This coming Sunday is The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The gospel reading for this year is the scene of Jesus on trial before Pontius Pilate during which the nature of Jesus’ kingship and kingdom is revealed. It is important to understand that as we consider the nature of  Jesus as King of the Universe, we must also consider the “Kingdom of God” and Jesus’ role in establishing it. The idea of the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” or “Reign of God” – all have a foundation in history.

As Patricia Sanchez notes, “in the post-exilic period and most especially in the eschatological and apocalyptic literature (see first and second readings from Daniel and Revelation), the symbol of God’s kingdom or reign was connected with the hope that God would bring an end to the present state of the world and would embark upon a full and definitive rule over all creation. When Jesus appeared in flesh and blood in the midst of time and space he brought to light another aspect of the reign of God. In addition to being a future event or action by which God’s rule would be established, Jesus also taught of the reign or kingdom as God’s timeless and ever-present rule in daily life. Certain of Jesus’ sayings, e.g. “the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20) and “the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21) attest to the belief that through Jesus the future reign of God had begun to impinge on the present human experience.”

In the Sunday gospels of Mark, Jesus did not simply speak about the kingdom, he also acted – indeed acted out its presence. In his exorcisms, in his miracles, in his table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners, in his cleansing of the temple, in all these deeds he was acting out the message: the kingdom of God which was future, was also present. Jesus was, in effect, making a startling identification: each of his powerful deeds was to be understood as a partial and preliminary realization of God’s reign which was yet to be displayed in full force. In this role, we call Jesus, not only King, but also prophet as he proclaimed an imminent-future coming of God’s reign, and also priest as he instituted the Eucharist as the lasting presence of the Lord among us – a power that continues Jesus’ ministry of prophesying, teaching, mediating and healing through the baptized.

And so, it might strike some believers as odd that the Solemnity is celebrated with a Gospel scene taken from the Passion and Crucifixion story of Jesus – a story that is highlighted in the trial of Jesus before Pilate.  Of all the thousands of officials who wielded some measure of power during Rome’s half-millennial rule, the name of only one has continued to be spoken for centuries. In the gospels and in the creed by which millions of Christians profess their faith, Pontius Pilate is remembered.

The account squarely places Jesus and his revelation in history; it takes the credal formulation about Jesus out of the realm of “religious myth” and sets it firmly within the flesh and blood, time and space existence which is human history. In addition to providing a setting in history for the saving work of Jesus, the fourth evangelist used the figure of Pilate and the interchanges between him and Jews to clarify certain christological and soteriological points, viz., (1) that Jesus was indeed a king, (2) that his reign and authority were divine in origin, (3) that those who should have recognized the truth about Jesus but refused to do so were culpable.

Image credit: “Christ before Pilate” by Duccio di Buoninsegna | Museo dell’Opera metropolitana del Duomo, Siena | PD-US