[Mcgregorpage] McGregorPage 584, Christ the King, 11/25/07

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Christ the King – November 25, 2007


Jeremiah 23:1-6
Luke 1:68-79
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43


The Cross Next To Ours

Jesus claims us with his life.  He claims us with his death.  And he 
claims us for his eternal kingdom.  First Jesus claims us by the way he 
lived.  God was his refuge and strength to such a degree that he 
required no other.  Then he claims us by dying a death that could not 
be ignored, a death that was deemed by God the perfect sacrifice on our 
behalf and vouched safe with the resurrection.  Finally Jesus claims us 
for his heavenly kingdom.  "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me 
in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)

On the one hand, he is king because of his hereditary claim: "He is the 
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."  
(Colossians 1:15)  On the other hand he is king because of his leading 
us in victory over sin and death.  "...through him God was pleased to 
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by 
making peace through the blood of his cross.  (Colossians 1:20)  In the 
history of kingdoms, bloodline and conquest have been essential to 
being a king, but ruling a territory has been just as essential.   When 
Jeremiah talks about the coming king, he identifies the territory:  "In 
his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety."  
(Jeremiah 23:6)   The Psalmist is more expansive, "He makes wars cease 
to the end of the earth."  His kingdom is the whole earth.  Paul breaks 
free of the earth with a seeming reference to another realm, "the 
inheritance of the saints in the light".  Is this the paradise that 
Jesus promises from the cross?   Remember, Jesus said, "My kingdom is 
not from this world."  (John 18:36)

So, Christ is the king of what?  With world religions in open 
competition, can the world be subject to Christ?  With our hearts the 
scene of open competition, can they be subject to Christ?  Christ has 
the claim to be king, but where is his territory? Where can Christ be 
king?  On the cross next to ours he can.  From the cross next to ours, 
he can reign in our hearts.  From the cross next to ours, he can reign 
in the world.


May these thoughts strengthen you.

An Open Letter to Fellow Pastors
>From Roland McGregor, United Methodist Pastor
(an e-mail service)

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  --Copyright 2007, Roland McGregor, all rights reserved—
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