John 18:33-37 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
“Jesus’ Kingdom Is Not of this World”
End Times 4: Christ the King November 25, 2018
When does a king seem the most royal or regal? In other words, when does a king seem the most like a king? Those may seem like strange questions to ask, but consider this: all kings throughout history have been people in many ways exactly like you and me. They have needed to eat and to drink. They have had to use the bathroom at times. They have needed to sleep. They have done these and all sorts of other mundane, regular, ordinary, everyday things. None of these things are what makes a king seem like a king. On the other hand, kings look like and seem like kings when they wear ornate crowns, when they sit on stately thrones, and when they feast on the richest food with gathered nobles and dignitaries. They look like kings when they command servants to do their bidding and when their subjects bow down to them. Probably, when you hear the word “king,” these are the sorts of things that you picture. But on Christ the King Sunday, we speak about a king who got tired out and slept like we do, who ate and drank like we do, not with dignitaries but with sinners. And I guess you could make the case that he looked a little like a king at the times when he spoke to large crowds gathered around him. But he didn’t give speeches in fancy palaces, and he didn’t bark commands at servants, and he didn’t wear ornate robes or crowns. Instead, his life was full of ordinary and regular things. He never really looked like anything special, certainly not like a king. So we find this king in our passage today, our Gospel for Christ the King Sunday, standing in someone else’s palace, answering someone else’s questions, and looking nothing like a king. Yet at the same time we find him telling us in no uncertain terms that he is a king. And this drastic gulf between appearance and reality reminds us, just as Christ’s own words do, that his kingdom is not of this world. The palace in which our Gospel takes place is that of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in charge of Judea and Jerusalem. This is at the time that Jesus is being put on trial. The Jewish leaders are asking for his execution. And Pilate, as the Roman authority at that time and place, is the only one who can give final approval to their demands. As Pilate speaks to the Jews outside the palace and then returns to speak with Jesus inside, what must his impression be? Jesus is at his mercy. He has been handed over as a criminal, and yet there are those who say he calls himself king of the Jews. As lowly as Jesus appeared throughout his life, certainly this is one of the times when he appears most lowly and least like a king. But Pilate asks anyway, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And when Jesus questions why Pilate would even ask, Pilate reminds him that the Jewish leaders handed him over to Pilate. Pilate is just trying to figure out why. What is it that Jesus has done? And Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Jesus is pointing out what was so noticeable already: if he is a king, he is a different sort of king. If he is a king, he is one unlike any other. If he is a king, he is a king who looks lowly. Every bit of his circumstances points to lowliness, not to kingliness. He had no servants fighting for him. He didn’t resist being arrested or put on trial. And yet, he is a king! “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “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.” The amazing truth is that Jesus is indeed a king. The fact that his kingdom is not of this world means that his reign is judged in a different way from earthly kings. His reign is a spiritual one. He is the almighty and eternal God who came to earth as a true human being. In every sense he is king over the entire universe. But what is most important about his rule is that he rules in the hearts of believers through faith. He is a king over their lives and in that relationship with him, they have eternal life. He had the power and has the power to rule spectacularly as an earthly king. Think about the miracles that he performed which offered a glimpse of his power. He fed people with tiny amounts of food. He healed sick. He raised the dead. A kingdom or a country could absolutely thrive with a king at its head