Last Sunday of the Church Year/Sunday of the Fulfillment
Last Sunday in the Church Year/Sunday of the Fulfillment (B)
November 26, 2006
Text: John 18:33-37
The Kingdom Jesus comes to usher in is not of this world. That is to say that Jesus is not a king in the sense that Herod was King of Judea and Caesar was emperor of the known world. He is not a king in the way that both His own disciples and the unbelieving Jews expected. His Kingdom is not ruled in the manner that earthly kingdoms are ruled. He did not come as Messiah to regain Israel’s sovereignty. He did not challenge the earthly authority of Herod or Caesar or Pontius Pilate. He did not come to lead a rebellion, much less any sort of earthly revolution. He was not a political radical. This became apparent to Pilate immediately, and it is for this reason that Pilate worked so hard to get Jesus off the hook. It was only his fear of the emperor and of the people that ultimately led Pilate to wash his hands of the affair and deliver Jesus over to death.
But if Jesus is not an earthly king, just what sort of King is He? If we think back to our catechism days, we may recall that King Jesus reigns over a threefold Kingdom: the Kingdom of Power, the Kingdom of Grace, and the Kingdom of Glory. So what is this threefold Kingdom, and why does it matter to us?
The truth is, the threefold Kingdom is a great comfort to those of us who are in Christ, who are baptized into His Name and into His death and resurrection. It is a great comfort to us because we know the King, and He knows us. He loves us. He bids us feast at His banquet table. So enamored of His subjects is our King Jesus that He Himself serves us at the feast. Yes, this is the sort of King we have. He defies all earthly regal conventions. The King serves the subjects. And all His ruling in His threefold Kingdom is for the benefit of His beloved subjects.
The Kingdom of Power encompasses all of creation, in fact, the entire universe. Every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth is subject to our Lord’s rule and power. This includes the sun, moon, and stars, the wind and the waves, the wild animals, believers and unbelievers, and even the devil himself along with his evil angels. All these must submit to our Lord’s Kingship. He rules in this realm according to the laws of nature and the governments of men, which He establishes for our good. That this article, the Kingdom of Power, is of great comfort to us who are in Christ is not difficult to see. Remember, He rules all things for the benefit of His people. And so while we appear to live in constant danger in this fallen world, we know that ultimately nothing can harm us… not even the devil! It is all under our Lord’s power. And we are under our Lord’s power. The King who was crowned with thorns for you and gave His life for you on the cross, but who has also been raised for you and reigns for you at the right hand of God, will not forsake you in the time of trouble. He will not let anything snatch you out of His hand. You are His, and He is yours. His reign of power protects you from every enemy.
For you are not only His subjects according to the Kingdom of Power. You are also His subjects according to the Kingdom of Grace. The Kingdom of Grace is synonymous with the Church on earth, the Church militant. That is to say that everyone on earth who believes in Jesus Christ for his or her salvation is a citizen in the Kingdom of Grace, for the Church is nothing other than the holy believers in Christ. Here our Lord rules not by the sword, but by His Word. By this Word He preserves those who are His, in communion with Him and with one another. He preserves His Church so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Of course, it always looks like the gates of hell are prevailing. But that is why this article, the Kingdom of Grace, is so comforting to us. The King protects and defends His own. That the Church on earth is called the Church militant means that the Church fights. But just as the Lord fought for His people of old, the Israelites, and drove out their enemies before them, so He fights for us. He is our great Champion. We have no fear of losing the battle when the Lord goes out with our armies, when the Captain of our souls fights for us. Despite all earthly appearances, the Church remains and will remain steadfast upon the earth until the Day of our Lord’s return. And the fact that the Lord reigns in the Kingdom of Grace, the Church, is also comforting for us on an individual level, for as we struggle daily with our three main enemies, the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, our Lord also wins the victory for us individually. By His Word and Sacraments He creates faith in us and preserves us in that same faith until the end. Through these means He gives us His gifts. He gives us the forgiveness of sins won for us on the cross, along with eternal life and salvation, reconciliation with God, and the living hope of the resurrection.
And here is the promise for us who are citizens of the Kingdom of Grace. He will take us to be citizens in His Kingdom of Glory. The Kingdom of Glory is synonymous with the Church in heaven, the Church triumphant. There is no more suffering in the Kingdom of Glory. There it is apparent that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Lord’s Church. There, what is hidden now in the Kingdom of Grace will be fully revealed. There is no more struggle in the Kingdom of Glory. The devil cannot reach us there. He has no part in this Kingdom. Rather, the Kingdom of glory belongs to all the saints who have passed out of this vale of tears to await the resurrection in heaven. Along with the holy angels, they sing endless praise to our King, Jesus Christ. One day, we will join them, either through our own physical death, or when the Lord comes to gather together His elect to Himself on the Day of Resurrection.
On that day the King of Power will send Satan and the evil angels along with all unbelievers into Gehenna, the lake of fire to suffer everlasting death. But to those who are in Christ, who have believed in Him, He will give a new heaven and a new earth, completely restored from the effects of the fall, along with risen bodies made perfect in Him. The Kingdom of Grace will on that Day find its fulfillment in the Kingdom of Glory. Then God will dwell with His subjects, “and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4). Yes, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. This is certainly not a Kingdom of this world. It is the threefold Kingdom of Jesus Christ. And this Kingdom is for us who have a stake in each part by faith in the King.
No, this Kingdom is not of this world. Nor is the King of this world. Certainly He comes into the world and becomes one with us by taking on our flesh. But His coronation is backwards to the world’s way of thinking. You see, Jesus is enthroned in glory when He dies for you on the cross. He is victorious over your enemies by His submission to death. And it is by believing in this fleshly, crucified God that you become citizens in His Kingdom of Grace, and finally in His Kingdom of Glory. Jesus is no radical reformer of earthly government. He is not out to conquer the kingdoms of the earth for Himself. He already rules there by means of earthly government; by means of Herod and Caesar and Pontius Pilate and President Bush. He is not out to conquer their kingdoms, but to conquer you. He conquers you for Himself, to be His very own. He rescues you from your slavery to the world and makes you His own slave; a slave who is beloved and whom He is not ashamed to call brother. So your Kingdom is not of this world, either. You are in the world, but no longer of the world. He has brought you out of that bondage to serve Him. And He is coming to get you. He is coming to breath new life into your dry bones. He is coming to raise all the dead and gather all who are His unto Himself. He can do so because He Himself has been raised from the dead to the glory of God the Father, and He reigns. He reigns over heaven and earth and the dark powers under the earth. He is King. And of His Kingdom, there shall be no end. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
November 26, 2006
Text: John 18:33-37
The Kingdom Jesus comes to usher in is not of this world. That is to say that Jesus is not a king in the sense that Herod was King of Judea and Caesar was emperor of the known world. He is not a king in the way that both His own disciples and the unbelieving Jews expected. His Kingdom is not ruled in the manner that earthly kingdoms are ruled. He did not come as Messiah to regain Israel’s sovereignty. He did not challenge the earthly authority of Herod or Caesar or Pontius Pilate. He did not come to lead a rebellion, much less any sort of earthly revolution. He was not a political radical. This became apparent to Pilate immediately, and it is for this reason that Pilate worked so hard to get Jesus off the hook. It was only his fear of the emperor and of the people that ultimately led Pilate to wash his hands of the affair and deliver Jesus over to death.
But if Jesus is not an earthly king, just what sort of King is He? If we think back to our catechism days, we may recall that King Jesus reigns over a threefold Kingdom: the Kingdom of Power, the Kingdom of Grace, and the Kingdom of Glory. So what is this threefold Kingdom, and why does it matter to us?
The truth is, the threefold Kingdom is a great comfort to those of us who are in Christ, who are baptized into His Name and into His death and resurrection. It is a great comfort to us because we know the King, and He knows us. He loves us. He bids us feast at His banquet table. So enamored of His subjects is our King Jesus that He Himself serves us at the feast. Yes, this is the sort of King we have. He defies all earthly regal conventions. The King serves the subjects. And all His ruling in His threefold Kingdom is for the benefit of His beloved subjects.
The Kingdom of Power encompasses all of creation, in fact, the entire universe. Every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth is subject to our Lord’s rule and power. This includes the sun, moon, and stars, the wind and the waves, the wild animals, believers and unbelievers, and even the devil himself along with his evil angels. All these must submit to our Lord’s Kingship. He rules in this realm according to the laws of nature and the governments of men, which He establishes for our good. That this article, the Kingdom of Power, is of great comfort to us who are in Christ is not difficult to see. Remember, He rules all things for the benefit of His people. And so while we appear to live in constant danger in this fallen world, we know that ultimately nothing can harm us… not even the devil! It is all under our Lord’s power. And we are under our Lord’s power. The King who was crowned with thorns for you and gave His life for you on the cross, but who has also been raised for you and reigns for you at the right hand of God, will not forsake you in the time of trouble. He will not let anything snatch you out of His hand. You are His, and He is yours. His reign of power protects you from every enemy.
For you are not only His subjects according to the Kingdom of Power. You are also His subjects according to the Kingdom of Grace. The Kingdom of Grace is synonymous with the Church on earth, the Church militant. That is to say that everyone on earth who believes in Jesus Christ for his or her salvation is a citizen in the Kingdom of Grace, for the Church is nothing other than the holy believers in Christ. Here our Lord rules not by the sword, but by His Word. By this Word He preserves those who are His, in communion with Him and with one another. He preserves His Church so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Of course, it always looks like the gates of hell are prevailing. But that is why this article, the Kingdom of Grace, is so comforting to us. The King protects and defends His own. That the Church on earth is called the Church militant means that the Church fights. But just as the Lord fought for His people of old, the Israelites, and drove out their enemies before them, so He fights for us. He is our great Champion. We have no fear of losing the battle when the Lord goes out with our armies, when the Captain of our souls fights for us. Despite all earthly appearances, the Church remains and will remain steadfast upon the earth until the Day of our Lord’s return. And the fact that the Lord reigns in the Kingdom of Grace, the Church, is also comforting for us on an individual level, for as we struggle daily with our three main enemies, the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, our Lord also wins the victory for us individually. By His Word and Sacraments He creates faith in us and preserves us in that same faith until the end. Through these means He gives us His gifts. He gives us the forgiveness of sins won for us on the cross, along with eternal life and salvation, reconciliation with God, and the living hope of the resurrection.
And here is the promise for us who are citizens of the Kingdom of Grace. He will take us to be citizens in His Kingdom of Glory. The Kingdom of Glory is synonymous with the Church in heaven, the Church triumphant. There is no more suffering in the Kingdom of Glory. There it is apparent that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Lord’s Church. There, what is hidden now in the Kingdom of Grace will be fully revealed. There is no more struggle in the Kingdom of Glory. The devil cannot reach us there. He has no part in this Kingdom. Rather, the Kingdom of glory belongs to all the saints who have passed out of this vale of tears to await the resurrection in heaven. Along with the holy angels, they sing endless praise to our King, Jesus Christ. One day, we will join them, either through our own physical death, or when the Lord comes to gather together His elect to Himself on the Day of Resurrection.
On that day the King of Power will send Satan and the evil angels along with all unbelievers into Gehenna, the lake of fire to suffer everlasting death. But to those who are in Christ, who have believed in Him, He will give a new heaven and a new earth, completely restored from the effects of the fall, along with risen bodies made perfect in Him. The Kingdom of Grace will on that Day find its fulfillment in the Kingdom of Glory. Then God will dwell with His subjects, “and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4). Yes, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. This is certainly not a Kingdom of this world. It is the threefold Kingdom of Jesus Christ. And this Kingdom is for us who have a stake in each part by faith in the King.
No, this Kingdom is not of this world. Nor is the King of this world. Certainly He comes into the world and becomes one with us by taking on our flesh. But His coronation is backwards to the world’s way of thinking. You see, Jesus is enthroned in glory when He dies for you on the cross. He is victorious over your enemies by His submission to death. And it is by believing in this fleshly, crucified God that you become citizens in His Kingdom of Grace, and finally in His Kingdom of Glory. Jesus is no radical reformer of earthly government. He is not out to conquer the kingdoms of the earth for Himself. He already rules there by means of earthly government; by means of Herod and Caesar and Pontius Pilate and President Bush. He is not out to conquer their kingdoms, but to conquer you. He conquers you for Himself, to be His very own. He rescues you from your slavery to the world and makes you His own slave; a slave who is beloved and whom He is not ashamed to call brother. So your Kingdom is not of this world, either. You are in the world, but no longer of the world. He has brought you out of that bondage to serve Him. And He is coming to get you. He is coming to breath new life into your dry bones. He is coming to raise all the dead and gather all who are His unto Himself. He can do so because He Himself has been raised from the dead to the glory of God the Father, and He reigns. He reigns over heaven and earth and the dark powers under the earth. He is King. And of His Kingdom, there shall be no end. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
posted by Pastor Krenz | 8:31 AM
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