Jesus didn’t look like a King. He didn’t act like one either. Kings raise armies and collect taxes. Kings have subordinates. They have grand, well-guarded homes. They have pomp and circumstance. Jesus didn’t. And yet people were talking about him.
“Pontius Pilate” by Michael Yazijian. The artist has a website at http://www.mikeyaz.com/
He was raising quite a fuss throughout the country. There were stories of him feeding multitudes, healing the sick, forgiving sins, raising the dead, challenging authority, and disturbing the peace at the Temple. People were talking, so when he was finally brought before the governor on charges of blasphemy and treason, Pilate already knew something of the man. Pilate had heard of him, or he would not have asked him this question.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked Jesus. Pilate knew he didn’t look like a king. He didn’t act like one either. Jesus so much as admitted this. If my Kingdom were of this world, Jesus explained, “my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”
As far as Pilate was concerned, there was only one King. It was the man he answered to. It was the man that gave him the power to rule. The only King Pilate acknowledge was the Emperor of Rome. All others were insignificant. Please don’t believe that Pilate was somehow a passive bystander as Jesus was led to the cross of humiliation, shame, and death. Much evil has been done in this world by those claim that Pilate was an innocent bystander, manipulated by the bloodthirsty Jews. Pilate was the unquestioned ruler.
Jesus stood before Pilate, accused of blasphemy, of which Pilate cared little, and treason, for which Pilate cared a great deal. There was after all, only one King.
Jesus’ silence ultimately condemns him. He never directly answers Pilate’s questions. He never engages in Pilate’s rhetorical games. Instead of answering questions, like a good subordinate should do, he responds with questions. The Judean leaders had already made up their mind. In the Gospel of John, they had decided long ago that he must die. Pilate, who had little use for a poor Jew from the countryside, wanted only to maintain order. So he had him crucified like he had thousands of Jews before.
“So, are you a king?” Pilate asked Jesus. Left unanswered, the question has lingered through the centuries. It has become a haunting reminder of Jesus’ life, ministry, and his untimely death. It is a question that remains only for us to answer.
Jesus certainly didn’t look like a King. He didn’t act like one either. In two thousand years, that has not changed. Jesus still does not look like a king, which continues to be a source of conflict in a world that worships power.
So, is Jesus King?
That question is now yours to answer.
Who is the King? Is it Caesar? Caesar is the one who enforces order with the threat of terror. His grip on power is only as strong as his army. It is only as sharp as his sword. Caesar is the one that rules by dividing. He rules by accumulating followers that must serve him and him alone. Any question or challenge to his authority is met with swift and devastating violence. He guards the status-quo, protects the protected, and comforts the comfortable. His peace has no justice. His peace has no compassion. His peace is no peace at all.
Who is the King? Is it Jesus? Jesus, whose power comes from being anointed by God. His power comes from forgiving the sins of others, from welcoming the stranger, the outcast, the poor, the widow, the sick, and the foreigner. His followers come looking not for favor, but for love, compassion and kindness. His peace comes in the midst of terror. He comes offering not vengeance, but the bread of life and the living water. Jesus’ path to rule leads through humiliation, tragedy, mockery, and crucifixion. Jesus wept for the death of his friend. He wept for the people of Jerusalem. His night in Gethsemane was marked with sweat drops of blood as he searched his own courage and found that God’s will was more important than his own comfort. Is this the King that reigns?
He was the King that never looked like a King, and he lives and reigns and endures forever. On this Sunday before Advent we pause for a moment and remember what we are celebrating. Before the Church swings into high Christmas gear, we remember who reigns over it all. Even though it might not look like it, we know that Christ is the King.
There are still many Caesars and would-be kings. They sit on paper thrones and wear gilded crowns. They are the kings of consumption, selfishness, revenge, bitterness, poverty, and disease. The wield much power, and they continue to ask us all the same questions.
“So, is Jesus the King?”
Ours is the answer.
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The Fat Pastor 
pretty sure you’re missing a word “don’t” in your Pilate paragraph. Great post – thanks.
Thank you, that was a pretty important “don’t.” Do you want to be my editor? The pay is terrible. Thanks for the kind words.
how does anyone know exactly what and what the materials said that many centuries ago? do humans interpret what we written centuries ago with such accuracy with no errors to be that well trusted?
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Karen, your question about the historicity of the Gospels, and in particular the Gospel of John, is a valid one. In this sermon, I am reading through a lens of faith, and am gaining truth from the canonical story as we have it. I do believe that historical exegesis is an important part of our task as readers of Scripture. Scholars like Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Stephen Patterson have tackled these issues at much greater length and insight that I can in a blog comment.