easter homily on the Gospel of Matthew. See if you don’t recognize the parallels in this quote:
Everywhere deceit recoils upon itself, and against its will supports the truth. And observe. It was necessary for it to be believed that He died, and that He rose again, and that He was buried, and all these things are brought to pass by His enemies.
Chrysostom, John. The Complete Works of John Chrysostom (36 Books): Cross-linked to the Bible . Amazon.com. Kindle Edition.
Someone, of course, will throw into the comments, “So, you’re saying Donald Trump is Jesus Christ.” No, I am not. And to make that leap is to lie. I won’t insult the commenter’s intelligence by pretending he believes such things as he writes. He writes them because he has no valid argument to make.
For the rest of you, here is the parallel spelled out:
| Persecution of Jesus | Attempted Prosecution of Trump | |
|---|---|---|
| Protagonist | Jesus | Donald Trump |
| Antagonist(s) | Pharisees, High Priests, Herod | Democrats, Media, Deep State |
| Alleged Crimes | Claiming to be God; claiming to be king; threatening peace of Judea; challenging the authority of the Caesar | Colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election |
| Authority Appealed To | Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea | Robert Mueller, independent investigator and former head of the FBI |
| Authority’s Findings | Pilate: “I find no cause of death in this man.” | Mueller: No collusion by this man or any other American citizen. |
| Authority’s Failure | Pilate, despite believing Jesus was harmless and innocent, gave into the crowd and had Him crucified. | Mueller, despite finding no evidence of a crime, gave into the crowd of Democrats surrounding him by refusing to say there was no attempt to obstruct justice, even though he found no evidence to support prosecution. |
| Antagonists' Responses to Findings | “Crucify him!” | “Impeach him!” |
| Historical Effects | Christianity overcomes the Roman Empire and covers the most of the known world within 6 centuries | Trump’s antagonists are revealed as both Russian collaborators and petty criminals who perjured themselves and created fake evidence in order to overturn the results of free and fair election. In short, the FBI leadership at the direction of President Obama attempted a coup, which is an act of treason. |
Funny how history rhymes, isn’t it?
Again, I’m not saying Donald Trump is Christ’s equal. I am saying that Trump’s antagonists—the press, the Democrats, the FBI—are the near-equals of those who tortured and murdered Christ. God’s goodness is infinite and incomparable, but evil is not infinite. Evil has a floor below which no one can go. I am saying that what men like John Brennan and James Clapper and Andrew McCabe and Robert Mueller did to Trump were similar to what Annas and Caiaphas and Herod and Pontius Pilate did to Jesus. And the results of their deceit are and will continue to be similar. They strengthened their enemy.
But I am mostly saying that St. John Chrysostom was 100% right, and history keeps proving his basic heuristic right: deceit recoils upon itself and accidentally reveals the truth. Trump’s antagonists not only exonerated Trump, they indicted themselves in the process. Mueller so perfectly imitated Pontius Pilate that you can imagine him muttering, upon signing the report, “quid est veritas?”
St. John Chrysostom goes on to point out the lengths to which Christ’s murders went. Remember that Christ said He would rise again in three days, His persecutors sealed the tomb and posted temple guards to prevent Christ’s disciples from stealing the corpse and claiming He is risen.
And, behold, it worked! Christ’s disciples did not enter the tomb and steal His corpse. They didn’t have to. The corpse got up and walked out on its own!
The lesson for us all: if you falesly accuse someoneone, your lie will be exposed and you will be accused of that which you had accused. Sort of the reverse of you will be forgiven as you forgive others (Mattew 6:14).
Ad Jesum per Mariam.