Daily Dose of the Word of God - John 18: 36-37

Justin Paul Lawrence, Executive Director

Transcript

JPL  0:07  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God.  It’s Friday, November 28th, but Sunday is coming. I’m Justin Paul Lawrence.  Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John, as we journey through the Bible this year with the spotlight on Jesus and the Apostle John as our guide.  Here is John 18:36-37. This passage is in the middle of Jesus’ trial before Pilate.

JPL 0:32  

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

JPL  0:57  

Pilate is trying. He was dragged from his bed in the middle of the night to come and meet a prisoner from the people. He’s reasonably happy as a ruler under Caesar of this province of Judea. Of course, Tiberias to the north, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee would be better. Or better yet, back in southern Italy where his family is from, perhaps to finally retire and work on a proper vineyard.   But no. He’s a ruler of a fractious province on the edge of the Roman empire, with the Jews, Samaritans and Idumeans as his continually warring people. They like to rebel and every few years there’s a fanatical leader who leads a rebellion against Roman rule. So when someone claims to be king, especially king of the Jews, Pilate has to pay attention. But this is confusing. If the Jews wanted to overthrow the Romans, why would they bring their supposed leader to him? Of course, Jesus recognizes this. Which is why he says “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” But Pilate just wants a category - “So you are a king, then!” But Jesus doesn’t rise to the bait. He instead takes Pilate’s notion of kingship and redefines it in a different way. It’s no longer about being the one in charge of a particular land. It is so much bigger. His kingdom is those who are on the side of truth. That’s the basis for who Jesus is, he’s testifying, proclaiming what the true kingdom is, changing the entire earthly idea of a kingdom into a family of God based on relationship to him. This imperishable idea of Kingship has long since outlived the Roman empire. Jesus is all about redefining what we humans think we know. And this redefinition on the side of truth is something we can participate in as well.  Let me give you an example.  Today is Black Friday, an increasingly important holiday in the United States. The traditional meaning is that it is the point in the year where stores go in the black (as opposed to the red) for the year.  Traditionally holidays (or rather holy days) came from the religious significance of the day. Halloween was All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints Day far before anyone ever started trick-or-treating. Christmas was Christ’s Mass far before anyone put tinsel on a tree. Holy Days, with religious celebration eventually morph into just celebration. And it takes a little extra work to re-celebrate these Holidays as Holy Days.  But say that this can go the other way as well. We have the freedom in Christ to take the Holidays of this World and redefine them towards the true kingdom. So what can you do this Black Friday to demonstrate the abundance of God’s Kingdom? What follows are suggestions and not commands, more like riffing on when and how we could redefine this emerging Holy Day together.   Could you use it as a day to pray about how to use your resources toward the kingdom in the last month of the year?  Could you swim the other direction and spend the day asking God for provision, and intentionally buy nothing as an act of trust? Could you intentionally wade into the chaos of Black Friday shopping as a kind presence in the midst of mild greed and tired children?  There are as many ways to redefine and point toward Christ’s Kingdom as there are followers. We have a good guide in Jesus, who pointed this way to Pilate, even as he held his life in his hands. 

JPL 4:22  

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, King of the Jews and King of all creation, we are thankful that you redefined what it means to lead to be a king in this season of busyness. Help us to creatively live as if our citizenship is in your kingdom on the side of truth. Amen. The