John 18:33-37: MY KING IS JESUS CHRIST
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.”
Who do you think is going to win the election? It gets pretty intense this time of the year, with everyone talking pretty emotionally about who should be in charge, who should be the next president. The different policies, the different leadership styles – who’s going to win? It's only a few days away. I'm not going to wade into the realm of politics up here. But today, I'm going to tell you who is really in charge right now, who has always been in charge, and who will always be in charge, no matter who becomes the next president. This person that I am talking about is Jesus Christ. Presidents come and go, but Jesus has been the King of the United States ever since this country existed. He is the King of North America, He is the King of Earth, the King of Heaven, the King of the Universe. He is everyone's King, whether you believe in him or not, whether you would vote for him or not. He has been and always will our King. Today we're going to highlight the greatness of Jesus Christ, why we worship him, why trust him, why we place him on the throne of our lives. He is our King, and today we honor him as we look at this section of the Bible.
In our text for today, we meet a man that represents most of our world today. His name is Pontius Pilate. By the world’s standards, he was pretty great – he was a governor. He had power. He had wealth. He could tell people what to do and they would do it. He had financial security. He looked very kingly And there before him was standing Jesus Christ, on Good Friday. And Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Why do I say that Pilate represents most of our world today? Because Pilate didn’t believe that Jesus was anything more than a humble Jewish teacher. Jesus didn't look like a king, that’s for sure. Look at him standing there, in front of Pontius Pilate, just like all the other criminals who get into trouble and are brought before the governor. Pontius Pilate looked like a king. But Jesus - not at all.
Last year, I was guest preaching at a church, and they were repairing their Jesus statue. Normally it's up on a pedestal, but it was down on the ground, and it was in the room where the pastor is supposed to put on his robe and get ready. It was right before the service, and I was getting ready, and there was this statue of Jesus looking at me as I was putting my robe on. And the thing that struck me was that this statue was so short. Normally I'm far away from this statue and it's up on the platform. But here, it was down on the floor, only about 5 and a half feet tall, and I was looking down at the Jesus statue. And it made me think - would I have looked down on Jesus if I had lived in the first century? Would I have worshiped him, as my king, or would I have looked down on him like Pontius Pilate and thought to myself, "He is too lowly looking for me, too ordinary looking for me." Nobody knows the average height of Jewish men in the first century - was Jesus 5' 6"? Isaiah 53 says that "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."
But he is a king, the greatest king ever to walk the face of this earth. We get a glimpse of his greatness in his words to Pontius Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world." His kingdom is not about palaces made out of decorative brick, or motorcades with security guards. His palace is not about money and military. He has no address where you will find his throne on this earth. "If it were," Jesus said, "my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews." He's the King of the Angels, his servants. There are millions of them, incredibly powerful beings. Just think, one angel has enough power to destroy the entire military of our country in an instant. Imagine millions of those angels. Jesus is their King. "My kingdom, he says, is from another place.," That other place is Heaven, a place that is more beautiful, more safe, more enjoyable, better, any place on this earth. Jesus is the King of that place.
Is he your king? When Pontius Pilate looked down at Jesus, and questioned this average, ordinary looking Jewish man, Jesus said, "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." Every election year, there is a big debate about which candidate is telling the truth - who can you trust? Who has your best interests in mind? Who will help you? Jesus is the King of Truth. You can trust him. You can rely on him. He never makes a promise he cannot keep. He never changes his mind. Is he your king?
Or, are you starting to believe the lie? You know what the lie is? Jesus is not that great, look at all the problems in the world today, he doesn't exist - that's the lie. Social problems, economic problems, natural disasters, problems in your life, problems in the Christian church - look at all of them - Jesus isn't in charge right now, he's not King - do you believe the lie?
He hides his majesty before Pontius Pilate. Today he hides his majesty in a book we call the Bible. He hides his greatness in the waters of baptism. He hides his power behind the bread and wine of Holy Communion. People with faults that are so easy to see - people that preach and teach his Word - Jesus hides behind them. We don't see anything all that great. We see lowliness. Everything so average, so plain. We get bored. We start looking for the next great thing. Have you started to believe the lie, even just a little bit, the lie that Jesus isn't your King? Maybe you should look elsewhere?
Someday you will stand before the holy throne of Jesus Christ, the day is coming soon when Jesus won't hide his majesty and power and holiness. Instead, he will come, and he will find you, the Bible says, and the King of Light will shine his eyes into your soul, and what will he see? Will he see the sin? Will he see the moments you thought Jesus was just boring. Will he see those moments when something or someone else was on the throne of your heart? What will the King of Justice, the King of Holiness see in your soul?
Don't be afraid, the Bible says, because he is also the King of Forgiveness. He's the King of Love. He stood before Pontius Pilate to suffer as your Savior. He allowed sinful people to shed his royal blood to take away your sins. When you stand before the throne of Jesus Christ someday, he will recognize you. "You are ___________ he will say" - he will know your name. "I died for you," he will say. "I took your sins away. I talked to you through the Bible - did you hear me? I touched your mouth at communion - do you remember when I told you that I forgave you? Come and see the place that I have prepared for you." And then, the King of grace will welcome you. The King of mercy will hold your hand, and bring you into his Kingdom. Are you ready to meet that King?
There once were two paintings. One was a picture of Pontius Pilate, sitting on the governor's throne, well dressed and well fed, surrounded by his soldiers - and the caption below it read, "The Failure that looked like a Success." The other painting was that of Jesus Christ, bowed down low before Pontius Pilate, the crown of thorns on his head, barely surviving the scourging he took to pay for our sins. And the caption on that painting read, "The Success that looked like a Failure."
Who is your king? Don't believe the lie that Jesus isn't great. Believe the truth, that Jesus is your King. Worship him here, in church. Worship him at home. Worship him wherever you go and in whatever you do. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." Our kingdom is not of this world either. And our king is not of this world. Our King is Jesus Christ. Let us worship him. Amen
