Sermon -- 4th Sunday of End Times: Christ the King (November 21, 2021)

REVELATION 1:4b-8

EVERY EYE WILL SEE THE KING OF GLORY.

In the name + of Jesus.

     “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).  That means we believe God’s word to be true because God is not a liar.  It also means that we don’t often see what God says is true.  In Revelation, St. John said Jesus is “the ruler of kings of earth” (Revelation 1:5).  But it doesn’t look like it, does it?  The world is chaotic and violent.  The kings of the earth scheme and oppress.  They are the subjects of scandal and instigators of war.  If Jesus is living and reigning with authority over all things, why do such things still happen?  What we see looks like Jesus has no control over anything.  But we live by faith, not by sight.  Jesus lives and reigns for the good of his Church.  We don’t always understand how, but we know God does not lie to us.

     Consider Jesus himself when he preached and taught.  The disciples confessed that he is the Christ, the Son of God, but not because it was obvious.  This was revealed by God’s word.  When Jesus was arrested, Pilate did not conclude that Jesus is the Son of God.  Pilate did not even think to take seriously the charges that Jesus is a king.  By the time Jesus stood in Pilate’s chambers for questioning, he had been beaten and roughed up.  Although Pilate knew that Jesus was not deserving of a death sentence, neither did Pilate think that Jesus was anyone to be honored.

     Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews” (John 18:33).  I wonder if Pilate considered Jesus a nutjob more than a threat.  Who in Jesus’ condition would claim to be a king?  He did not look like it.  There was no band of soldiers who were fighting for his release.  His disciples had fled rather than stand by him in his cause.  I also wonder if Pilate was surprised by Jesus’ answer. “‘My kingdom is not of this world.’  Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’  Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king.  For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’” (John 18:36-37). 

     We live by faith, not by sight.  When Jesus told Pilate that he is, indeed, a king, he did not prove it by saying, “Look at me.  Watch me.”  He said, “Listen to me.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”  Sadly, Pilate was uninterested.  Perhaps he was also unimpressed.  Pilate knew what power and glory were supposed to look like.  He had seen it for himself in Rome and with the forces under his charge.  Looking at Jesus of Nazareth, he concluded, “This is not power or glory or monarchy.”  Pilate lived by appearances, not by faith.  For him, Jesus was easy to dismiss.

     Jesus looked even less like a king after Pilate sentenced Jesus to be crucified.  He was scourged so that his flesh was torn apart.  He was given a crown of thorns to mock the charges against him.  He was stripped naked and nailed to a cross.  As he was dying, he had to endure the mockery of his enemies as well as the official charge above his head, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”  Dear Christians, is that your king?!

     But we live by faith, not by sight.  The sight of Jesus was grotesque and pathetic.  It is actually strange that Christians display artwork of such a gruesome death in our church and in our homes.  But you do it because you know what was really going on.  God’s word has revealed to you the payment of your sins in that death.  Jesus bore the curse for all our sins.  Every stain and smear of sin was put upon Jesus.  Every mark was on Jesus’ record so that he died the bitter death all sinners deserve.  When Jesus was on the cross, he was not merely dying; he was damned.  Again, this was not obvious by appearances; it had to be revealed by God’s word.  God reveals that Jesus suffered damnation so that you would be pardoned, set free from sin and death, and receive the favor of God.  And the body of Jesus which his enemies saw buried in a tomb has risen from the dead.  Therefore, death cannot keep you either.  We know that our future includes a resurrection and a glorious kingdom because Jesus has promised it.  He backed up that promise by his own resurrection and ascension.  And since he is God the Son, he does not and cannot lie to you.

     You and I have never seen a resurrection from the dead or a photo of the heavenly kingdom, but we live by faith not by sight.  We trust God’s promises.  And the day is coming when we will no longer live by faith.  We will see the majesty of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the everlasting glory with Jesus.  The day is coming when every eye will see the King of Glory.  The Last Day is coming, and every eye will see the King of Glory.  

     Jesus’ return will not be hidden or done in secret.  St. John foretold it: “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him” (Revelation 1:7).  Every eye will see the King of Glory.  The dead will be raised, and they will see him.  All who are still alive at his coming will see him.  He will come from the clouds in full glory with all his angels to judge the living and the dead.  His arrival will be unmistakable.  His glory will be undeniable.  His judgment will be unavoidable.  His reign will be unassailable.

     Sadly, his coming will also be met with wailing, mourning, and dread.  Those who pierced him, who plotted for his death, and who campaigned for his execution will be in terror.  They did not believe he is the Son of God.  They will wail when they finally see what they would not believe.  But it will not be limited to the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Pontius Pilate.  It will be everyone who did not believe his word. 

     They will mourn because they did not take him seriously.  They will wail because they never felt any need to repent of their sins.  They will be in dread of the judgment because they had convinced themselves that they were good enough and did not owe God any answers or accountability.  But when the judgment comes, they will be in terror to learn that they ignored their own consciences and God’s word to their own peril.  They would not repent of their sins, and so they will be judged for them.  They would not believe in Jesus, and so they will be judged without a Savior.  They never wanted God’s mercy, and so they will be judged without mercy.  Now is the time to sound the warning; for then there will be only the sound of wailing among the unbelievers.

     Every eye will see the King of Glory.  Perhaps the thought is terrifying for you, too.  “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner” (1 Peter 4:8)?  The righteous can scarcely be saved?  No wonder the day of judgment can make even the most pious Christian anxious!  We know our sins.  The devil picks at our weaknesses.  We still feel the guilt from the times when we have said and done the most regrettable things.  We can’t take them back, and we probably cannot fix what we’ve broken either.  We don’t want our Lord to expose us before all creation.

     But if your sins haunt you and the judgment scares you, then flee to Jesus.  He is your refuge in the face of death and judgment.  Jesus is the King of Glory, but his glory is that he loves and saves sinners.  He alone is the Savior of all mankind.  “The blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  And now here, from this altar, you get to receive the body and blood of Jesus which has taken away your sins.  It was given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  It is given to you to eat and drink for the forgiveness of your sins.  And if the innocent blood of Jesus covers you, then death and damnation must pass over you.  You will not be judged according to what you see in yourself, but according to what Jesus has done for you and says to you.  We live by faith, not by sight.  We are saved by faith, not by sight.

     Every eye will see the King of Glory.  You who rejoice in his mercy now will have every reason to rejoice over him.  You who are in his kingdom now pray for the coming kingdom of glory.  The words and promises of God are given to you now to uphold you, to encourage you, and to console you.  What you see in this world can make anyone lose hope for better days.  But remember: We live by faith, not by sight.  God the Father has assured us that we are his children whom he loves.  Jesus assures us that we are victors over death and heirs of eternal life.  The Holy Spirit dwells in us to guard and keep us by the word of God so that we will remain in the faith.

     And then, at last, on the Last Day, every eye will see the King of Glory.  You have been practicing singing his praises throughout your lives.  And you will rejoice to sing his praises when he comes to gather you up for everlasting glory.  You rejoice to know the Lord by faith now.  How much greater will your joy be when you see the King of Glory with your own eyes!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

     “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 1:5-6).