Rev. Steven S. Billings
Lent 5 Mid-Week
Sermon
3-12-2008
St. John 19:19-22
19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."' "22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
One of the rallying cries of the American Revolution was, "No more kings!" If you'd been a colonist in the late 1760s through 1775, you too would've had your fill of kings. By 1775, King George III had become a living example of the old adage, "absolute power corrupts absolutely." The American Revolution was fought with that principle in mind.
Consequently, present-day Americans have inherited a deeply rooted suspicion of authority. Presidents come and go, and we only have the stomach to tolerate them for two terms. Which is the way it should be. No one person should have all the power and the ones who have power should not have it for long.
So how do you feel when you hear from the Small Catechism that Jesus suffered and died "that I might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom?"
Christ suffered and died so that He could own me? I'm His possession? As Americans, we like to think that nobody "owns" us. We're our own people; we don't answer to anyone as long as we live within the law. So, if you really think about it, to belong to Christ - to be His property - is that something we can live with?
And what about when it says that we "live under Him in His kingdom?" Do we like to think that we live under anyone? Heavens, no! We like to think that our leaders work for us. We elect them to do our business, right? We don't want to live under them. We hand them their marching orders and tell them to get busy, don't we? The very idea of living under someone . . . is that the American way?
It's like when the Jews said, "We are Abraham's descendants and we've never been slaves of anyone." Who were they kidding? Liars! What was that 400 years in Egypt about then? Not to mention that thing in Babylon! And as those who land was currently dominated by an occupying dictatorship, they weren't exactly governing their own destinies, were they. But when Jesus called them to a knowledge of the truth that sets men free, they didn't want to have anything to do with it. "We're God's people already," they told Him. "What makes you think we want to live under You?"
So they crucified Him with a sign over His head that said, "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews."
Actually, it was Pilate who hung the sign. But what was his point? Was he just displaying the charge against Jesus or was he saying more? Is there more to it than even Pilate intended?
Pilate denied the Jews' request to have the sign removed. Let them be upset, he figured. These people wouldn't know their Messiah if he appeared to them with fireworks and a marching band. "But, he says he's a king," he might have thought. "So let's treat him like one."
Jesus was given a crown made of thorns and a stick for a scepter. He was dressed in a purple robe, bowed down to and addressed, "Hail! King of the Jews." Then the soldiers took that stick and beat Him with it. To top off this "royal" treatment, they punched Him in the face and spat on Him.
Obviously, Pilate didn't think Jesus was a king. The crowds clearly didn't want Him for their king, as they shouted for His crucifixion and heaped their insults on Him. You and I might not even want a king. But you know what? That's what God has ordained Christ to be for us: our King. The king of our lives. The king of our hearts. The king of our heavenly home.
Here we find the very definition of irony. Pilate's sign, which was probably hung more out of protocol than anything else, was absolutely true. Jesus is in fact a king - but not only of the Jews; He's King over all creation.
The crown of thorns, the fake scepter, the royal robe - all these things are fitting of a king whose kingdom is not of this world. All this world has to offer such a king is thorns, sticks, insults, spittle, and torture. This King, however, makes no impassioned speech of how He is being wronged. He doesn't claim either His innocence or His throne. He takes it like a man - just an ordinary man. He certainly doesn't look like a king by the time His opponents are through with Him.
But He is a king, a warrior king who is winning the greatest battle of all. As He hangs there under the sign proclaiming His kingship, He is a king - the King. Indeed, He is never more of a king than when He's dying underneath that sign. The world looks at the cross and stumbles over it. The faithful, however, look at the cross and see a king who loves His people.
And indeed, He is not of this world. What earthly king would lay down His life for His people? No, the trappings of worldly power and wealth keep earthly kings from loving their people the way this one does. King George III wasn't taxing the American colonies for their benefit! No way. Earthly rulers serve themselves.
But, as we've said, our King is not of this world. And neither is His kingdom. Our King loves us. He loves us too much to let us die in our sins. He loves us to death. He mildly and meekly lays down His life for us. He's a good king, putting the needs of His people above His own.
But you might ask: "If He is a king, where is His throne?" Right here. Today He is seated before us on the throne of His altar in the very body and blood He shed all those years ago when He hung beneath that sign. As we partake of His Holy Supper, He draws us close and gathers us together under His reign of love.
Who wouldn't want to live under this kind of a king? All Jesus ever wanted to do was give His hearers His grace, forgiveness, and everlasting life. He wanted to be their loving King. He wants to be our king. God give us the faith to receive Him. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
