Christ the King Sunday
November 20, 2016
Luke 23:35-43
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As we gather together here in God’s house today we are here for a very special reason. We are here today to celebrate Christ the King Sunday. Now I will admit to you that next to Christmas and Easter today is one of my favorite Sundays in the church year. I love the music. I love the Scripture readings. I love being reminded that Christ is our King! And while it may seem somewhat out of place to be looking at a portion of Scripture that we normally associate with Good Friday, I love looking at the truth that this sermon text places before our eyes.
Today as we conclude our sermon series entitled As Disciples of Jesus… let’s see how this portion of Scripture leads us to remember that: As Disciples of Jesus— We Bow Before Our King! We bow before our King in humility. We bow before our King in thankfulness.
I invite you to take out your bulletins and look at the opening portion of our text, verses thirty-five through thirty-nine. As you glance through these verses how much humility do you see on the part of the people? I don’t see any. The rulers of God’s people “sneered” at Jesus— “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The Roman soldiers “mocked” Jesus— “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” The sign above Jesus’ head seems like a taunt— “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Even one of the criminals who were crucified alongside of Jesus “hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’” No, my friends, I don’t see any humility here whatsoever. Even more importantly on this Christ the King Sunday, I don’t see anyone who would be willing to bow before Jesus.
Then why? Why are we as disciples of Jesus more than willing to bow before Him— in humility? That’s actually a very easy question, isn’t it! Our text highlights two glorious answers. First of all, as disciples of Jesus we bow before Him in humility because we know who He is! By the grace of God we know that Jesus is “the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” We know that Jesus is the long-awaited “Messiah” whom God promised to send into this world. We know that Jesus is the One who was “chosen” by His heavenly Father to be this world’s only Savior from sin. By the grace of God we also know that Jesus is “the King.” Not only is He “the King of the Jews,” but He is also “the King of the Gentiles” as well! In fact, by the grace of God we know that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And so yes, my friends, because we know who Jesus is we willingly bow before Him in humility.
Secondly, as disciples of Jesus we willingly bow before Him in humility because by the grace of God we know exactly why Jesus allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross on Calvary’s hill. The rulers of the people may have “sneered” at Jesus— “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The Roman soldiers may have mocked Jesus saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” One of the criminals may have tried to insult Jesus with the words, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But as disciples of Jesus we see in these words precisely what Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world to accomplish. Our King was willing to suffer in our place in order to pay the debt of our sins. Our King was willing to die in our place so that we could be set free from the power of sin, death and the devil. Our King was willing to endure the fiercest pangs of hell itself as our Substitute so that we could be saved from eternal condemnation.
As we lift up our eyes to this cross on this Christ the King Sunday, we do indeed bow before our King in humility because we know what He has done for us and why He had to do this for us. As we confessed here in God’s house earlier this morning, we are by nature sinful. We have disobeyed God Almighty in our thoughts, words and actions. We have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. We deserve God’s punishment both now and in eternity. Don’t let those be just words that you speak here in God’s house, my friends. Fill in the details as they apply to you. How have you disobeyed God in your thoughts, in your words and in your actions? What have you done that God condemns as evil? What have you failed to do— or flat out refused to do— even though God has commanded you to do it?
Once you have taken the time to honestly answer those questions in your own heart and in your own mind, once you recognize how much you deserve God’s punishment both now and in eternity then lift up your eyes to this cross on this Christ the King Sunday and remember. Remember how your King loves you so much that He was willing to suffer and die to completely pay for all of your sins and for all of your rebellious ways. That’s why, my friends. That’s why as disciples of Jesus we bow before our King— in humility. We know who He is. We know what He has done for us and why!
Now look at the second portion of our text, verses forty through forty-three. Luke writes, “But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’”
When we know that the One who died on this cross is our King and when we know that our King was willing to suffer and die for us purely because of His amazing love for us— well, my friends, then bowing before our King in thankfulness is a natural part of our lives as disciples of Jesus. Why? Because He and He alone (Pointing to the cross) has the power, the right, the authority to promise to us exactly what He promised to the thief on the cross so many years ago— when our life here on this earth comes to an end we will live with our King in the perfect paradise of God forever!
The promise of living forever in heaven purely by grace through faith in what our King has done for us is by far the most glorious gift we could ever possibly be given— especially in comparison to what we experience and what we endure as Christians here in this sinful world. Now don’t get me wrong. In many many ways this is a truly beautiful world, a world with many natural wonders to enjoy, a world with many reasons for us to bow in thankfulness to our King.
But then there is the dark underbelly of crime and catastrophe, terrorism and tragedy, danger, disease and death. You can be walking down the sidewalk in the middle of the day minding your own business when suddenly a complete stranger knocks you unconscious— simply because they are playing a “game.” It’s called “The Knockout Game.” You can be contently living your life, enjoying your family, your friends, your work, your hobbies when out of nowhere a stroke or a spot on an x-ray completely changes your life. You can turn on the news on any given day and hear story after story of “protestors,” suicide bombers, mass shootings and thousands upon thousands of people being displaced or killed by war. Add to all of that all the ridicule and all the rejection that you encounter as you strive to faithfully and boldly stand up for the Truth as God Himself has revealed it to us right here in His holy Word. Yes, my friends, as beautiful and as wonderful and as enjoyable as this world is, it is has a dark underbelly that could easily overwhelm us with fear— if it weren’t for the promise that Christ our King has given to us!
The “Paradise” that Christ our King has promised to give to us— absolutely free of charge! — will be completely void of all crime and all pain and all disease, even death! The “Paradise” that Christ our King has promised to give to us— absolutely free of charge! — is filled to overflowing with joy and happiness, glory and perfection. The “Paradise” that Christ our King has promised to give to us— absolutely free of charge! — leads us to look above and beyond both the pains and the pleasures of this life to the glory and the grandeur of the life that our King has waiting for us. The “Paradise” that Christ our King has promised to give to us— absolutely free of charge! — leads us to daily bow before our King in thankfulness.
I just love Christ the King Sunday! I love the music! I love the Scripture readings! And most especially I love being reminded and reassured that He (Pointing to the cross) is our King! May God grant that as disciples of Jesus you and I will always bow before our King— bow before Him in humility, bow before Him in thankfulness.
To God be the glory!
Amen
