Last Sunday of the
Church Year (C—Proper 29)
November 20, 2016
Text: Luke 23:27-43
“There was also an inscription over him,
‘This is the King of the Jews’” (Luke 23:38; ESV). The sign Pilate fastened above our Lord is a
scandal, not just to the chief priests, but to the whole world. And truth be told, it is a scandal for you. Because here,
on the cross, high and lifted up, crowned with thorns, bejeweled with nails and
blood, here is where Jesus is your King. This is why we hang crucifixes on our walls
and around our necks. This is why, along
with St. Paul, “we preach Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God”
(1 Cor. 1:23-24). “But,” you may be
heard to say, “I worship a risen Christ, not a dead one!” True enough.
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and upon that one fact rests the
entire Christian faith. But you cannot
have a risen Christ unless you first have a dead one. Apart from the cross, the empty tomb is
meaningless. There is no Easter without
Good Friday. And here, on the cross,
Pontius Pilate gets it right. This is the King of the Jews. Indeed, this
is the King of Creation. Behold,
your King, beloved. The cross is His
coronation and ascension to the throne.
The cross is His glorification.
Here He wins a Kingdom. Here He
purchases you for Himself, to live under Him as eternal citizens of His
Kingdom. Here, with His own blood, and
with His innocent suffering and death, He purchases the forgiveness of your
sins and your eternal salvation. This is
the King of the Jews. Beloved in the
Lord, this is your King.
And
not only does He take up His royal office here, on the cross, but here also He
takes up your case in the Judgment. Of
course, there will be a Judgment Day on the Last Day, and that is what this
Last Sunday of the Church Year is all about.
We will speak about that in a few moments. But understand, here, on the cross, your judgement is accomplished. Look at what happens here on Golgotha. As the Lord is on His throne, the stage is
set. He had warned the weeping women
this moment was coming: “Daughters of
Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children”
(Luke 23:28). Why? Because the destruction of Jerusalem is
coming in judgment against those who rejected their Savior, and because that is
only a beginning of the Judgment that will be poured out on the earth when
Jesus returns. And now, here He is upon
His wooden throne, and here is one on His right, and one on His left. Both are thieves. Both are sinners. The one on His left does not believe in
Him. He mocks Him. “Are
you not the Christ? Save yourself and
us!” (v. 39). But the one on His
right knows that Jesus, this dying God,
is his only hope. He confesses his own
sin and unworthiness. He confesses
Jesus’ innocence and righteousness. And
then the prayer that belongs on all of our lips. “Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom” (v. 42). And then the verdict. The one on the left dies in his sins. But to the one on the right, the one who
looks to Jesus alone for forgiveness and salvation, Jesus promises: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with
me in paradise” (v. 43). There is
the multitude before Him. They do not
realize that they, also, are at the moment of their judgment. The vast majority of bystanders mock
Him. The soldiers, the chief priests,
those passing by. Their words are
reminiscent of their father, the devil, as He tempted Christ in the Garden: “If You are the Son of God…” “He
saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
(v. 35). All the while, the prayer of
Christ for each one of them, and for you and for me: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (v. 34). That is what King Jesus wants. That is what He is working for, suffering
for, bleeding and dying for. The
forgiveness of sins for you and for me and for all people. Those who do not want that will perish apart
from Him. That is the judgment. But those who believe in Him and look to Him
alone for righteousness and life and salvation, receive eternity with Him in
paradise. That is the verdict. Look to the cross. Behold, your King. Behold, your judgment. A great exchange has taken place. Jesus takes your sin and gives you, in
return, His righteousness. Your sins die
there with Him. He rises from the dead,
but they do not. You are forgiven. You are free.
And He will raise you. Body and
soul. Clean and righteous in the blood
of Jesus. That is the Promise.
Now,
the Day is coming, when Jesus will come again, visibly, with the holy angels,
to judge the living and dead. All the
dead will be raised. He will give
eternal life to you and all believers in Christ, not because you are righteous
in and of yourself, but because of the Judgment that has already taken place at
the cross. That is why you don’t need to
fear Judgment Day. It will be the Day of
your deliverance. But all who have not
believed in Him and have therefore not received the benefit of His Judgment on
the cross will perish eternally in hell with the devil and his evil
angels. Not because Jesus didn’t love
them or because He didn’t die for them.
He did. But because they would
not have it. They would not be judged on
the basis of His death and resurrection.
They would be judged on their own merits. And hell
is what our own merits deserve.
The
most important thing in this earthly life, therefore, is to be in Christ. There is nothing more important for you. There is nothing more important for your
children. There is nothing more
important than to be in Christ by faith, and therefore claim the Judgment of
the cross as your judgment, that there your sins were put to death and paid in
full, and that Christ who has been raised from the dead is your justification,
your righteousness before God. How can
you know that you are in Christ, that He is your King, and your judgment has
already occurred in His death on the cross?
If you are baptized, that is your reality. That’s what St. Paul says: “Do you not know that all of us who have
been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried
therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness
of life” (Rom. 6:3-4). In Baptism,
Jesus makes His death and burial your own, and His resurrection becomes your
new life already now spiritually, and in your body on that Day. But of course, you can leave your
Baptism. You can forsake the faith of
your Baptism. So how do you remain in
it? Well, you come to Church! As often as you are able. You come, because here Jesus speaks His
forgiveness to you in the Holy Absolution, plunging you back into the baptismal
water, cleansing you from your sins. You
come, because here Jesus speaks His life into you in Scripture and preaching
and liturgy and hymn. You come, because
here Jesus puts His very body and blood into you for your forgiveness, life,
and salvation. The King invites you to
His Table for the Royal Feast! What a
privilege! What an honor! And by the Meal He serves here, He keeps you
in your Baptism. He keeps you in His
cross and resurrection. So get here. Don’t miss it if you can help it. And get your kids here. There is nothing more important than Jesus,
who is here in the flesh, to give you Himself and keep you for His own.
And
if you are His own, there is nothing to worry about on the Last Day. A lot of businessmen make a lot of money on
books and movies that scare Christians about the Day of Judgment. Frankly, they are false teachers. The only reason to fear Judgment Day is if
you have rejected the Judgment that took place when your King was
enthroned. Your sins are done. They are forever buried. You are 100% righteous in Christ, covered
with His righteousness. And though you
do not know the day or hour, He has already told you what will take place. You will hear the trumpet and the voice of
the archangel. You will see Him coming
on a cloud surrounded by His angelic hosts.
If you’re dead, He will raise you up, in your body. And He will separate the sheep from the
goats, believers from unbelievers. Like
the thieves on the cross, those on His left will be the unbelievers who mock
Him. Now there will be no denying that
He is their King, their Lord. And those
on His right will be those who trust in Him alone for forgiveness and
salvation. To them… to you, beloved, He will say: “Today
you will be with me in Paradise.”
New heavens and new earth. Eden
restored. The eternal Today in the Paradise of your King. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son
(+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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