“Thy Kingdom Come” (a sermon for Christ the King Sunday)
John 18:33-38a; 19:13b-16a (NLT)
By John Gill ~ November 24, 2024
How many of you, as you heard that scripture being read, thought to yourself, “What on earth is the preacher thinking?” That text is usually read during Holy Week as we tell the story of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. What a strange text to focus on, on the fourth Sunday of November, especially just as we are about to begin our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Isn’t it an odd choice?
Yes, it is - but today is an odd Sunday in the church year. Today happens to be the final Sunday of the Church’s calendar: a liturgical cycle that begins with Advent (next week), and ends today with this Sunday, referred to as “Christ the King.” And, because it always falls near the end of November, this Sunday almost always is also the Sunday just preceding Thanksgiving Day (which, by the way, is not an official church holiday).
And to make matters more complicated, some years, this Sunday is overshadowed by the annual fall financial campaign – the day we would turn in our pledge card. Of course, we did that last Sunday – (and if you forgot, you are welcome to turn yours in this morning during the offering.)
It is no surprise, then, that this final Sunday of the liturgical calendar always feels a little “schizophrenic!”
So, I guess today could be called “Christ the King/Thanksgiving/Stewardship” Sunday. It’s a real challenge for preachers and worship planners to know which way to go.
Most years while I have been your pastor, we at Tomoka have observed” this “fourth Sunday of November” as “Thanksgiving Sunday,” and I usually have preached on a Thanksgiving theme, - or, as I said, it has been our “Commitment Sunday,” and I preached on the importance of stewardship.
Poor “Christ the King” Sunday. You have been sorely neglected as if King Jesus has been bumped off his throne. Therefore, this year, I have decided that it’s time we give Jesus his due, and honor him as the King of our world, of our church, and of our lives, as we swear allegiance to the Kingdom over which he reigns. So today, we are observing this day as “Christ the King Sunday.”
The reason I selected this strange scripture before the beginning of the season of Advent is because it - not only points to the kingship of Jesus, but it also reminds us of the reason Jesus was born – a reason that can be easily overlooked in all the sentimental trappings of the Christmas holiday.
Now for a little context: At this point in the Gospel story, Jesus has been arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. As part of his trial, the Jewish leaders who had conspired against Jesus wanted to have him put to death. But, because the Romans ruled their land, the Jews didn’t have the legal authority to put anyone to death. So, they brought Jesus to the Roman Governor in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate accusing Jesus of sedition against Rome – a crime that would get the Roman authority’s attention – and would be punishable by crucifixion.
Therefore, for Pilat, the issue at hand was not so much what Jesus taught, but who he claimed to be. Was he a King? - and if he was, What was the nature of that kingdom? Was Jesus a religious zealot plotting a revolt against the Roman authorities, or was he just a harmless religious kook? Pilate suspected the latter, but the religious leaders were pushing for the former. And ultimately, the religious leaders won the day.
But in this remarkable conversation between Pilate and Jesus, we learn a great deal about the mission Jesus had come to fulfill. Did you catch what he said? Jesus said “’My kingdom is not of this world.’ Pilate replied, ‘You are a king, then?’ ‘You say that I am a king, and you are right,’ Jesus said. ‘I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world.’”
Did you hear that? That’s why this text works just before Advent begins! The reason Jesus was born was to be king over a “kingdom of truth.” And that “truth” – was the truth about the Kingdom of God.” That was his mission from his Father in heaven. Jesus was born to usher in the Kingdom of God.
And that assignment which God gave to Jesus is exactly the same mission God gives us – Just like Jesus, you and I are to proclaim the Reign of God, and do all we can to make God’s kingdom a reality on earth.
Friends, that is really what Christmas is all about. It’s not just about the coming of a cute baby. It’s not merely that in Jesus, God came to identify with us in our struggles and suffering. It’s not even that God was in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, - as important as that is. According to Jesus himself, he came so that this world (and each of us) might get a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, and begin living into that reality.
And isn’t that what you and I pray for every time we repeat the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”? According to Jesus himself, that is why he came – to declare the coming of the Kingdom of God, - a kingdom over which he, as God’s Son, would reign.
Perhaps no other teaching is more central to the heart of Jesus’ ministry than this one because Jesus LOVED to talk about the Kingdom! The Gospels tell us that Jesus LAUNCHED his public ministry by preaching about the Kingdom: In Matthew 4:17, we read, “From that time Jesus began to preach His message: ‘Turn away from your sins, - because the Kingdom of heaven is near.’” Then, over and over throughout his ministry, Jesus taught about the nature of his kingdom using parables; “The kingdom is like… a grain of mustard seed, leaven in a lump of dough; It’s like a pearl of great price, a treasure hidden in a field; a net thrown into the sea…”
And in the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us that AFTER the Resurrection Jesus continued to talk about the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 reads: Jesus “appeared to (the Disciples) over a period of forty days
and spoke about the Kingdom of God.”
Certainly, one cannot read the New Testament without coming to the conclusion that MOST of Jesus’ ministry revolved around the theme of God’s Kingdom. In fact, in the Gospels, Jesus makes reference to the Kingdom no less than 120 times! If the Kingdom of God was SO important to Jesus – if it was the primary reason he came into the world, and the reason he went to the cross, it would seem important that we, as His disciples, try to understand what He was talking about.
When Jesus taught about the coming of his Kingdom, what did He mean? On this Christ the King Sunday, I want us to take just a few moments to think about the nature of the Kingdom Jesus was born to proclaim:
But, to learn the meaning of the Kingdom of God is NOT as easy as it might sound. If you were to study the teachings of Jesus on the subject of the Kingdom of God, you would find that Jesus referred to the reign of God in at least THREE different contexts:
First of all, He spoke of the Kingdom of God as having existed in the PAST.
This seems strange to us because we are more familiar with thinking of the Kingdom of God as something which is yet to come in the future. After all, don’t we pray “Thy kingdom COME?”
Yet, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom has always existed, ….although veiled from human eyes…. that the Kingdom can be glimpsed briefly in the lives of the great figures of ancient Israel when the reign of God broke into our world and gave us a hint of God’s intention for creation. It’s as if the Kingdom of God exists as a parallel universe – an alternative reality that intersects with our dimension from time to time throughout history and in our lives. There have always been these sightings of the Kingdom by people who are attuned to the things of God, even long before Jesus came into the world.
How do we know this to be so? Jesus says as much in Matthew 8:10-11. When speaking about the faith of a Roman officer, he says “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with a faith like this. I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down WITH Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven….” Jesus tells us that those Old Testament heroes of the faith were already present in his Kingdom!
Yes, Jesus’ Kingdom has existed throughout history, but it goes back even farther… Jesus has been on the throne from the very beginning. The Scriptures make this clear, as well. John’s Gospel starts by telling us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God!” (That “Word” was Christ himself.) And in Psalm 93:3 – we read this about Christ’s reign: ”Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.”
At the dawn of time, God’s kingdom reigned both in heaven AND on earth. In the Garden of Eden, the Bible tells us that Adam and Eve lived in God’s Paradise – heaven on earth. But then, they rejected God’s sovereignty, and Creation “fell” into the mire of sin and evil. Satan became the ruler of the earth, so that God’s undisputed reign was limited ONLY to heaven. And God’s Kingdom has NEVER been fully restored on earth since.
But in this statement about the Roman soldier’s faith, Jesus was saying that there were a few shining moments in Israel’s history when the Kingdom of God broke through…. like a candle shining in the darkness: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…. Moses, Joshua, David, and the Prophets – times when it SEEMED that God’s Kingdom would break upon the scene once more in all its glory, and that God’s Paradise would be restored on earth.
But every time God’s Kingdom seemed on the verge of coming again on earth, the people of Israel rejected God’s sovereignty (just as Adam and Eve had done before them), and the world was plunged back into darkness once again.
That’s the sad story of the Old Testament. Before the coming of Christ, most people lived their lives as if the Kingdom of God didn’t even exist. When you stop to think about it, that describes most of the people in our world today. They are oblivious to the Kingdom of God.
So, as we have seen, Jesus sometimes spoke of the Kingdom in the past-tense… a Kingdom which always existed in heaven, but which human sin had kept from coming on earth.
Yes, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God as existing in the past, - even from the dawn of Creation itself. But He also speaks of the Kingdom in FUTURE tense.
Throughout history, people may have seen glimpses of the Kingdom, and even looked forward to the day when God’s reign will come in its fullness. God’s reign has NOT YET come in all its glory… but over and over, the Bible promises that it WILL! That glorious day when Christ returns in victory, God will be completely victorious over Satan, and will re-establish his sovereignty over the earth. Then, …as the scriptures tell us… “justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, - swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks…”
It will be a time when there will be a “new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” and the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, will come down out of heaven from God ....and God will dwell with His people. A time when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, for there will be no more reason to weep, for the old sinful order of things will have passed away. A time when God will make all things new.
The paradise of the Kingdom of God that was lost in the Garden of Eden will be restored, and God’s intention for Creation will finally be fulfilled! It will be a day when those of us who hold citizenship in Christ’s Kingdom will be aliens NO LONGER!
That is the day for which all followers of Jesus long and pray. In fact, the Bible ends with God’s people longing for Christ’s return in Glory as King to establish his reign: The entire text of the Bible ends with a prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus.” Or, as we read in First Corinthians 15: “Then the end will come: Christ will overcome all spiritual rulers, authorities, & powers, and will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father. For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under His feet. The last enemy to be defeated is death… But when all things have been placed under Christ’s rule, then He Himself, the Son, will place Himself under God, who placed all things under Him; and God will rule completely over all.” (both heaven and earth)
That is what we pray for each Sunday as we say, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done - on earth, as it is in heaven.”
So, we’ve seen that “the Kingdom of God” can be thought of in both the past and the future tense – the Kingdom always - HAS Been, and at the same time, - WILL one-day Be. It exists ALREADY -- but, NOT YET. For believers, it is our reality, as well as our hope.
Does that sound like and enigma to you? How can both be true, at the same time? Because - Jesus also referred to his Kingdom in the PRESENT tense. Yes, the Kingdom of God has always been, -- and will one day be revealed in its fullness, (Jesus tells us). But I think the most significant teaching of Jesus is that the Kingdom IS right here, and now, - always present in our midst, --- if we will only open our eyes and our hearts to perceive it.
In our text, Jesus said, “I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” The kingdom has come - and is yet to come. But the good news is that, when we open ourselves to the truth of the kingdom, the Kingdom becomes realized in our own souls – because we have invited Jesus to reign in our heart! How many of you sang as a child in the Cherub Choir? I remember singing: “Into my heart, into my heart, Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” Or as the old Gospel Hymn we sometimes sing, puts it: “Floods of joy o’er my soul like the sea billows roll, - Since Jesus came into my heart.”
As we already heard, the cornerstone of Jesus’ ministry was His message that the Kingdom of God - is AT HAND… and accessible to each of us. And, it was “at hand” – WHY? Because Jesus ha csome – TO US!
In Luke’s Gospel we read: “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Jesus replied, ‘The Kingdom of God isn't ushered in with visible signs. You won't be able to say, 'Here it is!' or 'It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God - is among you.’” (Lk 17:20-21)
In his teaching, Jesus was announcing that one of those rare moments in history when God’s Kingdom would break into the world once more was upon them. He had come into the world to help them see the truth of his Kingdom so that they might live as citizens of his kingdom. If only they would recognize it and respond! Sadly, they did not.
And Jesus still comes to us today, breaking into our lives, challenging us to claim our citizenship in his Kingdom. In Jesus, the Kingdom of God is a PRESENT reality for you and me, …provided we invite Him to be our king and declare our loyalty to Him. The challenge on this Christ the King Sunday, is this: Will you and I recognize the invitation, and will we respond?
In a few moments, we will experience one of those moments-in-time when you and I get a glimpse of the reality of the Kingdom of God as we encounter the presence of Christ in sharing the bread and cup of Holy Communion. As you come to the Lord’s Table this morning, you will have an opportunity: - to declare once again your allegiance to Christ as your King; - to invite him to reign supreme in your heart; - and to claim your citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then you can join the angels of heaven, and all God’s people on earth, in singing that hymn of praise we find in the Book of Revelation, and set to music in Handel’s Messiah, “The kingdom of the world - is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, -- and he shall reign for ever and ever."
© 2024 by John B. Gill, III