What is Truth
Knox, Port Carling & Zion Torrance Presbyterian Pastoral Charge
Sunday March 29, 2020 ~ 5th Sunday in Lent
Message: Lord & King of all Creation, let us choose to honour and serve Him as our King
Reverend Glynis Faith
Psalm 27 (NIV) A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
1 Samuel 8 (NIV) Israel Asks for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
John 19:12-16 (NIV) Here is Your King
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
We continue the journey of Christ’s Passion as told through the Gospel of John. Thus far we have followed Jesus and His disciples from the streets of Jerusalem, which are overcrowded with Jews who have come to celebrate the Festival of Passover. We travelled with Jesus and His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is betrayed and arrested under the cover of darkness and taken to Annas for questioning. We witnessed Peter’s denial as we considered how easily we can say or do the wrong thing. We listened in on a trial that was decided before it began, as the religious authorities work to fabricate a charge they can use against Jesus. Jesus was then brought before the civil authority of Pilate. There was a glimmer of hope as Pilate claimed to find no basis for a charge against Jesus, but that hope diminished when he sent Jesus to be flogged in an attempt to pacify the crowds.
The Passion of Jesus is a difficult journey to follow. We review the story and shake our heads at the hypocrisy, abuse of power, arrogance, lies, brutality, greed – the humanness of it all. We continue the journey today looking specifically at the people’s rejection of God. It is a tough journey, but let us continue.
Jesus has been condemned by the priests for blasphemy – claiming Himself to be the Son of God.
The charges against Jesus are moved from the religious setting into the civil court overseen by Pontius Pilate. Pilate finds no offense in Jesus, yet he is unable to satisfy the crowds and free Him. The religious leaders want Jesus dead and the crowds have joined in on the call for Jesus’ blood. With no power to order Christ’s execution, the priests now use blackmail to force Pilate’s compliance, claiming Pilate is ‘no friend of Caesars.’ The religious leaders now have Pilate cornered. If he frees the man who claims to be a king, he opposes Caesar. Opposing Tiberius Caesar would be the equivalent to signing his own death warrant. The people win!
The soldiers mock Jesus and the claim that He is a king.
And Pilate mocks the people with,
“Here is your king” and “Shall I crucify your king?,” then placing the sign “King of the Jews” on the cross of Jesus. The people might deny Jesus as their king, but Pilate enjoys publicly rubbing their noses in their execution of an innocent man.
The crowds then reveal the truth that is in their hearts…
WHAT IS TRUTH??
For the crowds, the truth is “we have no king but Caesar.” The people of God have become focused on mammon and lost sight of their God and one true King.
For Pilate, the truth was not worth the cost, so he gave in to the blackmail, but not without rubbing their hypocrisy in their faces.
Jesus’ truth was that He is the Son of God who submits Himself into the hands of humanity to share His inheritance with the people who deserted Him, rejected Him, denied knowing Him, bore false witness against Him, mocked and beat Him, for those who joined in on the chant to ‘crucify him,’ and for those who, out of fear, stood by and did nothing.
Jesus is the truth for all who will listen. Realizing this, the Psalmist requests, “teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path…” The Psalmist wants to know the truth and is ready to listen.
For all who have wandered from the truth – for all who oppose the truth – for all who would deny the truth – and for all who refuse to hear the truth Jesus would submit His life. He did not offer up a defence, He only spoke the truth. Jesus submits Himself to the lies, ignorance, cruelty and rejection and mockery of humanity, and He does so to offer salvation from sin. Through His humble submission Jesus claims the right of King – Prince of Peace over humanity.
The truth is, we can easily lose sight of Who our King is when we place anything in this life ahead of our relationship with God.
In our Old Testament reading we see the people of Israel demanding a king. The people want what other nations have. They want someone to lead them – someone to go ahead of them – someone to fight their battles. They wanted what they already had, only they wanted the physical version that other nations had. Their demand for an earthly king was a rejection of God as their King.
In our New Testament reading God’s people once again reject Him as their King. Not only do they reject God’s son, but once again they pledge their loyalty to an earthly king, “we have no king but Caesar.”
Israel asks for an earthly king so they can be like the other nations and the religious leaders pledge allegiance to Caesar so they can maintain their status and financial security. It is easy to look back and see the rejection, but it is doubtful they would have seen it that way at the time.
It can be easy to get caught up in what we want without considering the whole picture or the consequences. Fear can blind us from doing what is right – to standing on truth. We look back and see the sins of others, only to commit the same sins in different ways.
Making someone or something else king in their lives – putting something or someone ahead of God! It is easily done when we don’t keep our eyes, ears, hearts and minds focussed on God. If we only give God one hour per week, there are 167 hours each week left for us to become distracted by other things, and those other things could start taking priority in our lives.
I am mindful during this time of self isolation of how many things we have assigned great importance in our lives – things that can be put on hold if our lives become threatened. I think of all the things that would have been purchased these past few weeks if stores had not been forced to close, and I wonder if our lives are better or worse off without those purchases. I think of the busy roads and highways as people jump into cars and race from one destination to another – no time to chat or catch up with neighbours and friends – but now people are walking and having conversations with people (at a safe distance, that is), or using technology to connect. There are several people on the Island I have been wanting to call since I arrived in Muskoka, but I put it off until I had time to have a good long chat. Well, people suddenly have time to make those calls – to check on neighbours – to check in on the elderly. I wonder what things I am putting before God, or what things I am too busy to include God in.
There are plenty of things we can make king in our lives:
- fashion - popularity
- social status - wealth
- possessions - clubs and organizations
- self entitlement - comforts
- homes - careers
- vehicles - yard/deck
- entertaining - entertainment
- technology - social media
Anything that we put ahead of our relationship with God can become the thing that causes us to deny Him as our King.
Perhaps we can use this ‘down time’ to focus on what is really important in our lives and to prioritize. Let’s look at how we are spending our time and our resources. Let’s consider if our relationship with God is growing and maturing, or if it requires a bit more time and attention. Let’s consider our relationships with those around us and with God’s creation, remembering our call to love and care for both.
The World Evangelical Alliance is promoting today as a day of prayer and fasting, so let’s take today to pray like king David, “teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path…,” that we might be mindful of our Lord and King, placing Him back on the throne of our hearts.
Let us remember that Jesus is King by:
- Divine appointment
- Anointment (Messiah)
- Nature (Son of God)
- Mediatorial position (prophet & priest, mediating between God and humanity)
- Passion (purchased the rights as Lord of all who choose His Kingdom)
Whether or not we accept Jesus as our Lord and King, He is still Lord and King of all creation. The question is not whether Christ is King; but rather, will we choose to worship and serve Him as Lord and King of our life? The choice is ours!
I have committed to taking 5 minutes every hour today to stop and pray. I hope each of you will set aside time for prayer today as well, and I pray that through your conversation with God you will feel His reassuring presence and peace.
God bless you!