“Are You a King?”
Posted by Chris on March 7, 2004 under Sermons
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Order of Worship and Discipleship:
- Song #49 – “Great and Mighty is He”
Song #96 – “I Stand in Awe”
Song #97 – “I Sing Praises”
Prayer
Song #103 – “He Has Made Me Glad”
Song #113 – “His Grace Reaches Me”
Communion
Offering
Song #961 – “There is a Balm in Gilead”
“ARE YOU A KING?”
(Luke 23)
(Luke 23)
In The Passion of the Christ movie, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, interviews Jesus who has been arrested and charged with treason. If Jesus claims to be the ruler of Judea, then he represents a political threat to Rome. So Pilate, who more than anything wants to remain uninvolved but also wants to avoid a riot, asks Jesus the all important question: Are You a King, then?
Reading of Luke 23:1-38
[prayer]
Kingdoms in Conflict
 TIBERIUS |
 HEROD |
 PILATE |
 PHILIP |
 ANNAS |
 CAIAPHAS |
Romans like Tiberius and Pilate maintained the peace of the empire through fear, coercion, and advanced technology. If you sided with Rome, life could be very, very good. But if you challenged Rome in any way, life could be very, very bad. Hail Rome for giving us fresh water through the aqueducts – but let’s not mention the fact that it is built by slaves!
Jewish leader like Herod and Philip ruled through privilege. They had Roman connections and alliances on their side. But since they were lesser powers in service of Rome, their privilege and security was easily threatened and they didn’t want to lose their lifestyle – so Herod the Great made sure to eliminate all threats even if it meant slaughter.
Religious leaders like Annas and Caiaphas earned a measure of respect in avoiding the corruptions of Herod and the political rulers of Judea. Their good lifestyle took work but it paid off. Maintaining the truth and the stability of their heritage occupied their time and passion – and if that meant they had to be exclusive and cautious then that was a small price to pay for truth.
These power-players all had their own agendas. And sometimes they were compatible but sometimes they were conflicting.
Our experience of conflicting powers: Is it really that hard to imagine the world Luke describes? Is it really that hard to imagine the world of conflicting powers that Jesus’ lived in? Isn’t this still our experience today?
We are entertained by shows that place people in situations in which they must cheat, lie, and takes sides against one another. How revealing that we call these reality shows. Is this how we perceive reality?
It is reflected in our catch-phrases:
- Life’s Not Fair!
- Survival of the Fittest.
- Good guys finish last!
- It’s a dog-eat-dog world.
These clichéd statements confess to the conflict woven into the fabric of our world. We accept as fact that there must be winners and losers. We will even compartmentalize our rules for life so that we think that compassion and the golden rule are high principles to live up to, but when it comes to business, politics, and security a different set of rules applies.
The powers of business in this world are ordered upon conflict between management and labor. Communism is really just oppression. It doesn’t work, so consumer capitalism is the only thing that does work – it’s not perfect, but it’s all we got.
The powers of politics in this world are based on conflict between special interests. Monarchies are always corrupt. That doesn’t work, so a two-party system that encourages bickering and debate is the only that seems to work. [How many sigh saying is it election year already?] It’s not perfect, but it’s all we got.
The powers that involve our security seem to thrive on conflict. All of us have secret codes and passwords and ID numbers – and our security depends on who knows and who doesn’t. Our security may depend on being first in line, getting on the right side of the fence, killing the killer before he kills us. Our security in our social world may depend on what we tell others (or don’t tell others) who we befriend and who we don’t befriend. Hey, it’s not perfect – but it’s all we got. That’s just the way it is. Conflict is part of life.
We may feel that way when we’re on the up-side of the contest, but how do we feel when we’re on the down side? How do we feel when greedy CEO’s embezzled our money and ruined our fortunes for the future? How do we feel when our political system alienates us and favors injustice? How do we feel when we are excluded and uninformed because we are no longer as valuable as we once were?
Maybe it’s not always easy to swallow the bitter reality of this world in conflict? And does God really have anything to do with this? Where’s God in this conflict? Is he indifferent? Is he so spiritual that the earthly powers don’t really concern him?
But what if God has stepped into the fray? (The in-breaking rule of God)
We often think that Jesus and Pilate are just "following the script" that God wrote for this moment. Jesus is a victim of the corrupt sinful system of this world. He gets chewed up and spit out by the forces of darkness because God abandons Jesus to evil. But is that really how it was? Let’s take a different perspective and consider what powers and forces hostile to God and Christ are at work leading up to this moment. What evil explains the fact that an innocent man who came to save the world is being condemned to death? What explains Jesus’ seeming reluctance to fight back?
Jesus is not on trial for what he did, but for who he is. Pilate doesn’t think that Jesus has done anything "against the law." But law-breaking isn’t the issue. Jesus ushers in the Kingdom of God. It’s not a geographical, institutional, or political kingdom. Kingdom means "rule" or "reign" and it refers not merely to the visible evidence of that rule, but the authority of the ruler and the extent of the ruler’s power. But just because this "rule of God" isn’t limited to geography, politics, or institutions doesn’t mean it has no impact on those. In fact the rule of God extends over everything. It is a higher authority that tests and challenges everything in creation.
So even though the kingdom that Jesus proclaims is spiritual and not of this world, it threatens the powers and dominions that have something invested in the world order as it is – even if it isn’t perfect. [They are so threatened that they would prefer a terrorist set loose than see Jesus alive. Even Pilate goes along with this madness!]
Jesus has stepped into the ring – in this case history – (the world as we have known it and do know it.) He has crossed a line in the sand – and doing so makes enemies – It threatens those powers and kings and authorities that try to rule instead of Christ or even those that try to rule alongside of Christ.
Jesus is a threat because he is aligned with the rule of God. His very being puts him into conflict with that which is against God. Jesus is standing at Ground Zero of the conflict between God and the forces that have conspired against God. Yet, he chooses to offer few words in his defense.
"Yes it is as you say" is his answer to Pilate’s question. Why?
- The only way for Jesus to escape the trial is to change who he is – to become something that does not threaten the power-players.
- Jesus knows that Pilate and the priests will do whatever they want with whatever he says. Jesus knows that he is King, but Pilate and the Jewish leaders have to do more than say it or write it on a sign - they have to submit to it! And there’s the conflict. This is the battlefield.
With a word, Christ can end the whole sorry affair. But there’s no victory in that. The weapon of Christ is not force or coercion. Christ fights with weapons that the enemy cannot manage – confidence, truth, love. Confidence in God to preserve his life, the truth about the rule of God, and love enough to invite others – even enemies – into that kingdom.
- Jesus isn’t the one who needs to speak a word to save his life. It’s Pilate, and the Jewish leaders, and the disciples and the crowd that need to be to saved. They need to choose sides. Jesus is inviting them to say "He is King!" and mean it. How they say it, makes all the difference.
Jesus is no victim. He goes to the cross a warrior-king. He lays down his life freely to conquer the true enemy of evil … The real enemy is not Pilate, Caiaphas, or Herod. It’s not Rome or the Sanhedrin. It’s not Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals; it is not Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden. It’s not the slanderer who tells lies about you or the hacker who put a virus on your computer. They are the victims! They have aligned themselves with false powers – pretend authorities!
- The real enemy is sin and all its products: injustice, hatred, murder, idolatry, abuse, corruption, etc. Indifference in the face of injustice or hunger is unloving and affiliation with the enemy. Adopting the enemy’s means to defeat it is alliance with the enemy. But love means stepping into the fray and sacrificing self for the liberation of captives. A heroic faith will risk self in an effort to be on God’s side because the gospel is that whatever the enemy may do to us, God will win.
- Victory – not a Victim. The victory of the cross is portrayed in the movie in a scene in which Mary asks the question: “Why is this night unlike all others?” The answer comes from the Passover ritual "Because once we were slaves but now we are set free."
- The tenth-century Anglo-Saxon poem The Dream of the Rood describes the cross as a heroic, kingly victory."He is a young and confident champion striding from afar … Vigorous and single-minded, he strips himself for battle and a kingly victory. The action is entirely his, an eager sacrifice; there is no question at this point of his being nailed to the cross. Instead he climbs to embrace it." Read Colossians 2:15.
Here’s the good news: Our King went to battle to overthrow the lesser powers – and he won!
At the cross:
- The Romans who ruled with fear thought they were ridding themselves of a renegade – but Christ wasn’t afraid of them.
- The Jewish elites who were convinced they had the final say on truth thought they had silenced a scandal – but Christ knew the truth.
- The crowds, the thieves, and the disciples who struggled daily to preserve their lives wondered why he didn’t save himself – but Christ was resisted the power of self-preservation and saved us from evil with love.
What Does it Mean? In Revelation, persecuted Christians are encouraged with the good news of Christ’s ultimate victory (Revelation 19), the defeat of God’s enemies (Revelation 20) and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21). Those are visions and promises of a triumphant future that served as good news for the followers of Christ, but they were a far cry from the difficult fight that these believers lived with daily. So between their present reality and the bright future, Christians were called upon do their part for the war effort. What that involved can be read in the Letters to the Seven Churches (Revelation 2-3), but in general it meant staying faithful and being willing to die for Christ (Revelation 13:8-10). To do that was to be like Christ, the Lamb that was slain, who understood that love meant doing his part to be loyal to God and defeat the foe.
- Return of the King – "Enemy-occupied territory – that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage." – C. S. Lewis
- Reading of Acts 4:27-34 – Luke continues the story of the living Christ by showing how the rule of Christ the King is breaking into the world. In Acts 4 he shows how the confidence, truth, and love of Christ that overcame the kingdoms of Pilate and Herod. There’s a portrait of a community that participates in the life of Christ. They’re not afraid when they’re threatened. They are not deceived by the darkness and deception of evil. And they are able to establish loving relationship in which no one is needy because others sacrifice in love as Christ their King did for them. That’s the kingdom sabotage and in flies right in the face of the powers that oppose Christ’s rule.
The earliest confession of the Christian church was "Christ is Lord (King)!" These were more than words, this was a expression of an allegiance that sometimes alienated Christians and threw them into conflict with the powers and victims of the enemy. But those who made that confession were no victims. They had already died with Christ and they had already inherited the Kingdom of God. The received it as a generous gift.
- Invitation Song #972 – “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian”
Closing Prayer