Understanding Sovereignty & Prophecy

Sovereignty is typically defined as the supreme power or influence that controls a certain societal element or group of individuals. Prophecy is referred to as the process by which messages are received through divine inspiration or interpretation that provide revelation into established or upcoming events. Two specific authorities that utilize both the role of prophecy and sovereignty are Jesus Christ and Oedipus. Each man is a governing authority that offers a diverse array of components into both roles. Sophocles underscores that extent of power that individuals within a position of influence have on the respective societies that they are governing or running and how individuals see them as being key mediators between them and the divine; while the Bible, specifically in the Gospel of Matthew, displays the son of God who has come to prove both the profound power that this supreme force has as well as enlighten the prophetic pathways to which Earth herself will walk.

Sophocles depicts Oedipus as one who the Greek populace have come to adore, answer to and as a cleanser of their misdeeds and misgivings. There are illustrations of this in the utilization of language such as "my sovereign lord and peerless king,"   "speak before all; the burden that I bear is more for these subjects than myself"    and "come, children, let us hence; these gracious words, forestall the very purpose of our suit and may the god who sent this oracle save us withal and rid us of this past.”   Such depictions capture the commitment and dedication that the people of Greece have for Oedipus. 

Like Oedipus, individuals have come to respect and adore the throne of God. Jesus Christ presents, similarly as Sophocles does of Oedipus that "no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despite the other."   The reasoning here is that one must serve God and God alone, both his kingdom and his righteousness. God then is the end all, be all for all that adore him and respect his sovereignty. The sovereignty of God is the crux of both "Christian character and comfort. It [is] a truth which [brings] virility and stability."   Contrastly, Greek mythology is full of multiple Gods and the Greeks understand this wholeheartedly. Sophocles exhibits this as a welcoming application in how both King Oedipus and the Priest in Oedipus the King feel about other kings such as King Laius, whom Oedipus was born to, King Polybus, who raised Oedipus as well as Zeus and Apollo. "All wise are Zeus and Apollo, […] and nothing is hid from their ken; they are gods; and in wits a man may surpass his fellow men."  

Prophecy is quite possibly one of the more fascinating dynamics of both Jesus Christ and Oedipus. In order to thwart the prophecy the oracle had "foretold about the child born to him and Queen Jocasta, would slay his father and wed his mother,"   King Laius tried to circumvent it by allowing King Polybus, whom "being childless"   raise Oedipus. Such machinations are not uncommon in the realm of prophecy. The sin of man, which is what history tells us Jesus Christ raised in the Gospel of Matthew as an issue, "raised fears of cataclysmic divine retribution."   This thought process has remained a crutch for western culture even today. "More than anything else, [individuals seek] to discover God's plan for the future"  in order to circumvent and usurp the predictive announcements made by Jesus Christ as well the biblical prophets. Likewise, much of the underhanded behavior of King Laius to rinse his hands of the oracle's prophetic foreknowledge was foolhardy. Yet, Sophocles' dramatic representation of such a tragic and dastardly depiction of a father pawning his son offer to avoid the inevitable is what makes the theme of prophecy all the more realistic. There is motivation for King Laius to do such as thing "as the play opens seventeen years after Oedipus"  has fulfilled said prophecy. Yet, Sophocles,’ shows the Greeks as wanting to solve the predictive trajectories, whereas the Bible does not foretell of such resolve.

While Jesus Christ offers a prescription to sin in the Gospel of Matthew, individual choice or rather free will is injected into the equation. Sophocles does not provide the Greeks in Oedipus that option. Instead, it is presented as a "moral dilemma"  that given time could be fixed thereby allowing "Oedipus to avoid his fate."   It can be reasoned that the Greek people wanted to do right by King Oedipus and Oedipus himself to do right by them in their mission to right the wrongs foretold by the oracle, while man is more akin to seeking absolution and serenity, not so much because he has recognized his wrongs; but more so to avoid the judgment measures Jesus Christ and the prophets in the Bible describe. 

Both sovereignty and prophecy play a pivotal role in the Gospel of Matthew and Oedipus in that they delve into the subjects without forcing them at the reader. Each reading crystallizes the definitions of the roles that each play in individuals and society. Moreover, the diverse array of components in each reading allow for an understanding of their importance and a comparison of their respective merits. 

Bibliography

Carel, Havi. "Moral and Epistemic Ambiguity in Oedipus Rex." Janus Head 9, no. 1 (2006): 97-115.

Dodds, E.R.. "On Misunderstanding the 'Oedipus Rex'." Greece & Rome, Second Series 13, no. 1 (1966): 37-49.

"Gospel of Matthew - Matthew 6:24-34." RCNet. http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/matt6v24.htm (accessed July 17, 2013).

Pink, A.W. The Sovereignty of God. Pensacola: Chapel Library, 1993.

Pratt,Jr., Richard . "Historical Contingencies and Biblical Predictions." Address, Inaugural Address from Reformed Theological Seminary, Marietta, November 23, 1993.

Sophocles. "Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone." The Pennsylvania State University. www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/sophocle/sophocle.pdf (accessed July 17, 2013).