Who is king in your household? Sitting next to you, huh? I have found out that I am not the king in my own house. (I’ve known that for years!!) But my wife is not the king, either. The dogs – they are the rulers around our house. When they want to go out they bark and I come running. And when they want to come back in, they bark and I leave everything behind and take care of them. And, sometimes, to save all the up and down I just stay by the door, serving as the doorman, waiting for them to go out or come in, as if they own the place. They are in charge of my place and they have had such a position for a long time!!

So, who is king around your place? It isn’t you. Actually, that is one of the greatest lessons that we can ever learn - we are not king. Christ is King. You are not the king of your soul and salvation. He is. You are not the king of your employment and job. He is. You are not king in making your life run. Christ is. If you struggle with letting God direct your life and your will, He wants you to invite Him in, confessing that He is King of your life. The confession that we make by the work of the Holy Spirit, “Jesus is Lord”, actually means everything in our lives!! When we understand our limits and what we can do and can’t do and then we can see the Lord who goes beyond our limits, we find ourselves trusting Him for everything. We find great peace knowing that Christ is King.

One thing that I became aware of early in life is the importance of the birth order in a family. The first born is the bossy one. The youngest in the family is the spoiled one. And the middle child is the one who is perfect. (I am a middle child!!) As a child with 5 brothers and sisters there were times when my folks had to leave to do something and at that point, my sister, Becky, would be the babysitter. (With no pay, mind you!!) At that point she felt empowered to make the rules and take the place of mom and dad. But the rest of us weren’t dumb. She, and sometimes my older brother were just “false disciplinarians” and they had no real authority. We really didn’t have to obey the things they told us to do!! Sometimes battles over who really ran the ship would ensue and at times this phrase was used as we spoke to them, “Who died and made you king?”

There is only one King and it wasn’t my older brother and it wasn’t my older sister. And there is only one King and it isn’t you or me. There is only one King and it wasn’t Pilate. The interaction between Pilate and Jesus in our text is quite amazing. John, who gives us the conversation between the two, shifts the focus of the drama. Jesus, looking nothing like a king, is the One who is under the close scrutiny of Pilate, who has the authority to kill Him or let Him go. But as the interaction continues Pilate seems to have less and less control and Jesus appears more kingly.

Pilate, as you read on, is inside and then outside of various rooms, and back and forth, 7 times during the trial. He is back and forth from the examination room to his own room, unable to decide, probably biting his nails, powerless to act, fearful of the crowd. By the end of the drama, the one who looked so fierce and powerful now appears to be impotent. He washes his hands, claiming a false innocence. And Jesus, the powerless one, stands with kingly distinction, as Lord of the whole scene.

Who is king? Not Pilate. But Jesus didn’t look much like a king, either. In this reading from John Jesus is brought in and with some sarcasm Pilate asks Him, “Are You the King of the Jews.” (John 18:33) One commentator said it was spoken like, “You can’t really be the King of the Jews!! Look at you!!” It was laughable. Kings have armies, they have folks that fight for their position. They exercise great power and violence and often brutality. The followers of Jesus, except Peter, who is going to meet the mob that arrested Jesus singlehandedly with sword in hand, have nothing to defend this Kingdom with. Jesus tells Pilate that He is a King. He says, “You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, for this very reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.” Earlier Jesus had said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:37, 36)

Who is King? Christ is King. And that is the best news that can be given to us. On Good Friday, the day that Jesus Christ died a sign speaking about His Kingdom was placed over His head. The sign was meant in mockery, I believe, about Jesus, or about the Jewish people. Pilate, looking for the last word had the sign written in the three languages that were used in those days, Aramaic, Latin and Greek. And it said, “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” (John 19:19) From the cross, because of the cross, through the cross, Christ would rule as King. You see that is what He meant when He said that His Kingdom was not of this world. It was greater than the here and now. It was deeper and greater than anything we could receive right here. Earlier in John Jesus said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” And then John adds these words, “He said this to show the kind of death He was going to die.” (John 12:31-33) Lifting up meant crucifixion.

Christ is King. He is kingly in His death, receiving the debts of our mistakes and offering us the promise that we are forgiven and a new creation. Only a King could offer such a gift. In the Apostles’ Creed we confess a great statement about the rule of Christ, our King. The phrase is actually quite short – “He descended into hell.” He went there as King!! He was no longer suffering for sin and paying for our misdeeds. He had already shouted, “It is finished.” He went into hell as the conqueror and victor. He proclaimed His triumph in that dark dungeon of doom!! Our King is seen on the cross and He is seen in the pit of hell. And our King is seen in the glories of heaven.

In our first reading we read from Daniel about this Kingdom and this King, “The court was seated and the books were opened. In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will never pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:10b,13-14)

Christ is King. If you trust in His death and resurrection you have everlasting life. You’re aren’t the king of your salvation and forgiveness and hope for everlasting life. He is. And His work is secure. His Kingdom is not just for life, it is even after life, for eternity. St. Paul says of the King and His Kingdom, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:55-57)

Christ is King over sin and hell and Satan and death. We started the Church Year about one year ago and we heard about the plans of Christ coming to this earth in the humility of a manger, but we don’t end the Year with a whimper but rather a statement of triumph. He is King, everything that we have witnessed this year has said that very thing. And it is also the most wonderful of confession to say that Christ is King everyday in our lives. You don’t have to be king of your life. You don’t have to have everything in order. (I imagine it is not, no matter how hard you try.) And sometimes it is just in disorder!! Christ is King in our daily life, as well. He is King making us into people that are good and right. In The Large Catechism, writing about the petition, “Thy Kingdom Come”, Luther says, “Yet we still pray that it may come to us, that is, triumph among us and with us, so that we may be a part of those people among whom His name is hallowed and His kingdom prospers.” We want Him to be King every day until we get to see His Kingdom that is not of this world.

Maybe it isn’t just older brothers and older sisters of whom we can ask, “Who died and made you king?” We can struggle with finding our position in life. It is good to see that my older sister, as bossy as she was, turned out all right. There is hope for you first-borns!! And there is hope for all of us!! Christ is King. He is King of our salvation. He is King on the cross, into hell and rising from the dead. He is King of love and mercy and King of our strength and life. And everyday we ask that He would come and be King and Lord of how we live.

It is the joy of faith and the desire of the heart to say, “Christ is King!!” Amen!!