The Ushering in of a New Type of Kingdom
Scripture:
May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Psalm 72:11-14
Also Matthew 2:1-12
Royal imagery for God or leadership, in general, has become controversial. And to be honest, royal imagery can be troubling. After all when one thinks of royalty and especially kings, particularly before our age of constitutional monarchies (where the monarchy is essentially a national symbol with very little political power), one thinks of hierarchy, power, authority.
This power and authority could be expressed in tyrannical ways…or not, depending on the pleasure of the ruler. This notion is not exactly compatible with modern notions of democracy. And of course, with very few notable exceptions, the idea of monarchy in the Biblical text is often tied to male authority and power.
Christians have done very little to dispel this notion of kingship. In fact, throughout history, Christians have argued that their divine status as royalty gives them the power to rule as they see fit. For example, rulers-both Kings and Queens throughout the age of Discovery believed their God-given role as rulers meant they needed to explore and colonize other lands. This led to massive, large-scale exploitation and genocide of the Indigenous inhabitants, not to mention the beginnings of the American chattel slavery system.
So, I understand and sympathize with those who have decided that royal imagery doesn’t belong in their understanding of God or in how human relationships and leadership should work. And to be sure, there are passages in the Biblical text that reinforce problematic kingship imagery. But one thing I love about the Bible is that its vast scope means that there are often alternative images that one can turn to and clasp to if one finds some to be oppressive and disagreeable.
In the Biblical text, there are instances in which one’s understanding of royalty is flipped upside down. For example, let’s briefly explore Psalm 72. The subscript attributes this to Solomon (This attribution was most likely added later in the Psalm’s development) although this Psalm has been interpreted by some Jewish and Christian readers/writers/scholars to be about the Messiah. Christians, of course, have often interpreted this psalm to be about Jesus, while Jewish readers, scholars, leaders etc do not.
But I am less interested in debating over whom exactly this Psalm is about (and Christians should be very careful with supersessionist interpretations that erase Jewish context, history, and interpretations) and more interested in the mixed imagery presented of the king. First, there are traditional understandings of Kingship that rely on domination, other rulers and nations recognizing this king’s authority, and subjugation of enemies. And yet this king is also portrayed as caring deeply for the poor and marginalized.
In fact, that appears to be a central characteristic of this King’s reign. It makes sense, the Hebrew Bible in many places depicts a God that is primarily concerned with justice and the marginalized. It makes sense that kingship-whether used as a metaphor for God or as a template for future rulers, would be based on justice and ending oppression.
Christians sometimes have this distorted idea that the New Testament God is a God of love and peace and justice and the God of the Hebrew Bible is violent and oppressive. Yikes. Not only is that anti-semitic and anti-Judaic, it is also bad Biblical interpretation. It is important to note that early Jesus followers, didn’t invent this concern for the poor and marginalized. That concern was a deeply embedded part of Jesus’ Jewishness.
Jesus and early Jesus’ followers inherited this concern for the poor and marginalized. Drawing from Jesus’ Jewish heritage, the gospel writers present an alternative understanding of kingship. God incarnate, ruler of the earth, isn’t born in the lap of luxury amongst the political and religious elites of the day, but to a poor, young teenager.
And this ‘king’ doesn’t come to reinforce the unjust status quo, but to abolish it. Jesus serves as a sharp contrast to the leaders of the day: roman rulers and client kings who focused on domination, expanding their kingdom, and maintaining control. But the kingship of God through Jesus is one based less on hierarchy and more on eradicating injustice and oppression. Jesus ushers in a nonviolent kingdom that stands in contrast to the roman empire based on subjugation and violence.
Why does this alternative understanding of kingdom matter to modern-day Christians? Because even if Christians shy away from the language of kingship and rulership, too many Christians still act out of an understanding of God as ruthless, violent, and dominating.
In the US, Jan 6, 2022, is not only the start of the season of epiphany but also the one-year anniversary of the Capitol Insurrection. Hundreds of people stormed the Capitol determined to stop what they believed was a fraudulent election that displaced their preferred candidate. And many of those who participated in this act of violence identified as Christian. For them, stopping the certification of the votes for Biden was not simply a partisan issue, but was a demand from God.
Trump whose presidency was based on white supremacy, violence, and oppression, was viewed by these Christians to be God’s chosen one. (To be fair, most US presidencies are based, to varying degrees on white supremacy, violence, and oppression. It is impossible to be the leader of an empire without maintaining the violent status quo. However, most presidents in recent history try to downplay that unsavory reality of their job. Trump embraced it).
Too many Christian insurrections embraced an understanding of leadership and of God based on violence and oppression and what they believed in their hearts, they acted out. They worshipped a god whose kingship was built on racism and violence and so they behaved in abhorrent ways to defend that kingdom from those they perceived to be the enemy.
Whether or not Christians completely reject kingship vocabulary from their depictions of God and leadership, matters less to me, than the fact that so many American Christians have a distorted understanding of who God is and what leadership entails. The kingdom depicted many times in the Hebrew Bible, and the kingdom portrayed by Jesus in the New Testament is not one based on subjugation and tyranny. But is centered on protecting the poor and marginalized. Until American Christians embrace that truth, their understanding of God and of leadership will lead to needless death and suffering.
