From: John 18:33b-37
The Trial before Pilate: Jesus is King (Continuation)
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Commentary
33-34. There is no onus on Pilate to interfere in religious questions, but because
the accusation levelled against Jesus had to do with politics and public order, he
begins his interrogation naturally by examining him on the main charge: “Are you
the King of the Jews?”
By replying with another question, Jesus is not refusing to answer: he wishes to
make quite clear, as he has always done, that his mission is a spiritual one. And
really Pilate’s was not an easy question to answer, because, to a Gentile, a king
of the Jews meant simply a subverter of the Empire; whereas, to a Jewish natio-
nalist, the King-Messiah was a politico-religious liberator who would obtain their
freedom from Rome. The true character of Christ’s messiahship completely tran-
scends both these concepts—as Jesus explains to the procurator, although he
realizes how enormously difficult it is for Pilate to understand what Christ’s King-
ship really involves.
35-36. After the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, Jesus re-
fused to be proclaimed king because the people were thinking in terms of an ear-
thly kingdom (cf. Jn 6:15). However, Jesus did enter Jerusalem in triumph, and
he did accept acclamation as King-Messiah. Now, in the passion, he acknowled-
ges before Pilate that he is truly a King, making it clear that his kingship is not
an earthly one. Thus, “those who expected the Messiah to have visible temporal
power were mistaken. ‘The kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom 14:17). Truth and jus-
tice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That is the kingdom of Christ: the divine
activity which saves men and which will reach its culmination when history ends
and the Lord comes from the heights of paradise finally to judge men” (St. J. Es-
criva, “Christ is Passing By”, 180).
37. This is what his kingship really is: his kingdom is “the kingdom of Truth
and Life, the kingdom of Holiness and Grace, the kingdom of Justice, Love and
Peace” (Preface of the Mass of Christ the King). Christ reigns over those who
accept and practise the truth revealed by him—his Father’s love for the world (Jn
3:16; 1 Jn 4:9). He became man to make this truth known and to enable men to
accept it. And so, those who recognize Christ’s kingship and sovereignty accept
his authority, and he thus reigns over them in an eternal and universal kingdom.
For its part, “the Church, looking to Christ who bears witness to the truth, must
always and everywhere ask herself, and in a certain sense also the contempo-
rary ‘world’, how to make good emerge from man, how to liberate the dynamism
of the good that is in man, in order that it may be stronger than evil, than any mo-
ral, social or other evil” (John Paul II, “General Audience”, 21 February 1979).
“If we [Christians] are trying to have Christ as our king we must be consistent.
We must start by giving him our heart. Not to do that and still talk about the king-
dom of Christ would be completely hollow. There would be no real Christian sub-
stance in our behavior. We would be making an outward show of a faith which
simply did not exist. We would be misusing God’s name to human advantage. If
we let Christ reign in our souls, we will not become authoritarian. Rather we will
serve everyone. How l like that word: service! To serve my king and, through him,
all those who have been redeemed by his blood. I really wish we Christians knew
how to serve, for only by serving can we know and love Christ and make him
known and loved” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ is Passing By”, 181-182).
By his death and resurrection, Jesus shows that the accusations laid against
him were based on lies: it was he who was telling the truth, not his judges and
accusers, and God confirms the truth of Jesus—the truth of his words, of deeds,
of his revelation—by the singular miracle of his resurrection. To men Christ’s king-
ship may seem paradoxical: he dies, yet he lives for ever; he is defeated and is
crucified, yet he is victorious. “When Jesus Christ him appeared as a prisoner
before Pilate’s tribunal and was interrogated by him...did he not answer: ‘For this
I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth’?
It was as if with these words [...] he was once more confirming what he had said
earlier: ‘You will know the truth, and truth will make you free’. In the course of so
many centuries, of so many generations, from the time of the Apostles on, is it
not often Jesus Christ himself that has made an appearance at the side of peo-
ple judged for the sake of truth? And has he not gone to death with people con-
demned for the sake of truth? Does he ever cease to be the continuous spokes-
man and advocate for person who lives ‘in spirit and truth’ (cf. Jn 4:23)? Just as
he does not cease to be it before the Father, he is it also with regard to the his-
tory of man” (John Paul II, “Redemptor Hominis”, 12).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Liturgical Colour: White.
| First reading | Daniel 7:13-14 © |
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| I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man |
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| Responsorial Psalm |
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| Psalm 92(93):1-2,5 © |
| Second reading |
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| Apocalypse 1:5-8 © |
| Jesus Christ has made us a line of kings and priests |
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| Gospel Acclamation | Mk11:10 |
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| Gospel | John 18:33-37 © |
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| Yes, I am a king |
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