Jesus is the King above all kings … He is the King behind all kings. So, an appropriate question for you today is “Who is your king?”
Jesus said just before our text, “My kingdom is not of this world … my kingdom is from another place.” So, is Jesus your King? Or, if not, whom else?
Many people today across the world address someone as their king, don’t they?
As we think about rulers, who do you think is going to win the 2020 election? The race is already getting pretty intense, and we are a year out.
With all of the talk today about who should be in charge, who should be the next president, and as we hear about different policy provisions, and witness the different leadership styles, we all wonder who has the skill-set that our country needs … right now? Who’s going to win it?
No, I’m not going to wade into the realm of politics up here this morning.
But today, I am going to TELL YOU who is really in charge right now, who has always been in charge, and who will always be in charge, no matter who becomes the next president of the United States.
This person that I am talking about, of course, is Jesus Christ. Presidents come and go, but Jesus has been the King of the United States ever since this country existed.
He is the King of North America, He is the King of the Earth, the King of Heaven, and the King of the Universe.
He is everyone’s King, whether you believe in Him or not, whether you would vote for Him or not. He has been and always will be … our King. Period!
Today, in this last Sunday of the church year, I’m going to highlight the greatness of Jesus. Why should we worship him? Why should we trust him? And why should we place Him on the throne of our lives.
He is our King, and today we honor him as we look at our Gospel lesson.
In our text for today, we meet a man that I believe unfortunately represents most of our world today. His name is … Pontius Pilate.
By the world’s standards, he was pretty great – he was a governor. He had power. He had wealth. He could tell people what to do and they would do it. He had financial security. He looked and acted very kingly.
And there standing in front of Him was Jesus Christ … and remember that this scene is on Good Friday.
And Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Did you wonder when I started this part of the message, why I said that I believed that Pontius Pilate represented most of our world today?
Pilate, like so many people throughout our world today, didn’t believe that Jesus was anything more than a humble Jewish teacher.
Jesus didn’t look like a king, that’s for sure. Picture him standing there, in front of Pontius Pilate, just like all the other criminals who get into trouble, and are brought before the governor. Pontius Pilate looked like a king. But Jesus – not so much.
A friend was recently sharing a thought-provoking experience he once had with a Jesus statue. It seems he was guest preaching at a church, and they were repairing their Jesus statue, which normally sat on a pedestal.
But when my friend saw it, it was laying down on the floor where the pastor normally gets ready for worship. And the thing that struck him was that the statue of Jesus was so short.
He said normally the statue looked bigger than life because it sat on a high pedestal.
But here, it was down on the floor, only about 5 and a half feet tall, and he was looking down at the Jesus statue.
And it made him think – would he have looked down on Jesus, if he had lived in the first century? What about you? Would you have looked down on Jesus?
Would you have worshiped him, as your king, or would you have looked down on him like Pontius Pilate, and think to yourself, “He is too lowly looking for me, too ordinary looking for me.”
Nobody knows the average height of Jewish men in the first century. Jesus may have been about 5′ 6″ tall … we do not know. But Isaiah certainly gave us some insight into Jesus’ physical stature when he said…
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2
But Jesus is our king, the greatest king ever to walk the face of this earth. We get a glimpse of his greatness in His words to Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
His kingdom is not about palaces made out of decorative brick, or motorcades with security guards. His palace is not about money and military. He has no address where you will find his throne on this earth.
Jesus simply says, “If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews.”
He’s the King of the Angels, his servants.
Just think, one angel has enough power to destroy the entire military of our country in an instant. Then imagine millions of those angels, and Jesus is their King.
Jesus says, “My kingdom is from another place.” And we know that other place is Heaven, a place that is more beautiful, safer, more enjoyable, better than any place on this earth. And Jesus is the King of that place.
BUT … is he your king? Is He?
When Pontius Pilate looked down at Jesus, and questioned this average, ordinary looking Jewish man, Jesus said, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Every election year, there is always big debate about which candidate is telling the truth – Who can you trust? Who has your best interests in mind? Who will help you?
Jesus is the King of Truth. You can trust him. He never makes a promise he cannot keep. He never changes his mind. Is he really your king?
OR … are you starting to believe the lie?
Oh, you know what the lie is … the lie says that Jesus is not that great, after all look at all the problems in the world today; He can’t exist, or He wouldn’t put up with all of this evil in our world … that’s the lie.
Social problems, economic problems, natural disasters, personal problems, problems in the church – look at all of them – if Jesus were really in charge right now, would all these bad things exist?
Many people today declare that Jesus can’t be a King … so what about you, do you believe the lie?
Jesus hides his majesty before Pontius Pilate.
Today, he hides his majesty in a book we call the Bible.
He hides his greatness in the waters of baptism.
He hides his power behind the bread and wine of Holy Communion.
Jesus hides behind the sinners that preach and teach his Word.
Many people admit to themselves that they don’t see anything all that great. They see lowliness. Everything so average, so plain. They get bored. They start looking for the next great thing.
Have you started to believe the lie, even just a little bit, the lie that says Jesus is not your King? The lie that says maybe you should look elsewhere?
But here is a fact that you should think about long and hard. Someday … you will stand before the holy throne of Jesus Christ, and that day is coming soon … that day when Jesus won’t hide his majesty and power and holiness.
Instead, he will come, and he will find you the Bible says, and the King of Light will shine his eyes into your very soul. I wonder what He will see.
Will he see the sin? Will he see the moments you thought Jesus was just boring.
Will he see those moments when something, or someone else, was on the throne of your heart?
What will the King of Justice, the King of Holiness see in your soul?
As you think about this, you should not ever be afraid, because the Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus is also the King of Forgiveness.
He is the King of Love. He stood before Pontius Pilate to suffer as your Savior. And He allowed sinful people to shed his very blood to take away your sins.
When you stand before the throne of Jesus Christ someday, he will recognize you. He will know your name … He will call you by your first name in a most-loving, intimate manner.
He will say, “I died for you. I took your sins away. I talked to you through the Bible – did you hear me?
I even touched your mouth at communion.
Do you remember when I told you that I forgave you?
Come and see the mansion that I have prepared for you.”
And then, the King of Mercy and Grace will hold your hand and welcome you. Are you ready to meet that King? (pause)
There once was two paintings placed side-by-side. One was a picture of Pontius Pilate, sitting on the governor’s throne, well dressed and well fed, surrounded by his soldiers – and the caption below it read, “The Failure that looked like a Success.”
The other painting was that of Jesus Christ, bowed down low before Pontius Pilate, the crown of thorns on his head, barely surviving the scourging he took to pay for our sins. And the caption on that painting read, “The Success that looked like a Failure.”
Who is your king? Don’t believe the lie that Jesus isn’t great. Believe the truth, that Jesus is in fact your King … now and for eternity.
Worship him here, in this church. Worship him at home.
Worship him wherever you go, and in whatever you do.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” And that means our kingdom is not of this world either. Our King, who is not of this world, is Jesus Christ … may we WORSHIP HIM ALWAYS. Amen