Wouldn’t, life be much easier if everyone saw things the same way?
Imagine if you and your family all agreed on everything.
The reality is though we don’t.
Some people see bigger as better, others see it as worse.
Some believe the new workplace relations are wonderful, others feel they are the worse thing in the world.
And as the advert for the serviettes says some prefer to scrunch and others fold.
And as we again listen to our Gospel reading today,
listen to the clash of two points of view.
The world of Pilate and the world of Jesus colliding
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king.
In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
Pilate understood there was something different about Jesus,
but he wasn’t quite sure what it was.
Pilate was used to ruling by power, by force.
Remember Pilate wasn’t a Jew.
He wasn’t fully aware of Jewish laws and customs
and so he asks Jesus to clarify why he has had charges brought against him.
And after listening to Jesus response he finds there is no basis for the charge.
This Gospel reading shows us something very important.
That the kingdom of Jesus operates very differently to how this world operates.
To get a picture of the main concerns of the world,
look at the news,
watch adverts,
and read a paper.
What dominates is power, punishment, security, prestige, revenge, money and being seen to be right.
On the other hand the main goals of Jesus,
Jesus’ approach and way of life, differ greatly to how this world encourages us to live.
And we need to intentionally live as Christians
So what does this mean for us, for everyone who is called to follow Jesus?
In Matthew chapter 5, verse 16 Jesus says to you, “shine your light before people”.
And in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18 we see that this light we shine is in fact a reflection of God’s glory.
However, this does not happen naturally?
Naturally, we do not see life God’s way.
Rather, we see it how either people around us see it,
how we think it should be
and how the devil wants us to see it.
So we constantly need God’s input in our life.
Without God’s input, we stray away from God.
Without God’s input, we can not be aware of how God wants us to live.
Without God’s input, we can not know what it truly means to be a Christian.
God’s input guides us to what is true.
Martin Luther explained this in His explanation to the Lord’s Prayer.
In particular, that part that says
Your kingdom come.
Luther indicates that the bible says,
"When we pray Your kingdom come
We are praying that God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit would guide us as we listen to, read and study His word.
So that we believe that we are part of God’s kingdom of grace,
and that his kingdom is the way to live now and forever."
So God’s kingdom is not just a particular place
but a way of life.
A way of life that is only available through Jesus.
In John chapter 14, verse 6 Jesus reminds us that He is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father, accept by Him.
And as you open the pages of scripture and look at the life of Jesus.
You see a very different attitude and approach to life from Jesus than what we normally experience in the world we live.
For a start consider Jesus main aim in coming to earth.
We find this in John chapter 3, verse 17.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
The main reason Jesus came to earth is to save me, you and everyone else.
This is the future he not only promises but actually puts in place and delivers as a result of His life, death and resurrection.
From Colossians 1, verses 13-14 we hear
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus life, death and resurrection was needed to give us the gift of forgiveness.
Without forgiveness, we have no hope of being in heaven.
No hope of being part of God’s kingdom.
In other words, the most important thing we have is something we can not earn.
Instead it is something that is given to us for no reason other than God loves us.
Now consider, how this affects our lives, as people of God’s kingdom.
We are part of God’s kingdom.
Not because we have earnt it,
but because God has given us a place in His kingdom as a gift.
Each of us are like beggars,
there is no reason God should have given us a place in His kingdom.
but the great thing is, is that He does!!
How do you respond to someone who gives you a gift, especially a precious gift.
A gift that not only lasts a lifetime, but gives you the time of your life?
Making sure forgiveness between you and God occurs is important for Jesus.
And He is also interested in seeing that we live lives in forgiving others.
That we seek forgiveness from others and that we forgive others.
So how important is forgiveness in all your relationships??
Is it a primary issue, or are you more concerned about other things?
For many people forgiveness is not a main concern.
In fact some people even try to dismiss it.
But for the life of a Christian it should be one of the most important aspects of your life.
When we forgive others they are experiencing part of God’s kingdom.
Jesus spoke on forgiveness between people on many occasions.
In Matthew chapter 6 and Luke chapter 11 we are given the Lord’s prayer where Jesus says when we pray we should pray to God forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
In James chapter 5, verse 16 we are told to confess our sins to one another.
In Matthew chapter 18, verse 21 to 35 Jesus teaches us that forgiveness between each other is a continual and ongoing occurrence, and we should not seek to limit it.
In Mark 11, we are told that before praying we should forgive others.
And then, in the early church, as we find in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 we see that we are encouraged to forgive even very bad sinners.
Forgiveness is an important aspect of a Christians life, it is a major element of the Kingdom of God.
Are you reflecting forgiveness in your life?
Are there people you need to seek forgiveness from?
Are there people you need to forgive by what you say and what you do?
How can you show others that you have forgiven people?
For Jesus forgiveness is essential.
Forgiveness is the truth for a Christian.
Think about, why Jesus has such a strong emphasis on us forgiving others?
We know that forgiveness is not easy!!!
It means letting go of the past.
It means not judging others based on the past.
It means accepting people even though they may not deserve it.
This a reflection on what Jesus has done for us.
He has compassion for us and blots out all our sins, as we pray in Psalm 51.
So the truth is that our call to living in God’s kingdom places forgiveness at the centre of our lives.
It is forgiveness that gives us a future with God.
it is forgiveness that brings others into God’s kingdom.
And it is forgiveness that reflects Jesus love and light in the world.
And forgiveness is the only way to eternal life.
And all this is possible because God is king of heaven and earth.
The king of forgiveness.
AMEN
