You church junkies know that on the ecclesiastical calendar,
today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The liturgical
year is, of course, different from the calendar year. The
liturgical year begins with Advent, the time we set aside for
reflection about the coming of Christ. Advent is followed by
Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Interspersed
periodically is what we designate as "Ordinary Time," those times
we remember the work of God and the life and ministry of Jesus
apart from special times of celebration. So we travel from the
Lord's miraculous birth to his death and resurrection, with all
the appropriate stops in between and even beyond, and culminate
the journey with our most basic affirmation of faith: Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Christ the King Sunday is also known in some churches as the
Reign of Christ Sunday. Either way, something very powerful is
being said. "King," "kingdom," "reign" - these are all highly-charged political words. They say something about power: who has
it, and conversely, who does not.
Pilate understood that. He asked Jesus, "Are you the king
of the Jews?" This is not a casual question, although Pilate
seems to be asking it derisively. In fact, this word "king" is
repeated nine times during this encounter between Pilate, Jesus
and the Jewish leaders.
Jesus' response is interesting. Instead of a direct answer,
he comes back with another question: "Is that your own idea, or
did others talk to you about me?" Sounds almost smart-alecky or
at least bold considering his situation. The Jewish leaders had
brought him to Pilate after their illegal midnight trial. They
made it perfectly clear that the expectation was that Pilate
would condemn him to death, so one would think that flippant
replies might not be the best idea.
Pilate, of course, is equally flippant in response: "Am I a
Jew?" - the implication being that even an idiot would never make
THAT mistake. In fact, that attitude was characteristic of
Pilate's administration in Judea - in his arrogance he never
deigned to identify with the people in his charge and the result
was an ill-tempered, mean-spirited regime that would have long
ago been relegated to the dust bin of history, his name quickly
forgotten, except for one memorable, even earth-shaking,
incident.
Pilate was certainly no fan of the Jewish leaders. They had
been trouble for him from the beginning and his very first visit
to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was not the capital of the province;
that was Caesarea. But the procurator paid many visits to
Jerusalem, and, when he did, he always came with a detachment of
soldiers. The soldiers had their standards; and on the top of
the standard there was a little metal bust of the reigning
Emperor. The Emperor was regarded as a god, and to the Jew, that
little bust on the standards was a graven image.
Previous Roman governors, in deference to the religious
scruples of the Jews, had removed that image before they entered
the city. Pilate refused to do it; he would not pander to the
superstitions of the Jews. He went back to Caesarea. The Jews
followed him. They dogged his footsteps for five days. They
were humble, but determined in their requests. Finally he told
them to meet him in the amphitheatre. He surrounded them with
armed soldiers, and informed them that if they did not stop their
requests they would be killed there and then. The Jews bared
their necks and invited the soldiers strike. Not even Pilate
could massacre defenseless men like that. He was beaten and
compelled to agree that the images should thereafter be removed
from the standards. That was how Pilate began, and it was a bad
beginning.(1)
Another incident proved even worse for the governor.
Pilate, in honor of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, had some special
shields made with the Emperor's name inscribed. As you
historians know, in ancient Rome the Emperor was regarded as a
god; so here was the name of a strange god inscribed and
displayed for reverence in the holy city of Jerusalem. The
people were enraged; Pilate's closest advisors suggested he
remove them. He refused. The Jews reported the matter to
Tiberius the Emperor, and, not wanting a revolution in the
province, the Emperor ordered Pilate to comply.(2) As we say,
Pilate was no friend of the Jews.
Perhaps that is what led to the next question: "It was your
people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is
it you have done?" He knew what HE had done over time to upset
these Jews, but what in the world could Jesus have done that was
such a threat as to make them want him dead?
Jesus responds, but not with anything that would answer
Pilate's question: "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."
Pilate is still confused: "You are a king, then!"
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."
Pilate remains confused. He still cannot figure what Jesus
has done to so infuriate the Jews, and, as we know, he does his
best to avoid acquiescing to their demand for Jesus' death. That
was probably motivated by his disdain for the Jews as much as any
sense of preventing injustice. But finally he gives in after
they effectively blackmail him by the reminder of previous run-ins and his resulting rebuke by the Emperor: "If you let this man
go, you are no friend of Caesar." In other words, if you let
this man go, we are going to tell on you again!!! And the rest,
as they say, is history.
"You are right in saying that I am a king," says Jesus. But
we would have to add, but like no other king this world has ever
known. We are drawn back to the beginning of the Christian year
that culminates on the Sunday that celebrates Christ as King.
The story opens with the birth of a baby in an out-of-the-way
town called Bethlehem with his first cradle a manger for the
feeding of livestock. He grew up in the unsanitary mountain
village of Nazareth with a reputation only for the fact that
nothing "good" had ever come from that town. As far as we can
tell, it was a normal home; Jesus would have shared normal duties
with his brothers and sisters. He knew how to fill lamps and to
trim wicks. He knew what housecleaning involved. He knew how to
build a fire and could prepare a fish fry. He learned the trade
of a carpenter.
At about 30 years of age, Jesus laid aside those tools and
began to teach and preach and heal. From the beginning people
reacted to him. Little children ran at the music of his voice,
the aged found comfort in his presence, the sick found healing by
merely touching the hem of his garment. He had his hours of
popularity when the multitudes crowded about him. He had his
moments of quiet reflection, either alone, or with those closest
to him. It was on one of those occasions that he asked, "Who do
you say that I am?" Simon answered, "You are the Messiah (from
the Hebrew), [or] the Christ (the Greek equivalent of Messiah),
the Son of the living God."
CHRIST is not Jesus' surname. It is a title. It indicates
"the anointed one" - someone set apart for God's service. In the
Old Testament the title was regularly applied to the king. By
the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were looking for a Messiah,
a Christ, to come who would lead them in victory against their
oppressors, a conquering hero who would overthrow the hated
Romans. As soon became evident, this was not God's intention in
Jesus. For those who had their hopes pinned on a military
Messiah, this was a devastating blow. Indeed, some have
speculated that this was Judas' problem - once he found out that
his dream of conquest was over, he bolted ranks. And the rest of
the story we know too well.
Jesus was betrayed by those he trusted, abandoned by those
he loved. A purple robe was thrown contemptuously across his
shoulders, a crown of thorns jammed down upon his brow. He
carried his own cross, as far as he was able, to an outlaw's
execution. The life which had begun in humble obscurity ended in
public shame. He who, at birth, had been laid in a borrowed
manger was now laid away in a borrowed tomb.
But we know the story does not end there. And that is why
we culminate the Christian year with Christ the King Sunday.
This is the day that we can rock the rafters of the universe with
our declaration that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!!!
LORD. What does the name mean? To the ancients it meant
master or owner and was always a title of consummate respect. In
the modern world, to call Jesus "Lord" is to say he is the chief,
the boss, the main man, the head honcho. The buck stops with
him; his decisions are final.
Jesus Christ is Lord! These four words were the first creed
that the Christian Church ever had. To be a Christian then and
to be a Christian now is to make that affirmation. If someone
can say, "For me, Jesus Christ is Lord," that person is a
Christian.
If we say that "Jesus Christ is Lord," it means that, for
us, Jesus Christ is uniquely in charge - we are prepared to
obediently follow in whatever direction the Lord chooses to lead,
even if he goes where we might rather he did not.
If we say, "Jesus Christ is Lord," that means his priorities
will become our priorities. We will be drawn to those on the
margins, the outcasts, and even those society (and sometimes even
the church) suggests we stay away from.
If we say, "Jesus Christ is Lord," we will take religion
seriously - we will worship, we will fellowship, we will pray, we
will even sacrifice...just as Jesus did, and we will never let
religion become an end in itself; it must never get in the way of
people.
If we say, "Jesus Christ is Lord," it means we are prepared
to give to Jesus a love and a loyalty that will be given to no
other person in all the universe.
An anonymous author made this striking comparison: "Socrates
taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus
for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry
infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years
of teaching from these men who were among the greatest
philosophers of all antiquity.
- Jesus painted no pictures; yet some of the finest paintings
of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received
their inspiration from him.
- Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the
world's greatest poets were inspired by him.
- Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven,
Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of
melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed
in his praise.
Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this
humble Carpenter of Nazareth...He alone can speak peace to the
human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are
spiritually dead.(3)
Millions upon millions of words have been written and spoken
about Jesus. As Emerson once noted, "The name of Jesus is not so
much written as PLOUGHED into the history of the world." But
none of that history has ever been able to tell the whole story.
As that great preacher of the 19th century, Horace Bushnell once
said, "Who can satisfy himself with anything he can say
concerning Jesus Christ?"
Then let us leave it here. Words from the "Declaration of
Faith" written by the Southern Presbyterians a few years ago:(4)
We declare that Jesus is Lord.
His resurrection is a decisive victory over the powers that deform and destroy human life.
His Lordship is hidden.
The world appears to be dominated by people and systems that do not acknowledge His rule.
But His Lordship is real.
It demands our loyalty and sets us free from the fear of all lesser lords who threaten us.
We maintain that ultimate sovereignty now belongs to Jesus Christ in every sphere of life.
Jesus is Lord!
He has been Lord from the beginning.
He will be Lord at the end.
Even now He is Lord.
Amen!
1. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, CD-ROM edition (Liguori, MO: Liguori
Faithware, 1996) used by permission of Westminster/John Knox Press
2. ibid.
3. Bible Illustrator for Windows
4. Albert Curry Winn, A Christian Primer, (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1990), p.
101-102
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