Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’ John 18:36-38

The last Sunday before Advent is the Feast of Christ the King. Therefore, the main theme of this reflection is celebrating the Kingship of Jesus.

In Jesus’ times, kings and queens ruled the world. A nation wasn’t considered a true nation unless it had a monarch. The Old Testament tells us the people of Israel rejected God because they wanted a king. It wasn’t because they didn’t want God in their lives. They felt that they weren’t a real nation unless they had a monarch. Pilate wanted to find out if Jesus wanted to be a king. It is not because he believed in Jesus’ sovereignty. He wanted to find something to accuse Jesus. He wanted to reduce Jesus to a common king so that he could treat Him as one. Jesus as Himself was too complex and strange for the Roman Governor. He wanted someone more manageable. He wanted to reduce Jesus to a common king.

This is not the first time. The gospel of John tells us a story where the crowd tried to force Jesus to become their king (John 6:15). He refused and withdrew into the mountains. Even before this, we read in the gospels of Matthew and Luke where the devil tempted Jesus and offered to make Jesus a King of this world. There was a hefty price tag involved. Kingship and power in this world always come with a price tag. It would have reduced Jesus into a mere politician. Jesus would not settle for something so low. Today, the temptations is still here but not for Jesus. We are faced with the temptations. We are tempted to reduce Jesus to the lowly status of a common King or a socio-political leader. Sometimes people use lofty terms saying that Jesus is the King of their nation. It might sound noble and great but it greatly reduces the true nature of our Lord’s Kingship.

First and foremost, Jesus would have been a terrible King of any nation in this world.

A monarch of any given nation is primarily concerned with the welfare of one’s particular nation. The same can be said of modern politicians. A good and decent politician is only concerned with the welfare of the country one is chosen to represent, albeit not always the case. Sometimes we hear discourses about monarchs and politicians making altruistic agreements with less fortunate nations. In reality, there are no such things as altruistic actions in politics. Everything comes with strings attached. In fact, this is how to world functions in many aspects of society. Nothing is done for free. Jesus would have been a terrible King.

Jesus was truly altruistic. He did not do anything for national nor personal gains. He healed and gave freely without even expecting any gratitude from the people. He did not even require them to become more religious. He never demanded strict obedience to the Law although He Himself fulfilled it according to its true essence perfectly. Furthermore, He never mingled with powerful people who could have helped him to advance his cause. Instead, he worked with people who had no power nor influence in society. He never did anything to improve the local economic status of his society. In one occasion, He caused tremendous damage to the economy of a village by expelling demons into swine causing their demise. These animals were the major economic source. He did this to save the soul of one solitary person who was considered an outcast. It was not worthy investment by worldly means. The people of the village invited Jesus to leave. His ministry was bad for their business.

If Jesus were to stand for election, no one in their right mind would vote for Him. No rational political party would consider Him as their candidate. They would be right. Jesus would have made a terrible political leader. This does not mean Jesus wasn’t political. He was and is but His politics is not of this world. It doesn’t quite fit into the ideologies that are floating around in this world. People try to put Him in box and they try to reduce Him into something that He was never meant to be.

Having said this, Jesus did not deny that He was and is a King. In Jesus’ time, kings and queens played an important role in society apart from politics. It was something that was important to the common people. Perhaps something for those of us like myself who grew up in a republic might find hard to understand. The people used to look to the monarch for moral guidance. People thought whatever the monarch did was the way things are supposed to be. Consequently the religion the monarch adopted naturally became the religion of the people. The people believed that the King knew what was morally best for his subjects. The book of Ecclesiastes, a book which is presently part of my daily devotion, talks about how to live our lives. The conclusions reached in this book have a prominent place and consideration in the Old Testament because its author is believed to be a king. Perhaps, this role of the monarch is much more important and higher than mere politics. This special role of the monarch earned them the title as Sons or Daughters of Heavens in the ancient world because they revealed to the people how to live one’s life in harmony with the divine laws. We know from history that the best of these were far from fulfilling this role perfectly. Most of them, if not all, had their hands tainted with blood and violence. Our Lord is the only one who fulfilled this role perfectly.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Pilate wanted Jesus to be a mere political leader. It was easier for him to deal with one. Today many want to do the same because we think of politicians as our servants. It is more an idealistic view than a realistic one. However, Jesus is not our politician. He is not working for the betterment of our nation or any nation. His Kingdom has only one commitment. According to His answer to Pilate, it is to reveal the Truth. Then Pilate asked the perfect question, “What is Truth?”

Today, everyone claims to be the spokesperson of the Truth. Tons of news outlets and religious leaders claim objectivity when sharing the Truth. In reality, any such claims reveal a lack of understanding of the Truth. We, as human beings, do not have the possibility of knowing the Truth in its entirety. Relatively speaking, we have the brain of the size of a bacteria when we look at the immensity of the universe. God stands above and beyond our universe. He is the Truth, the Way and the Life.

In our Christian faith, when we say Jesus is the King, we actually mean that He is the standard for us to live our lives. The Kingship of Jesus is not the kind of Kingship where we put Him on a pedestal and admire Him from a distance. Jesus never lived in a castle and addressed His subjects from afar. He was and is a King who lives the Truth deeply engaged in the everyday lives of the people. His Truth restored and healed people. His Truth received those who were considered a menace to society. He engaged people who lived in the most difficult situations and was able to bring the Truth to them in its purest and genuine form. He was and is the King who is able to suffer injustice and cruelty and yet, never compromise with the world to alleviate His suffering. His Truth was able to forgive and love those who committed the vilest acts against His person. His commitment to live the Life and Presence of the true living God was never compromised. He remained the Salt and Light until He took His final breath. His resurrection proved that His example of Lifestyle was the only way to have an eternal impact in this world.

Jesus is our Eternal King! He is not to be reduced to a mere monarch of any nation. Kingdoms of this world come and go. Our eternal King remains relevant throughout the times among all peoples of the world including our homeless youth. The only way to celebrate the Kingship of Jesus is to make a commitment to ourselves that He will be the only King of our lives. In other words, He will be the standard and model for us to mimic in this life. He is not a King to be proclaimed with mere words. We do this for our earthly kings. Our Heavenly King is only truly honored when we walk in His footsteps.

Let us celebrate Christ our King in the most worthy manner possible!