Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 22 November 2009 by Joel Brandner, Chenyi Roy Njuabe and Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 93 and John 18:33-37.


Christ the King – Is Jesus a king? By Joel Brandner

Before I begin lets look at the definition of a king. Kings are rich, powerful, and they rule over a kingdom. They are born into the royal family, are respected and have many educated subjects. But does Jesus have any of these qualities?

No. Jesus was a poor, born in a stable carpenter, he didn’t have a regular home or a stable income. Rather than being served he likes serving people especially poor, homeless or rejected people in the society. Jesus’ disciples were fishermen, tax-collectors and a wide range of other people society would consider unimportant.

When the coming of the messiah was prophesied, people expected a heroic king, such as one like David, who would come with armies and power to defeat the enemy. What they got was a teacher and a servant, someone who complained about the church and lectured the Pharisees, who helped the poor and the needy, who disregarded the rules and healed on the Sabbath, and who died shamefully on the cross, though he had done nothing wrong. Jesus was nothing like what the people at that time expected. So is Jesus a king?

If we are to consider the definitions I have shared today I think not. Being the son of God, Jesus could have been what the people expected, but rather than doing that, he chose to be a servant to the people of Israel.


Christ the King – The Majesty of Jesus” By Chenyi Roy Njuabe

Few recognize Jesus Christ for who he really is. Many have different views of who Christ really was with different expectations of what He will do for his people Hebrews 1:3 tells us that before His incarnation He was the brightness of God’s glory, the express image of His person, He was upholding all things by the word of His power- The one who upheld the universe was the one who Himself came to this world to purge our sins, and then sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
When Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven, Angels came to receive the King and to escort Him triumphantly to heaven. This was the One who was in the Form of God, Who was equal with God, One with God, Who was God. He was the one who made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (John 1:1, Phil. 2:6)

After He had suffered the biggest disgrace in His death upon the cross, because of our sins, Jesus Christ, Who will forever carry His identification with humanity, (the son of man as well as the son of God) was escorted to heaven and exalted as the King of all creatures both in heaven and on earth. There in heaven He took His place with the Father on His throne-- the only one worthy to implement the grand covenant between God and man."

Yes, He took His place upon the throne which is the throne of the father and of the lamb. (Rev. 22:1)

Oh, if the people on earth would have seen Him in His Glory, if they would have recognized Him would they have crucified the King of the Glory? "

When we read from the bible we can see how writers express their views about the servant king, whose kingdom shall have no end, they gave him titles like;

-King Eternal (1 Timothy 1:17), - King of Israel (John 1:49) - King of the Jews (Mt. 27:11),- King of kings (1 Tim 6:15; Rev. 19:16), -King of the Ages (Revelation 15:3) and -Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5). You name them. Yet he humble himself not as the type of king the world expected but a king who can wash the feet of his disciples, who can carry our burdens, who will never fight wars nor engage in any violent act.

In general, Christians all over the world use this title in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many denominations including Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Methodists celebrate, the Feast of Christ the King. This title “Christ the King" is also frequently used as a name for churches, schools, seminaries and hospitals. Many in our society today compare this title to our earthly rulers; that is the kings, queens and presidents of our nations. When we look critically in to the various kingships of the world, that is the circular kingdoms of this world, we could find many kinds of injustice, war, dictatorship, inequality, violent, blaspheming, greed, false accusation, betrayal, unrest, no trust, and corruption. Many if not all obtained their power either by violent, corruption, or false promises.

But Jesus' Kingship is not obtained by violence, but of truth, love and peace "'Christ, has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor injustice, but by essence and by nature. Christ said “My kingdom is not of this world”. So today let us based our thoughts on Christ the Majesty or Christ`s kingship. But what we should know is that when Christ came into this world, Jewish thinking of “His kingdom” does not refer to a territory but it is an active concept referring to rule. Therefore when we talk about the Kingdom of God we automatically should understand that God is the king not of a territory but of all creatures. In front of Pilate, they called him king of the Jews but today we called him king of the universe, king of kings, Lord or Lord, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. When we look at the statement of Jesus that his kingdom was not of this world, it did not means that his kingdom had no impact in this world but in that His kingdom is in the heart of those who follow Him.

Christ kingdom and the kingdom of this world, the world of secular government, are two different kingdoms which should never be confused. There for the focus point of Christ` majesty is only on the body of believers, who are no longer of the world because of their union with the father, son and holy spirit. This is a kingdom to do with relationship, relationships which are inspired by God`s own presence and manifesting his love in human hearts

When the Jews were waiting for a king, they were expecting a king who will come to fight war, ride on chariots, and kill people in battle to take over the dynasty of David. But Jesus kingship is not based on human power but of the loving grace of God. His kingship is from above, from the father. That is why many did not welcome him because their expectation of a warrior king did not match with the kingship of Christ.

Christ` Majesty is of grace, peace, love, justice, humility, forgiveness, patience, and His kingdom will never end, will be for all who comes under the umbrella of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our king is a servant king, a king we can trust and hope for, a king who will judge with mercy and love, king who sacrifices himself for all his people, and a king who did not killed but healed. Though he was killed, yet he was rise up from the death by his father to conquered death so that we might live again. He was born a king; he died as servant king, and was enthrone a king in the heavenly throne.

In His Majesty let us sing together the hymn… The servant King......


Christ the King – Unity through the King By Phyllis Wong

Joel, Roy and I are different in age, race, nationality, and gender. But we are standing here to share with you messages about Christ the King from different angles and dimensions. In God we are all equal in worth. We are given opportunity by God to serve. We are called by God in different but unique ways.

KUC is a very diversified congregation. We have members and friends coming from different backgrounds. They come from over twenty countries and speak many different mother tongues. Our motto, “Where all are One” reflects a fundamental belief in unity in Christ. We have demonstrated a strong value for unity in diversity. We are able to respect people from a diverse background. The beauty of the congregation is that we treat each other as equal and unique regardless of our race, gender, social class, age, sexual orientation, marital status and so on. We are all God’s beloved children. Everybody deserves respect and enjoy basic human rights.

Christ our King, He was an unusual King. He came to the world not for power, not for honor. He came not to be served but to serve. Christ has called his disciples and the Church to be faithful servants. Christ wanted his followers to be renewed and to bring the world unity and reconciliation as he did to the world. (2 Cor 5:17) In our world where wars and disasters, both natural and human-made, have led to great destruction to human lives and broken relationships, we as God’s church is reminded once again our mission to engage in peace making and proclaim the good news of unity in Christ.

Christ the King, is a King of Unity. Christ has promised to give the world unity. Christ has offered himself, through his life, death and resurrection to break down the dividing walls, the hostility between people, and to create a new humanity of peace. (Ephesians 2:14 – 18) Only when the church and his disciples are able to unite as One, can we be strong body to serve our Christ the King.

Jesus had prayed for his disciples and the church for unity. (John 17:7-21) Let us sing with a prayerful heart and a spirit of unity to follow Christ’s deeds to break the walls that divide.