John 18.33-37
“Are you the King of the Jews”, asked Pilate.
I have a shed in England. It’s called Dad’s fixit shed. There is a sign on the outside, a bit faded now, offering to mend things and do math homework. The shed is my domain, I am the king of the castle there, it is my kingdom. I pretend to know where everything is in it and no one is to touch anything. I am the king of my shed – which is pretty rubbish –that’s it - I am the king of nothing else. My kingdom is too small to matter. Not so with Jesus.
Pilate has already been approached by the Jewish authorities who want to get rid of Jesus. They came with the accusation that Jesus was ‘doing evil’. And they want him executed. Blasphemy was not going to get a capital sentence from Pilate, so they changed their tune. They tell Pilate that he claims to be King of the Jews, and Pilate is interested. There is potential political crisis here, there are implications for maintaining peace.
Pilate is under obligation from Rome to keep the peace. So he askes Jesus whether he is a king, John uses the Greek word basileus - king. Jesus replies by talking about basileia - the kingdom. When, like a political reporter, Pilate persists, Jesus simply says that it is Pilate who is calling him a king, but he does not agree to king of the Jews. In John’s gospel there are a number of “I am” sayings. They are classics: “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the good shepherd...” But never I am the king.
Jesus turns the question into an opportunity to speak to Pilate, the most powerful man he ever meets, about the kingdom of God. This kingdom is odd. It has no geographic territory, it reaches to heaven, is not of this world. It has no race of beings, no ancient culture, no army with physical weapons, no elected government. It is a kingdom of people of truth.
That relaxes Pilate. Jesus is not trying to usurp Caesar or any of the leaders. He is, politically, a nothing and poses no threat. But Jesus goes on. He is talking to a politician with power. Someone who has made some dreadful decisions in the past. Jesus talks to him about the kingdom, not in terms of love, or peace, but in terms of truth. It is the first thing to go when people of power use their power in a selfish way. Lies underpin corruption. This kingdom is of the truth.
The kingdom over which Jesus is king, is the kingdom of truth-tellers. People who value truth.
I had a phone call from a colleage, this week, who was complaining about his boss. The boss lied to his face and dropped him in it. “Everyone on the side of truth, hears my voice.” Says Jesus. That is the nature of this kingdom. However hard, we are truth-tellers, and the truth is that Jesus was not king of the Jews, despite what Pilate wrote on the cross, his kingdom is passport free, open to all, a kingdom of love, a kingdom which makes you a free person, a kingdom, like the Jew’s concept of the temple, that really brings heaven into earthly human lives. It is a place of truth.
We have all lied. It is part of the Christian discipline to deal honestly with the truth. Truth makes a difference, and though it may be the hardest and most painful thing, truth sets you free. Christ on the cross is what happens if you are truth. God give us the grace and courage to be truthful and be part of that kingdom of God.