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
who yielded such incredible power and might! But what Jesus came to do was not to feed a nation or be a doctor or lead an army against an earthly foe. No, Jesus came to win the battle against sin. He came to destroy the power of sin and death and the devil. He came to rescue people from the clutches of hell and to bring them to life with him in heaven. And that wouldn’t happen through parades and armies. It wouldn’t be accomplished by resisting arrest. It would be accomplished by humbly submitting to others, by perfectly obeying his father’s will, and by dying the lowliest of deaths on the torturous cross. The things in the life of Jesus that looked the least kingly by worldly standards were the things that were accomplishing the most for his kingdom. In his lowliness, he was accomplishing great things for you and for me. And yet, in spite of all he has done for us, we still struggle at times to think of Jesus as a king who is not of this world and whose kingdom is not of this world. We like the people around us ask what good it does us to follow Jesus. Does my life get any better? Do I have more money or food, more safety or security, more of whatever it is I feel that I want? In so many cases the answer is a resounding no. In following Jesus I find more suffering, not less. I find more sacrifice and less wealth. In Jesus we follow a king who is a lowly king, and we follow him in lowliness. We follow a king who testifies to the truth. And the truth is that he became lowly for our sakes. He became lowly to accomplish what we could not. The truth is that after his lowliness took him through a humble life and to a humble death, he escaped the grave not in lowliness, but in power. He was exalted to the highest position and rules and reigns on our behalf and in our best interest. The truth is that his people follow the same path: lowliness now, glory in the future. And the truth is that one day he will appear in majesty. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. It is not a kingdom that we can see right now. So many overlooked Jesus as a king because of his lowly appearance, just like Pontius Pilate did. So many overlook him now. The appearance of his kingdom is at best lowly right now. Those who believe in him and live for him are routinely mocked and ridiculed. In many places they are persecuted and harmed. That doesn’t look and sound like a kingdom that is to be admired or desired. And so the truth is not found in our perception or in our experience or in our expectations of what God’s kingdom should look like. The truth is found where Jesus reveals it to us in his Word and in his Sacraments. The truth is that we, like every human being aside from Jesus, were born dead in sin, and that he gave his life to remove our sin and to give us his perfection. The truth is that whatever we suffer in this life will be completely overshadowed by the glories and joys of heaven. The truth is that the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us is splashed over our foreheads in Holy Baptism and given us to eat and to drink in Holy Communion. And the truth is that one day, everyone will see the truth for what it is. “‘Look, he is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’” (Revelation 1:7). One day the lowliness will all be peeled back. The things of this world will be set aside. What is left will be the truth in all its beauty: Jesus is and has always been a king. Those who through faith follow him are members of his kingdom. Everlasting joy and glory belong to him and to those whom he has called to his side. Jesus will continue to rule as king forever. “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). That is precisely why the Church Year ends with this reminder, Christ the King Sunday. While we live in this world we will continually be tempted to see Jesus from a worldly viewpoint. But his kingdom is not of this world. He suffered and died in lowliness for you and for me. He will return in glory to take us to be with him. He does not always look like a king judging from earthly appearances. When he returns, there will be no doubt. When he returns, we will welcome as our king, and he will welcome us into his heavenly kingdom. Come, king Jesus.
The Text: John 18:33–37 (NIV) 33 Pilate
Jews?” 34 “Is
then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the
that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am
I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” 36 Jesus
said, “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.” 37 “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.”