Marks of Discipleship: Justice Rev 1: 4-8

Today is a special day in the life of the church. The Sunday before Advent. Christ the King Sunday when the lordship of Jesus Christ is front and center. Today is the day when we remember that Jesus’s Lordship was not given haphazardly - that it was bought with a price and shown through the glory of the empty tomb. The day when we proclaim that we believe that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the earth.

But what type of ruler is Jesus and is this the type of ruler that we want him to be? The first disciples struggled with these same questions. They imagined Jesus to be the type of ruler that they knew - a military leader who would rescue them by force from the grip of Roman rule. But Jesus did not come with an army or to conquer with the sword, leaving some of the disciples disillusioned and disappointed. 

If we do not take time to examine our own hearts and minds to see who we expect Jesus to be, we will often become disappointed and disillusioned as well. When we compare Jesus to the type of rulers that we see and know, we find that Jesus does not fit into these molds. And with our frame of reference tarnished, we don’t know how to define the lordship of Jesus the Christ.

John, the author of the book of Revelation, understands the need for Christ’s disciples to be able to wrap their minds around his lordship. For how can we be a disciple of someone whom we do not know? Cannot describe? So John wrote to the seven churches in the province of Asia to describe to them that Jesus is King and assert that no earthly ruler can ever compare to him. A firm testimony to stand upon during a time of persecution by earthly rulers. John penned his letter as an epistle that gives hope to those in present times of trial and an apocalypse, a vision of the future. And in his letter, he sought to bestow confidence on the disciples who were in danger by helping them understand who they have faith in and what they believe. 

John starts by telling the churches who Jesus Christ is. Jesus Christ is the one who witnesses to God on our behalf. He walked along the earth telling people about God, healing them of their ailments, and testifying to the power of the Divine. He showed people in tangible form the love of God from the moment of his conception until he was raised from the dead by the will of God in order to rule over all of the earth at God’s right hand. 

John went on to pen what Jesus Christ has done for us. He loved us enough, even before we knew him, to suffer death for us, spilling his own blood for our sins. He did this by choice as a sacrifice for us. 

Up until this point what John’s writing sounds like a shortened version of our apostles creed but John’s final point about Christ is what is left out of our creeds, he tells the followers in Asia what we are to do as disciples under the reign of Christ. He answers the question of how we are to be bearers of faithful witness. For he has made us to be priests in the kingdom of God in order to glorify God through our service. 

Who Christ is, what he has done, and our response. A powerful message found is four short verses of today’s scripture passage. John wants those readers to know that Jesus is so much more then the leadership they are suffering under now. Jesus brings more authority, more power, more dignity, and more transformation then they could ever imagine. Then we could ever imagine. Its hard for those of us who are living in the United States today to wrap our minds around what these early Christians were suffering for the name of Christ. The torture they endured. The blood they shed. The family they lost. All because they believed in Jesus Christ and in his lordship. All because they weren’t willing to put any earthly leader above the one who meant the most in their lives. The one who was truly their beginning and their end. The one who was and is and is to come. 

Do we share the vigor and strength of these early Christians today? Do we base our lives, the choices the make, on the belief that Jesus was and is the ruler of all and is yet to come again to bring even more transformation? Do we believe in the God who sent redemption to us through Jesus Christ and who will bring even more redemption? And do we find hope in that?

I have met some Christians throughout my life who focus on the cross. They only speak about the cross because for them, once they are freed from sin, the story is over. Jesus saved them and now they just need to wait for Heaven. But John is telling his audience about who Christ is and what our response is as well, not just what Christ did for us on the cross. The cross is neither the beginning nor the end of our faith. It is central, but calls us forward in accountability for how we live our lives. How do we live as if Jesus is our beginning and our end?

Christ’s lordship in our lives is one of justice. But not the type of justice that focuses on us and our sins but on God’s grandeur. How God’s love is so much bigger then any of our sins. Jesus’ justice is the type that acquits those who are truly sorry and then calls us to live a life of justice that brings hope to those around us.

We may not be facing the same injustices today that the church’s in Asia faced. We may not be dying for our faith. Losing all we have. Submitting ourselves to a corrupt rule. But today, in America, we still face issues of injustice around consumerism, self-indulgence, and isolation, which separate us from the love of God. 

As disciples of Christ we are called to be bearers of justice. Justice that speaks out when we witness an injustice. That tries to guide the system to a more loving way. That tells our neighbors of the justifying love of Christ. And that lives life with God being our first priority. The center of all we do. 

Today, on Christ the King Sunday, we conclude our series on the marks of discipleship. Over the past three weeks we have discussed how disciples lives are recognizable by devotion, worship, and acts of justice. As we prepare to enter to enter into a new year in the life of the Church, I would encourage you to pray about how you can live these marks out in your own life. How can you be active in your life as a Christian? How can people recognize you living out your faith? I would encourage you to participate weekly in worship in the coming year. Worship is the one communal thing that we do as the body of Christ. Through worship, we honor God and grow closer with God’s people. I would also encourage you to find a place where you can study the Bible, either on your own with accountability or in a small group, and a place to serve, and offer love to others through the grace of Jesus Christ. My hope and pray that this year we will each grow as disciples as we grow as a congregation. That we will be recognizable by our devotion to God and our service to others. The God who was and is and is to come wants to transform the world through you? Are you willing to be transformed? Amen.