A
Different Kind of King
John
18:28-38
Today is Christ the King Sunday. It usually falls on the first Sunday of
Advent, so it gets lost in that celebration.
This year is different. Since
Thanksgiving is early, there is an extra Sunday before the beginning of Advent—and
that’s Christ the King Sunday.
Today we remember and celebrate the kingship of Jesus
Christ. One Scripture passage that is
often used is Philippians 2:1-11. I used
it myself this morning. For this column
I am drawn to another passage.
There are different categories of kings. Some are absolute monarchs, like Louis XIV in
17th-18th century France.
He said, “The state is me,” and he was correct. As king, he could do practically anything he
wanted—as could his heirs until 1789, when the French people decided they’d had
enough of absolute rulers and removed Louis XVI from office by removing his
head.
There are constitutional monarchs. England is a good example of a constitutional
monarchy. The king has little power to
make laws. He can suggest laws, but not
enact them. That’s done by Parliament,
specifically the House of Commons. The ruler
(at present, the queen) is the titular head of the government, but “remains
above politics.”
There are variations on these—actually, a sort of
continuum from absolute power to little or no power. Each king in history has fit somewhere on
this continuum.
There have been good kings, bad kings, and downright ugly
kings. Perhaps the best example of a
good king is David, who, we are told, was a man “after God’s own heart.” But even he made serious errors when he let
power go to his head. Examples of bad
kings abound in every generation. The
same is true for those whose lust for power led them to absolutely horrific
acts. Some have wielded their power in
an “off with their heads” manner, not caring what happened to anyone else as
long as they kept their thrones, their perks, and their lives.
And then there’s Jesus, a truly different kind of
king. Christian theology teaches that he
has been King since before time began.
Paul calls him the Lord of creation: “For by him all things were
created, in heaven and on earth,” (Colossians 1;16) Jesus did what few kings have
ever done. He voluntarily gave up his
kingship. He abdicated to bring about
reconciliation between God and humans.
The only other king who abdicated (that I remember) was King Edward of
Great Britain, who gave up his throne for purely human reasons.
Matthew, Mark and Luke say very little about Jesus’
appearance before Pilate. Jesus is taken
to the governor early Friday morning. There
is a short exchange of words. Pilate
asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews.
Jesus says, “I am.” The Jewish
authorities accuse him of heresy, to which Jesus offers no answer.
John tells us much more.
In his gospel, Jesus gives an extended answer to Pilate’s question. He informs Pilate that he is a king, but that
his kingdom does not belong to this world.
Though he doesn’t say so, his kingdom encompasses not only this world,
but all worlds. Jesus also tells Pilate he
could easily have provided forces to have prevented his arrest. Later he says Pilate has no power except that
which is given him “from above,” that is, from God.
Perhaps Jesus’ most telling statement is that he has been
sent “to bear witness to the truth,” prompting Pilate’s famous response, “What
is truth?” Throughout his ministry Jesus
has been speaking truth—truth to power and to the powerless. He continues to do so here, even in the face
of his own certain execution. A
different kind of king indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment