Christ the King Sunday: it is poised right at the end of the Christian year and right before the start of the new year which begins next Sunday with Advent. It is a perfect time to consider who we really believe Jesus is and then what that means.
In the book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says at one point, “I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is one thing we do not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
The Gospel reading today is one of those sections of Scripture to which Lewis refers. Jesus tells Pilate that the reason he was born was to testify to the truth and that everyone who belongs to the truth listens to his voice. If we were to hear this from someone else, we would think the person was crazy, wouldn’t we? Jesus was born to testify to the truth. What does that mean, really? What kind of truth are we talking about? Jesus actually, some 12 hours earlier, had told his disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father, but by me.” So he was born to testify to the truth and not only that, he is the truth.
At one time King Charles told Oliver Cromwell to pose for a portrait. Cromwell, it is said, was not all that eager to do so, but because the king told him to do it, he did it. As Cromwell sat for the artist, the man studied him for several moments and noticed that Cromwell had a rather sizable wart like growth on the side of his nose near his cheek. He tactfully suggested that Cromwell face the other direction so he would see the other side of his face and that would be a better pose. Cromwell responded, “Mr. Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and everything you see: otherwise I will not pay a penny for it.
The truth is something like that painting. Generally, we would prefer the diplomatic version. We would see only our “good” side. And, to be sure, Jesus does that as well. We see Jesus commending some people for their faith. We see Jesus commend some people for their devotion to him. We see him commend some people for their good behavior. And not only that, he shows us good things about God. We like the part that God is our Father. We like how Jesus shows us how loving and forgiving God is. We think that it is wonderful that salvation is a free gift of God. We like the parts when Jesus shows us how much joy the Father and all of heaven shows when one sinner repents and comes to God. But then there it is. One sinner—we are sinners. We all need to repent. Jesus does not make up a new type of righteous behavior so that we can now do whatever we want and it is OK. Jesus tells us that the righteousness described in God’s Word is still the standard; in fact, the standard of Jesus is greater not less. Jesus tells us also that to follow him requires not only outward behavior either but everything we have. It requires faith and obedience and effort. Jesus shows us how weak we are. He shows us that for the most part, we do not have much faith. He shows us that for the most we tend to be selfish and self-righteous. Jesus shows us that we do need to be saved. He as the physician shows us our illness and that we do need to be healed. That is part of the truth that he testifies and that he is.
So he testifies to the truth—the truth about himself, about God, and about us, the good and the bad. But Jesus also testifies and tells us the truth about this universe and the way it works. He tells his followers that the only way to God is through himself. Now today if one wants to take unpopular stance in our world, one has only to say that all other religions have got it wrong and only Christianity is right. How arrogant, how close minded, and how politically incorrect that thinking is, right? Our culture tends to view religions like types of music. One person may like classical, another likes soft rock, another likes jazz, another likes country—there are no wrong choices, there are simply preferences. Jesus though tells us religion is more like a mathematics problem in which one either has the answer right or has it wrong. One can be close or one can be very far off, but only one answer is correct. Jesus tells the woman at the well how she and her people worship is ignorant; they do not know what they are doing, in other words they are far off. He tells the fellow who answers wisely in Mark 12:34 that he is not far from the kingdom of heaven, here this guy is close. If Jesus is the truth, if Jesus is indeed who he said he was, if Jesus is indeed God in the flesh, then he would probably know about all the ways to God, wouldn’t he? If he is God then he would know all the ways. The founder of Christianity is the one who taught the world that God is the God of all and that God is a God of love. This same Jesus also taught that there are no others ways to God, not one. He, Jesus, is the only way. It is not a matter of preferences; it is a right or wrong solution.
This is Christ the King Sunday, the end of one year is upon us. Next Sunday we begin the year anew with Advent. So as we look back over the past year and as we look forward to the new year we need to once again figure out what we know and believe. Is Jesus who he said he was? Was he a lunatic or something worse? Or in fact was, is he the Son of God? Do we really believe that? If we believe Jesus spoke the truth about being the truth and testifying to the truth then we must believe the other parts as well. We must believe the truth about who we are, the truth about who God is, and the truth about Jesus being the way to God—the only way to God.
