Long Live the King

Scripture:  John 18:33-37

In the middle of the 1920’s, dark clouds were gathering on the edges of the world stage.   The war to end all wars, was still a recent memory, it’s scars still being felt.  Across the world various nationalistic and ideological forces were on the rise.   For instance, In 1924 a communist led coup was fended off in Estonia, while the growing power of the Soviet Union violently put down a rebellion in Georgia.  Then in 1925 Mussolini came to power in Italy on a platform of fascism and nationalism.  That same year in Germany Adolf Hitler published his manifesto Mein Kampf, and in the Spring of 1925 the overtly racist and nationalistic Ku Klux Klan held a parade where more than 35,000 of them marched in their hoods and robes on the streets of Washington D.C.  It was at this time when nationalistic forces, allegiance to ideologies, and violence was gaining momentum that Pope Pius XI issued a Papal bull that declared the creation of the feast of Christ the King.  This special holy day was meant to remind Christians across the world that their primary allegiance was to Christ- not to a leader, not to a party, not to a political ideology, not to a flag, but to Jesus the king of kings and Lord of Lords. 

Unfortunately, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, nationalism and violent political ideologies continued to rise.  This led to more and more Christian denominations to think that Pope Pius XI had a point, and they also began to see the important of recognizing and celebrating Christ the King Sunday.  By the middle of the 20th century, it became enshrined in the lectionary, the three-year cycle of scripture readings, as the last Sunday before Advent.  Which means today is Christ the King Sunday. 

It is somewhat surprising that having a day to emphasize the kingship of Jesus only came to being less than 100 years ago.  Especially from our American perspective, it feels like something that belongs to medieval times.   As Americans, we tend to not think that highly of the idea of kings.  I mean we did kind of fight a whole war over the idea of being able to declare our independence.  The idea of a person having power and authority as birth right goes against the rugged individualism, self-determination, and emphasis on choice that is at the core of our cultural identity.  Yet this morning’s designation and this morning’s scripture is there to remind us that if we consider ourselves a Christian, then our knees should bend because we do have a king.   This morning’s scripture can challenge us to pause and consider what does it mean for us if Jesus is truly Lord of our lives. 

Referring to Jesus as Lord or even king is so common in our flowery religious language, that we lose sight of the fact that declaring the Lordship of Jesus was (and is) a deeply political statement.   In the Roman Empire there was supposed to be only one lord, and that was Caesar.  Caesar was the emperor.  The Senate, the representatives of the people, answered to him.  The military, the greatest fighting force the world had ever seen, obeyed his command.  In the first century, as far as the Romans were concerned Caesar was the sovereign ruler of the civilized world.

 This is what landed Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate in this morning’s scripture.  The Scribes and the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead, and they knew the only way they could get that done legally is if they got Jesus punished for treason- for declaring himself king instead of Caesar.  In this morning’s scripture Pilate is examining Jesus to see if he can find cause to execute Jesus for challenging the authority of Caesar. Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world and that he came into this world to be a king that testifies the truth.  Even a mighty king, an Emperor like Caesar was temporary, and even an empire like the Roman Empire eventually falls.   The kingdom of Christ is not of this world, because it is an eternal kingdom.  Pilate struggled to understand what Jesus was saying, because he was thinking only in terms of earthly political movements and conserving the status quo, but the kingdom of Christ is based in a truth that makes all things new in a world without end. 

Trying to come to terms with what Jesus meant when he claimed Jesus was king was difficult for Pilate, and I think it can be difficult for us as well.  Pilate struggled because Jesus was a king completely unlike that of the Roman Emperors.  We find it difficult to relate to Jesus as king, because in our modern context we really do not know what it even means.   As already mentioned, as Americans we do not like the idea of someone having full authority over us, so we tend to greatly minimize that part of following Jesus.  In the abstract we acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God and our Savior.  When it comes to how we relate to Jesus, we tend to overemphasize a personal connection.  I realize this really dates me, but I can remember a phrase from when I first started in youth ministry.  This was twenty years ago and at that time there was marketing and T-shirts.  that stated “Jesus is my homeboy.”   I think homeboy is about as far away from King as we can get.    The implication of calling Jesus our homeboy is that Christ is just another friend, another acquaintance, another part of our large social circle.   

Jesus as homeboy might be the most cringe example, but there has long been a push to emphasize Jesus as our buddy.  A common phrase from the 1970’s and the 1980’s sums the problem up well.  At that time, it was popular to say that “Jesus is my co-pilot.”  The implication is that we have just as much authority in our lives as Jesus.  The implication in the statement is that Jesus is our equal, or that we are the ones in control and we just hang out with Christ when it is convenient for us (like Sunday mornings at 9:00).   Jesus is unlike any king because in Jesus we have a savior who does understand us, who has walked our path, who knows our pain, and who will listen to our every trouble in prayer.  What a friend we have in Jesus, but our relationship with Jesus must be more than a friend.  Jesus walks along side us in life as a friend, but ultimately Jesus also sits on the throne as king. 

In this morning’s scripture Pilate tries to figure out what kind of king Jesus is, and if we want to get being a follower of Jesus right we also need to know what kind of king Jesus is.  Pilate wanted to know if he is the king of the Jews, but Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.    Jesus is a king by birthright.   Jesus is of the line of David, but more importantly Jesus is the son of God, who came to rule all who are God’s people.  More than that Jesus is a king of character, a king of integrity, and a king of righteousness.  Jesus is honest, Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind, and Jesus is loving.  He is a king of action and a king of deeds.  He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, and the blind to see.  The demons fear him, but the outcast, the marginalized, and the forgotten love him. 

 He is a king on a mission.  He came to serve-not be he served.  He delivers the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed, and he forgives the sinners.   He is a king of love, and it is out of love that he was obedient even to the point of death on a cross.   It is out of his amazing love that our king died for us.  Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place, and give him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.   He is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords.  His kingdom is not of this world, because this imperfect world cannot contain his perfect kingdom.   He sits at the right hand of God the Father.  He is faithful and true.  The alpha and the Omega.  The beginning and the end.   He is worthy of all praise and glory, and honor for ever and ever and ever.   That, my friends, is the kind of king that Jesus is.   And I must ask, is he your king? 

Jesus is our savior, and Jesus can be our friend, but Jesus must be our king.  He must be the Lord of our lives.   As Americans in the 21st century we have little concept of what it means to have a king, but history can serve as our guide.   In medieval times there was a ceremony that I think still teaches us about what it means to follow Jesus as our king.   When someone, usually called a vassal, swore to serve a king they did so through a ritual called homage.  In Homage the king promised the vassal that he would care for them, always look out and act in the vassal’s best interest and consider the life of the vassal equal to his own.  In return the vassal would bend the knee, put his hands between the king’s and promise that the will of the king would be greater than his own, and that his life was entrusted into the hands of the King.   In homage, the vassal was willing to follow the will of the king over his own desires.    Through his death and resurrection Jesus has proven that he cares for us to the point that he is willing to go up on a cross for us.   Jesus has proven himself as a king worth following. 

The way that we follow Jesus is that we keep his commands and do what he told us to do.    Jesus commanded to love God with all of our being.  The examples Jesus gave us to follow in that regard is to seek time alone with God, to rely on God to provide, and to truly pray not my will but your will be done.    Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  The example Jesus gave us to follow is to have compassion for the vulnerable, to pay attention to the outcast, to serve the poor, to forgive the hard hearted, and to love those who are different than us.   Jesus is a king, but instead of being first he made himself last.  He was a servant to all and that is the example we should follow.   Those are the directions Jesus led us in and if we are not seeking to actively follow the lead of Jesus then we are not really following Jesus.

 When it comes from our American perspective, perhaps this is the biggest change in thinking we need to make in regarding Jesus as king.   We tend to think of leaders as a bit more temporary.  The leaders we follow change a lot.   The average tenure of a CEO of a company is only five years.  Professional sport coaches lead for even less time as they average only four and a half seasons.  And we decide every four years who the leader of our country is going to be.  We are used to short tenures in leaders.  If Jesus is our king, that means we are following him for the long haul.   This means that over our entire life Jesus reigns and has absolute authority.  His will be done, his kingdom come.  Not ours.  That means Jesus is not our co-pilot, Jesus is supposed to be our king.   Jesus is not just our king for an hour on Sunday morning.   If Jesus is our king, then he is the leader of our life every day and he is the Lord of all. 

​Over the next few weeks, we will almost certainly be singing carols like “Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn king” and “Joy to the world the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king!”.”   May those not just be songs that we sing because we like the tunes, but may they be declarations of our faith.  May Christ be the leader that you follow in your life.  May you follow his examples and keep his commands.   May Jesus be your King.  And may you give all praise, honor, and glory be to the king of kings and the lord of lords!  Jesus is the king who was and is and will come again.   Long live the king!