Title: I Am King
Contents
20091122 I am the king
(Twelfth Sunday of Creation)
Reign of Christ
November 22, 2009 II Samuel 23:1-7 or Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Psalm 132:1-12, (13-18) or Psalm 93 Revelation 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37
33 Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered. "Is what you say come from your thoughts? Or, have other people told you about me?"
35 Pilate said, "You mean I'm a Jew? Your people and your high priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?"
36 Jesus answered. "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of the world, my men would have fought to keep me from falling into the hands of the Jews. But really, my kingdom is not of this world."
37 Pilate asked Jesus. "Then are you a king?" Jesus answered. "As you said, I am a king. I was born to testify to the truth, and I came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to what I say."
May God's grace and peace be with you. It is a pleasure to worship together. Let's greet and bless the person next to us like this. It is a pleasure to worship together. May God bless you. May God protect you. May God be gracious to you. May God give you peace. Amen!
As our Lord, it was an unreasonable injustice and a plot, but he knew that it was happening in God's great providence to save mankind, so he did not resist, make excuses, and silently obeyed even to death.
But our Lord was proud. You did not lose your dignity until the very end. In today's Bible text, we can see that in the question and answer with Pilate. Even Pilate, the governor of Judea, clearly knows that our Lord is innocent and that the religious leaders betrayed our Lord through envy and slander. He did not believe the accusation that our Lord claimed to be “King of the Jews.” So, to confirm the fact once again, he calls our Lord from his official residence and asks. This is verse 33 of the text. “Are you the king of the Jews?” “People say that you are the king of the Jews, is it true?” they are asking. Pilate would have known that if he had asked such a question, of course, our Lord would have been able to make excuses and appeal to our Lord, saying, “Never, that people framed me, that it was unfair. But our Lord's answer was not quite what he expected. In verse 34 our Lord asks: "Is that what you say comes from your thoughts? Or, have other people told you about me?"
It seems that Pilate was a little angry when our Lord boldly asked the question, contrary to his expectations. It must have been thought that he was ignoring the authority of the governor and making fun of himself. So he says in verse 35: "You mean I'm a Jew? Your people and your high priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?"
The meaning of these words is: “Do you dare think of me, the ruler and governor of Rome, as the Jews who are the subjects? Didn't your people and the chief priests accuse you like that and hand you over to me? What in the world did you do to receive such accusations and accusations?”
Then our Lord boldly speaks to him in verse 36.
36 "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of the world, my men would have fought to keep me from falling into the hands of the Jews. But really, my kingdom is not of this world."
These are the words of our Lord's proclamation and revelation. “My country is not of the world. And I am the king of my country. If my kingdom had been of the world, my men would not have fought to give me into the hands of the Jews, and of course they would not have come here. My country is beyond this world.” That's right. The kingdom of our Lord, the kingdom of God, is not a kingdom of this world. It is a country that transcends this world. It is a country that cannot be known, seen, or entered with the knowledge and wisdom of this world. Then Pilate was astonished at his majesty and asked: "Then you are a king?"
Our Lord answers. "As you said, I am a king. I was born to testify to the truth, and I came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to what I say."
The truth here is the gospel of the kingdom of God. Ephesians 1:13 tells us that the word of truth is the gospel of salvation.
13 Because you also believed in Christ when you heard the word of truth in Christ, the gospel that saves you, you received the promised seal of the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord is the King of that country, and the Ruler of that country As John 14:6 says, our Lord is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Our Lord came into this world to testify and reveal this truth. No, our Lord is the truth itself. However, this truth is not acceptable to everyone. It's not something anyone can recognize. Only those who belong to the truth, and only those who have God's predestination and calling, can believe and accept it. Therefore, those who believe and accept the testimony and revelations of our Lord belong to the truth. They belong to the kingdom of God.
Because Pilate was not of the truth, he could not understand the words of our Lord. He had our Lord crucified in order to please people, knowing that our Lord was innocent. Politicians and powerful people of the world work to please people to win their popularity. But those who belong to the truth work to please God. Our Lord was king, but he was obedient to the point of death to please God. Because the thing that pleases God the most is to save mankind. Our Lord proudly testified before the powers of the world. “I am the king. I am a witness to the truth.”
1 Timothy 6:13 I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave his excellent testimony to Pontius Pilate.
14 Keep the commandments until our Lord Jesus Christ appears, so that you may be blameless and blameless.
15 At the appointed time, God will show the appearance of the Lord. God is to be praised, the only Ruler, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
Christ Jesus, a wonderful witness to Pontius Pilate. Jesus Christ proudly testified before Pontius Pilate. Jesus Christ proudly said, “I am the King” before Pontius Pilate. Pilate eventually handed over our Lord to the Roman soldiers to be crucified at the request of the priests and the people, but had our Lord put a plaque on the cross saying “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” In the eyes of the worldly people, this was a plaque that wrote the name of the execution of our Lord, but the spiritual reality was a revelation of the kingship of our Lord. When the high priests saw this, they demanded that it be rewritten as “Professed King of the Jews,” but Pilate refused. Of course, Pilate's intention was to blaspheme the Jews, but as it is written on the plaque, our Lord is the eternal King of God's people. That is why Peter boldly declared this when he received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and preached before the Jews. This is Acts 2:36.
36 Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for sure. God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
To proclaim the gospel is to declare that our Lord is Lord. To proclaim the gospel is to proclaim that our Lord is the Christ. To proclaim the gospel is to proclaim the Kingship of our Lord. To serve our Lord is to acknowledge and obey the Lordship of our Lord and the Kingship of our Lord. In that case, we will be able to bear witness to the truth of the gospel of the kingdom of God as proudly as our Lord, in the face of any power and in the face of any conspiracy and persecution. It is always listening to and obeying His voice and His words of truth. Then we will be blameless and blameless. It is to become a person who resembles the character of our Lord. Our Lord says “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” “Be holy because I am holy.” Those who belong to the truth aim for holiness. The people of God's kingdom are oriented toward perfection.
9 ○But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. That is why you proclaim the work of him who called you out of darkness and led you into his wonderful light.
This Word is our identity and our mission. We who believe and follow Jesus Christ, the King of kings, are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession.” We are witnesses and proclaimers of the salvation of our Lord. We must testify and proclaim with our mouths, and we must testify and proclaim with our lives.
Let's pray together in silence, remembering the words you gave us today.
(sending company)
Now go out into the world in peace. Live as a free man.
Recognize and proudly proclaim the Kingship of our Lord, whatever your circumstances. And always rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Blessing Prayer)
Now with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Heavenly Father's undying love,
The communing grace of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and renews us,
Whatever your circumstances, I earnestly pray that your beloved children, their families, their workplaces, the church, and our 75 million people who are gathered here will always be with you, who are determined to acknowledge and proclaim the kingship of our Lord proudly. Amen.