Sunday we observed Christ the King Sunday, the end of the long season after Pentecost and transition into Advent. Christ the King is recent in origin, and lesser known of the feasts of the church. Yet its lessons are powerful to us in the work of making disciples. It asks us to pause and consider the lordship of Jesus Christ and the advance of his kingdom. It teaches us that God’s kingdom transcends the secular, civil, and circumstantial.
This is illustrated by the text in John chapter 18. Jesus was haled before Pilate under the trumped up charges of sedition against the Roman government. I think Pilate was incredulous that the Jews would actually be concerned that someone was plotting an attempt at overthrowing the Romans.
The real concern of the Sadducees was that Jesus had blasphemed their idol, the temple. They wanted Jesus dead, and since they couldn’t do it themselves, they had to manipulate the Roman government into doing it for them. A charge of sedition was the best way to get the government’s attention.
As Pilate interrogated Jesus he asked the question, “Are you king of the Jews?” Jesus replied that his kingdom is “not of this world.” and that is why no resistance was being offered. He went on to say that he was born for only one reason, and that is to “bear witness to the truth.”
Two things jump out of the situation that inform our disciple-making effort. First, the kingdom we advance is not of this world. It is not political, geographic, or national. It is not as interested in governmental affairs as it is hearts and lives. It realizes that we cannot force or legislate the kingdom agenda, but we influence it by letting its message change the hearts and lives of people. Discipleship does that for us.
A second thing I see is that its single purpose is to convey the truth. If we are the church of the Lord Jesus Christ we are the visible and unmistakable extension of the ministry of Jesus Christ. We take up where he left off, and do his good work as his ambassadors. The truth is not always popular or well received. It is not always pleasant and it does not always tickle our ears. But it must be told, and the apostle Paul tells us to speak the truth in love.
I fear that when we wave our American flags too much in church and shift the focus of attention from worshiping God to celebrating things national we forget we are not of this world. Veterans Day and the Fourth of July are real temptations to do this. When we allow the commercial Christmas season intrude and override the Church’s traditional emphasis on Advent and anticipation and hope we forget we are not of this world. When we are politically and legislatively involved but do not commit matters of national life to prayer we forget we are not of this world. When we let Hallmark Cards set our patterns and themes for worship at church we forget we are not of this world.
Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world. He offered no defense or argument to Pilate as to why he should not be executed. He did not complain against his accusers. He merely accepted the fact he was there to be executed and in the process turned the Roman symbol of torture, shame, and consequence for rebellion into a doorway through which we enter God’s kingdom. That is why we pick up our cross to follow Jesus, into a life of death to self and living unto God -- a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
The people around us cannot see the other-worldliness of God’s kingdom. They just see that they are sick or unemployed or worried about the future. They are disillusioned and doubtful and deeply in debt. It is for us, through acts of kindness and invitations to discipleship, to show them the transcendent kingdom, only observed through faith, by practical ways of making God’s love tangible and real. That is why we feed the hungry, minister to the sick, and clothe the naked. We want them to be able to look up from pitiful circumstance to see a kingdom not of this world.
This is illustrated by the text in John chapter 18. Jesus was haled before Pilate under the trumped up charges of sedition against the Roman government. I think Pilate was incredulous that the Jews would actually be concerned that someone was plotting an attempt at overthrowing the Romans.
The real concern of the Sadducees was that Jesus had blasphemed their idol, the temple. They wanted Jesus dead, and since they couldn’t do it themselves, they had to manipulate the Roman government into doing it for them. A charge of sedition was the best way to get the government’s attention.
As Pilate interrogated Jesus he asked the question, “Are you king of the Jews?” Jesus replied that his kingdom is “not of this world.” and that is why no resistance was being offered. He went on to say that he was born for only one reason, and that is to “bear witness to the truth.”
Two things jump out of the situation that inform our disciple-making effort. First, the kingdom we advance is not of this world. It is not political, geographic, or national. It is not as interested in governmental affairs as it is hearts and lives. It realizes that we cannot force or legislate the kingdom agenda, but we influence it by letting its message change the hearts and lives of people. Discipleship does that for us.
A second thing I see is that its single purpose is to convey the truth. If we are the church of the Lord Jesus Christ we are the visible and unmistakable extension of the ministry of Jesus Christ. We take up where he left off, and do his good work as his ambassadors. The truth is not always popular or well received. It is not always pleasant and it does not always tickle our ears. But it must be told, and the apostle Paul tells us to speak the truth in love.
I fear that when we wave our American flags too much in church and shift the focus of attention from worshiping God to celebrating things national we forget we are not of this world. Veterans Day and the Fourth of July are real temptations to do this. When we allow the commercial Christmas season intrude and override the Church’s traditional emphasis on Advent and anticipation and hope we forget we are not of this world. When we are politically and legislatively involved but do not commit matters of national life to prayer we forget we are not of this world. When we let Hallmark Cards set our patterns and themes for worship at church we forget we are not of this world.
Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world. He offered no defense or argument to Pilate as to why he should not be executed. He did not complain against his accusers. He merely accepted the fact he was there to be executed and in the process turned the Roman symbol of torture, shame, and consequence for rebellion into a doorway through which we enter God’s kingdom. That is why we pick up our cross to follow Jesus, into a life of death to self and living unto God -- a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
The people around us cannot see the other-worldliness of God’s kingdom. They just see that they are sick or unemployed or worried about the future. They are disillusioned and doubtful and deeply in debt. It is for us, through acts of kindness and invitations to discipleship, to show them the transcendent kingdom, only observed through faith, by practical ways of making God’s love tangible and real. That is why we feed the hungry, minister to the sick, and clothe the naked. We want them to be able to look up from pitiful circumstance to see a kingdom not of this world.
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