Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"
"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"
They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.
The President of the United States travels in indestructible style. Cadillac One is a luxurious armor-plated limousine that weighs 10,000 lbs. The presidential vehicle, called “The Beast” has its own oxygen supply to protect against poison gas attacks.
When the President takes his show on the road to a foreign country it includes up to 800 people; White House staff, Secret Service agents, flight crews for Air Force One/Marine One, communications technicians, and up to 150 media representatives.
He travels in an enormous, ever secure bubble. The nucleus of the bubble is known in the White House as “the package” consisting of senior staff, security, and a select press corps. When the President is not traveling he is getting the royal treatment at the White House. At the presidential residence there is a 90-member staff living on-site with butlers, elevator operators, curators, electricians, plumbers, chefs, maitre de’s, and florists. They have entertained over 30,000 guests in one week. The first family does pay its own dry cleaning bills, although the staff takes care of sending it out. There is an in-house movie theater, a swimming pool, tennis court, and children’s garden. The office of President has longevity and power. A member of the permanent staff reminded Barbara Bush, “Presidents come and go. Butlers stay.” In the formative days of the American democracy, we decided against a monarchy where we would be ruled by royalty. Commander and Chief is as close as we come to a king. The President certainly receives royal treatment and maximum security.
The concepts of king and lord are very difficult for us to relate to in our culture. We have no experience of persons embodying those social roles. So when we talk of Jesus is Lord and Christ the King, we have a hard time grasping the weight of that. Today is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday in the church year. We focus on Christ as our King. Jesus is not just our teacher, savior, and friend. He comes among us not only to heal, to teach, to save, but also to rule. Jesus is author and authority.
Looking at Jesus in John’s Gospel as he faces off with Pontius Pilate, he does not act or speak or conduct himself like a king. Looking around our world, living in these times, dealing with our own struggles, it still doesn’t feel like Jesus is King.
If Jesus sits on the cosmic throne surrounded by the heavenly host, where is the peace and prosperity, the consequences that Christ has come to power? Martin Luther talked of God’s hidden power. Veiled from our mortal eyes, the kingdom of God is very present in ordinary things and comes to us in almost covert ways. Like the coming of King Jesus as just another baby born way off, way off the royal Roman grid in lowly Bethlehem. Christ the King is there in plain sight to Pilate but is discounted and dispatched bureaucratically to avoid domestic trouble. Pilate the procurator serves Caesar so he knows the difference between a king and a victim.
If Christ the King makes us uneasy, perhaps it’s because we make Pilate’s mistake of discounting Christ as King on a daily basis. Jesus is flatly not what we expect.
As we join John’s story in progress, Pilate is trying to settle a conflict between the Jewish leaders and Jesus and his followers. His concern is not so much justice as it is to tidy up another internal dispute as efficiently as possible. Just another day in Palestine for Pontius Pilate, who serves Caesar. When the conversation about kings comes up, Pilate doesn’t know if he should be annoyed or amused with Jesus. The New Testament is more politically loaded than we realize when we hear titles for Jesus like Lord, Son of God, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. These are all titles that were reserved for Caesar. Not even regional royalty would dare borrow the Roman titles. But John’s Gospel and even more so, Revelation makes a point of implying that since Jesus is Lord then Caesar is not Lord. In Revelation, which means unveiling and disclosure, we finally see his royalty revealed. The Exalted Christ, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”.
Pilate examines Jesus as a possible threat to the order, stability, and power of the state. The governor interrogates, “So you are the king of the Jews?” If Jesus is king then the evidence is lacking. This is not exactly King David standing before him being judged. But, curiously, soon Jesus has turned the tables on Pilate. In John’s Gospel, Jesus at least makes it a dialog. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus says next to nothing when questioned by the authorities. But here, Jesus ends up asking Pilate a personal question or two, “Is that your idea? Or did someone tell you about me?” Pilate is offended by Jesus’ insolence, “Am I a Jew?” as if he is exempt from judgment. But, by the end of the conversation, you wonder who is on trial. Who is truly judging whom? Is there more going on kingwise here that we can comprehend? We worship Christ as King. We wait for his coming. But, evidence is still lacking.
Doris Kearns Goodwin writes of racial conditions during WW II, “In Lousiana, a group of nine Negro GI’s boarded a train that was delayed for twelve hours. One soldier recalls, ‘The only place that would serve us was the lunch room at the station. But, we couldn’t eat where the white people were eating. To do that would contaminate the very air so we had to eat in the kitchen. That same morning, two dozen German prisoners of war came to the lunchroom with two guards. There they were served meals, enjoyed a smoke, and the comfort of the lunchroom. We had to watch from outside. We could barely believe our eyes. There they sat; eating, drinking, laughing, smoking. They were enemies of our country, people sworn to destroy all the so-called democratic governments of the world. What were we fighting for? Even when evil is defeated, our systems and societies are still sinful.
On this Christ the King Sunday, racial injustice persists, violence pervades, evil is entrenched, and peace seems as far away as ever. The enemies of Christ the King who were defeated on the cross; sin, evil, and death, are still at large. Here we are worshiping the King of Creation, but what are we waiting for? Where’s the victory?
Willimon writes, “The church is once again confronted with the age-old question: Is this Jesus- the one who stands before us- betrayed and denied by his disciples, traded for a terrorist like Barabbas, condemned by the very people he came to save, crucified for our sins and suffering, hung on a cross between two criminals,- is this humble and helpless man, really King? Jesus doesn’t answer Pilate when he puts the question to Jesus. Maybe he doesn’t answer because he wanted you and me to answer. What’s your verdict?” Right here is where Jesus turns the tables on us, too.
Like Pilate, we believe we are on the judgment seat. We’ll be doing the judging. Throughout history, rulers, artists, peasants, historians, theologians, people on top and people on the margins, have rendered various verdicts. Jesus is a teacher, a social activist, a capitalist, a communist, a guru, a prophet, one god among many. We will be doing the deciding. We know what is what. Who is king and who is not?
There is sinful arrogance in our presumption to know, to make Jesus in our image.
A few years ago, the Metropolis Gallery in Bremerton, had a thought-provoking exhibition, “Your Personal Jesus” from Olympic Peninsula artists. The holiday art show was based on the image of Jesus Christ, with liberal interpretation. One artist submitted an acrylic work entitled, “Jesus Relaxing in Bremerton”. In this work a smiling Jesus is casually reclining in front of the Bremerton skyline. He has a plate of food on his robes. The artist vaguely compares her Jesus to Burt Reynolds and commented, “Everyone, and every artist must have in them what they think Jesus is like. There is a sort of freedom to be an artist and be able to paint your own Jesus.” This gallery also set up a special “Color Me Jesus” table, with coloring pages and crayons and markers for kids of all ages to create their own personal Jesuses. They also offered special gift items like Veronica Veil handkerchiefs, Shroud of Turin hand towels, and Andy Warhol inspired day glo pink Jesus prints.
I am guilty of coloring my own Jesus at times. I operate as if I sit on the throne, as if my life, my time, my treasures are my own, as if my judgment is final. If Christ’s reign has not yet succeeded in whipping the world into shape, it may be because suffering love has no whip, and drawing all things to itself is slow business. This past week I visited a sister in Christ who has advancing Dimentia and tried, being the operative word, to share communion with her. I lost the wrestling match. One night at supper after we were half-finished, we belatedly gave thanks to the Creator for our daily bread. A student at bible study said, “I don’t need God.” Is Jesus still King if we forget to give thanks, don’t recall being baptized a child of God, and even declare we don’t need God? At the end of the day, end of life, and at the end of the apocalypse, the question Jesus will put to each one of us, “Who do you say that I am?” But, when the question comes, it will be the Crucified King sitting in judgment. Shocked by grace, we’ll be the ones getting the royal treatment, forever.
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