God's Kind of King
Sermon
Renewal of the New
Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost
About three centuries ago, Spaniards besieged a small French town, St. Quentin. The city walls were in ruins; fever and famine plagued the people. One day the Spaniards shot over the walls a shower of arrows to which were attached little slips of parchment promising that if they surrendered, their lives and property would be spared. The mayor of the town was a devout Huguenot. For answer, he tied a piece of parchment to a javelin and hurled it back to the Spaniards. On the parchment was the message: "Regem habemus" -- "We have a king!"
Christians also can say, "We have a King." Jesus is our King. We belong to his Kingdom. He is not like other kings, however. He is not just another king. He is different. He is not only king but King of kings. He is not like the ancient Egyptian king, Rameses, whose arrogant motto was inscribed on temples still standing, "I am the greatest." Jesus is not the kind of king, a savage tyrant, like the king of China who used millions of slaves to build the great wall of China, a wall so huge that it can be seen from the moon. He was not a king like Louis XIV, who lived in excessive luxury in his Versailles palace of 1000 rooms. Jesus was different in that he was not chosen by people, but, as our text says, God "will choose as king...." Our First Lesson on this Sunday gives the contrast between the people's king and God's chosen King. In the first four verses, judgment is pronounced on rulers "who destroy and scatter his people." In the next two verses, God's kind of King is described: a wise and just ruler. The difference between the people's and God's choice of a king is expressed in the name of this Sunday. It is not Christ A King Sunday but Christ The King Sunday. In what ways, then, is Christ the King different from all other kings?
The God-King
There is no other king like King Jesus. It is the difference between a human and a divine King, none other than the very Son of God, the Messiah. Jeremiah said, "the Lord of our Salvation." (v. 6) St. Paul saw this in Jesus who is "the image of the invisible God" and in whom dwells "all the fullness of God." Jesus himself knew who he was, for he said, "The Father and I are one ... he who has seen me has seen the Father." His claim to be God's Son was one reason for his crucifixion. His enemies demanded his death "because he made himself the Son of God." (John 19:7)
All other "kings" are mortal. Despite their great wisdom and influence, they died. Buddha died. Mohammed also died. In 1989, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito died of cancer at age eighty-seven. He claimed to be the 124th living god in a dynasty stretching back more than twenty-six centuries. Because he was considered a god by some, Japanese children were taught that they would go blind if they looked at his face. The mention of his name was forbidden because it was holy.
In contrast, Christ the King lives. Because he is God's Son, he was raised by God from death. On Easter Christ rose to live forever. If he had not, he would be like all other kings. The Resurrection proves that Christ is King of life and death. Because of his victory over death, he lives and reigns for all eternity. All other kings die. Jesus is different because he alone lives to rule over us.
This truth should settle once and for all the popular notion of pluralism, which holds that one religion is as good as another and that all religions are roads leading to God. Indeed, there are many praiseworthy moral teachings in other religions. But the difference between Christ the King and other religious "kings" is the difference between the sun and the rays of the sun. One religion teaches that bathing in the sacred but polluted Ganges River will wash away sin. Contrast this with "The blood of Jesus his Son [which] cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:17) See the difference in a religion whose leaders offer millions of dollars to anyone who will murder the author of The Satanic Verses, a fictional criticism of its prophet. Contrast this with Jesus' command, "Love your enemies." Because Christ is the second person of the Trinity, we can understand why he is the one and only God and the one and only way to God. With Thomas we say about Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"
The Creator-King
Another difference between Christ the King and all other kings is the difference between the Creator and creation. Since Jesus is the Messiah, God's only Son, he is the king-creator. In Colossians Paul writes about Jesus: "All things were created through him and for him." (1:16) In John's prologue we are told about Jesus the Creator: "All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made." (1:3) Christ is King of kings because he is the creator of kings.
If Christ the King created us, we are children of the King. We were created good, but we allowed sin to pollute us so that now we are "lost and condemned creatures." As slaves of sin, we are nobodies and without any merit. But Christ the King took mercy on us and gave his blood as a sacrifice on the Cross to purify and restore us to our original condition. As a result, as Paul says, we are a new creation in Christ, a new people in a new covenant. Therefore, we have status, dignity and honor. We are persons of value, for "God made no junk." During the era of slavery in this country, a visitor watched a group of slaves slouching and shuffling off to work. But one man stood tall, held his head erect and walked proudly. "Who's that?" asked the visitor. "Oh, he's the son of an African king," was the answer. "He never forgets that." Remember who you are -- a child of the King, a person of worth.
The Ruler-King
In our text God says through Jeremiah concerning the Christ, the Messiah: "that king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land." (v. 5) Naturally a king is a ruler. His subjects are expected to obey his laws. Christ the King is a ruler also, a ruler chosen by God. As King he rules over his people, the church. St. Paul refers to Jesus as "the head of the body, the church." The head rules the body and the body responds to the direction of the head.
Christ rules the church because the church is his body. In it he physically exists on earth while his spiritual body is at the right hand of the Father. The church is his palace, his dwelling-place on earth. Often the church is described as the contemporary incarnation of Christ. Earthly kings have huge and elaborate palaces with thousands of rooms. Christ the King has a far greater palace in the church, for in America alone there are 370,558 churches, or rooms, in his palace. Earthly kings have servants, but Christ has more than all others; in America alone there are over 500,000 ordained servants.
However, not all churches are the body of Christ. Various religious groups use the term, "church," for their own advantage. Some "churches" are not churches at all. How do we know? Because some of their teachings are not in harmony with the teachings of Christ the King. The church that Christ rules is one where the Gospel is truly proclaimed and the Sacraments are rightly administered.
Moreover, the real head of the church is not human whether it is a pope, an archbishop of Canterbury or a Protestant bishop. Christian people choose to follow Christ's directives rather than church leaders. The church as the body of Christ with Christ as the head describes the essence of the Christian religion. To be in Christ is to be in the church as the soul is in the body. Luther said, "He who wants to find Christ must first find the church." St. Cyprian in the fourth century claimed, "Extra ecclesiam nula salus" -- "Outside the church no salvation." This does not refer to a particular church or denomination. At a prayer meeting a man asked, "Pastor, is it possible to achieve salvation outside the fold of the Episcopal church?" "It is conceivable," the pastor replied, "that there might be that possibility, but no gentleman would avail himself of it." There is no salvation outside the Christian church because it is the body of Christ and believers are members of his body. The church, therefore, is essential to salvation.
The Cross-King
The biggest difference between Christ the King and all other kings is the difference between life and death. In one sense, Jesus died like all kings die, but with one big difference; he rose again on the third day! He was the king who died to save his people from eternal death, from separation from God. In our text the Messiah, Christ, is described as "our salvation." (v. 6) This truth is confirmed by Paul who said that Christ reconciled the world to God by "making peace by the blood of the cross." (Colossians 1:20) At his trial Jesus said to Pilate, "You say that I am a king." Then Pilate put this truth above the Cross: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." This God-chosen King died that people might have life through the forgiveness of sins. When Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, Japan pardoned 30,000 people guilty of seventeen offenses. If the death of a human god-king could bring such pardon, think of what the death of Christ the King meant -- that all humanity was pardoned. Divine forgiveness is offered to one and all who will receive it through repentance and faith.
Think how good this news is! Since the fall of humanity, people have felt the need to regain favor with God. Wanting to please him and to satisfy his justice, which demanded death for sinners sacrifices of food and animals were first offered on altars to appease God. In some cases, in desperation, even human sacrifices were made. But all of these sacrifices were in vain. God came in Jesus to do for humanity what we humans could not do for ourselves. God in Jesus gave himself on the Cross for the sins of the whole world. By that supreme sacrifice God reconciled the world to himself. As a hymn says:
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.
What shall be our responses to this King's dying for us and giving us eternal life? Mother Teresa picked up a dying woman from a Calcutta street. She explained, "I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand, as she said one word only, 'Thank you' -- and she died." As we stand at the foot of the Cross, the only thing we, too, can say is "Now thank we all our God."
Like the French Huguenots, Christians can say to the world, "Regem habemus," "We have a King." He is Christ the King. But, can you say Christ is your King? He may be the King of the church, but he is not your King until you crown him King of your life. A pastor was teaching his little girl to sing, "Praise him, praise him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love." Then "serve him," then "love him." When he stopped, his daughter said, "Daddy, you forgot to crown him." So they continued, "Crown him, crown him ..." Have you, by any chance, forgotten to crown him the King of your life? This Christ the King Sunday is the time to do it! And if you crown him King of your life, you will receive the promise made by God in our text: "the people ... will be safe, and the people ... will live in peace." (v. 6)
Christians also can say, "We have a King." Jesus is our King. We belong to his Kingdom. He is not like other kings, however. He is not just another king. He is different. He is not only king but King of kings. He is not like the ancient Egyptian king, Rameses, whose arrogant motto was inscribed on temples still standing, "I am the greatest." Jesus is not the kind of king, a savage tyrant, like the king of China who used millions of slaves to build the great wall of China, a wall so huge that it can be seen from the moon. He was not a king like Louis XIV, who lived in excessive luxury in his Versailles palace of 1000 rooms. Jesus was different in that he was not chosen by people, but, as our text says, God "will choose as king...." Our First Lesson on this Sunday gives the contrast between the people's king and God's chosen King. In the first four verses, judgment is pronounced on rulers "who destroy and scatter his people." In the next two verses, God's kind of King is described: a wise and just ruler. The difference between the people's and God's choice of a king is expressed in the name of this Sunday. It is not Christ A King Sunday but Christ The King Sunday. In what ways, then, is Christ the King different from all other kings?
The God-King
There is no other king like King Jesus. It is the difference between a human and a divine King, none other than the very Son of God, the Messiah. Jeremiah said, "the Lord of our Salvation." (v. 6) St. Paul saw this in Jesus who is "the image of the invisible God" and in whom dwells "all the fullness of God." Jesus himself knew who he was, for he said, "The Father and I are one ... he who has seen me has seen the Father." His claim to be God's Son was one reason for his crucifixion. His enemies demanded his death "because he made himself the Son of God." (John 19:7)
All other "kings" are mortal. Despite their great wisdom and influence, they died. Buddha died. Mohammed also died. In 1989, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito died of cancer at age eighty-seven. He claimed to be the 124th living god in a dynasty stretching back more than twenty-six centuries. Because he was considered a god by some, Japanese children were taught that they would go blind if they looked at his face. The mention of his name was forbidden because it was holy.
In contrast, Christ the King lives. Because he is God's Son, he was raised by God from death. On Easter Christ rose to live forever. If he had not, he would be like all other kings. The Resurrection proves that Christ is King of life and death. Because of his victory over death, he lives and reigns for all eternity. All other kings die. Jesus is different because he alone lives to rule over us.
This truth should settle once and for all the popular notion of pluralism, which holds that one religion is as good as another and that all religions are roads leading to God. Indeed, there are many praiseworthy moral teachings in other religions. But the difference between Christ the King and other religious "kings" is the difference between the sun and the rays of the sun. One religion teaches that bathing in the sacred but polluted Ganges River will wash away sin. Contrast this with "The blood of Jesus his Son [which] cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:17) See the difference in a religion whose leaders offer millions of dollars to anyone who will murder the author of The Satanic Verses, a fictional criticism of its prophet. Contrast this with Jesus' command, "Love your enemies." Because Christ is the second person of the Trinity, we can understand why he is the one and only God and the one and only way to God. With Thomas we say about Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"
The Creator-King
Another difference between Christ the King and all other kings is the difference between the Creator and creation. Since Jesus is the Messiah, God's only Son, he is the king-creator. In Colossians Paul writes about Jesus: "All things were created through him and for him." (1:16) In John's prologue we are told about Jesus the Creator: "All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made." (1:3) Christ is King of kings because he is the creator of kings.
If Christ the King created us, we are children of the King. We were created good, but we allowed sin to pollute us so that now we are "lost and condemned creatures." As slaves of sin, we are nobodies and without any merit. But Christ the King took mercy on us and gave his blood as a sacrifice on the Cross to purify and restore us to our original condition. As a result, as Paul says, we are a new creation in Christ, a new people in a new covenant. Therefore, we have status, dignity and honor. We are persons of value, for "God made no junk." During the era of slavery in this country, a visitor watched a group of slaves slouching and shuffling off to work. But one man stood tall, held his head erect and walked proudly. "Who's that?" asked the visitor. "Oh, he's the son of an African king," was the answer. "He never forgets that." Remember who you are -- a child of the King, a person of worth.
The Ruler-King
In our text God says through Jeremiah concerning the Christ, the Messiah: "that king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land." (v. 5) Naturally a king is a ruler. His subjects are expected to obey his laws. Christ the King is a ruler also, a ruler chosen by God. As King he rules over his people, the church. St. Paul refers to Jesus as "the head of the body, the church." The head rules the body and the body responds to the direction of the head.
Christ rules the church because the church is his body. In it he physically exists on earth while his spiritual body is at the right hand of the Father. The church is his palace, his dwelling-place on earth. Often the church is described as the contemporary incarnation of Christ. Earthly kings have huge and elaborate palaces with thousands of rooms. Christ the King has a far greater palace in the church, for in America alone there are 370,558 churches, or rooms, in his palace. Earthly kings have servants, but Christ has more than all others; in America alone there are over 500,000 ordained servants.
However, not all churches are the body of Christ. Various religious groups use the term, "church," for their own advantage. Some "churches" are not churches at all. How do we know? Because some of their teachings are not in harmony with the teachings of Christ the King. The church that Christ rules is one where the Gospel is truly proclaimed and the Sacraments are rightly administered.
Moreover, the real head of the church is not human whether it is a pope, an archbishop of Canterbury or a Protestant bishop. Christian people choose to follow Christ's directives rather than church leaders. The church as the body of Christ with Christ as the head describes the essence of the Christian religion. To be in Christ is to be in the church as the soul is in the body. Luther said, "He who wants to find Christ must first find the church." St. Cyprian in the fourth century claimed, "Extra ecclesiam nula salus" -- "Outside the church no salvation." This does not refer to a particular church or denomination. At a prayer meeting a man asked, "Pastor, is it possible to achieve salvation outside the fold of the Episcopal church?" "It is conceivable," the pastor replied, "that there might be that possibility, but no gentleman would avail himself of it." There is no salvation outside the Christian church because it is the body of Christ and believers are members of his body. The church, therefore, is essential to salvation.
The Cross-King
The biggest difference between Christ the King and all other kings is the difference between life and death. In one sense, Jesus died like all kings die, but with one big difference; he rose again on the third day! He was the king who died to save his people from eternal death, from separation from God. In our text the Messiah, Christ, is described as "our salvation." (v. 6) This truth is confirmed by Paul who said that Christ reconciled the world to God by "making peace by the blood of the cross." (Colossians 1:20) At his trial Jesus said to Pilate, "You say that I am a king." Then Pilate put this truth above the Cross: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." This God-chosen King died that people might have life through the forgiveness of sins. When Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, Japan pardoned 30,000 people guilty of seventeen offenses. If the death of a human god-king could bring such pardon, think of what the death of Christ the King meant -- that all humanity was pardoned. Divine forgiveness is offered to one and all who will receive it through repentance and faith.
Think how good this news is! Since the fall of humanity, people have felt the need to regain favor with God. Wanting to please him and to satisfy his justice, which demanded death for sinners sacrifices of food and animals were first offered on altars to appease God. In some cases, in desperation, even human sacrifices were made. But all of these sacrifices were in vain. God came in Jesus to do for humanity what we humans could not do for ourselves. God in Jesus gave himself on the Cross for the sins of the whole world. By that supreme sacrifice God reconciled the world to himself. As a hymn says:
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.
What shall be our responses to this King's dying for us and giving us eternal life? Mother Teresa picked up a dying woman from a Calcutta street. She explained, "I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand, as she said one word only, 'Thank you' -- and she died." As we stand at the foot of the Cross, the only thing we, too, can say is "Now thank we all our God."
Like the French Huguenots, Christians can say to the world, "Regem habemus," "We have a King." He is Christ the King. But, can you say Christ is your King? He may be the King of the church, but he is not your King until you crown him King of your life. A pastor was teaching his little girl to sing, "Praise him, praise him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love." Then "serve him," then "love him." When he stopped, his daughter said, "Daddy, you forgot to crown him." So they continued, "Crown him, crown him ..." Have you, by any chance, forgotten to crown him the King of your life? This Christ the King Sunday is the time to do it! And if you crown him King of your life, you will receive the promise made by God in our text: "the people ... will be safe, and the people ... will live in peace." (v. 6)
