33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:33-43 NRSV)
One may not normally assign forgiveness as a trait for a king. In the stories our daughters heard and read, the king was usually an evil person. I will never forget one summer we were at annual conference at Southwestern University in Gerogetown, Texas. This was a session of the Rio Grande Conference, and the choir of La Trinidad UMC of San Antonio was singing at the opening worship service. They were singing in English, "The King is Coming." My little daughter's ears perked up and she loudly said to my Dad who was holding her, "Oh my God, Grandpa, get me out of here! The king is coming!" People around her chuckled but Nellie and I understood why our Nellie was scared. The king in most of her stories was an evil man, with forgiveness as a missing trait in his life. Yet, here we hear our King, Jesus, on the cross, painfully attached to the tree that would claim his life saying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Honestly, most of us would have to confess that given all that Jesus endured, forgiveness may not have been in our nature either. Jesus' clothing was being dividing up by the soldiers and the rulers, those near Jesus sneered at Him. They mockingly said, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is God's Messiah, the Chosen One." Jesus was thirsty, but He was given wine vinegar by the soldiers, and even more bitter, the taunts, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." And even a sign was provided for the area above His head that read, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. A sign that goes back to the time of Samuel when God warned Israel about wanting a king. God outlined all the negative things that the king would do against the people; taxes, conscription of young men and women into service of the nation, eminent domain, and on and on. The roll call of all of Israel's kings includes three, maybe one or two more, that we can truly say were good kings of the Jews.
At this point Jesus hears from one of the two criminals who asks Jesus to save Himself and them from the coming death. The other criminal rebuked the other by saying, "Don't you fear God? We're under the same sentence of death and we deserve it. But this man does not deserve to die in this way, for He has done nothing wrong. Then, turning to Jesus, he says, "Jesus, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom." A statement of profound faith, and quite a request that Jesus answers by saying, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Jesus is your king. Jesus is my king. Jesus is the King of Kings; one not limited to just the Jews; Jesus is the King of the Universe, and in the way He offered life to the condemned criminal, He offers it to us. What better gifts could a king give? Jesus, our King offers us life. This coming Sunday, most Christian churches will proclaim in worship, that Jesus is King as Sunday is, in the Lectionary, Christ the King Sunday. But instead of just being a one Sunday deal, where we say, "Christ is the King," we should view it seriously, as a way to live. We have a King and we are His subjects and His teachings as found in scripture teach us how to live, how to love, how to interact with one another, and how to be the people that our King would have us be. At least imagine the less political fights and arguments we'd have if we acknowledge that Christ's Kingdom matters more than any early Realm or Reign. Christ as King leads us to paradise.
PRAYER: Loving King, we humble ourselves as Your subjects. As we pray in the prayer You taught us, "Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory." Make that more real for us in our hearts and minds. Guide us to glorify You in every aspect of our lives. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day n the Lord! Be a loyal subject of King Jesus today!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde Our sincere thanks to our veterans who read ConCafe! Thank you all for your service. May you be blessed this day and all days!
