Christ the King

Scripture: Luke 23:33–43

Luke 23:33–43 NIV

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

11/23/2025

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Standard

Opening Prayer:

Shepherd of Israel, hear our prayer

as your Son heard the plea

of the criminal crucified with him.

Gather into Christ’s holy reign

the broken, the sorrowing, and the sinner,

that all may know

wholeness, joy, and forgiveness. Amen.

Christ the King Sunday

Our Expectations vs. God's Ways

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Christian year. We celebrate Jesus' return as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, taking His rightful place as the ruler of all creation. It's a bit of a paradox because many of us would love it if Jesus came back before taxes are due, but we'd prefer He wait until after Thanksgiving dinner. We have our own traditions that we've built up, some even done in His name. But, as in temple worship in Jesus' time, when people couldn't recognize God when He visited them, some of those sacred traditions are more about memory than about being with Jesus. And if we're honest, sometimes those memories are more about us than about Him.

When I was young, this was one of my favorite weeks of the year. Family gatherings, amazing food, sugar and caffeine overload, running wild with cousins. That changed in 2009 when my dad passed away unexpectedly, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We buried him on Black Friday. And while it's been a few years, family gatherings aren't the same. Many who made those holidays special are gone. New faces have joined us who we didn't know before. Family doesn't feel the same anymore.

In our best moments, though, we pause and realize that maybe it's not supposed to be like this. Maybe what we remember, though it seemed good at the time, was not exactly what God always intended. That's just one small example of how we were born into a world that was not our true home. The more we try to fit into this world's expectations, the harder it becomes to see what Jesus is doing now. And nowhere is that clearer than when we look at how Jesus became king.

The Cross as Throne

Our scripture today is the story of Jesus on the cross. I believe almost everyone has a mental picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, an image that evokes feelings of grief, sadness, perhaps relief, and gratitude. It's not the kind of image we expect on Christ the King Sunday. Kings wear crowns of gold, not thorns. They sit on thrones, not hang on crosses. They command affection, not beg for attention.

There's an old story called The Emperor Has No Clothes, where everyone pretends to see magnificent robes that don't exist, until a child points out the emperor is naked. But at the cross, the opposite occurred. The crowd looked at Jesus and thought they saw weakness, nakedness, and powerlessness. They mocked Him: 'Some king you are! You can't even save yourself!' They believed they had exposed Him as a fraud. But here's the truth: they were the naked ones. Every mocker, every soldier, even His disciples, were all powerless against sin's reign in their lives. They strutted around thinking they had control, but they were actually enslaved to sin and death.

Jesus alone could see the truth. He wasn't losing power on that cross. He was exercising it. He was clothing the naked, covering our shame, and breaking the power that held us captive. The crowd thought they were watching a king being stripped bare. In reality, they were watching the King strip away their powerlessness.

As Luke shows us through eyewitness accounts, this day was more than Jesus's death. It was His coronation day, the moment He took the crown and began reigning as king of all creation. In our world, power belongs to those who hold everything while remaining untouchable. But Jesus demonstrated power by letting go of everything. There on the cross, His seat of power, He gave up the only thing He had left: His life. Jesus shows us power that doesn’t come from having everything but from the freedom found in having nothing left to lose.

The King's First Acts

The sign above the cross said 'King of the Jews.' That cross became Jesus's throne, the place where he first held court.

When ancient kings took power, their first words from the throne revealed everything about their reign. Those words became unbreakable law. So what was King Jesus's first royal decree? 'Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing.'

Think about that. The crowd mocked him. The soldiers tortured him. His disciples abandoned him. And his first act of power was to forgive. Not someday, not conditionally. Immediately and completely.

Two criminals hung beside him, in the places of highest honor in this upside-down kingdom. They show us the only two ways to respond to this king. One kept bargaining: 'If you're really the king, save yourself and us!' Still trying to use Jesus for his own agenda, even while dying. The other saw the truth: 'We deserve this; he doesn't.' In his final moments, he threw himself on the mercy of a king everyone else thought was powerless: 'Remember me when you come into your kingdom.'

This thief thought he was asking for something in the distant future. He didn't realize Jesus had already begun to reign. When Jesus spoke from that throne, his words carried the same power as when God said 'Let there be light.' Jesus looked at him and exceeded his request: 'Today, you will be with me in paradise.' Not someday. Today. Not 'I'll remember you.' You'll be with me.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus was saying to everyone there, and to us: 'You've all been disappointed by authority. You don't know who I really am yet. Everything you've done against me, whether you knew it or not, all of it is forgiven.' His reign begins with grace.

The Kingdom of God is here, though not yet complete. Before leaving heaven, I imagine Jesus told the angels to hold the door, 'cause he'd be bringing friends. He told his disciples he was going ahead to prepare a place. The kingdom is here. Jesus is ready. The question is, are we?

We live in the tension of the Kingdom of God being already here but not yet fully fulfilled. It's like the promise of an engagement that leads up to the excitement of marriage. The relationship is real and growing, but a promise remains unfulfilled. Some days, it feels like a long engagement, and we wonder if we will ever reach the celebration and transformation of our lives. At other times, we feel like Mary and Joseph, engaged and trying to hide her pregnancy as they journey to Bethlehem. It seems as if something has gone wrong, and trusting Jesus that He is still on the throne becomes difficult. Perhaps we've messed up God's plan too much.

But here's what I've learned since my dad died that Thanksgiving week: it is often in those moments of confusion, darkness, and loss that Jesus shines the brightest. Family gatherings that no longer feel like family become opportunities to connect with new people and build new relationships. When we feel like outsiders among our own, we become more aware of the need to show hospitality to others. Our losses give us insight and new opportunities to understand and bring comfort to others who are grieving as well. The upside-down King specializes in turning our worst moments into His throne rooms.

Transforming Weakness into Power

How do we surrender to this upside-down King who reigns from a cross?

The world gave Jesus the worst they had: a garbage heap outside Jerusalem where criminals were executed. They wanted to prove this 'Savior' was powerless. But Jesus took their worst and made it His throne room. The cross, symbol of shame, now bears the power of His name.

Here's why we resist surrendering: we're afraid of what Jesus might find. It's like when we need to deep-clean but can't get started. We know once we begin, we'll find layers. Dust hiding dirt, dirt hiding stains, stains hiding rot. We're afraid that if we let Jesus start working, He'll find things we've hidden even from ourselves.

Look back at those two thieves. They show us the only two responses to this fear. The first thief kept his walls up, kept bargaining, kept trying to use Jesus for his agenda: 'Save yourself and us!' He'd rather die in his mess than let Jesus see it. The second thief did something different. He admitted the truth: 'We deserve this; he doesn't.' He let Jesus see him exactly as he was: guilty, dying, with nothing to offer except thirty seconds of life and a desperate plea for mercy.

That's what surrender looks like. Not cleaning ourselves up first, but letting the King see the mess. This Christmas season, as we plan celebrations and buy gifts, what will you give to Jesus? What Jesus wants is you. The truth is, He doesn't need our polished gifts. Our King comes with rubber gloves and a mop bucket, ready to clean what we're ashamed to show. He's not looking for people who have it all together. He's looking for people willing to stop hiding.

Jesus is still calling servants to His Kingdom. Like that first thief, we can keep our walls up, demanding our own way until the very end. Or like the second thief, we can take whatever we have, however broken it is, and place it in Jesus' hands, saying, "Lord, take it all."

That second thief didn't have time to clean up his life. He couldn't fix his past or make amends. All he could do was trust that Jesus could do something with the wreckage. And Jesus didn't say, 'Let me think about it' or 'Clean yourself up first.' He said, 'Today, you'll be with me in paradise.'

The question isn't whether Jesus is ready to deal with our mess. He's been ready since that cross became His throne. The question is whether we're ready to stop hiding it.

Because the same King who transformed a cross into a throne can transform our wreckage into His kingdom.

Are you trying to bargain or demand your way with King Jesus, like the first thief? Or are you like the second thief, finally admitting your need and asking for His mercy?

What losses or disrupted "traditions" in your life might actually be crosses where Jesus is creating throne room opportunities to connect with others and show His kingdom?

If King Jesus showed up at your door with rubber gloves and a mop bucket ready to renovate your heart, what room would you be most afraid to let Him enter—and why?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. You are the only one wise enough, good enough, and strong enough to lead us. You gave up your life and gave it to us because we were lost and dying in our sin. You had every right to judge and condemn us, and instead, you gave us everything and welcomed us into your Kingdom. We cannot pay you back for saving our lives. So today, we pledge to live them for you. We await your return, and we desire to serve you until you come to take us home. We surrender to you and plead for your Spirit to come and take the broken places of our lives and redeem them. Make them places of grace where your love shines through as we learn and grow to find true life in You. In your holy name. Amen.