John 18:33-37
November 26, 2006
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
Although I’m not a fan of British Monty Python comedy, I read that in the 1975 film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, there’s a scene of two peasants discussing whether or not the man they see coming toward them is a king. One solemnly assures the other that he can be sure this man is a king because he is not covered in manure. Everyone in this imagined medieval scene of King Arthur works and lives in filth, and only the king would have the luxury of being clean.
Although most of us don’t live in filth, we still have a vision of a ruler as being one who lives not in filth but in luxury. The White House is very clean and our president does not drive his own car or wash his own clothing or buy his own groceries. In fact, there was a flap with the first President Bush when a reporter asks if he knew the price of a gallon of milk. Having not done any grocery shopping for the vast majority of his life, of course, he had no idea.
The Queen of England owns several palaces, an extraordinary amount of jewelry and land. If you have seen paintings of kings and queens from the 16th to the 18th centuries, you will notice that most of them are wearing huge lace collars. During that time, lace was an extremely expensive commodity. Therefore the more lace one wore, the higher one’s status was. For instance, Marguerite de Valois, the wife of French King Henry IV wore such a large collar that she needed a spoon two feet in length to eat her soup.
Even rulers in poorer nations often would have the best of what can be had in that nation, including cars, houses and clothing that the vast majority of their subjects could only dream of owning. We seem to all share a common understanding that our rulers and kings and queens should have a standard of living beyond that of the majority of those they rule.
Rulers in Jesus’ Time
This was true in Jesus’ time as well. The Romans, of course, were infamous for the opulence of their ruling class. Even Hebrew kings like Herod lived in palaces with luxuries of food, clothing and entertainment of which the masses could only dream of.
Pilate was probably all dressed up in his royal robe and had just eaten his big meal when he asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” This was pure irony! You see Jesus looked nothing like a king. He was humbly dressed, his hands bound behind his back, his followers went into hiding, and this Roman Governor of Judea was in his ornate hall; Pilate was making this a joking matter. Jesus looked nothing like a king!
Pilate was quite sure he was in charge of this situation because, while not a “king,” he is the ruler of this particular province of the Roman Empire. He knows he is the ruler because he has been given authority by other human rulers. And everyone can see by his lifestyle that he is the person of authority. He was not covered with manure.
And yet this human ruler, Pilate all dressed up as royalty finds himself constantly compromising to get what he wants. First of all, since this is the Day of Preparation for Passover, to remain ritually pure, the Pharisees must stay outside of Pilates’ hall. The Pharisees have already tried Jesus and found him to be a blasphemer, worthy of being put to death. But they now need Pilate to give the order, since they don’t have that authority under Roman rule. So we see this almost Monty Python comic scene when Pilate is going back and forth between the Pharisees, the accusers standing outside at the doorway and Jesus is inside being questioned. What kind of ruler is Pilate when he needed to play this political game?
As he considers his next move, Pilate has to constantly think of the political ramifications of what he does. Will Rome approve of this act? How will his choice satisfy the local Jewish rulers whom he needs to keep the population under control? Being a ruler in this world requires constantly compromising to get what you want, even if you are the supreme power in the neighborhood.
Jesus is brought before Pilate for both ecclesiastical and political reasons. The chief priests have charged him with blasphemy. The matter is of no concern to Pilate. But, because it is expedient for them that Jesus be put to death, the chief priests have delivered him to Pilate for capital punishment. From Pilate’s perspective, this petty matter should be returned to the local officials for judgment; he is not concerned with their religious squabbles. The Jews were free to worship their peculiar, solitary God as they pleased, as long as it helped to keep peace in the province. But the ecclesiastical issue has political implications, and these Pilate is pushed to investigate. The chief priests have apparently accused Jesus of claiming to be the King of the Jews (19:21). That, if proven true, would be considered an act of treason, punishable by death under Roman law.
In his interrogation of Jesus, Pilate asked if he claims to be a king. The only kingship Jesus lays claim to is one of a spiritual realm (18:36). Having no jurisdiction over provinces, material or spiritual, outside of Judea, Pilate finds no reason to hold or condemn the man. In fact, he tried three times to release Jesus.
It was apparent to Pilate that Jesus proves to be no threat to Caesar or to Rome. Eventually, however, the Jewish authorities painted Pilate into a corner, proclaiming, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor” (19:12).
Christ the King Sunday
Each year on the Sunday before Advent, the church celebrates “Christ the King.” For Christians, it is clear: Jesus of Nazareth is the King who sits upon the throne of heaven and will come one day as ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5, 7).
Understanding Christ as our king is critical to our preparations for celebrating the birth of Jesus. If we don’t let the plastic mall nativities fool us, we remember that he was born into the midst of manure, in a stable. We remember that Jesus lived not shut away from the filth and struggle of the world, but in the very midst of it. He touched the lepers, the epitome of trash and refuse in his time. He sat on hillsides in the midst of dusty children. He washed the grimy feet of his disciples. This King had nothing nor owned anything so luxurious that his own followers could only dream about. This King was among his people.
In our preparation for a season when Jesus’ birth has become equated with lavish consumption, we would benefit greatly to remember what kind of ruler Jesus showed himself to be in his life. Jesus’ model of kingship is not Arthur and the Round Table or George in the White House or Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
The good news today perhaps is that the vast majority of us are not of the “ruling” class. Jesus seeks out the lost and the sick and the sinner. Jesus does not dine on silver and porcelain, but in the homes of those considered “unworthy” eating off paper plates. Jesus does not dine with King Arthur at the Round Table but eats with people like us on take-out Round Table pizza! Jesus is not on a high pedestal, but down in the muck with us, walking beside us and giving us strength to continue walking ourselves.
If you are experiencing challenges and trials in life today, know that Jesus the King among us is not some ruler who has no idea of who you are and what you are going through right now in life. Jesus knows you by your name. He knows that you are facing problems of guilt and shame, life and death, love and betrayal. And when we know Jesus, we believe that those who follow Jesus as King live longer lives and live better lives.
Follow the King
Following Jesus Christ as our King, we are challenged to obey his commandments and imitate his ways. If our Ruler is one who does not count privilege and power as things which set him apart, neither should we. If he got down in the dirt with those who were dirty, so should we. If he spoke out for truth and love and did not retreat to the safety of his position and his protectors, we should do likewise. If he was willing to face death to uphold justice, so should we be willing to suffer, for this king offers us not jewel-inset throne chairs on his right and left, but the cross!
There are many opportunities for our witness, even if they are more ordinary and vastly less dangerous. Notice our worship today for instance. We stand apart from the powers of this world to raise songs of praise to the “Kings of kings and Lord of lords” (19:16). In this hour of worship we acknowledge, acclaim, and celebrate a sovereignty and power seldom spoken of during other hours of the week. At other times and in other places we are what the world names us. We are little league fathers and soccer moms, we are accountants and teachers, we are employees of Kaiser and state workers of California, we are Costco shoppers and green drivers of hybrid cars. But when we come to church on Sunday and on this one hour, we are subjects of Jesus the King.
As members of Christ’s kingdom, we are a colony at the corner of Waverly Place and Sacramento Street, living the curious customs of a faraway but foreseen homeland in God. We take bread, bless it, break it, and share it because we have learned a source for being fed that the world cannot imagine. With a handful of water, we name ourselves with the secret name of Baptist Christians, and we hear our names called out by the unmistakable voice of the Living Christ.
We pray for those who don’t care about what we do, who might think that prayer is absurd, and who may even despise us because praying is a custom of Christ’s kingdom and they want nothing to do with that. We speak words of blessing and take that blessing with us to keep our poise and balance in a world eloquent with curses. Here we celebrate the sovereignty of Jesus Christ as the one and only King among us!
If we are to follow the King, we should do what he has done. Jesus the Son of God became human so that God’s love and salvation can take place even when we didn’t deserve it.
The story of the “Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain can teach us something today. The ruler lives in a complete different world from his subjects and wonders what it was like where common people lived. He decides to switch places with a poor man and the prince becomes transformed by this experience. He discovered the trials and needs of his subjects enabling him to become a more benevolent ruler.
In our Chinese culture, we have our own “Prince and the Pauper” story. I was told that a Chinese emperor who wanted to know what his subjects were saying about him decides to dress up as a commoner to visit his people. He traveled incognito with his entourage through lands far from the royal Forbidden City. When he stopped in a restaurant for a meal, he needed to protect his identity so he would serve members of his entourage by pouring tea. Recognizing the situation, the royal minister created the custom of coded finger tapping to imitate the bow and kowtow of appreciation and humility.
We do this today when we are eating at a Chinese restaurant. Throughout the centuries, there are many examples of how rulers and kings and queens have lost touch with their subjects because of their privileged and isolated existence making them become ineffective leaders. This creates a vast chasm between them and their subjects rendering their authority as suspect.
This is not so with Christ the King among us.
We tend to link kings to particular parcels of land that they reign over. Pilate knew that his authority was only over Judea. Yet throughout much of history, a king was considered to be one who ruled over a particular people, not just a particular piece of land. Jesus Christ the King rules over no particular parcel of land and definitely not just over America. Jesus’ rule is a kingdom composed of people who willingly become his subjects and they are found in colonies all over the world.
Christ the King is among us—with you and with me. Let us go into the world as his loyal subjects to serve in his name.
Let us pray.
We thank you, O God that Jesus did not tread our earthly roads of life as though they were easy and clear. We thank you that there lies in your heart a feeling for what we face each day and as our King, you have showed us the truth for everlasting life when our days are complete in this world. We thank you that you laugh and weep with us as we stumble along and celebrate those brave moments when we stand up for what we believe. Amen.