"HIS KINGDOM"
Last Sunday of the Church Year (Proper 29)
November 24, 2019
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
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."
Luke 23:42, 43 (ESV)
In a number of Christian denominations this last Sunday of the church year is celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King. The emphasis of the day is on the majestic return of Jesus as Judge and King at the end of time. Among Roman Catholics this celebration was instituted by papal decree in 1929 and was observed on the last Sunday in October until Vatican II, when it was moved to the Sunday before the beginning of Advent. With the adoption of the three-year lectionary by the majority of mainstream denominations, the Feast of Christ the King came to be more universally accepted in Christendom. While our Missouri Synod hymnals have not traditionally used the title "Christ the King," the appointed Scripture readings for this day have always reflected the theme of the King who is coming to judge the world.
All of that having been said, it may strike you as a bit odd that the Gospel for this day would find King Jesus enthroned not in the glorious clouds of heaven but on a bloody cross of shame. It may seem odd, but it's really not. Remember: Jesus is the One who, when He was on trial for His life before Pontius Pilate and the governor bluntly asked Him if He was a king, calmly explained to His interrogator: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). Jesus is indeed our King, but His majestic power and honor are not manifested in the usual trappings of royalty. This King chooses a cross for His throne, thorns for His crown, an agonizing march to a place of execution for His royal procession, and a rag-tag group of terrified disciples as His army. And all of this is perfectly appropriate, because it is in His suffering and death that His kingship is manifested, since it is here--on the cross--that King Jesus provided for His people what they need the most: the forgiveness of their sins and their citizenship in God's kingdom of grace now and in His kingdom of glory in eternity. The dying thief on the cross next to Jesus, to whom tradition ascribes the name Dysmus, provides us with a profound example of the relationship between the King and His subjects. Looking at this brief exchange between him and Jesus, we see both the appeal to divine mercy and the promise of divine grace.
The penitent thief's request of Jesus is, in fact, an appeal to divine mercy. In making the simple request: "Remember me" the man was focusing attention on his need. One of the most miserable emotions that one can experience in life is the feeling of being abandoned--the feeling that nobody knows or cares what you are going through. No doubt this thief felt that way as he writhed in agony awaiting his death. Worse than that, after his death he would become a non-person--in all probability cremated or buried in an unmarked common grave, as was normally done with the unclaimed remains of executed criminals. No matter how humble a person may be, no one wants to be forgotten or dismissed as someone whose life didn't matter. Looking back on his miserable life of crime, the dying man was seeking some kind of affirmation--something that might make him worthwhile. That is why he pleads with Jesus: "Remember me."
The fact that he follows this simple request with the words: "when You come into Your kingdom" indicates that he was now shifting the focus from himself and his life of sin to Man on the center cross, of whom he had just said: "This Man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:41). He knew that Jesus was better than he. Apparently he also knew that Jesus was more than a mere man. In any case, he knew that Jesus was the only One who could meet his deepest needs. That is why he turned to Jesus in the first place. In asking Jesus to remember Him in His kingdom, he was appealing to divine mercy for more than just recognition. He was asking for the forgiveness of his sins and for peace with God. We hear a lot of talk about the need for people to "make their peace" before they die, but this usually refers to being reconciled to alienated relatives and friends. What matters the most is that we die at peace with God and are therefore received into His kingdom of glory. This can only happen through the merits of the King, who was crucified "for us and for our salvation" (Nicene Creed, Article II).
The thief's appeal to divine mercy is met by Jesus' promise of divine grace. The Lord assures the dying penitent: "You will be with me in Paradise." In this brief interaction between Jesus and the thief we can clearly see why the apostle Paul described the Lord as One "who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). The dying thief asked simply to be remembered; the dying King responded by promising him Paradise in the loving presence of his Savior. The Lord always seems to be doing that with our requests. He exceeds what we need (or think we need) by giving us things for which it never occurred to us to ask. Sometimes we are disappointed with this because we become so fixed on our own desired solution to our difficulties that we forget that our King knows best what we really need and provides it in abundance.
This Paradise that Christ the King promised to the penitent thief is not something that he had to wait for very long, for the Lord said to him: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise." Shortly after Jesus spoke these words He said: "It is finished!" (John 19:30). In the original this statement of Jesus is one word--tetelestai--a word that was used on business receipts in Jesus' day with the meaning "paid in full." Our citizenship in the kingdom of Jesus Christ is guaranteed because of His completed work at Calvary. There is nothing more that needs to happen for our place in Paradise to be assured. The Savior's promise to those who trust in Him is that they will be with Him in Paradise immediately upon their death in the faith--no waiting period or decisions on our part are required, no additional prayers or works, no remaining issues. The salvation that Jesus gives is perfect and complete.
In confirmation class, when we studied the Second Petition of the Lord's Prayer, we were taught that the "kingdom of God" is really three kingdoms: His kingdom of power, which is the laws of nature; His kingdom of grace, which is the Christian Church; and His kingdom of glory, which is heaven. We also learned that when we pray: "Thy kingdom come," it is His kingdom of grace and His kingdom of glory that we are praying for, since all people already live in His kingdom of power. Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was being lived out before his very eyes, the dying thief was brought into the kingdom of grace, and not long afterward he was brought into the kingdom of glory. Today we rejoice for him--and for ourselves--knowing that the kingdom of grace in which we live in hope will become reality for us in the kingdom of glory when our King calls us to be with Him and to rest forever in His love and joy.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.