Lord of All / Based on Luke
23:33-43 / Delivered on November 24, 2019 to CCH
Hymns: Fairest Lord Jesus,
All Glory Laud and Honor, In Christ Alone
Luke 23:33-43
23:33 When they came to the
place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals,
one on his right and one on his left.
23:34 Then Jesus said,
"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And
they cast lots to divide his clothing.
23:35 And the people stood
by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others;
let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"
23:36 The soldiers also
mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,
23:37 and saying, "If
you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"
23:38 There was also an
inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
23:39 One of the criminals
who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the
Messiah? Save yourself and us!"
23:40 But the other rebuked
him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence
of condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed have been
condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this
man has done nothing wrong."
23:42 Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
23:43 He replied, "Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Good morning and Happy Sunday
to you! I am Darci Strutt McQuiston, one
of the Lay Servants of the United Methodist Church up on the hill from
here. It is my joy to be with you on
this day. Today is set apart as Christ
the King Sunday. I’m going to be
blending the recommended scripture selected to honor this Sunday, so you’ll
hear from both the Old and New Testaments this morning. It is the final Sunday of the Christian
year. Next week we begin a new cycle as
we prepare to welcome Christ as Mary’s little boy during Advent.
The passage from Luke seems
out of place on this Sunday before the beginning of Advent. Yet, it has three different social orders
calling Jesus King or Messiah; the religious leaders, the soldiers, and his
cross companions. That helped me decide
what three ideas to pull out this morning.
The three ideas are that
Christ is:
Lord of religion
Lord of government
Lord of all
Lord of religion
23:35 And the people stood
by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others;
let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"
One of the speakers I
listened to as I researched this scripture pointed out that at the beginning of
Jesus ministry, he was tempted by the devil to take action to prove he was the
Son of God. Here he is at the close of
his ministry once again being tempted to prove who he was by a miraculous sign.
The religious leaders were
more concerned about protecting the Jewish people from the anger of the Romans
than they were about recognizing the Messiah.
Their faith had them waiting for his coming yet couldn’t see he had
arrived.
The Old Testament reading for
today was from the book of Jeremiah. Within that passage there are these verses
which given our eyes of the future seems to point to Christ.
23:5 The days are surely
coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and
he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land.
The religious leaders had
lost their view of God’s promises and instead focused their religious
leadership on keeping the peace themselves.
They trusted in their own power instead of God’s.
Lord of government
23:36 The soldiers also
mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,
23:37 and saying, "If
you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"
23:38 There was also an
inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
The inscription was provided
by Pilot, the Roman leader that had the legal ability to execute enemies of the
State. After meeting Jesus he was afraid
Jesus was who he claimed to be.
John 19:19-22
Pilate had a notice prepared
and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Many of the Jews read this
sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign
was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.
The chief priests of the Jews
protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man
claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have
written, I have written.”
In the Old Testament the
kings were considered the shepherds of God.
God, speaking through Jeremiah, outlined the consequences of forgetting who
the true leader was.
Jeremiah
23:1 Woe to the shepherds who
destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD.
23:2 Therefore thus says the
LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is
you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not
attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD.
23:3 Then I myself will
gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them,
and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and
multiply.
23:4 I will raise up
shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer,
or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.
Jeremiah was speaking to the
kings of Israel who forgot who was truly in charge. The Roman leaders thought they were in
control, but their rule was temporary.
Lord of all
23:39 One of the criminals
who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the
Messiah? Save yourself and us!"
23:40 But the other rebuked
him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence
of condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed have been
condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this
man has done nothing wrong."
All throughout this moment captured
in Luke we see there were some that recognized Christ as King. Jesus had power to forgive sin. He did it in the beginning of his time on the
cross.
23:34 Then Jesus said,
"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And
they cast lots to divide his clothing.
He also offered his saving
power to the thief.
23:42 Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
23:43 He replied, "Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
The conversation with the
criminals provides the final temptation.
It also provides evidence of the power of faith and forgiveness. The first thief did name Jesus as Messiah but
was looking for saving here and now. The
second thief held the longer-term view.
Christ the King Sunday is a somewhat
new addition to our Christian year. It
was added in 1925 because of the rise in nationalism after World War I. We’re just 5 years away from it’s 100th
year and it feels just as important today.
Pope Pius XI was hoping for
these effects to occur when he established the Feast of Christ the King:
1. That nations would see
that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state.
2. That leaders and nations
would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ.
3. That the faithful would
gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded
that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.
(http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html)
Religious policy makers still
get caught up in current issues of society and protecting themselves from being
judged by others by acting in ways that meet public approval. Jesus taught forgiveness instead of judgement. I pray for my own church denomination and believe
we have a way to go to follow Jesus more closely. In the back of my mind there is a quote – “I
like Jesus. It’s his followers I can’t
stand.” I can’t find a reference, but it
provides clear caution. The focus of the
church was to make disciples and teach them all Jesus taught. We must center ourselves on that
commandment. Jesus is the leader we must
follow not society.
Political leaders still
forget that they are there to be good shepherds. They are only servants who are entrusted with
caring for others for a time. I am
grateful to live in this country. The
Bible tells us to pray for our leaders, but we and they need to remember they
are hired hands. We are God’s people. The citizens of other countries are God’s
people too. They just have a different
shepherd. Ultimately Jesus is King of
kings and Lord of lords. He is our lead
shepherd
Lord of all means Lord of ALL,
sinner and saint alike. It’s hard to fully
embrace. This is the part that you and I
can struggle with and grow to understand more clearly as we work toward being
the loving people God calls us to be.
There’s probably more than one thief in heaven, but we know from this
scripture that there is at least one that admitted his behavior was worthy of
being executed. Jesus looked at him with
love and forgiveness. Can we learn to do
the same?
Paul’s letter to the
Colossians was also assigned this Sunday.
It contained beautiful words of praise to Christ.
Colossians 1:15-20
1:15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
1:16 for in him all things in
heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or powers--all things have been created through him and
for him.
1:17 He himself is before all
things, and in him all things hold together.
1:18 He is the head of the
body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he
might come to have first place in everything.
1:19 For in him all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
1:20 and through him God was
pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by
making peace through the blood of his cross.
As odd as it seems to be reading
a passage from Jesus crucifixion on this Sunday before Advent, it is perfect
for recognizing Christ as King. He passed
the test of temptation in the beginning of his ministry and he passed it again
in the end. Dying on the cross proved he
was King. Instead of saving himself he
saved us; ALL of us.
We pause this day to remember
Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies. I pray it is so for us all.
Amen
