Gospel Reflection for the Thirty-Fourth Sunday, Christ the King, Year B.
By The Benedictine Community
The Lord is king;
He is robed in majesty. (Psalm 92)
In the morning after his arrest, the chief priests, elders and scribes had Jesus bound and handed him over to Pilate. This is where today's Gospel takes place.
Pilate does not understand the religious charges against Jesus but he does recognize and acknowledge that Jesus is not a criminal. In his questioning, to elicit from Jesus the admission that he is a king even of another world is something he can comprehend, if only vaguely, and anticipate as a possible threat.
Out of Pilate's abyss of ignorance, he gives the order for Jesus to be scourged.
Jesus, Lord and King, you did it for me.