King Jesus

One important goal of being a Christian is to develop some wisdom. That isn't easy when you live in a pragmatic culture like ours where what's important is just being able to do the next thing. And yet, you cannot have a life that works well without some wisdom. One part of wisdom is being able to see the big picture. There is more to life than the particular events of your day and your efforts to be successful in dealing with them. If someone does not understand the big picture of this life he will not do well when it comes to understanding the little picture that is his own life. Becoming wise is important. After He is arrested, Jesus has a conversation with Pilate, the Roman governor. Looking at that conversation will give us an opportunity to grow a bit in wisdom, to see more of the big picture, so that we can lead lives that work. Listen as I read this conversation in John 18.33-36.

The conversation revolves around this idea that Jesus is a king. Pilate's concern is whether this Jew from Nazareth is plotting to overthrow Roman rule in Israel. Is He another revolutionary against Caesar? Jesus is quite clear that that is not what His kingship is about. That's why He said, 'My kingdom is not of this world'. Jesus' notion of being a king is very different from Pilate's. Jesus role as a king is much more important than the rule of any Caesar.

When John was given his vision which he wrote down as the book of Revelation, he was taken up into heaven. There he saw Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb who had been slain. He was there when Jesus received the scroll with its seven seals. This is not something that anyone on earth could see. John was privileged to look behind the scenes. And what he saw was Jesus receiving authority over history. He saw Jesus begin to exercise His rule over what happens on earth. The rest of John's vision has to do with what Jesus does in history as King. There is, however, a problem. King Jesus does not rule over a calm and peaceful earth. He is confronted by someone who wants to overthrow His rule, a revolutionary who wants to rule instead of Jesus. It is Satan. He fights against Jesus and he does that by fighting against you. So, the rest of history, from the ascension of Jesus to His second coming is the story of the warfare between Satan, the usurper, and Jesus, the king.

Now, you can see none of that. You have not been privileged like John to peek behind the curtains. What you see is limited to what happens on earth. What you see has to do with elections, wars, fiscal policy, corruption in places high and low, jobs, bills, kids being born, educated and sent off, sickness and health, baptisms, weddings and funerals. But while you do not see what is going on behind the scenes, you do need to grasp that there actually is something going on behind the scenes. There is much more going on in this story of life than that list that I just read to you. And knowing that is some of what wisdom is about. Knowing that will lead to a life that works.

So, here are some things you need to include in your understanding of your life. Jesus is the King. He is King now and not just later. He began His rule when He ascended to the right hand of the Father. He rules and that will never change. However, not everyone submits to His rule. Satan is doing his best to revolt against that rule. He does that by making your life difficult. He pursues that in the hope that he will be able to thwart Jesus' plans for the world. That is the part of the big picture that I want you to see this morning because it affects you every day and in all the things that you do in your day.

What will help here is something familiar from one of the letters of Paul.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Think about the difficulties that confronted you this past week. Think about the different problems that made your life harder than what you wanted. What was going on? Did you consider that behind them were 'spiritual forces of evil'? Or did you tell yourself that you were just having a bad day? In some cases these 'spiritual forces of evil' caused those problems. In other cases, they took problems that had other causes and made them worse. But either way, they made your week more difficult than you were hoping. They fought against you just because you follow Jesus. They are part of the big picture. Trying to live as if they aren't there and don't affect you is to live as a fool. It is not wise. It's trying to live as if there is no evil out to get you. You need to think not only in terms of what you can see but also in terms of what you can't see. You need to remember that there are things going on behind the scenes, things that affect you and those around you, spiritual forces of evil.

There have been some who have considered these things and have gone off the deep end. What saves us from becoming frozen by fear, or paranoid to the point of no longer being able to act? This does. Jesus is King. He holds the scroll and opens its seals. He rules over people and spirits. He rules history. And He rules with you in mind. He rules as the Good Shepherd with you as His beloved sheep. So, yes, there are spiritual forces of evil, and they are out to get you. Yes, they do whatever they can to make your life miserable. But even they are kept in check. In fact, their evil is used to advance the Gospel. So, you do not have to give in to any fears. Being paranoid makes no sense. King Jesus rules.

However, that does not mean that there is nothing for you to do. So, first, work to understand reality. Consider the big picture. Think it through. Jesus is King. He rules. But Satan and those with him are real. They are not yet destroyed. Life is a battle. Your life is a battle. Grasping this as you live is an important step to being wise and living well. Grasping this will lead to preparing for the battles that you know you will face. Listen to some advice from the Scriptures.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Paul uses the imagery of putting on armor to describe what you need to do. But note why it is important to do this.

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day …

You put on this armor so that when the battle gets fierce you will be able to stand your ground and fight and win. But that means that if you don't put on this armor, you might fail. You need to prepare yourself for the fight that will certainly come your way. If you don't you might not make it through the fighting. So, please understand that the battle is real. Satan fights against King Jesus - and you - with all that he has and the fact is that sometimes he wins battles. Sometimes souls are lost. Don't let that happen to you. Prepare for the battles. Put on the armor.

Let's get specific. Paul lists several elements of this armor that he writes about. I will talk about only one: faith. Faith is simply entrusting yourself to Jesus. Over and over Jesus offers Himself and His care to you. Over and over He says to you, 'Trust me on this. Follow My lead.' He does this over and over because the battle comes at you over and over. So, faith is not some one time deal. You need to entrust yourself to Jesus over and over. That’s what a lively faith is about. And having a lively faith is crucial if you are going to be able to fight this war well.

Now, here's something important when it comes to faith. It needs to be fed and developed or it will wither away to nothing. And where there is no faith there is no Jesus, and where there is no Jesus there is no protection against those spiritual forces of evil. Your faith needs to grow.

Faith grows as it is fed by the Word and the sacraments. So, whenever you receive the Word by whatever means, believe it. That's when faith is nourished. So, yes, know the Bible. That's important. But believe the Bible. That's more important. As the Spirit points out something in the Scriptures, pause to consider it. Work to understand it. And then believe it. That may require a new way of thinking about some aspect of life. That may require choosing to do something that feels uncomfortable. That may require repenting of some fear. Entrust yourself to Jesus as He speaks to you through the Scriptures.

Then there are the sacraments. By baptism and the Lord's Supper the Spirit does you good. The sacraments are simply the Gospel being applied to your soul. But understand, if you do not receive the sacraments with faith, if they become some empty ritual or the like, they will not benefit you. They will not be a blessing. They will rather bring a curse upon you. So, just as you believe what you see in the Bible, believe what you see in the sacraments.

And the key to doing these things is prayer. It is by prayer that we confess our weakness and cry out for the grace to believe the Gospel as it is presented to us by the Word and sacraments. As you do these things your faith is being nurtured. That's when it grows.

So, faith is entrusting yourself to Jesus over and over. It grows and develops as it is fed by the Word and sacraments.

Yes, we are in the midst of a war. Satan is rebelling against King Jesus. He does that by fighting against Christians. But we can be very optimistic because King Jesus has told us how it all ends. We win. That is not in doubt. And so, we fight against those spiritual forces of evil, entrusting ourselves to Jesus, assured that victory is ours. We fight with great confidence. The day will come when Jesus will rule without any rebels, and there will be eternal peace.

Be wise. Understand that there is more than what you can see. Believe the Gospel so that you will enjoy the sequel to this story.