11/26/06 - Christ the King - John 18:33-37

THE KING SHOWS CONCERN
- For the lost
- For the truth

Never before and never after did the nation of Israel prosper as much as they did under the reign of King Solomon. Solomon was that wise king, the one who built that magnificent temple to the Lord, the one who acquired great earthly wealth for the Israelite people. But after Solomon died everything went down hill. Because when he died his son, Rehoboam, took the throne. And when Rehoboam was crowned king, the people of Israel gathered together and said to him, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” How do you think Rehoboam answered? After consulting with his friends, he came back to the nation of Israel and said this: “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” Obviously, Rehoboam didn’t listen to his people, he didn’t care about what they had in mind, he showed no concern whatsoever for their wants or needs.
And this biblical example is not uncommon in the history of governments all over the world, is it? Many times the person in that high position of authority in any nation at any time has not cared for the people of his kingdom. These rulers did whatever they wanted to do at their subjects’ expense - and they didn’t even give it a second thought. Rulers that have acted like this are countless. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein... pick any era and you will find a ruler who acted just like so many that had gone before him.
My brothers and my sisters, thank the Lord that we have a King like no other. Our King, Jesus Christ, does care for his subjects. He does listen to his servants. He does show concern. Christ our King shows concern for the lost and for the truth.
And that is clearly the case in our text for today, the gospel lesson, John 18:33-37. As Jesus stood in the palace of the Roman governor, just hours away from being crucified, being questioned like he was a subordinate, the King showed concern for the lost - especially for Pontius Pilate. “Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’” Now, what would you expect Jesus to say in that situation? He could have said “yes” because he is the King of the Jews. He could have said “no” because he is not just the King of the Jews, he is the King of the Universe. Or he could have said nothing at all. And, in fact, saying nothing is what we’d expect him to do because he had done before. When he was standing in front of the high priest in the kangaroo court, he refused to answer their accusations. When he was sent to Herod to be questioned, again he did not open his mouth. When the Jews were accusing him before Pilate, he didn’t bother to say a thing. But here, alone in front of Pilate, in front of a lost soul, he did speak. But he didn’t simply say “yes” or “no,” to the question about whether he was the king of the Jews. He said, “Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me?”
Why did Jesus say that? He could have said a variety of different things, so why did he ask Pilate that strange question? “Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me?” He asked that of Pilate because he had concern for the lost. He wanted Pilate to think. He wanted Pilate to remember the message his wife had sent to him earlier that day about Christ. He wanted Pilate to recall all of the things he had heard about this “Jesus” who was preaching and teaching the people under his rule. Jesus was opening a door to win Pilate for the truth. But Pilate slammed that door shut.
Instead of getting into a discussion about Christ, Pilate said, “Hey, it was your own people that handed you over to me! You must have done something wrong!” Pilate didn’t want to discuss who Jesus was. All he wanted to know was what Jesus had done to deserve death. Any other topic did not interest Pilate in the least. Of course, Pilate then handed Jesus over to be crucified. So Pilate not only avoided Jesus’ question, he killed God. And the thing is: Jesus knew what Pilate was going to say and do. He knew Pilate would reject the invitation to talk about the truth. He knew Pilate would not stand up for what was right and hand him over to his death. But Jesus asked him that question anyway. Jesus showed concern for Pilate’s lost soul even though he didn’t have to, even though he already knew what was going to happen.
Isn’t it comforting that Jesus, our King, shows concern for our souls as well? Even though he knows we don’t always listen. Even though he knows we try to avoid the subject. Even though he knows we sometimes have different priorities other than him. It is a good thing, my friends, that we have such a patient, loving, and forgiving King. Because we, his subjects, do not deserve a lick of that concern. There is no reason why Jesus should love us. There is no reason why he should owe us any respect or any concern. He has every right to remain silent just like he did before the high priest and Herod and Jews. He is not obligated to open his mouth to us. He is not required to tell us anything. But he does anyway. He shows us his love and his care and his concern in his Word.
Isn’t that an incredible act of mercy on the part of our King? He not only shows concern for our souls by his act of ransom on the cross, but he writes it down so that we will always have it with us. All that he has done for us, all that he wants us to hear, all that he wants us to believe - he has written down for us - here. Do not let this out of your sight. Do not neglect this in any way. Your Bible is the most important thing you own. Why? Because it is your life. It is your salvation. It is God’s truth.
And that’s important. God’s truth is important to us because it’s important to him. Because our King doesn’t only show concern for the lost, he shows concern for the truth. This is also clear in our text for today. As he was standing in front of Pilate, the man who seemingly had control over his life and death, Jesus didn’t back down. He didn’t sugar coat his words. He didn’t soften the truth so that Pilate wouldn’t be offended. No, Jesus doesn’t apologize about the truth! He isn’t embarrassed about truth! He speaks the truth with a confidence and an authority that all may believe. He said to Pilate, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Jesus lays it all on the line here. He doesn’t leave room for any other options. The only truth is found in Christ. There is no other. Jesus made that perfectly clear to Pilate without any reservations and without any excuses.
The truth is important to our King - and so it should be for his subjects. We should strive to keep the truth and let nothing false infect it. But what is truth, you ask? The truth is really whatever Scripture says. “Oh, but any denomination will claim to have the truth of Scripture!” you might be thinking. Yes, that is probably the case. So how do we know which denomination has the truth of Scripture? That is when we go back to Scripture. Scripture is clear enough. Scripture explains what it means. The Lord made sure that what he had written down would not be a complete mystery that was open to a variety of different interpretations. It doesn’t matter how you feel. It doesn’t matter what you want to believe in. It matters what Scripture says. Because I would hope that your faith and what you believe is not based on the teaching of any particular denomination, but it is based on the Word. It is based on the truth. The absolute truth. The only truth.
So if one denomination interprets a passage one way and another denomination interprets a passage another ways, what one is right? The interpretation that is right is the one that is in line with the rest of Scripture. Remember: Scripture interprets itself. And so we look at other passages to help explain the one in question. God’s Word will make it clear what any particular teaching should be. It’s not up to individual or denominational interpretation. It’s up to what God clearly says in his Word.
Do you understand why we are not in fellowship with almost any other church body? Because in one way or another, their public confession of Scripture strays from the truth. Some might teach false things about the Lord’s Supper. Others about baptism. Others about faith. Other’s about Jesus himself. In any case, we want to publicly and boldly stand up for the entire truth of Scripture. We cannot back down, give in, or compromise any teaching of Scripture. Would Christ? Does Christ consider any teaching of his truth minor? Does he look the other way when people misunderstand and misinterpret his truth? Of course he doesn’t! Our King shows concern for the truth! He does not want his truth to be taken any other way. It’s not a matter of interpretation. It’s a matter of what Scripture clearly and plainly says. And the Lord has made sure there is no other way to correctly understand it than the way he has determined.
And I’m not saying that every person from any other denomination has false views. But their church body very well might. We can only go on the outward confession of that church. And if their confession contains errors, we must take them at their word. So if a person is a member of a church body who teaches something false, we must take them at the confession they have committed to. That person may disagree with the false things that church is teaching, but they have accepted those teachings nonetheless by becoming members. Just like you have publicly subscribed to the teachings of this church - you believe that we teach what Scripture does in all it’s truth and purity. The truth is important to you because it is important to your King.
There is obviously a lot more involved with the teaching of fellowship with other churches. I hope to have a Bible Study on that specific topic soon so that everyone knows what Scripture says. If you have questions before that time, ask me. It’s important to know and understand, because it’s important to our King.
Why do you think the King shows so much concern for the truth? Because he shows so much concern for the lost. The two are inseparable. The Lord knows that the truth is the only way the lost will live. That is the tool with which he reaches out to them. That is the tool with which he reaches out to us. He shows us the truth of our sins. And he shows us the truth of our Savior. He lived perfectly for us. He died on the cross in our place. He rose from the tomb so we could too. That is the simple truth. The truth you have known from childhood. The truth in which you believe. Because the truth is: we were once lost, but now are found - by Christ, by the Savior, by the King. May the Lord give us that kind of concern for the lost and for the truth that he has shown to us.
Amen.
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Timothy 1:17