Sunday
11/21/21 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Did Pilate Really Know Who Jesus Was?”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 132:1-12
New Testament Scripture: Revelation 1:4b-8
Gospel Lesson: John 18:33-37
When I was kid, and yes, I said kid.
Some of you might think of me as a kid, but Spence Gridley told me when I
turned 40 last month that I am now a young man. So, as I was saying, when I was
kid, one of the games that some of my friends like to play in the winter was “King
of the Hill.” We would go on the top of a large snow mound, or a snowy hill and
wrestle to be on the top of the hill. Sometimes we would go sliding down, and
sometimes we would take the hill. We usually did not keep the hill very long,
but the point of the game is who is the “King of the Hill.” While it was only a
game, when you became “King of the Hill” you were in charge, for a minute at
least. Being a “King” is what I want to talk about in part this morning, on this
our Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday.
You will notice this morning that the
paraments on the pulpit, the lectern, and the altar are all white this Sunday.
The color white represents purity, righteousness, and holiness. This Sunday we celebrate
the King of all, and the Lord of the universe, Jesus Christ. To define Christ
the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, let me read you a definition of what today is:
“The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday, is a relatively recent addition to the Western liturgical calendar, instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. In 1970 its Roman Rite observance was moved to the final Sunday of Ordinary Time. The earliest date on which it can occur is 20 November and the latest is 26 November. The Lutheran, Anglican, Moravian, Methodist, Reformed and United Protestant churches also celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, which is contained in the Revised Common Lectionary; the Methodist, Anglican and Presbyterian Churches often observe this as part of the liturgical season of Kingdomtide, which runs between the Fourth Sunday before Advent and the Feast of Christ the King” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Christ_the_King).
All of this said, this Sunday we are
celebrating specially and specifically that Jesus is Lord and King of all. In
doing a little checking I found out that there are 44 Monarchies, or kings and queens,
or something similar, in the world today. Many of these countries claim their
queen to be Queen Elizabeth II from England. The current Queen of England is
the head of state, but not the head of government. Some kings and queens are both
the official face of a country, and also the ruler of a country. Some kings and
queens still hold a lot of power.
At some points in history for example,
kings or queens ruled their country or realms with great power and authority.
To call Christ “King” then, is no small thing. To say that Christ is the king
of all, is to say that Christ is above all rulers both past and present. For example,
it says in 1 Timothy 6:14-15:
14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:14-15, NRSV).
The scripture says that Jesus is supreme
and above all earthly rulers. I laughed about a month ago when Melissa and I
stopped by a Burger King on our way to where we were going. When I went into
the men’s room there was a wall sticker by the sink. The sticker said, “All
employees must wash their hands, by the order of the king.” This king is of
course the Burger King, but it made me think of the idea of a king.
In Revelation 19:16 it says of Jesus’
Lordship:
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16, NRSV).
Since Jesus is the king of kings, the
lord of lords, and the name above all names, we have this special “Christ the
King Sunday,” that celebrates King Jesus. What is funny to me is that every
time we go through a major election cycle, voters vote, but the candidate that
some voters really want to win is Jesus. We are so often let down when the
person we voted for turns out to not be Jesus. All politicians running for
office want to look holy, just, and righteous, and some of them would love to be
portrayed like Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate ruler, our king, our standard, our hope.
I would hope that every politician and elected official would strive to be like
Jesus.
In our reading for this morning from Psalm
132 once again, God promises that a descendant from the great King David in the
Old Testament of the Bible will rule for eternity. Most Christians believe that
this descendent is Jesus Christ. Jesus was related to King David, and born in
Bethlehem, the same city that King David was born in. In our reading from Psalm
132 it says in 132:11-12 once again:
11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne” (Ps. 132:11-12, NRSV).
The throne of David is occupied forevermore, by the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is Christ the King.
We also hear this echoed in our reading for this morning
from the Book of Revelation. Once again, it says in Revelation 1:5:
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, (Rev. 1:5, NRSV).
Jesus, the ruler of the kings of
earth. There is a contemporary Christian band called the Casting Crowns. This
band has this name, because as the scripture says the kings of this world will
cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus when he returns, to acknowledge that he is
indeed the king of all.
Our scripture from the Book of
Revelation continues on discussing the return of Christ to earth, as the
scripture finishes with 1:7-8 saying:
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:7-8, NRSV).
This all leads me to my sermon title
for this morning called “Did Pilate Really Know Who Jesus Was?” In our Book of
John reading for this morning, Jesus is on trial. Jesus stands trial before
King Herod, before the religious leaders, and of course before the Roman Governor
Pontius Pilate. Our gospel reading for this morning discusses once again, Jesus
before Pontius Pilate. Pilate seems to be wrestling in this reading, with
trying to figure out who Jesus is. Let us look at our gospel of John reading
for this morning once again. Starting in John 18:33 it says:
33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” 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” (Jn. 18:33-37, NRSV).
It would appear that Pilate does not really understand or
accept who Jesus is. Pilate clearly believes that in order to be a king, you
must have land, money, castles, soldiers, and power. Jesus has none of these
things on earth, as he stands before Pilate. Jesus tries to explain that his
kingdom is much bigger and beyond the mere kingdoms of this earth. This
scripture then ends with Jesus saying he is the truth and those who belong to
the truth listen to Jesus’ voice. In the next verse of scripture, John 18:38
Pilate replies to Jesus asking:
What
is truth?”
(Jn. 18:38, NRSV).
At this point in the gospel narrative, Pilate then finds no
fault in Jesus, and offers the crowd the opportunity for Jesus or the robber Barabbas
to be freed, as it was a Passover custom to release one prisoner. The crowd
asks for the robber Barabbas to be freed, and for Jesus to stay imprisoned.
This is what happened. I wonder though if Pilate really knew who Jesus was? Did
he have any idea who was standing in front of him? Did Pilate realize that
Jesus was not just a king, but that he was the king of kings and lord of lords.
Pilate may have realized this but fought these feelings to protect his job and
his power. Maybe Pilate had no idea who Jesus was, or maybe he just knew that
he was someone special. What is true though, is that by Pilate’s order a little
later, his soldiers scourged, mocked, and beat Jesus, made him carry his own
cross, and then nailed him to the cross. Pilate ordered Jesus’ torture and execution.
As a result of this, I have always been fascinated with Pilate, and have always
wondered if he knew who Jesus really was.
The other question regarding Pilate that has always in intrigued
me is when Jesus tells Pilate that he himself and his words are the truth.
Jesus said those are in truth listen to him. Pilate then replies by saying once
again,
“What
is truth?”
(Jn. 18:38, NRSV).
Pilate’s question was just as relevant two-thousand years
ago, as it is today. What is true, and what is not? Is humanity by its nature
broken and sinful? I would say so. Have you watched the news lately? Is
humanity capable to living morally, ethically, and spiritually upright on our own?
Well, if could, after thousands of years, wouldn’t we have done it by now?
If as a people and as a species we cannot get it right and
build a perfect world, then what do we do? We can descend into chaos, or God
can come to us. God’s son Jesus Christ came to be among us, to die for us, and to
teach us a new way to live, to love, and to care for each other. One could then
ask, “Well if this is true, why is the world still so screwed up”? The best
answer I can give, is that Christianity is a resistant movement to brokenness of
the world. Will we win this battle? Only when Jesus returns. Until we die and
go to be with Christ, or until he returns, we are tasked here on earth to bearers
of his light, his life, and his love. We can make this world so much better
than it is right now.
The only king and the only ruler that has never let us
down, that has never lied, that has never forsaken us, is Jesus Christ. It is
no shock then that when some people vote they want to vote for Jesus, and they
are always let down every time.
Through Jesus Christ, our lord, our king, our hope, we are
offered forgiveness, life, salvation, and eternity. If we turn from our sin and
darkness, Jesus will forgive us. We can then live every day, living like and
following Christ the King. For without Christ, what hope do we have? He came,
he lived, and he died for us. We get to spend our lives here on earth and in
eternity living for him. So, the crown I have this morning is a toy, but the
true king and the eternal king ins Christ the King.
We live in a world today where so many people say that there is no absolute truth. A friend of my family, Rev. Bob Pinto, who has since gone to glory, debated absolute truth with someone once. This dug in atheist looked as Pastor Bob and said, “there is no such thing as absolute truth!” Pastor Bob then grinned and asked the person, “are you absolutely sure about that?” Everyday I try to live like and for Jesus Christ, Christ the King, because I believe the best and only hope that this world has is gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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