No one votes for a king. That’s kind of the point. If anyone gets to choose a king it’s God. Medieval European monarchs created a whole theology of their “divine right” to rule. The emperors of China similarly claimed the “mandate of heaven”. In the Jewish (and Christian) tradition David was chosen by God to rule his people Israel.
But there’s more to it than simply an edict from on high. Today’s Reading from the Book of Samuel (2 Sm 5:1-3) tells of David having been chosen by God to lead the people, but also their agreement to be led. It goes as far as to say “King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel.” The people were party to an agreement, not an act of subjugation.
Even the most extreme versions of the divine right of kings retained some notion that the people acknowledged the king (regardless of whether they had any option to refuse). A key part of a coronation is the acclamation of the new king, signifying his acceptance by the people.
So where does this leave Jesus, hanging on a cross, with the ironic banner from the Roman authorities proclaiming him as King? (Lk 23:35-43) The Romans had no interest whatsoever in who the Jews might consider to be their king, and were quite happy to demonstrate that fact to the subservient population. But the true irony in this scene is that this Jesus who appears totally powerless is in fact the source and foundation of all power. Paul explains how all the authority of God was invested in him: “thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.” (Col 1:12-20)
The deeper significance of this scene for us lies in the fact that one of the criminals executed alongside Jesus is able and willing to recognize him as a king. This is hardly a “high value convert”. But this is the example Luke provides of the first person to acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus, made visible in the act of his death, and to receive immediate recognition for his act of faith. If Jesus is the “firstborn from the dead”, as Paul calls him, then this unlikely convert, one of the least worthy of men, must I guess be counted as the second.
Since Jesus is indeed a king, the King, anointed by the Father, and revealed in his death, we too must acknowledge that Kingship: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”. Then we will receive the same acknowledgment in return, as did the “good thief”. We will join them both, and the countless others who have made that acknowledgment, in that kingdom which Jesus described to us.