Is Jesus really a King?

The 34th Sunday is the feast of Christ the King. When Jesus was crucified, a crude, wooden sign (caratola) was nailed over his head with the inscription INRI, which in Latin means “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum.” In English, “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.”

- FR. BEL R. SAN LUIS, SVD

Is Christ really a king? When Jesus stood before Pilate, he was asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Christ did not deny that he was indeed a king. But then he said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (Jn 18,36). Jesus’ reply means he was not the kind of king Pilate imagined: a military or political ruler whose followers would fight to liberate him.

***

A true story is told that when Joseph Stalin, supreme head of the Central Communist Party of Russia, heard about the Pope’s estate and Swiss guards, he asked sarcastically: “How many divisions (of soldiers) does the Pope have?”

Learning of Stalin’s sarcastic remark, the Pope is quoted to have said, “Tell my son Joseph that he'll find out in the next life.”

***