During this last week we have had the announcement of a royal wedding and speculation about how the Duchess of Cornwall should be styled in the event that her husband should succeed to the throne. These are fascinating questions, but I have to ask what difference they will make to our everyday lives? We no longer believe in the absolute right of rulers to rule, and have developed a democracy that functions well as the least worst system; we do not look to one person as the source of all decision making, for good or ill, just as they should decide. In the ancient world the king would make the decisions based on his personal will. Of course a wise ruler would always take advice, but ultimately what he or she says goes.
One result is that our thinking about Jesus has changed. We call him the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua; it means God is my Saviour; it alludes to the work Jesus did dying for us and bringing us salvation, forgiveness and new life. Christ is not a name but a title. It comes from the Greek word for Messiah, the Anointed One; he is the one who was foretold, who was drenched in the Spirit, and who now drenches us, baptises us in his Spirit.
And Lord? Dominus, Kyrie, standing for all the Hebrew words that denoted the almighty, sovereign ruler of the universe. It indicates that we are to make our highest priority the hearing and obeying of the commands of God; we are to allow Jesus to rule in our lives.
And this is where our thinking has changed. We are attracted to the Christian faith perhaps because it offers a supreme code to live by. We find the company of fellow church members salubrious and we are aware of the research that says that religious people are generally happier and live longer. We have been deeply touched by the story of Jesus, of all that he has done for us, by his unblemished character, and would like to offer him our thanks and some form of service. In all of this we somehow remain in control, so that there are areas of life and belief where we reserve the right to opt out or go our own way. We are happy to have Jesus in the car with us. We do not necessarily keep him hidden under a blanket in the back; we may be happy to have him in the passenger seat next to us and let him be seen. The condition is that he will get out if we ask him, and we will certainly not let him take the driving seat!
And so we come to the feast of Christ the King. It is obvious from our gospel passage that there were those that day who were determined not to acknowledge his kinship. They offered him physical violence and death. They mocked him with an ironic title and suggested he should save himself since he had saved others, blind to the fact that it was only in dying that he could actually achieve that salvation for us.
Let’s face it, Jesus did not look like a king. He looked like a pathetic, washed up, deluded failure. Even one of the criminals hanging next to him, who was facing an equally bleak and short end to his own life, hurled mockery and bitter insults at him. “Aren’t you the promised Messiah? Save us! What use are you?” The Greek text says that this man ‘blasphemed’ Jesus – he is aware of Jesus’ claim to divine kingship, and he rejects it utterly.
It is the other criminal, however, is one of the most mysterious and inspiring characters in the whole of salvation history. He has been with Jesus through the trial, the painful walk through the streets of Jerusalem, heard him perhaps say “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Perhaps he was at first inclined to share his companion’s opinion of Jesus, at least Matthew suggests so.
But now he looks at this bleeding, contorted, doomed individual next to him and sees .... a king. A ruler who can somehow deliver him from his terrible predicament. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This is the essence of faith – to rely absolutely and absolutely upon Jesus to bring us to God.
And Jesus graciously responds “today you will be with me in paradise”. So, is this the last pathetic raving of a madman, akin to Hitler moving imaginary armies to stave off the invasion of Germany?
Or is this one of the last acts of our loving Saviour and King, caring for another.
What do we learn from this man?
· It is never too late to turn to Jesus, but we must turn to him with our whole being.
· Keep praying for those who do not yet acknowledge Jesus; they may be lost at present but it is not yet the end of the story.
· We do not need to be good or morally upright; we merely need to be aware of our need and respond accordingly.
· We do not need to wait for tragedy to strike before we turn to God. It is amazing how we strive to put in place a religious life that satisfies us, and which seems to do the trick when things are going well. It is interesting how often troubles in our lives remove the distractions and allow us to see Jesus as he is.
· Jesus offers a fresh start and a new life to each and any of us.
Discussion Starter Questions
1. What examples can you give of Christians living as if Jesus is NOT Lord?
2. If Jesus is King, how do we learn his commands?
3. What do you think of a criminal receiving salvation at the very end of his life?
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