IS JESUS YOUR "KING"?

      Above his cross, the sign read, The King of the Jews, “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Ivdaeorvm.” INRI.

      No one believed it, of course. Neither the Jews nor the Romans, but Pilate wanted to hear more about Jesus being a king… so he interrogated him himself. He asked him plainly,  “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world." Well, Jesus responded, my kingdom is not of this world." “You are a KING then!” Pilate said, and Jesus responded, “You say that, but I came into this world to testify to the truth.” Pilate asked one of the Bible's many great questions, “What is truth?” and their brief conversation was over. After that, they flogged him and nailed him to a cross on Golgotha, where he died under a sign that read, INRI, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews!

      To the world, Jesus had been crucified by the power of a real king. He had been defeated like all of the other men of peace who came before him and that was the end of it... but to his followers, it was in his dying and rising up that Jesus proved his kingship! They didn’t care if his kingdom was not of this world. They knew it anyway because kings rule by power and oppression. They knew that he wasn't an earthly king, but he was their king. He lived in their hearts and they knew him as their Lord. Indeed, they were sure that the day would come when everyone would bow down to him as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 

      It’s easy enough to go to church and not all that hard to read a Bible, but it’s much more difficult to live our lives as if Jesus is Lord... because we don’t want to stand out and apart from others who serve the Lords of power, wealth, pleasure, and self. We want to fit in with the secular world… so we never take a leap of faith and embrace Jesus as OUR Lord. It is tempting to have our cake and eat it too, but according to Matthew 25, those who will be welcomed into Jesus’ kingdom… will be those who lived as if he was their Lord AND who visited, fed, clothed, and otherwise cared for Jesus when he appeared as one of the least among them. 

      Earlier in Matthew, Jesus called his followers aside and told them about his kingdom. Listen, he said, and I will tell you how I expect you to live if I’m your king. In this world, those who are filled with pride expect to be favored and honored… but in my kingdom, those who are poor in spirit will be blessed and those who are meek will inherit the world- not the braggarts and the bullies. In the world, warriors and gladiators are cheered, but in my kingdom peacemakers are honored. In the world, it doesn’t seem to matter what you feed to your minds and no one seems to worry much about the injustice that’s all around… but in my Kingdom, those who hunger for righteousness will be blessed and those who are pure in heart will see God.   

      The world values things like power and wealth, but if Jesus rules in our hearts, these values will shine forth in our deeds: 

1) Grace (radical and unmerited favor, paying those who start work at 5pm the same as those who started at 5am, forgiving again and again, until people begin to laugh at us and consider us to be fools); 

2) Faith (living AS IF what we believe is true). If Jesus is our King we will joyfully trust and obey him; 

3) Love (sacrificial, forgiving, inviting, inclusive love that seeks good in the other). If Christ is our Lord we will love others in the same way that he did; 

 4) Justice. If Jesus is our King, we will protect the weak, respect the poor, and welcome the stranger; 

5) Peace. Those who know Jesus as their King will feel at one with themselves, with their Lord and with their neighbor. They will know that's there's nothing to worry about because Christ is their King! 

6) Freedom. If Jesus is your King, you will be free! You will be free, not to do whatever crosses your mind... but from the chains of ego and fear that bind you; 

7) Service. If Christ is your King you will be busy because there is so much healing, loving, visiting, feeding, and praying to do. 

      If Jesus is your King, he will rule in your heart and in your mind Monday through Sunday, in the church and in the office, at the grocery store and at your dinner table. You will serve him in every way you can… and doing that will fill you with joy! Jesus is not (yet) king of this world, and I suspect that Caesar and all of the Caesars who followed would have laughed at the thought. The world's "kings" think in terms of power, but they come and go as if they are specks of dust. Everyone of them- Caesar, Pilate, Herod, Hitler, Stalin- thought they were invisible... but they are gone now. Long gone, and Christ still reigns in the hearts and minds of billions of people, giving them dignity, hope, and opportunity. Amen!