Who is this Jesus Guy Anyway?

John 18:33-37 

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that 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.”

What sort of King is this Jesus guy anyway?  Pilate wanted to know if Jesus was the “overthrow the Roman government” kind of King… or maybe he had just been labeled a “King” by local enemies hoping Pilate would do their dirty work for them… or maybe this Jesus was just a “King” up there in his loony-tune noggin?  What sort of King is he?

If he was an “overthrow the Empire” kind of King, that was easy.  Crucify him as a warning to others!  Boom. Done.  But if he was one of the other sorts, that needed a little more investigation.  Not to do what was right, or just, or fair… Pilate didn’t care about that… but to find out what solution would give Pilate the least amount of hassle. 

So once Pilate decided Jesus was no threat to the Roman Empire he just looked to the crowd to see what would give him the least grief.  At first he thought letting Jesus go would make his life easier.  But for whatever reason (he could not begin to care why) the crowd wanted Jesus crucified and giving the crowd what it wanted would give Pilate the least hassle, so Pilate put Jesus on the cross.

Pilate simply used Jesus in whatever way would make his life easier that day.  That sounds pretty cold… and it is.  But don’t we do the same thing all too often?  Pull Jesus close when it suits us… Push Jesus away when he’s not convenient?  It’s like a movie where the actor turns over the picture of Jesus on the wall before he does something bad, so Jesus won’t see.  I think we all do that to one degree or another.  I know I do it.  I’m happy to lean into Jesus when I’m wearing this shirt and playing my role where other expect some Jesus.  But in other situations, maybe where I know my idea of Jesus will clash with someone else’s, I often choose to turn Jesus’s picture so he’s facing the wall, avoid the conflict, and in effect, do with Jesus what will give me the least hassle.  

Pilate decided he could do with “King Jesus” whatever would give him the least hassle, because, Pilate did not see Jesus as HIS king.  You can bet that if Caesar was the one standing there before Pilate things would have been VERY different!  Pilate would NOT have done what was most convenient in THAT case!  Pilate would have treated him as…well as his King!  I admire that in Pilate.  He had the wrong King in my opinion, sure, but what I admire is that he wasn’t wishy washy about his King.  His loyalties didn’t ebb and flow out of convienience.  There was no hypocrisy, even when his King was all the way back in Rome!  Pilate was clear.  Caesar was his full time, full on KING.  Who is your King?  Is your King one of convenience or a full time, full on King?  It may not seem like it makes a difference in how we live day to day… but I think it really does.  

There’s a story about an Abbott of a monastery.  He had a problem.  His monks treated Christ as a King of convenience.  Acting outside the monestary like Christ was their King, but inside, where they thought no one would notice, they did not act as if Christ were their real, full time, full on King.  The  Abbott knew this was causing the monastery to rot from the inside out.  The Abbott went on a journey to seek out the advise of a renowned mystical Rabbi who people of all faiths regarded as a prophet.  The Abbott told the Rabbi about his monastery and asked for his advice.  

The Rabbi told the Abbott that he sadly did not have a solution for him, BUT the Rabbi did have something the Abbott should know before he returned.  He told the Abbott that one of his monks was Christ, returned from heaven.  The Rabbi did not know which one, but he was absolutely certain that one of them was the Christ.

The Abbot returned to the monastery and told his brothers what the Rabbi had said.  Over time each brother began to treat the others better, always wondering if the other was the Christ.  The monastery grew in faith, love, service and even in numbers and no matter who came to the monastery everyone was treated as if they were the Christ.

Is Christ your King?  Is Christ your King only when it’s convenient or is Christ your full time, full on King?  If we began treating everyone we met, all the time, as if they might just be the Christ, returned from heaven, what would that do to us?  What would that do to the world, if Christ really was our full time, full on King?  It’s something to think about for sure.  Amen.