Christ the King, Sunday, October 27th, 2013
Fr. Todd Bragg
St. Margaret Anglican Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
" . . . My kingdom is not of this world." (St. John 18:36ff)
If you look at the definition of "king" in the dictionary, you will find the following definition: "a male sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by life tenure, and usually by hereditary right, the chief authority over a country or people . . . . a person or thing preeminent in its' class."
Typically when we think of a king or a queen we think of a person who is born with royal blood, who by virtue of the family line that they were born into, they were born into royalty. The young Prince George, for instance, who was baptized this past week, is already being heralded as the future "King of England" already in line to be succeed to the throne.
Now, in the Gospel passage that we heard today, we were witness to the scene of Our Saviour being brought before Pilate and being asked questions by Pilate. Now, it is my opinion that Pilate did not know how to deal with Our Blessed Lord because here is someone being brought before him that is being charged with treason and claiming to be a king and yet there was absolutely nothing "kingly" about this man brought before Pilate: He was not dressed in royal attire; He was not attended by an army; etc. Thus, Pilate was certainly puzzled as to why these charges were even being leveled against Our Saviour.
We must always be aware when we are speaking about Our Blessed Saviour, that what appears on the outside is not always accurate of what is inside. " . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) Thus, Pilate did not see a king before him . . . nor did he see anyone that even resembled a king in the slightest. But you see Pilate, just like so many others during that time were only looking at outward appearances. Thus, they did not see a "king." But with Jesus, we have to look beyond the outward appearance.
You see, Jesus did not come to be a "king" by earthly standards. If He did, yes, He would have been dressed in fine attire fit for a king. If He planned on being a "king" simply based on earthly standards alone, then He probably would have had an army to support Him. But He did not want to limit Himself to an "earthly kingdom," as such. In fact, we know this is the case if we look at St. John's Gospel. When so many people had witnessed Our Blessed Lord and the miracles that He performed they were ready to force Him to be their king . . . "When Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone." (St. John 6:15) Jesus did not want to conform to their vision of what a king was to be.
Now, when Our Lord responds to Pilate by saying "My kingdom is not of this world . . ." we are correct to assume that He is referring to His Kingdom as being that of Heaven. But I would contend to you that we should not even limit it to that. I would suggest to you today that Our Lord is stating that He wants to be the King of your heart. He wants to be the ruler of your heart. He wants you to choose Him to be the king of your heart.
"Neither shall they say, see here! or, see there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you!" (St. Luke 17:21) Yes, our Lord desires to be a king, but not in the earthly definition of what a king is. He wants to go beyond outward appearances. He desires something much more personal. He wants to rule your heart. He wants to sit upon His throne right there in your heart. " . . . and Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts . . . prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only." (I Samuel 7:3) We are called as Christians to prepare our hearts for Him alone. He is my saviour and my king! He alone rules my heart! So when we hear Him say that His kingdom is not of this world, we find comfort in the fact that He desires to place His throne right there in our hearts so that He will always be close to us! Allow the Lord to reign as the true King of your heart! Make your heart ready for Him and prepare a place for Him there.
If you look at the definition of "king" in the dictionary, you will find the following definition: "a male sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by life tenure, and usually by hereditary right, the chief authority over a country or people . . . . a person or thing preeminent in its' class."
Typically when we think of a king or a queen we think of a person who is born with royal blood, who by virtue of the family line that they were born into, they were born into royalty. The young Prince George, for instance, who was baptized this past week, is already being heralded as the future "King of England" already in line to be succeed to the throne.
Now, in the Gospel passage that we heard today, we were witness to the scene of Our Saviour being brought before Pilate and being asked questions by Pilate. Now, it is my opinion that Pilate did not know how to deal with Our Blessed Lord because here is someone being brought before him that is being charged with treason and claiming to be a king and yet there was absolutely nothing "kingly" about this man brought before Pilate: He was not dressed in royal attire; He was not attended by an army; etc. Thus, Pilate was certainly puzzled as to why these charges were even being leveled against Our Saviour.
We must always be aware when we are speaking about Our Blessed Saviour, that what appears on the outside is not always accurate of what is inside. " . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) Thus, Pilate did not see a king before him . . . nor did he see anyone that even resembled a king in the slightest. But you see Pilate, just like so many others during that time were only looking at outward appearances. Thus, they did not see a "king." But with Jesus, we have to look beyond the outward appearance.
You see, Jesus did not come to be a "king" by earthly standards. If He did, yes, He would have been dressed in fine attire fit for a king. If He planned on being a "king" simply based on earthly standards alone, then He probably would have had an army to support Him. But He did not want to limit Himself to an "earthly kingdom," as such. In fact, we know this is the case if we look at St. John's Gospel. When so many people had witnessed Our Blessed Lord and the miracles that He performed they were ready to force Him to be their king . . . "When Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone." (St. John 6:15) Jesus did not want to conform to their vision of what a king was to be.
Now, when Our Lord responds to Pilate by saying "My kingdom is not of this world . . ." we are correct to assume that He is referring to His Kingdom as being that of Heaven. But I would contend to you that we should not even limit it to that. I would suggest to you today that Our Lord is stating that He wants to be the King of your heart. He wants to be the ruler of your heart. He wants you to choose Him to be the king of your heart.
"Neither shall they say, see here! or, see there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you!" (St. Luke 17:21) Yes, our Lord desires to be a king, but not in the earthly definition of what a king is. He wants to go beyond outward appearances. He desires something much more personal. He wants to rule your heart. He wants to sit upon His throne right there in your heart. " . . . and Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts . . . prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only." (I Samuel 7:3) We are called as Christians to prepare our hearts for Him alone. He is my saviour and my king! He alone rules my heart! So when we hear Him say that His kingdom is not of this world, we find comfort in the fact that He desires to place His throne right there in our hearts so that He will always be close to us! Allow the Lord to reign as the true King of your heart! Make your heart ready for Him and prepare a place for Him there.
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