Pilate said to Jesus,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say 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.”
Sunday’s Gospel, John 18:33b-37
Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews. The question is political dynamite. It has prophetic overtones and Scriptural foundations hotly disputed among the Jews themselves. Jesus admits he has a kingdom (“my kingdom”) but distinguishes between his kingdom and ordinary kingdoms.
“My kingdom does not belong to this world” some take to mean he has a heavenly kingdom, a kingdom in heaven, only, with little or no reference to kingdoms on this earth. After all, the king’s followers (“attendants”) fight bloody battles to protect their king, and Jesus’ followers are not gathering armed men.
In fact, he adds, “my kingdom is not here.” However, this line needs to be carefully understood, for this translation can be a shade misleading. Jesus is not saying his kingship has “no existence here” on the earth. Three other translations capture the nuance this better: “my kingdom is not of this kind” (Jerusalem Bible, 1966 ed.) or “does not take its origin here” (Knox) or “is not from this world” (RSV-CE2). His kingdom is in this world—but not of it. Not originating here as all other earthly kingdoms do.
On the other hand, he did not just fly down from heaven and start a kingdom—for, to make it a kingdom of human beings, he entered our world in the same way we all have. He was born of a human mother, as we all are. He is one of us.
Yet his kingship is different—he does not mention territory he must conquer, but truth he must testify to. Truth rules the heart, not acreage. His followers are those who “belong to the truth.”
And here we reach the nub: members of his kingdom are those who “listen to his voice.” This is a king who is the Word. This Word is heard in Scripture. This Word is performed in the sacrifice of himself he shares with us in Holy Communion. This Word is spoken wordlessly to us in quiet, meditative prayer. This Word is action in the care and support we give away to others as he did.
In all these ways our King is testifying to the truth. When we accept and respond, we belong to the truth. We become living members of his Kingdom.
For further reflection:
The single purpose of “listening to his voice” is to become more like our King/Teacher/Savior. This does not mean becoming “sweet as pie,” as a Sunday school teacher warned one day, for neither Jesus’ teaching nor his life was all sweetness and light all the time. Standing up against injustice, speaking up for the poor and marginalized, being both truthful and kind to our opponents, faithfulness in prayer and worship…. Sadly, it is no surprise when we realize how difficult it can be to begin living out what we hear in his voice, and realize, too, that he expected just those kinds of changes in his disciples. They clung to him anyway. As Peter said to him once, “Lord, to whom shall we go??” There finally is no alternative source of life.
And they did change!