JESUS CHRIST IS KING
(Contemplata aliis tradere)
CHRIST THE KING, THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY, YEAR B; DAN 7:13-14,
REV 1:5-8, JN 18:33-37
Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, you have said that you are the way, the
truth and the life. By the entrance of your word suffer us not
to stray from you, who are the way, nor to distrust you, who
are the truth, nor to rest in anything other than you who are
the life. Amen.
There is something different about the kingship of Jesus. He is a king in a deeper, more
mysterious and hidden way, and that is what we celebrate today. After Jesus had fed
five thousand men not counting the women and children who shared in the meal, John
records in his gospel that the people were excited saying, “Surely, this is the prophet
who was to come into the world” (6:14). They rallied among themselves and decided to
seize Him and make Him a king, but Jesus noticing this ran away to the hills by
Himself. He rejected their kingship (6:15). We also notice that during His period of
trial, the devil led Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of
the world in all their greatness and promised them to Him if only He would kneel down
and worship him, Christ also rejected this proposal (Mt 4:8-9). In today’s gospel, Pilate
asks Jesus if he were a king and Jesus answered in the affirmative. He says, “Yes, I am
a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (Jn
18:37).
From the foregoing, we see that on the one hand He refused to be a king and on the
other hand He accepts that He is a king and that He was born for that purpose and
because of it He came into the world. This certainly appears like a paradox. Why Jesus
rejected the kingship from the devil and the people is clear in His Words that followed
His affirmation of His kingship before Pilate, “My kingdom does not belong to this
world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers will fight to keep me from
being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No my kingdom does not belong here!”
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(Jn 18:36). What Jesus is saying is that His kingdom is not like the kingdoms of the
world. We are not to think of the kingdom of Christ in terms of the kingdom of
Pharaoh who ruled by enslaving people to build pyramids and kingdoms, Jesus rather
enslaves us to make us free. Scripture teaches that if the Son of Man sets you free you
are free indeed (cf Jn 8:36).
We are not to think of the kingship of Christ in terms of the Roman Empire under
Emperor Nero who killed hundreds of Christians; Jesus rather dies for us that we may
have life (Gal 2:20). He teaches that unless the grain of wheat falls on the ground and
dies it remains only a single grain but if it dies it yields a rich harvest (Jn 12:24). We
are not to think of the kingship of Jesus in terms of the leaders of our time who are after
collecting what we have in form of taxes and have nothing to do for us, Jesus as king
rather gives, He fed 5000 people, He fed 4000 people, He changed water into wine that
all may drink to their satisfaction, He gives not only the physical life but also the
spiritual life, “I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance” (Jn 10:10).
The kingship of Jesus is not to be compared to the leaders of our time whom we have
no, access to even though we elected them to serve us. Jesus was a friend to all, the
lepers with whom people never associated, the sick, the poor, the wretched, the tax
collectors and sinners; these were His friends. He teaches that He has come to seek out
what was lost (Lk 19:10). He came for the unrighteous, the weak, the poor and
oppressed.
While earthly kings seek honour, Christ humbles Himself among His subjects,
“Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped but humbled himself” (Phil 2:6). Earthly kings demand service from their
subjects but Jesus serves us, He washes the feet of His disciples and called them to do
the same. Earthly kings wear crowns of glory but Jesus wears the crown of thorns;
earthly kings sit on the throne while Jesus hangs on the cross. It was on the cross that
Pilate hung the inscription, “Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews”.
This is not to say that the kingship of Jesus is inferior to that of earthly kings. No! The
kingship of Jesus and His kingdom is above all the kings and kingdoms of the world
put together. His is an eternal kingdom, not contained or determined by space or time.
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This was the vision of Daniel, “He was given authority, honour, and royal power, so
that the people of all nations, races and languages would serve him. His authority
would last forever, and his kingdom would never end” (7:13-14). Luke wrote of Jesus’
kingship, “He shall be great and men shall know him as the Son of the Most High; the
Lord God will give him the throne of his Father, David, and he shall reign over the
house of Jacob eternally; his kingdom shall never have an end” (1:32-33). In
Revelation John writes of his vision of Christ’s kingship “‘I am the first and the last’,
the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come” (1:8). St Paul writes
that Jesus has been raised above all powers and authority in heaven and on earth and
has been given the name which is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father (Phil 2:6-11).
Jesus confirms the superiority of His kingship and kingdom when He says “All
authority in heaven and earth has been given to me by my Father” (Mt 28:18). Those
earthly authorities that undermined His authority broke their heads on the pillars of the
super-authority of God. When Nebuchadnezzar ruled in pride without recognizing the
authority of God, he was turned into a beast and went into the desert where he fed on
grass. When Herod took the glory that belonged to God, on his throne he was eaten up
by worms. When King Saul disobeyed God and offered him sacrifice rather than
repentance he was dethroned. St Paul teaches that it is in him that we move and have
our being, including all the kings of the earth; He decides whether we live or die, he
decides the dimension that our life would take; our histories are written on the palm of
His hands. Are there authorities that block God’s blessings for us? Jesus wants us to
understand that He is above all authority. St Paul teaches in his letter to the Colossians
that “in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and
everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers, all things created
through Him and for Him. He exists before all things and in Him all things hold
together”.
Acknowledging the Kingship of Jesus over our lives
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It is not enough to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is King. We could acknowledge
earthly authorities and still they make no impact on our lives. In the case of Jesus it is a
different thing altogether, it goes beyond an intellectual profession. To acknowledge
the kingship of Jesus is to accept His reign over your life. In ancient times, when
people had kings, their relationship with the king was marked by three significant
factors:
1. They gave themselves to the king
2. They obeyed the commands of the king
3. They paid homage to the king
They gave themselves to the king
When Solomon was made king over Israel, the people gave themselves to him, and he
used them for the building of the temple without pay (1Kgs 9:15). If we acknowledge
Jesus as king we must also give ourselves to Him and avail ourselves for the building
of His spiritual temple here on earth. Acknowledging the kingship of Jesus over our
lives would involve giving everything about us to him. Many of us give only a part of
ourselves or part of our lives or part of our activities to God and hold the other to
ourselves. We rarely make the final sacrifice or surrender to Jesus. If we are to
sincerely acknowledge his kingship we must give our faculties to Jesus saying “Lord
guide me that I may please you in all my ways”; We must give our thoughts to Jesus
saying “Lord guide me that I may please you in all my thoughts”; We must give our
words to the Holy Spirit saying “Holy Ghost guide my words that I may please you in
all my utterances”; We must give our actions to Jesus saying “Lord guide me that I
may please you in all my actions”. That is Christianity: handing everything to the Lord
that he may be the sole guide of our lives. St Paul gave everything to the point where
he lost his being in Jesus and so said, “It is no longer I that live but Christ who lives in
me” (Gal 2:20).
They obeyed the commands of the king
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In the ancient world, to acknowledge one as king is also to accept and obey every
word that comes from him. When God was still the king of Israel, before they chose
human kings in wanting to be like other nations, they pledged their loyalty to the
commands of God their king, “We will serve the Lord our God; we will obey his
commands” (Josh 24:24).
Accepting Jesus as king and handing ourselves over to His reign would involve going
through the Scriptures to see how Jesus loved that we may love like Him; this would
involve going through the Scriptures to see how Jesus fed on the Word of God such
that at the age of 12, he held doctors and professors hostage in the temple of
Jerusalem, that we may go deeper into the Scripture like Him; this would also involve
going through the Scriptures to see how Jesus stole time from the rowdy events of life
to pray that we may also pray like Him; this would involve going through the Scripture
to see how Jesus bore with the weak and oppressed that we may be like Him; this
would involve going through the Scripture to see how Jesus was a sign post to holiness
that we may be living reflections of His image. Once we begin this, we have started to
acknowledge the kingship of Jesus over our lives.
They came often to pay homage to the king
In ancient times, the subjects of kings came at appointed times to pay homage to the
king. Christians who acknowledge Jesus as King must also make time to come before
his presence so as to acknowledge His kingship. This is done through a life of prayer;
being in the presence of God to adore Him, to glorify Him, to worship Him. There is
something that prayer does in believers: it helps believers to overcome sin, to endure
the present crosses in life and equips them to be witnesses of the gospel. Praise
particularly brings the presence of God in the midst of your problems, the stories of
Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego in the book of Daniel and Paul and Silas in Acts of
the Apostles confirms this. The Psalmist says that God is inhabited in his praises.
Jesus Meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.
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Once again, the treasure box has been opened and the beauty of Christ has been
revealed.
Grace, peace and love be with you all. Amen.
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