Are You The King Of The Jews?

Today is the last Sunday of the Christian year, traditionally recognised as ‘The Feast of Christ the King’. Next week is Advent - the start of a new Christian year, but today we conclude the old ecclesiastical year with a proclamation of the kingship of Christ.

‘The Feast of Christ the King’ is a fairly recent festival, started by Pope Pius XI (the Eleventh) in 1925. The Pope was concerned about the rise of ‘atheistic Communism and Secularism’ within societies which he saw as the direct result of people turning away from the sovereignty of Christ. And so he wanted a festival to remind people that Jesus really is the ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’.

And so in our Gospel reading for this morning we find Jesus standing before Pilate, and Pilate asks him the question, ‘Are you the king of the Jews’? – Jesus replied, ‘My Kingdom is not of this world… my kingdom is from another place’.

There’s a story of a famous painting by the artist Freidrick August Moritz Retzsch (Wretch) – In the painting, a man is playing chess with the devil. The devil is grinning from ear-to-ear because he has the man cornered. The painting is called, “Checkmate,” which suggests that the game is over. The devil has won. His opponent has failed. He has no more moves.

For many years this painting was hung on display at the Louvre, but then it was taken on a word-wide tour. And the story goes that, when it was being displayed in Cincinnati, the world-famous chess Grand Master, Paul Morphy, went to see it. He began to study the painting, carefully retracing all the moves of the match that had led to the current configuration of the chess pieces on the board. And all of a sudden he shouted: "It’s wrong, it’s not ‘checkmate’ at all. The king has one more move, make that move and the devil will be defeated’.

When I was in my teens, I was a quite a keen chess player. I played at every opportunity I had, even played for my school in a few competitions. I wouldn’t say I was particularly talented at it, but it was a game I enjoyed. It’s a game that is great for developing your mental agility. It’s a game of tactics, a game of strategy, a game of forward planning, of move verses counter move. And we all know - the most important piece on the board is the King, in order for you to win, you must protect your king at all cost. If you don’t keep him safe – then the game is lost!

We apply that very same reasoning to our own Monarchy today.

On D-Day in 1944, Winston Churchill, was desperate to watch the invasion of Normandy from the bridge of a battleship in the English Channel. He was a highly capable war leader, a soldier in his youth. He thrived on being in the thick of the action, taking risks, and attached little importance to his personal safety.

But when King George heard of his plan he wrote to him and said - ‘if it is the Prime Minister's duty to witness the invasion, then surely as a sailor, the king, and the head of all three services, I too should be permitted join you on the battleship’. As a result, Churchill agreed not to go, because he knew that the King of England should never be exposed to such danger. The King must be protected and kept safe at all costs.

Even today, our Royals are not permitted to travel together, by train, car, or plane. The Queen and Prince Charles are not permitted to travel together, Prince Charles and Prince William are not permitted to travel together, and soon, when he reaches the age of 12, Prince William and Prince George will not be permitted to travel together.

Because the King must be protected and kept safe at all costs. We don’t put them into danger, we don’t put them in harm’s way, we don’t place them in situations that might put the throne at risk.

But with King Jesus the exact opposite is true. Rather than staying safe he willingly placed himself in harm’s way. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians Chapter 2 that ‘he (left everything and) made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!’

Rather than stay safe Jesus willingly put himself in harm’s way – just think about the magnitude of what he did for a moment - He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. He who sustains the world, chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life, himself chose to be created and to eventually surrender his body to be crucified - paying a king's ransom: his life for the life of his people.