The Kingship Problem

“When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain.” (John 6:15)

Ask yourself a serious question. Why did Jesus avoid being made a king? The answer most of us hear in Sunday School is, “the crowd tried to make him an earthly king.” It supposedly would not be the kind of king Jesus was not to become. Maybe a heavenly one? Somehow I doubt that is the reason he avoided it. Here is why?

Worldly Kingship

John’s gospel does not record Jesus going into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew and Luke tell the story of how Satan takes Jesus on a high mountain to show him all the kingdoms of the world and promised to give them to Jesus if he would bow down to the devil. (Matthew 4:8-9) Luke includes the diabolical words, “for it has been given over to me, and I give it anyone I please.” (Luke 4:6b) It is also important that the evangelists remark on the splendor and glory of the kingdoms of the world. What links these stories with John.

Bread

Bread links these stories. Satan tells Jesus the stones can be turned into bread. John shows Jesus feeding the multitude prior to the temptation from the crowd. Once the crowd eats the food, they are ready to oppose Caesar and make Jesus their king. The next day they are not so keen. Jesus could satisfy himself and satisfy the crowd. Why doesn’t he do this? Nothing could have demonstrated Jesus is the Messiah more. Or would it demonstrate the opposite.

The world is full of kingdoms and empires. One super messianic empire that ruled over all the others and kept them in line would not make any change. Worldly kingship has the problem of seeking to control. If Jesus had taken the kingship of the crowd, he just as legitimately could receive it from the devil.

Illegitimate Kingship

Had Jesus taken the crown, he would have acknowledged the legitimacy of all the kingdoms and empires of the world. By replacing Caesar, Jesus would have legitimized the system that held his people in bondage. God exposed the illegitimacy of Pharoah as a God-King in the Exodus. by delivering his people out of enslavement. The crowd wanting to make Jesus their king seek enslavement in another form. Jesus does not want this for anyone.

Tertullian claimed when Jesus ordered Peter to put away his sword, he disarmed all his disciples. Kingship is based on monopolizing violence. Jesus could not have supported Caesar’s violence any more than Peter’s. Caesar’s government was violent. The Roman republic was just as violent. Jesus could not consider either government legitimate with such a basis.

The Kingship Problem

Now we come to the real problem of the empires of the world. The leaders and judges of the Israelites used violence to good purposes. But all those instances had problems because of violence, wealth, and power. Paul says in Romans 13 that the magistrate does not bear the sword in vain. But did Paul consider his execution with that same sword as justified?