{"id":1443,"date":"2015-11-22T17:48:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-22T23:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=1443"},"modified":"2015-11-22T17:47:30","modified_gmt":"2015-11-22T23:47:30","slug":"christ-the-king-like-no-other-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2015\/11\/22\/christ-the-king-like-no-other-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Christ the King &#8211; Like No Other King"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hLBns_5G_V0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/sermons\/?sermon_id=74\">Audio Version<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sunday, November 22, 2015<br \/>\nAfter Pentecost<br \/>\nProper 29<br \/>\nYear B<\/p>\n<p><em>Old Testament<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Daniel 7:9\u201310, 13\u201314<br \/>\n<em>New Testament<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 1:4b\u20138<br \/>\n<em>Gospel<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0John 18:33\u201337<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\"><sup><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Like many Sundays, it seems like there is little to no relation between the readings.\u00a0 In Daniel we have descriptions that might be relating to a kingdom, and it is ruler.\u00a0 Certainly if this is describing the courts of a kingdom, it is not like anything seen here on earth.\u00a0 The description includes at least two thrones and an interesting description of an \u201cancient one\u201d.\u00a0 This description is often where people see God as an old Man of white hair and flowing robes.<\/p>\n<p>In verse 5 of the Revelation text, we hear that Jesus Christ is ruler over the kings of the earth.\u00a0 This is the set up for our John text where Jesus is before Pilate.\u00a0 Out of character, of who we may perceive Jesus to be throughout most of scripture, Jesus answers fairly plainly to Pilate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\"><sup><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 This is where Jesus goes to make it clear to Pilate that this is the case.\u00a0 If it were from this world, then this handover by the Jews would not have been so peaceful.\u00a0 Peaceful it was, at least on His part and for the most part.\u00a0 This is further evidence, at least in the mind of the Jews, that Jesus is not the Messiah, or at least the Messiah they are waiting for.<\/p>\n<p>It is really easy to look back today and blame the Jews for the killing of Jesus.\u00a0 There are all sorts of scripture from the Hebrew Bible, what we call the Old Testament, that points to Jesus as being the Messiah.\u00a0 It is not that the scripture pointed by name, but none the less points to Him.\u00a0 Well, that was easy, the Jews got it all wrong and took Jesus down for it.\u00a0 Nice and clean we blame someone else for the problem.<\/p>\n<p>As I have spoken of in Bible study, when we read from the Old Testament, first we need to read as if we did not have the New Testament.\u00a0 This is helpful to see through lenses that are not shaped by Jesus.\u00a0 The Jews in biblical times did not have the same knowledge that we do today, because of the New Testament.\u00a0 Next we can read the scripture in the light of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>This king, Jesus of Nazareth, did not fit the mold of what the Jews expected for a King of the Jews.\u00a0 Although we believe that kings are suppose to be just, fair to the people and provide for their needs and protection, that is not what kings did in biblical times and sometimes even still today.<\/p>\n<p>The Jews were looking for a king, a messiah, a deliverer from the oppression they were experiencing under roman occupation.\u00a0 Delivery from other kings who were not just, who did not care for the people or protect their people.\u00a0 In their eyes, the king of the Jews would conquer through force, all the oppressors.<\/p>\n<p>When you look at the text from Daniel and hear \u201chis throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire.\u201d <a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\"><sup><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Does that sound like a king who brings peace?\u00a0 How can the Prince of Peace be the Messiah then?<\/p>\n<p>Here is the text that our lectionary skips today.\u00a0 It is from verses 11 and 12 of Daniel 7.\u00a0 \u201cI watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. <sup>12\u00a0<\/sup>As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\"><sup><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Now that sounds like a king that the Jews were looking for.\u00a0 This king would destroy their enemies.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus brings peace not through destruction but through peace.\u00a0 Peace begets peace.\u00a0 That being said, how Jesus brings peace to the world was peaceful on his part and violent on the part of others.\u00a0 Christ is king above all other kings.\u00a0 He gave His life, so that we may have life.<\/p>\n<p>We come to a close of our church year today.\u00a0 The entire year is about making Christ known in the world.\u00a0 The making of the invisible God, now visible.\u00a0 To show the connection of Jesus of Nazareth to the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible.\u00a0 Hear the stories of Jesus teaching a new way, not one of violence but of peace.\u00a0 To gather as followers of \u201cThe Way\u201d, Christians and learn of what God asks Jesus to do and what Jesus does willing for us.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, to hear Jesus the Christ, the Messiah proclaim His kingship for our sake.\u00a0 He proclaims that His kingdom is not of this world and is put to death for this.\u00a0 It is in His death we are baptized and it is in His defeat of death upon His resurrection, that we have hope in the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of Jesus, in heaven.<\/p>\n<p>We are the believers who can proclaim from the tops of mountains for all to hear, \u201cChrist is King\u201d!\u00a0 Amen, Amen!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><sup><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> <em>Revised Common Lectionary<\/em> (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\"><sup><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> <em>The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/em> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Jn 18:36.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\"><sup><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> <em>The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/em> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Da 7:9.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\"><sup><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> <em>The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/em> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Da 7:11\u201312.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Audio Version Sunday, November 22, 2015 After Pentecost Proper 29 Year B Old Testament\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Daniel 7:9\u201310, 13\u201314 New Testament \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 1:4b\u20138 Gospel\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0John 18:33\u201337[1] Like many Sundays, it seems like there is little to no relation between the readings.\u00a0 In &#8230; <span class=\"more\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2015\/11\/22\/christ-the-king-like-no-other-king\/\">[Read more&#8230;]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[87,11,3,68,10,84,70,51,83,31],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"post-1443","6":"format-standard","7":"category-christ","8":"category-death","9":"category-grace","10":"category-hope","11":"category-jesus","12":"category-king","13":"category-life","14":"category-peace","15":"category-sermon","16":"category-theology-of-the-cross"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-nh","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2708,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2021\/11\/29\/focus-on-the-king\/","url_meta":{"origin":1443,"position":0},"title":"Focus on the King","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"November 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Christ the King SundayNovember 21, 2021 Old Testament Daniel 7:9\u201310, 13\u201314 (NRSV)Psalm Psalm 93 (NRSV)New Testament Revelation 1:4b\u20138 (NRSV)Gospel John 18:33\u201337 (NRSV) https:\/\/youtu.be\/Y9Lsei0T4pQ?t=794 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Calling&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Calling","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/calling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1641,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2016\/11\/28\/christ-the-king-over-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":1443,"position":1},"title":"Christ, The King over All","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"November 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Below is the video version of the sermon. 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Christ the King Sunday 11\/20\/2016 Old Testament Jeremiah 23:1\u20136 New Testament Colossians 1:11\u201320 Gospel Luke 23:33\u201343 https:\/\/youtu.be\/miTE9BpXzRY","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christ&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christ","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/christ\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/miTE9BpXzRY\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2320,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/04\/who-are-the-saints\/","url_meta":{"origin":1443,"position":2},"title":"Who are the saints?","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"December 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"All SaintsYear COld Testament Daniel 7:1\u20133, 15\u201318New Testament Ephesians 1:11\u201323Gospel Luke 6:20\u201331 Revised Common Lectionary (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009). https:\/\/youtu.be\/AjUahACdUG8","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Saints&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Saints","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/all-saints\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3320,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2024\/11\/28\/impossible-made-possible\/","url_meta":{"origin":1443,"position":3},"title":"Impossible Made Possible","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"November 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"11-24-2024Christ the King Sunday Revelation 1:4b-8 (NRSV)John 18:33-37 (NRSV) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blessed&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blessed","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/blessed\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1977,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2017\/12\/24\/quietly-in-the-night-christmas-2017-message\/","url_meta":{"origin":1443,"position":4},"title":"Quietly in the night (Christmas 2017 Message)","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"December 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Nativity of the Lord Christmas Eve\u2014Proper 1 Years ABC On the same date: Fourth Sunday of Advent Old Testament Isaiah 9:2\u20137 Psalm Psalm 96:1-13 New Testament Titus 2:11\u201314 Gospel Luke 2:1\u201320) \u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/3b_GvkU1zUA The birth of Jesus takes place without fanfare.\u00a0 No billboards, no public service announcements and no blimp\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christ&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christ","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/christ\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Mary-and-Joseph-moonlight-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Mary-and-Joseph-moonlight-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Mary-and-Joseph-moonlight-300x225.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":454,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2013\/03\/12\/freedom-through-the-missional-call-of-a-humble-king\/","url_meta":{"origin":1443,"position":5},"title":"Freedom through the Missional call of a Humble King","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"March 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Audio Version Link This is from a five minute sermon that I was to preach. \u00a0Although in general, I disagree with a five minute sermon\u00a0length,\u00a0 there are times and places where this may be appropriate. 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