Bible Study: Christ the King Sunday (B) – November 24, 2024

RCL: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

Set during the Babylonian Exile, the Book of Daniel details the lives of God’s people held captive in a foreign kingdom and includes several visions seen by the titular prophet. We encounter a section from the first of these visions on this Christ the King Sunday, in which “an Ancient One” sits in judgment over the four sovereign beasts described in the verses before this passage. After the fourth beast is destroyed and the other three are stripped of their sovereignty (in our passages omitted verses), Daniel reports seeing “one like a human being” descending from heaven, upon whom the Ancient One bestows “an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away.”

This apocalyptic vision intends to provide God’s people with messianic comfort amid their captivity. The four beasts represent various kingdoms and their rulers who are fearsome, ravenous, and arrogant: characteristics that those living during the Babylonian Exile may have understandably attributed to those whose rule they found themselves under. The “Ancient One” represents God in heaven, who unseats these earthly rulers and replaces them with the messianic “one like a human being” whose reign is sharply contrasted against those of the oppressive, earthly rulers. Following his words in Matt. 26:64, Christians have long identified Jesus as this messianic figure.

• What similarities or differences do you find between this passage’s description of the “Ancient One” and what you believe about God? Between the “one like a human being” and Jesus?
• How are the sovereignty of God and Jesus portrayed in this passage? How does that image of divine sovereignty differ from earthly rulers in our current context?

Psalm 93

Psalm 93 strongly resembles the combat myths used among various cultures in the Ancient Near East to explain how the earth was created. Typically, these myths feature a deity who establishes order out of chaos, creating and ordering the earth after combating and defeating chaos personified—often in the form of the sea. In this psalm, God assumes the role of the conquering deity and subsequent king over a world brought forth from the sea’s destruction.

This short psalm of only six verses is split between three stanzas. In the first stanza (vv. 1-3), God is portrayed as a king whose victory and creative act are being celebrated with a robing ceremony. In the second stanza (vv. 4-5), God’s victory over the waters is recounted and the might of the victor is extolled. In the final stanza (v. 6), God is again praised for establishing order upon creation, and the eternal sovereignty of the divine is proclaimed.

• While the imagery employed in Psalm 93 may seem strange to those living in the twenty-first century, it would have been familiar to those living in antiquity. What aspects—if any—of this imagery reflect your own understanding of God’s nature and sovereignty?
• Psalm 93 portrays God as king over the earth and the forces of nature. Can you identify any other passages from Holy Scripture that demonstrate God’s sovereignty over nature? Have you ever experienced this aspect of God’s sovereignty yourself?

Revelation 1:4b-8

While the exact date of Revelation’s composition is disputed, scholars argue that the apocalyptic visions it reports—much like this week’s passage from Daniel—were written to provide hope and comfort to Christians facing Roman persecution. The book has been interpreted by many as a literal foretelling of future events; however, many others interpret Revelation as a symbolic account of God’s active and future transformation of the world, its power structures, and relational paradigms. A central theme in this week’s passage and throughout the book is God and Christ’s sovereignty over all creation, including over all earthly rulers.

This passage features the beginning of John’s visions, which he notes in his opening salutation are revealed to him by God, seven heavenly spirits, and Jesus Christ (vv. 4-5). John goes on to ascribe to Jesus several titles that illustrate his kingly authority: “the faithful witness” as a reference to his sacrificial death and to identify Jesus with early Christian martyrs, “the firstborn of the dead” as a reference to his resurrection, and “ruler of kings of the earth” to proclaim his ultimate sovereignty (v. 5). Jesus is also praised for liberating believers from their sins and for inviting them to actively participate in his reign as “priests” in service to God (vv. 5-6). By writing “to him [Jesus] be glory and dominion forever and ever” in v. 6, John also proclaims the legitimacy of Jesus’ reign over and against the implied illegitimacy of Caeser’s or that of any other earthly ruler. John even includes a reference to this week’s passage from Daniel in v. 7 (cf. Daniel 7:13), cementing the messianic hope of this vision.

• John’s vision of Christ’s ultimate sovereignty seeks to bring hope to early Christians amid persecution. What hope can we draw from this passage today in our own contexts?
• What role do we have in participating in the reign of God and Jesus Christ? How can we exercise that role in our daily lives?

John 18:33-37

This week’s passage from John’s Gospel account details Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate before his crucifixion. The central question posed to Jesus is whether he truly is “the King of the Jews” (v. 33). This is the accusation that the Jewish leaders have made against Jesus: an accusation of blasphemy for these leaders—equating Jesus with God—and of treason against Rome—placing Jesus as a rival to the Roman emperor.

Initially, Jesus seems hesitant to answer the question, instead answering with another question: why Pilate is even asking this question at all (v. 34). When pressed a second time, however, Jesus acknowledges his sovereignty but emphasizes the differences between his reign and those of earthly rulers. While earthly kingdoms are demarcated by force and violence, Jesus’ kingdom is not (v. 36). And while kings and emperors are concerned with ruling land and people’s bodies, Jesus reigns over the minds and souls of those “who belong to the truth [and listen] to [his] voice” (v. 37).

• Why did Jesus not want his reign to be demarcated by force and violence like earthly kingdoms? What impact ought this aspect of Jesus’ reign have on the lives of his disciples today?
• In what ways do you wish earthly rulers were more like the model of leadership that Jesus provides? Why?

Matthew Phillips is a seminarian at Nashotah House Theological Seminary.