A summary of a sermon preached at First Presbyterian Church,
Spring City, TN, November 20, 2016
Old Testament
Readings: 1Sam. 2:12-17, 8:1-19
Gospel Readings: Luke 22:66,70-71, 23:1-4,33-43
Here we are at Christ
the King Sunday, the end of the liturgical year. The lectionary this year marks
it with Luke’s text about the crucifixion and Jeremiah 23:1-6 that
takes on Zedekiah and his cohorts for leading the people astray. That passage
is too political for me given the proximity to our last Presidential election. But
a passage such as 1 Samuel noted above as the preface for the gospel reading
puts the events of the fall of Judah and fate of Zedekiah into a unique view of
the contrast of human rulers and what is hoped for in Advent (and that too is a cautionary tale about the last election). Exploring the history of Hebrew kings is
particularly relevant since Luke seems to go out of his way to tie the scriptural
history of the Hebrews to the presence of Christ in the world as Jesus.
Two other things about Luke’s gospel help the perspective
of thinking about Christ the King Sunday. First, from chapter 9, Luke has led
us on the journey of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem. Today we stand before
Jesus on the cross with an inscription nailed to the cross above his head, “King
of the Jews.” (All four gospels tell it). The second thing is that Luke's effort to connect Jesus to the outcome of Jewish scriptural history in a sense, saying this collection we call the bible is the record of the relationship between God and Humanity.
So, how is the lectionary passage from
Luke about the crucifixion of Jesus tied to both Christ the King and the
approach of Advent when we anticipate the birth of Jesus ?
On one hand a careful look suggests the
crucifixion and Advent for Christians focus us more on the promise that Jesus
will return than on his birth. The connection between crucifixion and Christmas
seem outwardly contradictory events except by that inscription on the cross,
“The King of the Jews” and the proclamation
at his birth that he is the King of Kings. That points to the long period
of waiting of the Jews for the King, or Messiah, after Zedekiah, the “Jewish advent" if you
will.
But the crucifixion turns the entire
idea of “King” upside down. What king would allow one’s own death while holding
the power to prevent it? There is more to this than meets the eye. For Luke “more”
is the connection of the crucifixion to Jewish royal history that reveals the
nature of the true King, and puts the Advent into a far broader context.
How does the
history of Hebrew kings connect with our modern time in the USA when we have
no kings. Do we have a king?
Let’s see if the history of Hebrew
kings is intertwined with the celebration of the coming of Jesus first to
Israel and then the World, and his death on the cross - and the answer to the previous question.
Context is always a powerful friend to
understanding. When the Hebrews journeyed to Promised Land, the Lord told Moses
(in Deut. 16:18-20) to
appoint judges in all the tribes and towns to make decisions under the Law with
impartiality and justice and who took no bribes. The history of all those
judges up to the time of the kings is in the book of “Judges.” Judges ends with
these words, “(Judges 21:25),
“In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right
in their own eyes.”
Knowing human nature, are we surprised
to hear grumbling in 1 Samuel 8
that the new priests did not follow in Samuel’s ways,
but turned aside after gain; they "took bribes and perverted justice?”
Should we
be surprised that the Hebrews asked
for a king given the poor leadership of judges and priests?
I know some pastors are preaching judgment
of the nation this morning using either the 1 Samuel passage, or Jeremiah 23:1-6 as a testimony
against one presidential candidate or the other, or are reasons to say the
country needs to get back to God. Whatever truth that may be, it not only
trivializes the history of Israel given to us in the Bible, but also seriously
misreads the message of that history for us today.
The history and predictions of 1
Samuel 2, 8 encapsulate the entire, sordid history of human kingship. The Lord called judges, priests and kings who were
anointed and consecrated to do justice for the people but the judges fell
victim to their own greed and desires. There was an almost
continuous dereliction of duty of those who inherit the mantle of leadership.
I ask
again, knowing human nature, should we be surprised?
If you
read 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel you will find the first three kings Saul, David, and
his son Solomon, all fell victim to human weakness that led them to rule in
their own self-interest, not the Lord’s or the people’s. Saul did not fully
obey the Lord in war, David had his general Uriah killed and took his wife Bathsheba.
Solomon began his reign loyal to justice but ended up corrupted by wealth. It
led to the schism of the Hebrew people into the Israel, the Northern Kingdom,
and Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Schism and dereliction of duty
continued over 22
generations of kings of Judah and Israel. A few defended Israel and Judah. A
few created great wealth in Israel. The overwhelming number were party to
palace intrigues and assassinations of fathers by sons and brothers. They ruled
in periods of great national weakness until Israel was destroyed by Assyria and
then Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon. The last king of Judah was
Zedekiah. He fled at night as Jerusalem fell only to be chased down by the
Babylonian army. He was brought before King Nebuchadrezzar and forced to watch
soldiers slaughter his sons. Then with that image of slaughter burned into his
mind, was blinded by his captives, bound in chains and taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25:3-7, Jeremiah 39:1-7, 52:5-11.)
Zedekiah's disgrace marked the
beginning of a “Jewish advent” as a reminder to the Hebrews about God’s message
to the people through Samuel in 8:18 that captures the tragedy of kingship that
led to captivity in the foreign land of Babylon,
“And in
that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for
yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
The Hebrew people waited for the true king over the next 500 years, mostly in captivity or subjugation
until the time of Jesus.
Luke’s story shows
the waiting was not in vain, God’s work and compassion for his people did not
end with Babylonian captivity. Luke has led us from Galilee where Jesus set his
eye on Jerusalem to that city itself. Today we stand before him on the cross that
holds a solitary proclamation, “King of the Jews.” (v38) (This inscription is
cited in all four gospels.) Whether Rome put up the inscription to mock the
Jewish leaders or the Jewish leadership to mock Jesus is unknown. What we do
know is that the proclamation is a fitting conclusion as we enter the Advent
season next Sunday awaiting the celebration of his birth.
In his trial by the religious leaders
(remember Eli’s sons), Jesus induces them to admit by not answering his
question that he is the Son of God and likewise induces Pilate to acknowledge
him as the King of the Jews. He provokes the Gentile governor and these Jewish
leaders to reveal the Lordship of the true King, the Son of God.
This revelation connects the good news
of Jesus into the fulfillment of Jewish royal history back to Samuel’s time. The reality of Jesus is that when we
acknowledge Jesus is born, and died, Lord, the King of the Jews and Son of God
on this Christ the King Sunday, we celebrate the end of the history of Hebrew
kings and the beginning of anew history with the Lord.
We may say the captivity of Zedekiah
is the end of the royal history of the Hebrews, but in actuality, the
crucifixion is the culmination of the
royal history of the Hebrew people with the ascension of the King of Kings.
The crucifixion is a reversal of
justice on a cosmic scale. The history of Jewish Kings begins with the people
rejecting the reign of God in 1
Samuel 8:5, “… your sons do not follow in your
ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” Now, here
at the crucifixion, the leaders of the very people who longed for a true
king are party to the crucifixion of the only all-powerful King. And this King sits not on earth but over all.
If this crucifixion is a culmination
of Jewish royal history, how does it apply to us in the modern day when we have
no king? It does it with a strong dose
of irony.
Gentiles
have no divine king because they are outside God’s grace poured out on his chosen
people. We
have inherited the true King intended first for God’s chosen people whose leaders
rejected him.
But maybe I ought to back up a little for more context. If
there is a message to the Hebrews and the
world in all this sordid horrible history of their kings, it is “your kings
can give you no help.” As Psalm 121:1-2 says, “from
where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord.”
The crucifixion reveals this true
nature of the Lord. This is a King who remained faithful to the life he told us
to live to his end. He would not even drink the drugged wine to deaden his
senses. This is a King who acts as a servant.
We can’t be overly
critical of the Jews who doubted and mocked Jesus, “Save yourself if you are
the King,” because their mockery deflects our own doubt, “Why would the Son of
God and the King of the Jews who clearly has the power to prevent this
impending crucifixion choose not to do so?”
How do we make sense out of the account of the
crucifixion that turns the idea of power of a King upside down, that reveres
common understanding of power and leadership?
One of the great characteristics of
the gospel and the life of Jesus are these events we call “reversals.” For
example, every parable is a story that contain some reversal of common sense,
e.g., the parable of the talents. Parables begin in a way that appeals to our
common sense about the outcome, but a few words later when what really happens
is revealed, it assaults our common sense.
Many of the sayings of Jesus are
reversals, for example, “to lead you must serve,” “to be rich you must lose
everything,” “do not fear the one who can take your life, fear the one who can
take your soul, “To live you must die, “The poor shall inherit the kingdom, “blessed
are you who are persecuted, you shall find reward in heaven.”
Every message from the life of Jesus is
a demand that conflicts with the demands of the world. I do not think we can
come to terms with this greatest reversal of celebrating his birth by
considering his death and resurrection without our faith that the King of the
Jews is the Lord of All. If there is only one message it is that those who
persist in seeking justice are welcomed by the open arms of Jesus.
Think
about what happened at the crucifixion. Jesus was flogged by Pilate, crucified
with criminals, some of those people he declared he came to release. He was
mocked by religious leaders, stripped of his clothes that were gambled away at
his feet, and died after giving the gift of grace to one of the criminals at
his side who proclaimed him Lord. When he was offered drugged wine to dull his
senses what did he do? He refused and remained clearheaded to the end. Part of his last words asked for pardon for
what the ignorant had done to him. In the silence of his death, only the words
of the centurion lingered, “Certainly this man is innocent.” He is the true
King.
Advent is about the past and future.
It is the celebration of his birth and our hope for his return. It marks the
end of the longing for a true king by the Hebrews. It makes sense to celebrate
the first and last King by the account of the crucifixion that sealed his
Lordship and the anguish of Samuel that the people desire a human king. It justifies Samuel's anguish.
There
is great irony and hope based on faith
in this death and resurrection of the King. Paul says to the Corinthians that
the resurrection is foolishness to the wise, to those who are perishing. Paul says the world did not know God through
wisdom, but through the foolishness of our proclamation, not by signs demanded
by the Jews or wisdom by the Greeks, but the proclamation of Christ crucified,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser
than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. (I Corinthians 1:18-25)
Do
you know that the only record of any writing about Jesus during his lifetime is
that inscription on the cross, it varies from Mathew to John, “This is Jesus, King of the Jews,”
“King of the Jews,” “This is the King of the Jews,”
and “Jesus the Nazorean, King
of the Jews.” But all four gospels are consistent in one thing, Jesus is
King of the Jews… and now the world. Finally, we have a King whose wisdom
surpasses human rulers and whose gift of grace not only surpasses anything of
human invention but trivializes every human effort at true leadership.
Nations may need to “get back to God”
but nations are things of earthly rulers. The crucifixion is principally a personal message and acknowledgement that no matter how earnest, human kings
will fail the test of true leadership. Nations are composed of and exist for God’s
children who should heed the lesson of the crucified King even if their worldly
rulers says otherwise.
As
for the ancient demand for a king made to God through Samuel, now we have the
King. We have the Lord and ruler whose humility and love demands allegiance of
all. Who shall we obey? On Christ
the King Sunday, let us celebrate the grace that blesses us all and commit
to the Christian life.
Long Live The King in
our hearts!
Amen.
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