CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
The Rev. Fred
Weimert November 22, 2009
Reign of Christ Sunday
This is the
last Sunday of the church year…
were we a Jewish congregation
Next Sunday would be the
equivalent of simhat Torah
the
day when the new cycle of scripture readings
would
begin…
It is a great
celebration…
I don’t know
what the previous Sabbath is like
in
Judaism…
but in Christianity the Sunday
before Advent…
the last Sunday of the
church year…
this Sunday…
in
our tradition,
this
is Christ the King Sunday…
or
better the Reign of Christ Sunday.
So on this
Sunday
you will hear gospel readings
which appear to be
horribly out of order…
And this
Sunday that is particularly true…
The
Gospel reading is from John 18 verses 33-37.
It
is the story of Jesus before Pilate…
Good
Heavens, you say,
that
should be read during holy week.
and
it is at times,
but
it is also to be read today.
Why you ask?
It
is being read because of the question
asked
by Pilate
in
all four of the gospels…
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
So
every year
on
this last Sunday of the church year
we
read one of the versions
of the trial scenes
where Jesus is before Pilate…
and Pilate asks…
are
you the King of the Jews?
In
the synoptic gospels Jesus’ initial response is:
“You say so.”
Here
in John that is the answer Jesus gives
the
second time Pilate asks.
It would be difficult to imagine
that this question
coming from the Roman
governor Pontius Pilate,
would have
been anything more
that
a rhetorical question
whose
only reasonable answer was no.
Pilate knew who the king
of the Jews was
and that was
the Caesar who was in
Now there was another
Jewish king, Herod,
whom
But
the real Caesar was in
Certainly the Jewish leaders in
didn’t like Jesus or the
rabble who followed him…
They were
concerned with preserving the
and
any disturbance around the
would
have raised their ire.
So Pilate is made to
look non committal in the gospels…
while the
bad guys are the Jewish leaders.
Keep in mind always,
that Jesus
was crucified on a Roman cross…
and
Pilate was the only one in
who
had the power to put Jesus there.
As is usually the case with John’s
gospel…
Jesus speaks far more
than he does in other gospels…
John
18: 33-37
Then Pilate entered the headquarters
again,
summoned Jesus,
and
asked him,
"Are
you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered,
"Do you ask this on your own,
or
did others tell you about me?"
Pilate replied,
"I am not a Jew, am I?
Your
own nation and the chief priests
have
handed you over to me.
What
have you done?"
Jesus answered,
"My kingdom is not from this
world.
If
my kingdom were from this world,
my
followers would be fighting
to
keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is,
my
kingdom is not from here."
Pilate asked him,
"So you are a king?"
Jesus answered,
"You say that I am a king.
For
this I was born,
and
for this I came into the world,
to
testify to the truth.
Everyone
who belongs to the truth
listens
to my voice."
Pilate asked him,
"What is truth?"
After
he had said this,
he
went out to the Jews again
and
told them,
"I
find no case against him.
Here ends
the reading.