Christ the King or Reign of Christ, Proper 29 (4)

Jeremiah 23: 1-6

Jeremiah 23:1–6 ESV

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Luke 23:33-43

Luke 23:33–43 ESV

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I found today's text from the lectionary rather challenging, as most people’s thoughts are turning to the celebration of the birth of Christ not his sacrifice.

But in today’s text we're drawn back or look forward if you like to the crucifixion of Christ. If we look at the reading from Jeremiah it shows God is unhappy with the attitude and the treatment of others by the ones he had placed as shepherds over the people.

which should be a warning not only to Church leaders but all who are in authority.

It is the accusation of the shepherd who is driving the people away, but now God tells the people and us, that he will raise up a shepherd over them who will shepherd them and they shall not fear any longer or will not be dismayed. Nor shall any be missing says the Lord.

Jeremiah uses the image of a shepherd to describe the king, and this is a common theme in the Old Testament. Not many of us today are familiar with the ins and outs of the life of a shepherd, which can mean that the metaphor of the shepherd loses some of its bite.

What images can we use today? Maybe the firefighter who rushes into a burning building to save a life, risking their own safety for the sake of someone else.

But they are depicted as heroes.

This doesn’t describe the life of the shepherd they were more or less looked down on, as they lived and spent their lives tending the sheep. Playing a crucial but undervalued role in society.

Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd.

But How can people relate to the idea of Jesus the good shepherd in terms of today’s hearers? Can they identify with it? There is no real example which help us to recognise costly Christ-like leadership that can show his kingship in today’s world?

As we come to today's reading from the New Testament and the time of crucifixion and sacrifice of Christ.

Firstly, Jesus faced Pilate and the puppet king Herod? but Can any single person challenge or try to change something so vast? If so, how? With an even bigger super-sized army, loyal followers in support perhaps? Yet, as Jesus hangs on a cross, the title ‘king’ appears above him. Could it be more ironic and mocking? And yet, it is truer than either Pilate or King Herod could have imagined. After his conversation with Jesus – Are you a king? – did he sense that there might just be a germ of truth there?

what about us today as followers of Christ What are our concerns, how do we follow Jesus.

You and I live in towns, and you have heard of people like you, in other towns and cities, who have been deported, or who live in fear of deportation. The ‘powers that be’ pose a real threat. There are many, individuals, and groups for whom this is an everyday reality – including refugees, those seeking asylum, for example the Windrush generation, those who are suffering daily in the Ukraine to name a few. Can we truly identify with people like this? Are we prepared to take on the cost of seeking to change systems that threaten people who live on the edge of society? It was, at least in part, due to people causing a stir that the Windrush scandal was halted. Whose cause would Jesus be championing, who would feature in his parables, if he were here today?

Shamed and tortured, Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (23:34a). This prayer is not found in some ancient manuscripts. Nonetheless, its content carries great relevance and importance. First of all, Jesus walks his talk; he loves his enemies, prays for those who abuse him, and forgives his debtors (6:27–28; 11:4). He intercedes for all who have had a hand in seeking his death, be it the temple authorities, Herod and Pilate, their soldiers, his disciples who betrayed and abandoned him, the crowd who called for his death, Even though these perpetrators are responsible for their actions, in his prayer Jesus point to their ignorance. But ignorance does not imply innocence. Neither Pilate nor Herod had a shred of goodwill toward Jesus to exercise justice on his behalf. They all knew what they were doing. Their ignorance has to do with spiritual blindness, the unbelief and failure to understand the fulfilment of God’s salvation. While their ignorance is defined it does not exonerate them from guilt even so it leaves room for repentance.

Throughout the Gospel of Luke Jesus’ mission is to save all people through his healings, and declarations of forgiveness. But the leaders of the time remain hardened in unbelief. Even at his birth those in authority misunderstood his purpose.

As I have said it seems a strange time of year to be thinking about the amazing cost that Jesus paid for us, especially as we move into a the time of advent to celebrate his birth.

At this time of year there is another event for a world of consumers it was Black Friday this week, we are bombarded with offers have you found any good deals this year? As with most things the idea of Black Friday bargain came from America. But it certainly has taken off here now, we see well slogans like.

‘Brighten your Black Friday with our top deals!’ ‘Why Wait – these deals won’t stick around for long!’

Black Friday. Isn’t it ironic that the day when we are encouraged to be so self-indulgent is called Black Friday, when that cruel day when Jesus died on the cross is called ‘Good Friday’? Surely it should be the other way round?

How much does Black Friday – or indeed any other similar time, like the January sales – really cost us, we may be tempted to make purchases that we may not normally have considered on things we may not even need.

But it would be wrong to begin to compare thE cost to our pocket with the frightening cost of Good Friday for Jesus. But that terrible cost must have been worth it. Why else would it be called Good Friday, and why would people celebrate it so many years later?

Luke’s gospel gives an account of Jesus as he suffers, we find this beautiful incident, it’s found only here, is in line with Luke’s emphasis on the fact that “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (19:10). Even on the cross, in His dying hours of agony, Jesus rescued another lost sheep.

Both Matthew (27:44) and Mark (15:32) say that the two robbers who were crucified with Christ ‘“reproached him.” But there is no contradiction between that and Luke’s statement that while one robber railed on him, the other rebuked his fellow robber and pleaded with Jesus for mercy. It may be that both robbers started in abusing Jesus, and that one of them finally repented and found forgiveness.

The statement given by the Penitent Robber was well spoken. The two robbers were justly condemned and crucified, punishment for their deeds. But Jesus had done nothing, nothing that deserved this punishment.

Then in the agony and pain the Robber asks: Jesus, “remember me when you come in thy kingdom” (v. 42). We have no way of knowing exactly what background this criminal had. But presumably he was a Jew and had general familiarity with the Jewish faith.

The Saviour’s answer to this poor, dying sinner must have brought extreme comfort: “To-day you shall be with me in Paradise” (v. 43).

I wonder how the other thief felt on hearing this.

Both these men had sinned and have been judged. But one repents while the other doesn’t. Our sin is not what keeps us from God. Our problem is our inability to respond to the love of God and to repent and change often we are unwilling to surrender to God’s will, even though we want his forgiveness, we may feel the cost is too high.

Then there are the spectators, those in the crowd who are uninvolved and curious. Sometimes people come to church for the first time like that. They may be dragged there by a friend or parent. They come unwilling and maybe a little curious. It’s okay to come that way, but then what?

As for the crowd around the Cross, it doesn’t matter how they have come. They are now in the presence of the Nazarene on the Cross. They have a choice to walk away uninvolved, or to seek forgiveness.

But what of the cost of surrendering to God? Jesus was willing to pay the cost of salvation for each and every one of us today. What is the cost to us?

A great theologian said “Salvation is a free gift, but the cost of the gift is everything”

We are all called to serve, not as servants who obey orders, but as members of the family who will obey out of love.

In life often leaders of countries and Churches get the blame when people are unhappy or frustrated.

Often this can be justified but the very best leaders are the ones who take on the responsibility of creating an environment where people can feel valued and content in their live.

What we learn from Christ in terms of the ways of behaving and living is he never demanded from his followers anything that they cannot do, and this is just as true today for us, he knows our needs and abilities. His leadership enables us to take delight in taking part in continuing to do his work.

We see this in the group he founded at the very beginning of his ministry who eventually took his message to the world.

Paul writes powerfully of the majesty of Jesus ‘through whom and for whom all things were created’. He has ‘first place’ and is head of the Church. This is a fitting description for a king. But this glowing report ends ‘through the blood of the cross’. Those listening to Paul’s letter being read out to them almost 2,000 years ago would have been all too aware of the reality – the pain and suffering – expressed in those few words.

And what do we get for the enormous price paid on Good Friday? There are many ways to begin to answer that. One is that Good Friday brought a complete change in the way we look at power, who wields it and what kind of power will win out: A new ruler and a new rule, a new way of living, which is based on love and hope and trust in God.

Accepting this new kind of rule and changing our lifestyle accordingly it will inevitably mean some cost to us.

But we have to ask ourselves is it worth it?

Salvation is a free gift, but the cost is everything.