He is a Sovereign King pt. 2
Who is Jesus ? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsChrist's control and willingness to surrender to the Father's will does not mean He was weak, it meant He was willing to male away for all who want to be in His Kingdom
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He is the Sovereign King pt. 2
He is the Sovereign King pt. 2
Introduction
In our previous discussion, we explored the writing technique known as a simultaneous arc, wherein different storylines are intertwined and culminate in a unified conclusion. We drew parallels to Jesus, who, like a skilled writer, had a clear vision of his ultimate goal and utilized the lives and experiences of those around him to create a simultaneous arc leading to the cross.
Need: this morning we are going to look at our own lives before someone who is not just able to control outcomes but one who does so as King of Kings. This will help us evaluate our own lives before His righteousness to see if our lives look like his or those who refused Him
Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
Then Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”
So Pilate told them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law.” “It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared.
They said this so that Jesus’ words might be fulfilled signifying what kind of death He was going to die.
Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?”
“I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”
“You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”
“What is truth?” said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging Him.
Prayer
Every person’s “Simultaneous Arc” was for told by God and made known to us before it happened.
To jog your memory remind them of the garden...
i. Judas would betray Him
When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve.
While they were eating, He said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me.”
Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl—he will betray Me.
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” “You have said it,” He told him.
ii. The Pharisees would be used to Kill Jesus
From then on Jesus began to point out to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.
iii. The soldiers would crucify Him and divide his clothes
Who has believed what we have heard? And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to?
He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.
Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.
We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth.
He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
Also see…
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me.
My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me.
They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.
Jesus demonstrated that his sovereignty worked EVEN in those who were not flowers of Him.
Through their independent choice, they chose to arrest Jesus.
Of course Jesus knew they’d respond by rejecting him which made his plan all the easier.
He was controlling the circumstances while they controlled their choice.
Pilate’s story
Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
Then Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”
So Pilate told them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law.” “It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared.
They said this so that Jesus’ words might be fulfilled signifying what kind of death He was going to die.
Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?”
“I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”
“You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”
“What is truth?” said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging Him.
Christ is the source of truth. The wisdom of man is defiled and corrupt because our will wants what our will wants, but those who listen to Jesus and worship him as king see truth for what it is
The hardest part of ministry is seeing people
get so close to the truth and then walk away
If God is opening your eyes to things around
You, and you are seeing connection to Him in
your life you haven’t seen before, or if the
Bible is making sense to you suddenly, that
Is no coincidence, those passages have been
there long before you were born, his
presence long before you were born only
now he’s making it known to you. Don’t let
your will get in the way of him working. Invite
him in so you can have all of him. But to do
so you have to lay down that will and choose
to follow him. Or you’ll walk away saying
truth, what is truth?
Peter’s story
This was to fulfill the words He had said: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. (The slave’s name was Malchus.)
At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Sheathe your sword! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given Me?”
Makes a choice, that choice has further
consequences to it, but it didn’t prevent Christ
from controlling the circumstances
It did however come back to haunt him.
“Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ so now I tell you.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.
By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
“Lord,” Simon Peter said to Him, “where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”
“Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You!”
Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for Me? I assure you: A rooster will not crow until you have denied Me three times.
Peter’s move to strike the servant caught the attention of all those there. It’s what identified him as having been one of Jesus followers
John 18:15-18
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard.
But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” “I am not!” he said.
Now the slaves and the temple police had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of His disciples too, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!”
One of the high priest’s slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?”
Peter then denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed.
Everyone in the circumstances surrounding His arrest were operating in their own choice,
Illustration
In chess the king is the most power piece on the board while the queen is the most versatile piece.
We want to have our will be King of our lives and Christ to be the queen.
We want to be saved from the penalty of sin
but we don’t want to stop sinning.
Like Peter, we know God is good but when times get bad, we want to choose to do what we want.
You probably have no problem saying Jesus is the sovereign king over your life until it intersects with what you want.
In those moments you assume your reactions are always right.
How many times does Jesus say to us, don’t
fight me on this, it’s only new information to
you, do you trust me? Then do what’s right…
I know my timing isn’t yours but trust me
I know this season is scary but trust me
Yes this sin is fun but, let it go trust me
Yes, I know the world gets drunk…
Yes, sex is good but not yet trust me
Yes it telling off this person feels great but
Our will to choose is always aimed at a desire to choose rebellion over righteousness, the world over the Word.
That is what makes our sovereign king so unique. He never acted on his own will to choose. That’s why we know the origin of free will is rooted in sin.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.
“There is none good not one.”
Christ sought what God said was good
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.
Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,
who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.
Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.
For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth —
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We didn’t cover Peter’s attack but it is significant to the story.
He reacted with the assumption that his actions are always righteous even leaving someone lame forever.
However if He had not cut off that ear he most likely would not have been recognized and put in the position to deny knowing Jesus
Main Point: What seemed like an ambush and total chaos turned out to be purposeful. Jesus had to be betrayed, falsely accused, and put to death to be raised to life.
The will of God does not always make sense to us. But God sees from the best vantage point and in times of uncertainty be certain that God is in control and his Sovereignty is working for you.
Because His kingdom is not of this world we struggle at times to see it glory.
You, say that I am a King!
Pilate never found reason to see him killed but he also never called Him his King.
This is because He was never interested in the truth in the first place.
If you love this world the ways of Christ will seem unimpressive.
What is right and wrong are blurred and hard to define when you ignore his truth.
God’s war is not won with weapons but with words.