Reign of Christ

Sunday Reflection – November 24, 2024

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Is Jesus a king?

John 18 33 Pilate then went back inside. He called Jesus over and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own or did someone tell you about me?”

35 “You know I’m not a Jew!” Pilate said. “Your own people and the chief priests brought you to me. What have you done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If it did, my followers would have fought to keep me from being handed over to our leaders. No, my kingdom doesn’t belong to this world.”

37 “So you are a king,” Pilate replied.

“You are saying that I am a king,” Jesus told him. “I was born into this world to tell about the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth knows my voice.”

Kids Korner: Is Jesus a king? (November 24th)

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Read John 18:33-37 with your family.

In the days when Jesus was teaching, people tried hard to understand what he was trying to say, especially when the things Jesus said were so different from what they understood of the world around him.

We have the same problem today. We expect Jesus’ stories and teachings to fit into our 21st century world, and really struggle to force it to fit when it doesn’t easily.

But Jesus asked us to think outside the box, to not use our assumptions to understand what he was saying, but rather to use our heart and our ears to hear the message and vision of something new.

When Jesus was asked if he was king, he knew Pilate was only asking about political leadership the way Pilate understood it. But Jesus was never interested in leading a country or an empire, Jesus was trying to change all of it into a better world for everyone, not just the rich.

Jesus didn’t answer Pilate because Pilate could not understand. Now it’s our turn. Do we understand Jesus?

Sunday Reflection – November 21, 2021

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pilate questions jesus

John 18 33 Pilate went back into the palace. He summoned Jesus and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others spoken to you about me?”

35 Pilate responded, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your nation and its chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”

37 “So you are a king?” Pilate said.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.”

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Kids Korner: Pilate questions Jesus (November 21st)

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Read John 18:33-37 with your family. This week is a little bit different from normal because we aren’t organizing worship around the Bible story, but are picking a Bible story with the word “King” in it to talk about the Reign of Christ Sunday, which is always the last Sunday in the Christian year.

Pilate asks Jesus what he did that has made everyone angry, and Jesus says he was just doing what he was supposed to do by sharing the truth. Finally Pilate asks Jesus if he really is a King… because Pilate know the Roman government will be angry with anyone who tells the world he is the new King. Jesus doesn’t answer, he just tells Pilate that those are Pilate’s words, not the words of Jesus.

Sometimes old words make it confusing to understand what Jesus wants to teach us, so how about we change the word “kingdom” for Community, and “king” for Friend. Now what does that tell us about the world Jesus wants us to live in?