There can be negative associations when we think of the word ‘King’. Either that or the word simply has no relevance in our lives. I was not born when King George VI reigned so I do not have any images to draw upon to understand what it might be like to be ruled over by a King. Whilst writing this I realised that when I think of the word ‘King’ the associations that spring to mind for me are quite negative. Vague images of news stories involving dictators and war-torn countries, abuse of power, tangled up and messy dynamics involving money, weapons, government, voting rights, poverty and, oppression.
In John 18:33-37 which is our Gospel reading for today, those who were living and working during this period would have also had a completely different concept of what a King’s role would be and how they might behave in society. It would have been very different from our Monarchy today who has a more supportive and constitutional role than absolute governance which was the case in New Testament times. The Kings of ancient times were all-powerful and they were driven by their wishes and whims and exercised their governance through violence and punishment.
Then we have Jesus’ Kingship. A completely different expression of what it means to be King. One that neither the Jewish people, The High Priests of the temple in Jerusalem Annas and Caiaphas, nor the Roman Governor Pilate could comprehend or had eyes to see. So when Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews, he knows this poor man from low social standing is not going to be King, but Pilate wants to know if this man is just deluded or if there is something else going on amongst the Jewish people, an uprising perhaps?
It happens a lot when Jesus communicates with others and here it happens again, he does not answer straightforwardly. And when he speaks about his Kingdom to Pilate (yes he agrees he does have a Kingdom), not only is it incriminating but it is also revealing. Pilate and those around him do not understand that which is right under their noses. They are blind to Jesus speaking on a cosmic level. Pilate and the others are preoccupied with all things earthly whereas Jesus is revealing that his authority is not granted from earthly power. The people on earth are not the people who can elect him King, his identity cannot be changed and controlled, his identity is fully divine! Jesus as King exercises his power through incorporation, not domination. Jesus’ reality is not limited to only the earthly, he and others who can see the truth are living in two realities at the same time – the earthly and the eternal. Jesus through his incarnation on earth brings to us this eternal reality too. Sometimes we get glimpses in this life, glimpses of this other reality that we too are participating in, when we pray, worship or sense and respond to the Holy Spirit’s movement in our lives when we enter deeper into a relationship with God.
Once we de-centre our human notions of power from a stance that those on earth have the absolute power over us and remember that there is in existence God’s Kingdom as our other reality, then we remember that Jesus is our true King and our true leader. Yes we need to abide by the governance of our earthly leaders for our feet are grounded on earth and our lives are playing out under the governance of earthly powers but Jesus reigns in a reality that is more interesting and much bigger than just our earthly reality. Jesus himself is the other reality made present in this one, and Jesus coming to live in our reality and revealing this to us means that this other reality seems to want us to participate in it too.
Modern-day earthly leaders have a long way to go before they can honestly say that they are governing in ways that draw on how Jesus reigned whilst here on earth. Certain people will always need to be in positions of power over others but it should be less about stopping people from having power over one another and more about how the Kingship of Jesus can show us how good governance can be exercised in this life. How his example of power can be exercised well and in alignment with his teachings and acts. Governance that never forgets our true King who when he journeyed with us in his earthly ministry, revealed the other reality, God's Kingdom in both, Jesus is our true King.
Natalie Rees, ordinand