Christ the King or Reign of Christ
After Pentecost • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Lord, remember David
and all his self-denial.
He swore an oath to the Lord,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
“I will not enter my house
or go to my bed,
I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
We heard it in Ephrathah,
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:
“Let us go to his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool, saying,
‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;
may your faithful people sing for joy.’ ”
For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
The Lord swore an oath to David,
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne for ever and ever.”
These are the last words of David:
“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,
the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High,
the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
the hero of Israel’s songs:
“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings grass from the earth.’
“If my house were not right with God,
surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,
arranged and secured in every part;
surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation
and grant me my every desire.
But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,
which are not gathered with the hand.
Whoever touches thorns
uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;
they are burned up where they lie.”
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John 18:33–37 (NIV)
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Sermon: The Truth is Always the Truth
Sermon: The Truth is Always the Truth
This morning we come to one of the most awkward Sundays of the Christian calendar. It is technically the last Sunday of the year. Next Sunday will be the 1st Sunday of Advent and we begin a new year. And because this is the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, there may be those who came to church expecting to hear a sermon about giving thanks. That’s not an unreasonable expectation. But according to the Christian calendar, this Sunday is called either “The Reign of Christ” or “Christ the King” Sunday.
That also creates some difficulty because as we know, as we learned in history class, Thanksgiving is the celebration of those brave souls who left England in search of religious freedom. People who came looking to distance themselves from the reign of a king who was unreasonable and unfair. Now, the focus is on the challenges these people found as they came to this country, experienced the winter months and survived with help from the Native Americans who were here, and celebrated after their first harvest with a period of time they called Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving lasted 3 days. Now, wouldn’t that be something. Anymore, we barely give it one day, let alone 3 full days. But the reason they came here was to get away from the king.
Yet, here we are this morning focusing on the story of another King. And we heard a part of the story in the gospel of John. Just a few moments ago, as I read, Jesus is on trial and He is standing before Pontius Pilate. And Pilate asks Jesus one question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Now Pilate is probably not asking this question because he is trying to find someone to hang out with. Pilate would want to eliminate any competition. In fact, Pilate is probably, with this question attempting to flex his political muscle. In essence, Pilate’s question to Jesus is more like, “Are you greater than I am?”
Now, Jesus’ response to Pilate, rather than allowing Pilate to maintain the upper hand, puts him in the hot seat. Do you think this or is this what someone has told you? Someone has said it was like Jesus asking this question, “Are you merely parroting the words of my accusers, or have you made your own assessment of me as a king?” Jesus is asking Pilate a version of “Who do you say I am?”
But Pilate’s response is very telling. “Am I a Jew?” He thinks he can avoid the question because he is a Gentile. What Pilate doesn’t realize is the one asking has authority to ask that of everyone regardless of Jew or Gentile. Indeed, every single person in the world will find themselves at some point face to face with that question. “Who do you say I am?” And the answer to that question will determine their eternal destination.
And Jesus continues, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” And Pilate says, “You are a king then.” But even yet, Pilate is not understanding this. He might admit that Jesus is a king, but in his mind, this does not affect him. Especially, if Christ’s kingdom is “not of this world.”
But Christ’s kingdom is so much larger than Pilate can conceive. In fact, Christ was the King before He was born. He was the King when He was born. And He will be the King forever and ever. You see, there has never been a time when Christ was not the King. And Pilate’s inability to see the truth of that, or anyone else’s for that matter will not change that. You see, the truth is always the truth. We can deny it if we want to. We can choose to believe something that’s not true. But the truth is always the truth.
In fact, Jesus tells Pilate, He has come to testify to the truth. And those who are on the side of truth listen to Jesus. Pilate is probably not included in this. In fact, Jesus knows Pilate’s heart. Pilate was the kind of man who did what he wanted to do regardless of the consequences. He was brutal. He was a tyrant. He was his own boss. He didn’t listen to anyone but himself. He defined his own truth. And Pilate isn’t the only one. But Christ wasn’t saying Pilate couldn’t be. And Christ wouldn’t tell any of us we can’t be either. Indeed, Christ invites us to follow Him and to learn from Him. To be on the side of truth.
