John 18:33-38
Today is the last Sunday of Pentecost, also the last Sunday in the Christian calendar; we close our year celebrating Christ as our King. From the first Sunday of Advent in 2020 to the last Sunday of Pentecost which is today, we have seen Jesus grow from the little baby born in Bethlehem to the Messiah-King of the world, and in every step of our journey, God our Father has surprised us, because Jesus our king did not come as those in his time expected. You see, Kings are born in palaces, Jesus our king was born in a manger; kings are served by their servants, Jesus our king came as a servant to serve; Kings live in palaces; our king did not have a place where to lay his head. Kings in this world have power and are arrogant; Jesus our king came humble and vulnerable. We can say that our King is an out of place king.
Even the scripture we read to celebrate Jesus as king seems also to be out of place. We celebrate Jesus’ kingship with Jesus as a prisoner in Pilate’s palace, ready to be judged, and condemned to death by the religious leaders.
In the six verses we read from John, we find several questions. But two of these two questions are important. The first important question is, “are you the king of the Jews?” That is what Jesus is accused of. There are some political, social, and religious implications of accusing Jesus of being a king. Religiously talking, if Jesus is king, the awaiting for the Messiah is over. In Jesus’ times, the Jews were waiting for their Messiah-King; they were waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messianic kingdom in Israel. All Jews were expecting the coming of this great leader. This leader would rule the nation and would also bring Israel to the most glorious splendor than ever before. In Jesus’ time, people were longing and waiting for a King; a king sent by God. Politically this meant trouble for Pilate and Jesus because a new king it was a threat to Rome’s control and to the Roman peace; socially, if Jesus was the king, this meant hope for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the blind and those who were in prison.
The second important question we find in these six verses is, “what is truth.” Pilate asked this question after Jesus said, “you say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
We can summarize these verses from John 18th saying that: Jesus is a king, but His kingdom is not according to this world; we can say that He was born and came to this world to be witness of the truth, and everyone who is on the side of the truth listens to Him. Now, what does all this mean? Remember, Jesus was handed to Pilate by the Jewish authorities accused to be the King of the Jews; He was sentenced to die for this. What is so dangerous in being king of a kingdom not according to this world and coming to testify to the truth? First, disappointment, Jesus disappointed those who were waiting for a political Messiah/king who was going to defeat the Romans, take control and make Israel rule over them.
The second reason of why was dangerous to be accused of being king and coming to testify to the truth was that God’s truth was not their truth. This is not the first time John talks about the truth; he has already told us in John 16:6, that Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the truth because He testifies to the truth. Who is the truth Jesus is testifying for? John 12:49 tells us that “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.” Jesus came to testify and reveal God the Father. The religious leaders in Israel had a picture about God, and this picture, this idea was their truth. This truth divided the world between them and the rest of the world. Jews were the chosen people, and the Gentiles were “fuel for Hell’s fire.” For them Israel was the only people loved by God. However, the truth revealed by Jesus contradicted all that, because God sent Jesus to die for the whole world. With his death Jesus destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, for he, himself is our peace, who has made the two groups –Jews and Gentiles- one. As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:14. Those religious leaders did not agree with Jesus.
Suddenly Jesus’ life and ministry turned the truth of this world upside down and this world’s “truth” was turned into a lie. That made Jesus dangerous. I wonder why he was condemned.
Today that we celebrate Christ King Sunday we have to reflect and make personal the questions we find in the Gospel. Is Jesus our king? Is he the truth?
If Jesus is our King that means that our faithfulness, our loyalty is not for any other person or ideology, but for Him. That His kingdom is not from this world means that our faithfulness and loyalty are not based in the principles of any worldly system, but in the principles of Jesus’ kingdom.
If we know that Jesus is our king, we have to submit ourselves to His kingship, trusting in the promise that if we do His will, He will do in us and thru us what he promised. If we are obedient to His voice, He will lead us by the path of righteousness.
What is our Truth? Is the next question. Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32). In the first chapter of John, Jesus is revealed as the Word. Therefore, what Jesus is really saying is, “If you continue in Jesus (who is the Word), we will know the truth and the truth will make us free.”
As it happened before, today Jesus’ truth is hard to accept, we still want to follow our own truth.
When I meditate in God’s truth versus this world truth, I cannot help thinking of one of my favorite movies “A few good men” Some of you who saw the movie will remember the scene the movie, Tom Cruise’ character is a rookie military lawyer who has to defend a squad of marines accused of murder. They claimed they were acting on orders. Jack Nicholson plays a tough marine officer. One important scene Jack Nicholson’ character is on the stand being interrogated by Cruise’ character. Cruise is getting nowhere and finally he yells, “I want the truth!” Jack Nicholson’ character shouts back. “You can’t handle the truth!” This scene makes me think that still today many Christians cannot handle God’s truth because it’s against everything we have believed; against everything this world has taught us; it is against everything that make us feel safe and secure.
Jesus the king tells us: humble yourself and I will lift you up; this world tells us fight to be the number one. Jesus our king tells us be weak for my power is made perfect in your weakness; this world tells us be strong and submit others and take advantage of the weak one. Jesus our king tells us give all you have, and you will have treasure in heaven; this world tells us, get as much as you can; accumulate as much as you can, do not share. Jesus tells you love, pray, and bless your enemies. This world tells us hate and destroy your enemies. Can we handle God’s truth? Knowing his truth, can we submit our lives to his kingship. Remember, everyone on the side of truth listens to Him. Let us pray…