Violence or Truth

 

John 18:33-37

Proper 29 / Year B

“Are you the King of the Jews?”  Pilate’s question to Jesus echoes down through the centuries.  It is puzzling to Pilate while being vexing to us.  It perplexes Pilate because Jesus is nothing like the kings of his time.  Most earthly rulers of the era come into power through violence, killing all other contenders while maintaining control by eliminating any and all threats.  If an adult bible study wanted to concentrate on the history and linage of King Herod, for example, it would take several weeks to tell the story and a lot of graphics to have it all make sense.  Oh, and it would require a massive chart to track the body count of his reign, which includes scores of his ancestors, siblings, cousins, and offspring.  Pilate sees none of this in Jesus so he ponders why some proclaim this non-distinct, harmless Galilean peasant to be a king.

We, on the other hand, find the claim Jesus is King to be troublesome because, unless we have surrendered our lives to his reign, it means he has a claim on us we would rather ignore: “I am lord of my own life, thank you very much.  I’ll reach out to you if I need a favor or two, and I’ll do you will whenever it intersects with my own desires, but don’t expect me to surrender myself to you or to bow down in complete obedience.  You can be my helper, but I am my own master.”

Are you a King?

Pilate himself is not a king, rather a prefect; a governor appointed by the Roman emperor.  Within the hierarchy of Roman rule, holding this station in Judea is not a particularly distinguished assignment; something akin to be the mayor of Zuni. VA (if there is such a position).  As prefect, Pilate oversees the military in the region (who function more as a police force), heads the judicial system, holds power to execute capital punishment, and collects taxes and tributes.  His title authorizes him to appoint the Jewish High Priest and he has a close working relationship Caiaphas throughout his tenure, allowing both to misuse the Temple’s treasury at will. 

Philo, a Jewish historian of the time, describes Pilate as being a “man of very inflexible disposition, and very merciless as well as very obstinate.”  In Philo’s estimation, Pilate is “exceedingly angry, and… at all times a man of most furious passions.”  He is prone to cruelty and known for executing people who are “untried and uncondemened,” for which some historians report he is sent to Rome to answer this charge and, after judgment, ordered to take his own life.  Other traditions hold he and his wife convert to Christianity and there are some places in Christendom where he is actually venerated as a saint.  

Given this background it is easy to see why Jesus answers Pilate’s question by saying, “My Kingdom is not from this world” (or maybe better, “of” this world).  “If it were, my followers would fight for me.”  Jesus does not come to Jerusalem to battle it out with Pilate or Herod in order to become the king a specific area or people.  His Kingdom is different than theirs.  “My Kingdom is not from here.”  In other words, it is not going to come about and be secured in the violent ways earthly kingdoms are. 

Don’t think for a second Jesus is saying his Kingdom is in heaven and has nothing at all to do with this earthly realm.  After all, he teaches us to pray daily for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Jesus’ Kingdom has a different origin than Roman rule and its scope is much, much broader and deeper than anything an earthly sovereign can achieve.

If it does not originate from violence, then how does it come about?  Jesus tells Pilate this: “I came into this world to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  We might add ‘and follows my example’.  As former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry reminds us at every turn, “If it isn’t about love, it isn’t and Jesus.”  Given the personal witness of how Jesus lives his own life, we know if it isn’t about selflessness, compassion, humility, love for God and neighbor, etc, it is not of the Kingdom over which Jesus reigns.  The hatred of this truth… Jesus’ truth… as Dean Koonzt states in his book, Your Heart Belongs to Me, is the “taproot of violence.”

More than most, Dr. Martin Luther King understood the origin and nature of Jesus’ Kingdom and yielded to it in his effort to create a just society for all.  Here is what he believed and taught:   

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.  Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.  Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.  Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate.  In fact, violence merely increases hate.  So it goes.  Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

On this Sunday in particular, we are invited to ponder the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom and to contemplate in the depths of our hearts whether or not we are willing to submit to his most gracious rule.