One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ Luke 23: 39-43

Next year, Brazil will have a new president. Dignitaries from all over the world will be present. There will be much pomp and pageantry involved. It is customary in this world to usher its King in this manner. Regardless of who the president is, he will be restricted in his interactions. He is not free to be with whomever he wishes to spend time. He will always be surrounded by a select and elite group of people. It does not matter what his convictions may be. He is not going to be with the sick, the abandoned, the widows and orphans. If he wants to be successful, he needs to carefully choose his companions.

I actually had the opportunity to meet an ex-presidential candidate by chance. She did not run in this recent election but in the one before. She was not one of those fringe candidates whom we find in every elective process. She had some prominence among the people. The problem was that she was a kind and humble person. In our chance meeting, she made the initial move to approach me and introduce herself. By mere coincidence, on another occasion, she was in the same apartment building where we live to do an interview with a reporter. The maintenance staff of our building told us that she took time to spend with them. She is not running for office in our state so she has no need to campaign here. They found her to be a very simple and ordinary person. We knew that she will never be elected in this world. This is not the kind of king that this world desires.

The world desires a ruler who will make promises beyond their capacity to keep. One who will tell lies to get what they want and create an illusory world for people to believe. Unfortunately, quite a number of people are willing to accept all this without question. It is not stupidity nor ignorance. It is just human nature. I am not making a subtle criticism towards any president much less against the one who won the elections. Personally I felt a sense of relief when he won. However, it does not imply that everything is going to great for the next four years. I have lived long enough not to succumb to wishful thinking. Our hope as Christians is not founded on worldly rulers nor their political maneuvers. These act according to the principles of the ruler of this world, one based on deceit and lies. Our Lord responded to these endeavors in silence. A gesture that says more than any eloquent speech proffered by the most best intentioned politician in this world. However, He did speak regarding His Kingship and it was to the thief who was crucified next to Him.

At the Cross, the thief knew that there was no hope for him anymore. He saw Jesus in the same position as him, a situation of hopelessness and abandonment. Nevertheless, this did not stop him from recognizing that Jesus was indeed a King. It is the most bizarre place to come to this conclusion. Logically speaking, the other thief would be considered the smarter one. After all, what is the point of putting your hope in a King who cannot get Himself out of a hopeless circumstance. Some of us might be tempted to imagine that the thief was trying to secure his place in heaven. In reality, during that time, the concept of heaven and hell was not firmly rooted in the spirituality of the people especially among the Jewish people. We can see this from the debates between the Pharisees and Sadducees. Not everyone believed in the afterlife. The thief was not looking for a King who would serve His needs. He recognized something in Jesus which he believed was important in a King. He saw Jesus to be a compassionate and loving sovereign whose life reflected all the goodness and beauty which he appreciated even in the final moments of his life. The thief, perhaps, never had this in his life before. I am speculating here. I am basing this on the young thieves we know in the streets.

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ John 18:33-34

In recent report, people were asked in the UK if it should remain a monarchy. There was overwhelming support for it but the reasons were appalling. Most of them said that the monarchy was good for tourism or made the UK feel special for having something different. Even a prominent politician argued that the monarchy was good for tourist attraction and media attention. In other words, monarchy is nothing more than a mere entertainment gadget and something to occupy our free time. Recently, I walked by the entrance of a church and saw signs claiming that Jesus was able to change ill fortune. It went on to list a series of things Jesus was going to do for those who believe in Him. It seems like it is saying that Jesus is worth believing because He serves a purpose.

The thief saw something much more than a mere utilitarian king on the Cross. He saw Jesus pure and simple. This was enough for him to know that Jesus is King. It was genuine recognition of Jesus’ love. He did not expect Jesus to do anything for him. He just asked Jesus to remember him. A promise Jesus kept because wherever the gospels are read in this world, we remember this good thief. He might have been a notorious murderer most of his life but we remember him for his confession of Jesus.

Therefore, this very question which Jesus asked Pilate is valid for us today. Do we believe that Jesus is King because we are told about Him and things He can accomplish for us or do we see Him as King like the good thief on the Cross? The Good Thief saw the sovereignty of Jesus for Himself. None of the taunting words and jeers blinded him from seeing Christ’s true nature. His hopeless situation did not stop him from recognizing Jesus as the King even in the darkest place. He saw something in Jesus which convinced Him that this is truly the King of Kings.

This is our challenge in a world slowly slipping into something unrecognizable. In all likelihood, we are part of the problem too. It is time for us to seek for ourselves a fresh new understanding of Christ the King. We cannot rely on hearsay to understand His sovereignty. We need to see Him in action at the places where people are constantly being crucified and humiliated. The King of Kings does not dwell among dignitaries of this world. His place and throne is on the Cross where He is constantly exalted and only those whose faith like that of the good thief can see why He is absolutely different and special.