Brent Kuhlman

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Wednesday of Lent 2                                                                                      

3 March 2010                                                                                               

When You Pray Say:  “Thy Kingdom Come”

St. John 18:28-40

God’s reign.  His kingdom.  Do you see God’s glorious reign on the earth?  Do you see His mighty kingdom?  Is it on display with all the pomp and circumstance that is the Roman empire in Judea with Governor Pilate?  What a court!  What attendants!  What magnificence!  What wealth!  What power!       

Look carefully. God’s reign and God’s kingdom stands right before the representative of his majesty and his eminence, Caesar of Rome.  It’s Jesus.  God in the flesh Jesus!  King of kings and Lord of lords Jesus!  “Who for us men and for our salvation CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man,” (Nicene Creed).

But how pathetic Who For Us Men And For Our Salvation Came Down From Heaven Jesus looks.  Betrayed.  Arrested.  Denied.  On trial in Pilate’s court.  And once Pilate’s soldiers get a hold of Him, He’ll look even less kingly.  Beaten to a pulp.  The back of His flesh mercilessly flogged/ripped.  Mocked with a purple robe and a crown of thorns.  Nothing more than a fake king!  A fraudulent kingdom! 

The Governor would investigate this Jesus.  Is He the king of the Jews?  Does He have a kingdom?  Jesus confesses that He is a king.  But not a worldly kind of king.  Not a worldly kind of kingdom.  “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus says.  And yet He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  The Who For Us Men And For Our Salvation Came Down From Heaven Monarch.  Suffering Servant kind of king!  He came down from heaven not for Himself.  But for you! 

He’s come down from heaven to do the salvation job.  A Mount Calvary.  A Good Friday.  Not just for the Jews.  But for all.  For the entire world!  For you.  For me! 

Kingdom of God Jesus comes down from heaven to annex the entire world in His bloody Good Friday wounds.  To draw all men to Himself as He is lifted high upon His throne:  the Tree!  A world conqueror He is -- this Who For Us Men And For Our Salvation Came Down From Heaven Jesus! 

What a King!  What a Kingdom!  Behold His reign!  Delivered into the hands of sinners.  Suffers.  Dies.  Bears the entire lot of the world’s sin in His Body.  Atones for every last bit of it.  “It is finished,” the King declares!  And the head of the ancient, wicked dragon named Satan is crushed.  Death’s deep dark chill loses its crushing grip.  And hell is not a place reserved for you.         

All this done without your praying.  Without your help.  Without your advice and consent.  He just goes and does it!  Willingly.  Lovingly.  While you were ungodly sinners.

So what’s the point of praying “Thy kingdom come?” Well, that’s how Jesus teaches faith to pray.  With all boldness and confidence that your heavenly Father gives good gifts to you His children.  When you pray “Thy kingdom come,” you’re begging the Father to bring and reveal Christ’s gracious reign to you!  Smack dab in the midst of your life and your living in this world.

“Thy kingdom come.”  And Christ manifests His Calvary reign over you in time. In your Baptism God put His holy name on you.   And with His name He gives Himself to you:  totally and completely.  The Father Holy Spirit-ed you! The Lord and Giver of life, in that washing of water with the Word of Christ, gave you new birth.  From above.  New creations in Christ you are!.  Buried with Christ into His all atoning death.  To be raised up with Him for a new life.  The life of faith.  In Who For Us Men And For Our Salvation Came Down From Heaven King Jesus!   

“Thy kingdom come.”  God is not miserly with His mercy.  Jesus lords His Good Friday forgiveness over you.  Over all of your life.  Over all of your sin.  Over your death.  Over everything!  He reveals and gives it in the Supper.  “My Body . . . My Blood,” He says.  “They are for you.  And I promise that your sin is forgiven.”   You are forgiven.  The King says so.  He’s there in the Sacrament giving and doing exactly what He says.  St. Paul describes it this way:  “God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” (Colossians 1).   

His reign of forgiveness changes everything for you.  You have life.  You have salvation.  The whole lot.  An unshakeable kingdom!  For the fruit of such royal forgiveness is magnificent.  It leads to the end game:  the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. 

What a kingdom!  What a King!  What a Savior!  That He gives such an eternal, priceless treasure and everything that He Himself possesses to you!

In the Name of Jesus.