| Lectionary - Christ the King | | Date Created: Nov 23, 2006, 11:43 AM |
|
The Epistle reading for this coming Sunday is Revelation 1:4b-8. The Gospel reading for this coming Sunday is John 18:33-37.
This is a fascinating combination of texts in light of the debate about whether "kingdom of God" really means "kingdom" or whether it means something more like "kingship" or "reign". The Gospel reading from John, especially verse 36, is often taken to mean "my kingly authority is not derived from this world." So, for instance, such authorities as Don "Machinegun" Carson, in his commentary: "Jesus' reign does not have its source or origin in this world." He aligns this with immediate co-text about Jesus' followers not fighting, saying "The kingships of this world protect themselves by force and violence; Jesus' kingship... will not be defended by the world's means." (both quotations from p. 594)
There is nothing wrong with this translation per se. But it is not the only possibility and the alternative fits the larger co-text and the flow of the discussion in the narrative as well or better. I would paraphrase it thus (exaggerating to make the distinction clear): "The sphere in which my kingship is to be applied is not a subsection of this world" (a well-established translation of ek: Jn 7:50 Nicodemus was a subset of the Sanhedrin; Jn 10:26 you don't believe because you are not a subset of the set of my sheep).
This being the case, you can see how the conversation flows. Pilate asks whether he is king of the Jews, Jesus deflects the question about being king, is this your idea or someone else's? Pilate says he's not a Jew (to make such decisions about who's king over the Jewish nation), and the Jewish leaders are not saying good things about Jesus. Jesus then still refuses to answer whether he is a king, but instead comments about whether he is king over the Jews (who are his followers? how do they act?), making it clear that a nation is not what he is king over. From this answer about kingdom, Pilate then comes back with kingship: if you have a kingdom, that implies that you are a king, doesn't it, Jesus? And once again, Jesus deflects the question about kingship.
This is typical of Jesus, for whatever reason. He does talk about kingdom; he does not talk about his own kingly authority or kingship.
The epistle passage, Rev. 1:4-8, admits no ambiguity. "Kingdom" here cannot mean "kingship" or "reign," it must mean "kingdom," for the text says "He has made us to be a kingdom." We are the sphere in which his kingship applies. |
|
|
|
