Mordecai & Jesus

Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in purple and white and royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. – Esther 8:15 (NET)

This was Mordecai’s vindication. Not only that, but this represented the vindication and deliverance of the covenant people of God, as the Jews were saved from the destructive decree that had been issued by Haman, and unwittingly enforced, by the king. Haman had been exalted and set above all of the officials of the kingdom of Persia (3:1). “As a result, all of the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, nor did he pay homage… When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he was filled with rage” (3:5). Because Mordecai would not bow to Haman, not only was he enraged at Mordecai, but “Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) who were in all the kingdom” (3:6b). Here, hatred directed towards Mordecai is converted into a plan to wipe out God’s covenant people. For Haman, Mordecai stands as the representative for all of the Jews.

So even though a decree of destruction against all the Jews was set forth, we know that the plan was foiled through the faithful actions of Esther. In a very Christ-like role, she willingly took her life in her hands and interceded on behalf of God’s covenant people, so as to spare their lives and bring punishment to their enemy. Effectively, prior to her brave intervention, the Jews were as good as dead. “Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced there was considerable mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow” (4:3a). They knew that they had been sold into death. Mordecai himself “went out into the city, crying out in a loud and bitter voice” (4:1b). We can almost hear him crying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”

Yes, it was as if God’s people had gone down into the very pit of death, and without the intervention of their God, to deliver them from certain destruction, there was no hope. But something happened. Though God is not mentioned in the Hebrew version of the book of Esther (though God is invoked in the extended, Greek Septuagint version), it is clear that their faithful, covenant God is on their side and working on their behalf, fulfilling His promises to them. In their fasting, weeping, and sorrow, they are clearly humbling themselves and seeking God, according to God’s promise to Solomon that we find in the second book of the Chronicles (7:14). They are under intense persecution and they are in need of redemption and deliverance. This is the same story that we find in the book of Exodus, repeatedly in the book of Judges, and also in the prophecy of Daniel.

Though in the grip of certain death, their deliverance comes. Figuratively, because of Esther’s actions, God’s people were resurrected from the dead. Fitting quite well with God’s controlling narrative and presentation of His plan of redemption through His Word, this shares echoes with the story of Abraham’s call to sacrifice Isaac. In that story, Abraham considered Isaac to be dead, but trusted that God would raise Him because of the promises that had been made to Abraham. Isaac, figuratively, went through death, and figuratively, was raised from the dead. Returning to Esther we read that “Contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies” (9:1b). Yes, God’s covenant people triumphed, just as they would one day be made to triumph over the final enemy, that being death, through the Resurrection of Jesus and through their believing union with Him, with belief in the Lordship and Kingship of Jesus being the mark of God’s new covenant people and the way in which they are made to share in His Resurrection.

One of those people of the covenant, that being Mordecai, is not only resurrected, but exalted, representing the vindication of God’s people. He is exalted to a royal position, adorned “in purple and white and royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle” (8:15b), symbolizing that royalty. Yes, one man becomes the representative of God’s chosen people, and passing through persecution and suffering and a figurative death, he comes out on the other side, crowned as a king, as “Mordecai the Jew was secondly only to King Ahasuerus” (10:3a). This was what would be experienced by Jesus as well, Who would be exalted as King by His Resurrection, though in submission to the Father.

Indeed, all that will be said here of Mordecai should invoke thoughts of our Lord Jesus, Who was persecuted, went into death, experienced a Resurrection, and was shown forth as King. It is said of Mordecai that “He was the highest-ranking Jew” (10:3a), which is another way to think of Jesus. “He was admired by his numerous relatives” (10:3b), which was also true of Jesus following His Resurrection. “He worked enthusiastically for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of all his descendants” (10:3c), as would Jesus, the Mediator between God and man. Prior to that, we read that “Mordecai was of high rank in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence continued to become greater and greater” (9:4). As it was for the figuratively resurrected Mordecai, so it was for the physically resurrected Jesus. Jesus was given the name above all names and set above all rulers and powers. The Gospel of His Kingdom spread throughout all lands and His influence grew, with that influence spread and growing to this day.