Christ the True King - Sermon for the Feast of Christ the King (November 24, 2024)

Scripture Readings: Daniel 7:1-18 | Psalm 93 | Revelation 1:4-8 | John 18:33-38

“Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’” (John 18:37).

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Christian year, commemorating the reign of Jesus our Lord. It is an important celebration for us for many reasons, especially at times when there is deep  
confusion about what it really means to call Christ King… and what it means for those of us who follow Him to serve Him faithfully.

After all, not all who claim the name of Christ end up truly serving His Kingdom. Over the centuries, many have mixed up their own agendas with the mission of God.

One clear example of this from the last century was the so-called German Christian movement in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, which gained widespread support among many people of faith, and preached the wholesale realignment of the Christian Church with Nazi ideology… and making loyalty to their Leader… Adolf Hitler, the epitome of doing God’s will. 

We can also see this confusion and distortion at work in the operations of Christian Nationalist groups in our day… movements that try to establish the Kingdom of God in their own countries by seizing political power and influence to bring about God’s Kingdom by force… inevitably ending up betraying Christ and abandoning His ways in the process.

There are countless ways that our faith can, and has been, co-opted over the years. Which is why it’s so important for Christians today to have a clear-headed understanding of the Gospel: of who Jesus Christ is, and what He is doing… and what He is calling us to do in His name. And so, the Feast of Christ the King calls us to regularly reconsider our assumptions about how God’s Kingdom comes about… how we can share in it.

In our Gospel reading this morning, we jump right in to a clash of Kingdoms: we hear Jesus being questioned by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, serving as the representative of Caesar, the head of the most powerful and influential Empire the world had yet come to know.

And in this encounter, Pilate can’t seem to make sense of Jesus. He can’t seem to understand why our Lord isn’t trying to avoid the horrible fate that is laying before Him.

Pilate knows all about power games. He understands the cut-throat competitions for influence, and jealous rivalries at work in so many societies. He can see that Jesus is actually innocent of the charges brought against Him by Jerusalem’s religious leaders… and that their calls for His execution have no legitimate basis.

But then Pilate hears that Jesus is called a King of the Jews… which is clearly a claim of authority and power… which must then be put in its ‘proper place’ under the absolute authority and power of Caesar in Rome and his subordinates.

But when asked about His supposed kingship, Jesus responds by challenging everything that Pilate thought he knew about real power and authority.

“Jesus answered, ‘My Kingdom is not from this world.’” (John 18:36).

Notice that He doesn’t say that His Kingdom has no place in this world… as if it only exists somewhere out there, disconnected from the daily realities of earthly life. He’s not claiming that His Kingdom has no authority or power here and now. 

No, He says His Kingdom is not from this world. It doesn’t arise from here, or rely on the world’s ways of doing things. It is not just another earthly realm. The kingdoms of the world lean on the threat of violence as the basis for their authority… their rulers rely on coercion and force, or manipulation to get their way. For example, the Roman Empire bragged about being the bringers of peace, but they could only do so by swiftly bringing the sword against any who might dare to defy them.

And we can see these same approaches at work in modern societies as well. Some countries use explicit violence and oppression to keep their subjects in line. Some rely more on coercion, manipulation, and political power games to get their way. But whatever tactics are being deployed, the general agenda is the same: people desire power, so they do whatever it takes to take it… even if it means crushing others in order to get it.

This is what the Romans, and so many other kingdoms of the world have done. But Christ is not that kind of King! So where does Christ’s Kingdom come from then? Where does its power and influence arise from, if not through earthly violence and force?

Our first reading today from the book of Daniel offers us an incredibly important glimpse into how Christ understood the basis of His Kingship, and how it must come about.

In Daniel Chapter 7, we hear one of the prophet’s visions, experienced at one of the lowest points in Israel’s story… after Jerusalem had fallen, after the Temple of God had been destroyed, and what was left of His covenant people were carried away into Exile by the most powerful kingdom in their day: Babylon… a violent, prideful Empire bent on forcing all others to bend their knees, and bow to their obvious greatness.

In Daniel’s vision, he sees a series of great kingdoms depicted as terrifying beasts… inhuman monsters capable of great ruin… the most fearsome of which ends up trampling on God’s people… crushing them beyond all earthly hope.

But then suddenly God Almighty, the true Lord of All, brings an end to these beastly rulers, and raises up those who were crushed by the beasts, to reign with Him in glory.

It’s a vision of great hope for Israelites like Daniel, who were still suffering in Exile… hope that the Living God would not abandon His people. Regardless of how vicious and powerful the kingdoms of the world may be, or how low their own circumstances might become, this was a message that in the end, God Himself would set things right, and they would be raised up to reign with Him.

Daniel’s vision was a powerful reminder for God’s people to place their hope and trust in the LORD… to remain faithful to His ways… and to not get swept up by the ways of the beasts.

For the only lasting victory over the beasts is the LORD’s own doing… it cannot be achieved by the might or power, of God’s people, trying to raise themselves up against their enemies, but only by the Almighty’s intervention, striking at the heart of evil’s power in ways that no earthly force could ever do… disarming evil for good.

Here we must turn to our second reading today from the book of Revelation. Here’s another plug for our Bible Study on Tuesday afternoons. We’ve spent the last eight weeks working through Revelation, and we’ve just reached verse eight last week! Clearly, there’s a lot going on in this book, which we won’t have time to get into today. But join us on Tuesday afternoons, and you might be surprised by the Good News this book has to share.

Just as a reminder: the book of Revelation is not simply a depiction of the end… it is a view of human history offered from God’s perspective… a vision revealing the truth of our world that’s often hidden from our eyes… and that the powerful kingdoms of our day actively deny.

This passage we read today is really just setting the stage for the rest of Revelation, introducing the key melodies that will be picked up and explored in greater depth, tying together important themes of the Gospel that run all throughout the Scriptures.

But to keep it short, the key point of this passage for this morning is the nature of God’s ultimate victory over evil… not just over the Babylonians, or Greeks, or Romans… but over every beastly Empire that will raise itself up and trample on the innocent. God’s Kingdom will overcome them, not by playing their games… not by coercion or force, or political maneuvering, or manipulation… but by the power of the cross.

This victory is won by what Jesus Christ Himself has already done, disarming the power of all evil, through His own death… and through His resurrection… and through His coming again.

He disarms the lies that prop up all these beastly kingdoms by being the faithful witness… the One who remained steadfast in the truth, exposing the world’s injustice, greed, violence, and pride as merely self-destructive delusions.

He disarms the fear of death, as the firstborn from the dead… who suffered the very worst physical fate that anyone could throw at Him. But three days later, He rose again, conquering the grave forever for those who trust in Him. 

And He disarms the power of all others who claim to be the masters of our lives, and the final authorities we are to pay our allegiance to… for Jesus Christ alone is the true ruler of the kings of the earth… He alone has been raised to God the Father’s right hand, and all other earthly rulers will one day be called to account before His throne to answer for everything that they have done. 

And in addition to disarming all these powers at work in our world… disarming the lies, and the fears, and the false-claims over our lives that bring about so much destruction, Christ also shows us how we are to serve within His good Kingdom. Revelation 1:5-6,
“To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”

We share in and serve in His Kingdom through faith in the Good News: by trusting in the love of Christ our King, who will never abandon us, no matter how hard things might get. By trusting in the gracious forgiveness and freedom He achieved for us by shedding His blood at the cross. And by trusting that through His Holy Spirit at work in us, we are being remade in His own likeness… empowered to share in His glorious ministry and reign with Him forever!  

Trusting that, with Him we are able to stand for the truth… even if it goes against the expectations of all those around us. Trusting that with Him we are able to face death faithfully, because Christ’s victory over the grave and everlasting life will also be ours. Trusting that, with Him we are able to stay true to God’s Kingdom, and to resist the many temptations to play along with the beasts at work today… remembering that Christ’s Kingdom may not be from this world… but it is for this world!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18).

This is God’s victory. This is our victory. One not achieved through violence or force… or political power games. But through the rescuing… reconciling… resurrecting love of the Living God, revealed once and for all in Jesus Christ our Saviour King. 

So let us rejoice in His steadfast love! Let us trust and believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and all that He has done to save us and our world. Let us stay true to Him… walking in His ways, and listening to His voice… as we await His coming again, and the fulness of His good Kingdom. Amen.