It’s a question that is haunting the minds of a lot of people these days. And the question is not, “How in the world did the Packers lose to the Lions last week?!?” No, I’m talking about something far more serious. Something much more ominous. Something that has the potential to strike real fear and uncertainty into the hearts of every one of us. I’m talking about what happened in Paris last week. A group of Muslim extremists killed or injured hundreds of people—all in the name of their god Allah. And as the news of that attack reached our ears, as we heard them say that the United States was to be their next target, as we hear them talk about bringing “death to the infidels” (read, non-Muslims, or more specifically, Christians), it’s hard to not find ourselves asking the question, “My goodness, what is going on in our world?!? Will I ever feel completely safe again? Is the time coming when I will not be able to go out in public for fear that I might become the victim of a random act of terror? Or worse, will I be targeted because I am a Christian? Are the atrocities predicted in the Book of Revelation about to come to fulfillment in our lives? In our world?
Let’s face it, that prospect of what life on Planet Earth might become in the not so distant future can leave us all feeling a little uneasy, a little uncertain, a little afraid of what might happen to us. But you know something? It’s that uncertainty about what is going on in our world that has led Christians down through the years to gather to this day of the church year. The day we call “Christ the King Sunday.” For you see, it is against the backdrop of the turmoil and anxiety of this world that we get to go back to the pages of God’s holy word and celebrate this precious truth, namely,
Jesus Christ is King!
In fact, to help us fully appreciate the role that Jesus the King plays in putting our hearts at rest in a world filled with turmoil, we would do well to consider that Jesus actually rules over three kingdoms. They are:
The Kingdom of Power
The Kingdom of Grace
The Kingdom of Glory
We’ll start with Christ’s Kingdom of Power. What is meant by the term, the Kingdom of Power? The Kingdom of Power is everything that Christ rules. It’s the entire universe. What did Jesus tell his disciples before he ascended into heaven? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). Or you think of St. Paul’s words in Ephesians 1, God placed all things under [Jesus’] feet and appointed him to be head over everything (Eph 1:22). That’s right. As the omnipotent Son of God, Jesus controls everything in our world. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his knowledge. The sun cannot peak over the horizon unless Jesus says, “C’mon up.” All the forces of nature are under the control of Christ the King. Remember what Jesus’ disciples said about him? “Even the wind and the waves obey him.” (Mark 4:41).
And yet, Jesus not only controls the forces in nature. He also controls the forces in society. He controls the governments of our world. What does Scripture say? There is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1) Recognize, that doesn’t mean that governments don’t sometime abuse their authority; they sometimes abuse the power entrusted to him. But at no point is an earthly power, a king, a president, an ayatollah or terrorist commander ever out from under the control of Christ the King. In fact, that’s what St. John means when he refers to Jesus Christ as the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth. My friends, isn’t that a comfort to you? To realize that no matter which political party is in power in Washington, no matter which nation is stockpiling nuclear arms, no matter which radical group is flexing its muscles—none of them are outside the control of Christ the King. They are all contained within Christ’s Kingdom of Power.
But now, someone might ask, “If that’s true, if everything is under the control of Christ the King, then how come all these terrible things are happening in our world? If Jesus has the power to prevent all this senseless violence, why doesn’t he? Well, there are a number of ways to answer that question. First of all, how do you know that Jesus hasn’t prevented thousands of acts of violence? How many terrorist plots has God already seen fit to thwart? How many bombs did God cause to malfunction? How many drunk drivers did God safely escort home to make sure they didn’t kill anyone? You know, just as God sets la limit on how wide the ocean is, so also he can set a limit on the sinful actions of men. Do you remember what God said to the sea in Job 38? This far you may come and no further; here is where you proud wave halt. (Job 38:11)
At the same time, God has still gives mankind a free will. And sometimes humans abuse their freedom by choosing to disobey God’s commands. By their actions they show just how corrupt the human heart is. How did Jesus put it? For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (Matthew 15:19) In other words, all these acts of violence are evidence that we are living in a world filled with sinners. And so unless and until God decides to take all the sinners out of this world—and that Day is certainly coming—but until it does, we can expect that all this violence will continue, in fact it will likely increase. Jesus says that the increase of wickedness is a sign that the end is near.
And yet, what is really remarkable is that even though there is all this violence all around us, still, because Jesus is still King, he has the power to use even this violence for the benefit of believers. Obviously, he can use death to bring believers to heaven. But he can also use the persecution of Christians to refine the Church. To separate the fake Christians from the ones who are willing to die for what they believe. And he can use these threats as an opportunity for us to cling all the more firmly to God’s promise to send his holy angels to guard us in all our ways. Whatever the case, God can use even the worse things in life to ultimately serve a good purpose. How did St. Paul put it? In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28) Or as St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, God placed all things under [Jesus’] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. My friends, there’s the key. Jesus the King is ruling everything in this world for the benefit of who??? For the benefit of His Church, that is, you and me, his believers.
And really, that brings us to Jesus’ second kingdom, sometimes called II. The Kingdom of Grace. The Kingdom of Power is the entire universe. The Kingdom of Grace is all believers, the Holy Christian Church. The Kingdom of Grace is all those people who have been led by the Holy Spirit to trust in Jesus as their savior. It’s all those who have discovered that the forgiveness of their sins, their life as children of God and their eternal salvation are not something they’ve earned from God, but rather they are all gifts of God’s grace, that is, God’s undeserved love.
My friends, you realize, that’s the kingdom that St. John is referring to when he writes here in Revelation, chapter 1, To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! That’s right, the God who loves you and has freed you from your sins has made you to be his kingdom. He has established his kingdom in your heart. He has put you in his kingdom of grace. And now that you know where you stand with God, now that you know that God is on your side, now that you know where you are going when you die, now that you know that because Jesus rose from the grave, so will you—really that give you a whole new perspective about death, doesn’t it? I mean, even death at the hands of a terrorist. (Granted, you may still take some precautions to protect your life, but when it comes right down to it you can say with the Psalmist of old, The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6). Isn’t that a powerful weapon in the war on terror? “What can they do to me? I’m in God’s hands.” Or as Jesus once told his disciples, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” (Matthew 10:28) You know where your soul is going, by grace, through faith, in Jesus!
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don’t have that kind of peace with God, on either side of the grave. They don’t have peace because they don’t know Jesus. And really, that’s where you and I come into the picture. In our world, there are millions of people who are craving what we already have. They’re are craving peace with God. They want to know that there is a God who loves them, who forgives them, who is not holding their past against them, but instead offers them a reason for hope, a reason to live. They need someone to tell them about their Savior. The question is, who is going to do it? Who’s going to tell them?
The answer: you are. Whether it’s through your friendly discussion about what’s going on in our world and what it is that takes the fear from your heart. Or whether it’s through your regular offerings that allow Mount Olive’s pastors and teachers to proclaim the good news of God’s love in Christ to young and old alike, to those inside and those outside of our congregation. Or whether it’s through a special, one-time gift to allow our synod to carry out more gospel ministry around the world, through the One in Christ offering, the bottom line is, these are things that God’s people want to do—not because you want to earn a place in God’s Kingdom, but rather, because, by God’s grace, you are already in God’s kingdom. In fact, you ARE God’s Kingdom; you are the members of Christ’s Kingdom of Grace.
And yet, as comforting as it is to be a part of God’s Kingdom of Grace, I think you realize that there is an even better kingdom still to come. And that’s III. Christ’s Kingdom of Glory. What’s the Kingdom of Glory? It’s certainly not anything we’ll see here on earth. It’s not the restoration of the nation of Israel. It’s not the triumph of Christians over non-Christians here on earth. It’s what Jesus will usher in when he returns to this world, in all his glory, with all his angels, to judge the living and the dead and take all believers both body and soul with him to heaven. In fact, that’s the event that St. John is looking forward to when he writes, here in our text, Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth (that is, all the unbelievers in the world) will mourn because of him. On the Last Day, unbelievers will mourn, that is, they will lament that fact that they refused to trust in God’s mercy in Christ, while the believers will be lifting their heads because their redemption is near—and with it the freedom from sin, and pain, and disease and death that life with God forever in heaven brings. That’s the Kingdom of Glory, where the Lamb will rule as King, with all the saints and angels around the throne crying out in a loud voice, Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen! (Revelation 7:12)
My friends, I realize that’s just a little glimpse of the glory that belongs to Jesus, and will one day belong to us. But is serves the purpose of reminding us that Jesus is still King. He rules a Kingdom of Glory in heaven. He rules a Kingdom of Grace in the hearts of believers. And he rules the entire universe as his Kingdom of Power. And to think that Jesus rules all three kingdoms for the eternal benefit of you and me, his believers. It all works together to put our hearts at rest, no matter what happens in our world, because we know that Jesus Christ is still the King! Or as Jesus once told his followers, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) To Christ the King be our glory and praise. Amen.