In Jesus Holy Name November 25, 2018
Text: Revelation 19:11-12,16 Christ the King Sunday Redeemer
“Christ Will Come as King and Judge”
This is Christ the King Sunday. The last Sunday in the Church year. Throughout this past year our Sunday Gospel lessons have invited us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus from Bethlehem to the Jordan River, to Jerusalem, the cross and the Empty Tomb.
Soon we will hear massive choirs and orchestras perform Handel’s Messiah. The music will thrill our hearts. The words will inspire us. Even non believers will stop and listen. Will the crescendo of words and music cause them to investigate the one who claims to be King of kings and Lord of lords?
This year when you hear Handel’s Messiah ask the people around you… “Did you like it?” “Do you know what the words mean?” “He shall reign forever and ever!” Let the conversation play out. For Jesus will return as King and Judge.
There is a poem I fund that captures the mindset of people in the 1st century who were looking for the Messiah. It is titled: “They missed Him.
“They were looking for a lion,
He came as a Lamb…. And they missed Him.
They were looking for a warrior,
He came as a Peacemaker…. And they missed Him.
They were looking for a king,
He came as a servant,…. And they missed Him.
They were looking for liberation from Rome,
He submitted to the Roman Cross…. And they missed Him
He came to meet their eternal need and free their heart and soul
From the fear of death…... and they failed to understand the
meaning of the empty tomb.
(Decision Oct 2009 article Christ Our Coming King file Christ the King)
On this Christ the King Sunday we remember the words of the Angel to Mary and Joseph: “you shall name your child Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Soon we will hear the wonderful promise again.
Through out the Sunday’s of this past year we traveled to Bethlehem with the Wise men; walked with Jesus into the villages of Galilee. We saw Jesus demonstrate his authority over the devil, illness and death. We listened to his teachings with the multitudes and disciples, along the shores of Galilee.
Our feet followed Jesus and his disciples from the Upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane. We remember Jesus carrying the cross through the streets of Jerusalem. On the Hill of Calvary the words we heard John the Baptist speak at the Jordan River find fulfillment. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” We remember the women who went to the tomb of Jesus….only to find the stone rolled away. The tomb empty. The linen shroud remaining like a sheet undisturbed. The Angel said… “He is not here He has risen from the dead.”
Through out the Old Testament God had promised to send a deliverer. If you were Jewish in the 1st century you looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. After Jesus fed the 5000 by the Sea of Galilee, the people realized that Jesus must be the promised king. (John 6)
This promise is why the wise men inquired as to the location of the birth of the King of the Jews. It is why King Herod in a jealous rage slaughtered the innocents to wipe out any potential threat to his throne. The kingship of Jesus is why Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy proving that Jesus was born as a descendant of King David. His claim of Kingship is why Rome taunted Him at the cross with a sign nailed about His Head, “King of the Jews.”
No wonder Pilate asked Jesus: “Are you a king?” Jesus answered: “I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” It is a cryptic phrase. There was no way Jesus could explain to Pilate the nature of His kingdom. How do you explain to a person who is totally immersed in a political world, ruled by “law”, what a spiritual kingdom is?
Bill O’Rielly on his radio program a few years ago asked: “Why is Christianity under attack in our culture?” The answer is really quite simple: These two kingdoms, the kingdom of Herod and Pilate, and the Kingdom of Jesus, are not compatible. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of man do not see eye to eye. They are in conflict.”
Jesus said: “my kingdom is not like the kingdoms in this world. The kingdom of this world, the kingdom Pilate represented requires military power. It is a kingdom where celebrities are worshiped. It is a kingdom where “self” comes first. It is a kingdom where people vie for attention. Jesus calls those who live under his rule to servants.
Jesus said: “The first will be last and the last will be first.” The son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
The kingdom of Jesus is about how you live rather than where you live.
Re Rev. John Stott in his book “Basic Christianity” writes: “…the person and teachings of Jesus have not lost their appeal…..but it takes great effort to investigate the credentials of Christianity.” The journey towards faith in Jesus is not always easy… Pilate did not or could not make that journey.
Remember Pilate’s other question? “What is truth?” You and I live in a world of “he said, she said.” What is true? We live in a world consumed by political investigations into past elections. What is true? Pilate’s question is a good one. What is the truth about Jesus? Is He God? Is He the One who can remove our guilt before a righteous and eternal Judge at the end of our earthly journey? Is He the One can free us from the fear of death? Is He the One who can offer eternal life beyond the grave? These are the questions the people around you need to answer.
Jesus came as a different kind of King. Most kings rule by force. They are able to be king because they can beat anyone else who thinks that they would like to be king, in Israel, Rome, Syria, Egypt or America. They expand their kingdoms by defeating others and taking their territory.
We live in a culture, a pluralistic culture where people like the phrase: “God is a God of love.” But too often they draw the wrong conclusion by adding …”He would never send a good person like me to hell.” People are willing to fool themselves into believing that a “holy God’ will accept them, even though their behavior has been and is unholy. Don’t be foolish. Place your trust in the “lamb of God.”
We all know… every human being dies. Pain and loss. Be honest. We don’t like it. But it is the human condition. “The wages of sin is death.” Is there any hope? Yes, the gift of God is eternal life through faith in Jesus, the Lamb of God. The only person who is righteous in God’s sight is Jesus Christ. It is because of God’s compassion, He is a God of love… that Jesus became the Lamb of God to graciously transfer His righteousness to us just as Adam transferred his unrighteousness to us.
The heart of Christianity always points to the cross where the blood of God, Himself, in Christ purchased our redemption. (Acts 20:28) “for Christ is the visible presence of the invisible God the first born of all creation….for God was pleased to have all of His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or in heaven by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:15,19-20)
Very few people deny the existence of Jesus. They accept him as a great teacher, a man of history. The question is “NOT” did he exist on earth. History documents the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He grew up, worked, rested, slept and eventually died on a cross in Jerusalem. We weekly confess this truth….. when we speak the words: “crucified under Pontius Pilate.”
This is what the death of Jesus Christ has done for us. We are no longer separated from God by religious laws and rules. The barriers have been removed. Broken commandments have been forgiven. Jesus rose from death and the grave. Heaven’s door is open. This is why we can look forward to His return.
John gives portrait of Jesus as King of kings. He writes: “I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He is called the Word of God…and the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine line, white and pure where following him on white horses. …On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written. “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Not the Sunday school images we grew up with. His name is stamped on my eternal passport. For we are citizens of heaven. When He comes there will be a final judgment. Everyone who has ever lived, great or small will be judged.
The Second Coming of Jesus will usher in the Day of Judgment, when the Risen Lord Jesus separates the wicked from the righteous. All who believe in Jesus have already been judged at the cross, where God transferred to all believers in Jesus His righteousness. The Bible teaches that the curse of sin and death has been overcome by the unmerited divine grace received through faith in Jesus. Therefore there is nothing to worry about when that day arrives.
It will be a day of joy. Jesus is coming back. You can put Him on the shelf. You can put Him to the side. But Jesus will return. With the shout of the archangel, the dead in Christ will rise from their graves. In that instant they will be given their new glorified resurrected body. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The earth will be destroyed by fire. The Apostle Peter writes; “since everything will be destroyed in this way what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day when Jesus returns.
