"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Jesus was accused of being the sort of king who would be a rival to the emperor. This was the accusation Pilate sought to make Jesus either confirm or deny. But although he wasn't the sort of king his enemies asserted he claimed to be he was indeed a king. He was the sort of king about which Pilate might have asked on his own, in spite of the fact that he was not a Jew. But Pilate was only interested in calming the religious authorities that handed Jesus over. He wasn't interested in what the truth might actually be. He didn't even believe in the possibility of truth. He was entirely invested in practical realities and was completely motivated by political pragmatism.
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."
The kingdom of Jesus did not have a worldly origin and it did not compete by the violence that was typical of earthly kingdoms. In other words, his kingdom was not a threat to the emperor in the way it had been suggested it was. But the kingdom of Jesus was real, and truly present where the king, Jesus himself, was present. The story Pilate had heard was inconsistent with this reality. Although he did not seem to be problematic in the way Pilate had heard, there was definitely something about Jesus that was different, something Pilate did not understand. Did this difference make him dangerous?
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."
The authority of Jesus was rooted in the truth of his heavenly origin in the heart of God the Father. His kingdom did not depend on political power or violence to achieve its ends. It had something more unconquerable than power. It had truth, the fullness of truth, on its side. One could fight against earthly kings and kingdoms. But to fight against the truth was to fight against reality itself. One might appear to win briefly in such a struggle, as did those who thought they were victorious when Jesus was crucified. But truth cannot finally be killed or destroyed. The kingdom of Jesus was rooted in the deepest nature of reality, because that kingdom had its origin in the one who created all things. It could be opposed for a time. But its victory was inevitable in the end.
Was Jesus dangerous? In some sense he was the most dangerous person in the world, at least for those whose earthly kingdoms were rooted in darkness and sin. For the truth of Jesus had the power to definitively vanquish such kingdoms. It could empower legions of future disciples to take a stand for Jesus and his kingdom, adding their own testimony and the testimony of their very lives as confirmation of this testimony of Jesus before Pilate. They, like Jesus belonged to a kingdom that was in the world but not of the world. And although they might at times appear to be defeated they did not lose their peace for they knew that nothing could change the truth or remove Jesus from his throne. They looked forward in hope to the day when that truth would be finally revealed in fullness.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
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