Sermon Notes
Sermon: The Kingdom of Christ by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: November 25, 2018
Scripture Passages:
Sermon:
History of Christ the King Sunday
Today is Christ the King Sunday. In the realm of church history, it is a relatively new church celebration. It was December of 1925. World War 1 had ended. The Roaring 20’s were in full swing. The Church did not like some of the changes in culture as people embraced cinema, jazz, new clothing trends (especially for women), and so on. There were challenges to Christianity with the rise of popularity of evolutionary theories and leanings toward secularism as well as a rise of communism and fascism in the world. Earlier that year was the infamous Scopes trial. In response, there was a new form of Christianity known as Fundamentalism, Prohibition, and a variety of meetings between mainline denominations on how to work together.
In the face of all that, Pope Pius XI and the Roman Catholic Church presented a new church festival to be celebrated annually called the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Today it is also called Feast of Christ the King or Christ the King Sunday. While it began with the Roman Catholics, it was later adopted by other Christian denominations as well. In reading the encyclical letter written by Pope Pius XI on the reasoning behind incorporating this new celebration, he lists several major points of the original intent behind the holiday.
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Jeremiah 23:5 states: 5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Daniel 7:13-14 states: 13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
In our readings today, we have the passage of John 18:33-37 in which Jesus does not deny being a king, but He does try to correct the perception of His kingship and explain that His kingdom is about so much than our earthly politics and governments. Cyril of Alexandria, one of the early church fathers, says, “Christ has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature.” Christ holds dominion and power overall merely by the nature of His very being in that He fully divine and that nothing was made without Him.
This is the history of the Church’s celebration of what is known now as Christ the King Sunday. Now, I am not Catholic, and I do not follow the pope. So, why would I go into all of a former pope’s intentions to bring about the church holiday that many churches celebrate today? Well, that brings us to views of the kingship of Christ today.
Today’s Society
Jesus is King. Why do we have a hard time acknowledging that?
Jesus is all-powerful, the King of all Kings. He is the King of all that is in existence.
Yet, this holiday, the very concept of Christ as King and His kingdom has been a hot topic of debate in some of the online clergy groups that I am in this week. I will be honest, I intended to preach about the kingdom of Christ this week and the discussion between Pilate and Jesus. But then, I saw some of the debates over Christ the King Sunday online, and I did some digging into the original intent behind it. Some of what I read from other clergy struggling with what to do about the readings this week and this church holiday disturbed me a great deal.
First, there was the typical backlash of anything having to do with the pope or the Roman Catholic Church. This type of resistance on the part of non-Catholic churches and denominations does not surprise me. Personally, I did not grow up celebrating such holidays myself. However, it makes sense to me, historically speaking, why the Roman Catholic Church made a specific attempt to acknowledge the power and reign of Christ at that time. And, I think that we need to be reminded of the power and supremacy of Christ as King over all again today.
Second, as we have seen elsewhere, the feminist and liberal theologians have a strong distaste for any language that is not gender neutral or that implies patriarchal or imperialistic society. Several clergy in my groups had issues with a variety of the language surrounding this day. Some had issues with king and kingdom, so they used realm or reign. But even realm and reign were too much for some. So, they wanted to change it to things like Commonwealth, Kindom, or Dream of God rather than Kingdom of Christ. Some wanted to change Christ is King to things like Christ in Charge. They felt that king implied maleness and patriarchal thought, and they made some outlandish statements such as Jesus was male but Christ was not.
Now, I understand that some terms may make some people uncomfortable. However, their arguments were becoming illogical and, frankly, anti-male and anti-authority. Yet, there were deeper issues than mere terms occurring in the debates.
When I asked specifically why people had such a problem with the concept of Christ as king, I got some of the reasons that I have already listed. But I also got things like “Jesus empowers us rather than has power over us” or “Calling Jesus our king and Lord is subversive” or there were suggestions to just ignore it. These are things that disturbed me, and here is why.
First is the issue of gender identity and gender language. There is not enough time for this larger debate or issue, but let me just sum up my thoughts quickly. Jesus was fully divine, but He was also fully human man. He was male. The Bible uses male terms when referring to both God and Jesus and Christ the Messiah. However, you want to look at it, it is a bit tough and not biblical to avoid the reality that Jesus is male.
Second, in our readings today, in John 18:33-37, Pilate asks Jesus if He is a king, and Jesus answers: “You say that I am a king. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus does not deny that He is a king. Rather, he acknowledges that for that purpose He was born and that His kingdom consists of all who live in God’s Truth. Jesus talks about His purpose. In some of His first recorded words, Jesus Himself tells us of His purpose. As He begins His ministry in Mark 1:13-14, it states: 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus is proclaiming the gospel of God which is about the KINGDOM of God. Then, towards the end of His life on earth, Jesus is talking to Pilate about His kingdom. We come full circle, and it is a complete stretch to avoid talking about Jesus as King and the kingdom of God and Christ when we study the Bible. Even those who claim to only be New Testament or Red-Letter Christians cannot avoid the language and concepts of the kingship of Christ and God’s kingdom.
Third, Jesus (as well as many others in the Bible) used terms and language that the people would understand. And, yes, Jesus’s concept of kingship and kingdom were different than kings and kingdoms of the world. However, the very secular thinking that the feminist and liberal theologians are rebelling against is the very thinking they are trapped in. By focusing on the nature of the verbiage used, they are missing the point. Jesus is king of all, and He is the King of all Kings. His kingdom is eternal, spiritual, and literal. Jesus holds dominion over all.
And, finally, if we deny that Jesus is all powerful and has power over us, then we are not accepting Him as He is. And if we are not accepting Him as our Lord, King, and Savior, then can we really call ourselves Christ-followers or Christians? If they cannot accept the kingship of Jesus and His power over all, then they are still following the flesh and illusion of power rather than living in the Spirit.
Jesus needs to be first in our lives. He is above all things, and Jesus should be above all of who we are. I have no problems with acknowledging the king and kingdom of Christ. I can find peace and security in the fact that Jesus, the source of all truth, love, and peace, is in control. He knows better than I do, and I have no problems submitting to His rule and trusting my life to Him. I wouldn’t be here if I did. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is my King, my Lord, and my Savior, and I am not afraid to say it. I hope that He is yours. If He is not, or these are things that you struggle with coming to terms with in your own life, my door is always open if you want to talk about it more.
Further Suggested Study:
Sermon: The Kingdom of Christ by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: November 25, 2018
Scripture Passages:
- John 18:33-37
Sermon:
History of Christ the King Sunday
Today is Christ the King Sunday. In the realm of church history, it is a relatively new church celebration. It was December of 1925. World War 1 had ended. The Roaring 20’s were in full swing. The Church did not like some of the changes in culture as people embraced cinema, jazz, new clothing trends (especially for women), and so on. There were challenges to Christianity with the rise of popularity of evolutionary theories and leanings toward secularism as well as a rise of communism and fascism in the world. Earlier that year was the infamous Scopes trial. In response, there was a new form of Christianity known as Fundamentalism, Prohibition, and a variety of meetings between mainline denominations on how to work together.
In the face of all that, Pope Pius XI and the Roman Catholic Church presented a new church festival to be celebrated annually called the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Today it is also called Feast of Christ the King or Christ the King Sunday. While it began with the Roman Catholics, it was later adopted by other Christian denominations as well. In reading the encyclical letter written by Pope Pius XI on the reasoning behind incorporating this new celebration, he lists several major points of the original intent behind the holiday.
- The world had just lived through the atrocities of The Great War, World War I. They were trying to regain normalcy in life. The Roman Catholic Church thought that that the growing evils in the world were due to men who had ejected religious faith from politics as well as their private lives. Therefore, the first reason was that the world needed the peace found only in the Kingdom of Christ. Unless the world sought peace in Christ, then there could be no hope of lasting peace between the nations.
- Second, the Roman Catholic Church was already seeing evidence of a desire to return to Christ through their missionary endeavors as well as the institution of other feasts, such as the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- Third, the timing of this new holiday was aligned with the Jubilee Year that marked the 16th centenary of the Council of Nicaea. At the Council of Nicaea, the kingship of Christ whose kingdom was without end was affirmed.
- Fourth, it was not uncommon to refer to Christ as king. One of His many names is King of Kings. Jesus reigns in the hearts and wills of all of mankind. His mercy, kindness, grace, and love draws us all to Him, to follow Him.
- Fifth, the kingship of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ, is foretold by the Old Testament prophets.
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Jeremiah 23:5 states: 5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Daniel 7:13-14 states: 13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
- The New Testament attests to the kingship of Jesus as well.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
In our readings today, we have the passage of John 18:33-37 in which Jesus does not deny being a king, but He does try to correct the perception of His kingship and explain that His kingdom is about so much than our earthly politics and governments. Cyril of Alexandria, one of the early church fathers, says, “Christ has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature.” Christ holds dominion and power overall merely by the nature of His very being in that He fully divine and that nothing was made without Him.
- Pope Pius XI emphasized that Christ’s kingdom was spiritual, concerned with spiritual things. He stood in opposition to Satan, the prince of this world, and all his darkness and evil. However, Christ does have authority in earthly governments, even if He did refrain from interfering directly with them during His life on earth. Since Christ has supremacy over all creatures and all of existence, it only follows that He would have influence over those who follow Him.
- Pope Pius XI also stated several times throughout the letter that men needed to declare the kingship of Christ in their lives both publicly and privately. Many times, we here about the difference between public faith and private faith, or that faith should be a part of our private lives but not our public ones. This sets up a false dichotomy in one’s own life. Our faith in Christ should be the same whether public or private. The pope’s ardent hope was that by declaring one’s faith to Christ would lead others to Christ and that society would return to Christ and His leadership in all aspects of life. Pope Pius XI truly believed that if man returned to Christ, then many of the conflicts and evils that plagued society would be cured.
This is the history of the Church’s celebration of what is known now as Christ the King Sunday. Now, I am not Catholic, and I do not follow the pope. So, why would I go into all of a former pope’s intentions to bring about the church holiday that many churches celebrate today? Well, that brings us to views of the kingship of Christ today.
Today’s Society
Jesus is King. Why do we have a hard time acknowledging that?
Jesus is all-powerful, the King of all Kings. He is the King of all that is in existence.
Yet, this holiday, the very concept of Christ as King and His kingdom has been a hot topic of debate in some of the online clergy groups that I am in this week. I will be honest, I intended to preach about the kingdom of Christ this week and the discussion between Pilate and Jesus. But then, I saw some of the debates over Christ the King Sunday online, and I did some digging into the original intent behind it. Some of what I read from other clergy struggling with what to do about the readings this week and this church holiday disturbed me a great deal.
First, there was the typical backlash of anything having to do with the pope or the Roman Catholic Church. This type of resistance on the part of non-Catholic churches and denominations does not surprise me. Personally, I did not grow up celebrating such holidays myself. However, it makes sense to me, historically speaking, why the Roman Catholic Church made a specific attempt to acknowledge the power and reign of Christ at that time. And, I think that we need to be reminded of the power and supremacy of Christ as King over all again today.
Second, as we have seen elsewhere, the feminist and liberal theologians have a strong distaste for any language that is not gender neutral or that implies patriarchal or imperialistic society. Several clergy in my groups had issues with a variety of the language surrounding this day. Some had issues with king and kingdom, so they used realm or reign. But even realm and reign were too much for some. So, they wanted to change it to things like Commonwealth, Kindom, or Dream of God rather than Kingdom of Christ. Some wanted to change Christ is King to things like Christ in Charge. They felt that king implied maleness and patriarchal thought, and they made some outlandish statements such as Jesus was male but Christ was not.
Now, I understand that some terms may make some people uncomfortable. However, their arguments were becoming illogical and, frankly, anti-male and anti-authority. Yet, there were deeper issues than mere terms occurring in the debates.
When I asked specifically why people had such a problem with the concept of Christ as king, I got some of the reasons that I have already listed. But I also got things like “Jesus empowers us rather than has power over us” or “Calling Jesus our king and Lord is subversive” or there were suggestions to just ignore it. These are things that disturbed me, and here is why.
First is the issue of gender identity and gender language. There is not enough time for this larger debate or issue, but let me just sum up my thoughts quickly. Jesus was fully divine, but He was also fully human man. He was male. The Bible uses male terms when referring to both God and Jesus and Christ the Messiah. However, you want to look at it, it is a bit tough and not biblical to avoid the reality that Jesus is male.
Second, in our readings today, in John 18:33-37, Pilate asks Jesus if He is a king, and Jesus answers: “You say that I am a king. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus does not deny that He is a king. Rather, he acknowledges that for that purpose He was born and that His kingdom consists of all who live in God’s Truth. Jesus talks about His purpose. In some of His first recorded words, Jesus Himself tells us of His purpose. As He begins His ministry in Mark 1:13-14, it states: 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus is proclaiming the gospel of God which is about the KINGDOM of God. Then, towards the end of His life on earth, Jesus is talking to Pilate about His kingdom. We come full circle, and it is a complete stretch to avoid talking about Jesus as King and the kingdom of God and Christ when we study the Bible. Even those who claim to only be New Testament or Red-Letter Christians cannot avoid the language and concepts of the kingship of Christ and God’s kingdom.
Third, Jesus (as well as many others in the Bible) used terms and language that the people would understand. And, yes, Jesus’s concept of kingship and kingdom were different than kings and kingdoms of the world. However, the very secular thinking that the feminist and liberal theologians are rebelling against is the very thinking they are trapped in. By focusing on the nature of the verbiage used, they are missing the point. Jesus is king of all, and He is the King of all Kings. His kingdom is eternal, spiritual, and literal. Jesus holds dominion over all.
And, finally, if we deny that Jesus is all powerful and has power over us, then we are not accepting Him as He is. And if we are not accepting Him as our Lord, King, and Savior, then can we really call ourselves Christ-followers or Christians? If they cannot accept the kingship of Jesus and His power over all, then they are still following the flesh and illusion of power rather than living in the Spirit.
Jesus needs to be first in our lives. He is above all things, and Jesus should be above all of who we are. I have no problems with acknowledging the king and kingdom of Christ. I can find peace and security in the fact that Jesus, the source of all truth, love, and peace, is in control. He knows better than I do, and I have no problems submitting to His rule and trusting my life to Him. I wouldn’t be here if I did. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is my King, my Lord, and my Savior, and I am not afraid to say it. I hope that He is yours. If He is not, or these are things that you struggle with coming to terms with in your own life, my door is always open if you want to talk about it more.
Further Suggested Study:
- John 18
- Isaiah 9
- Jeremiah 23
- Daniel 7
- Luke 1
- Mark 1
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