God's Saving Plan

John 18:33-37

Reign of Christ, November 24, 2024

Holy Trinity Cathedral

“God’s Saving Plan”

During the month of November, we have been exploring what it means to budget our talents, our time, and our treasure for God.  So far as we are able, we are invited to give what we hold for the good of the kingdom.  To really understand God’s saving plan, though, we look to the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.  He doesn’t just give us an example of a righteous person living faithfully.  There are many good stewards in the stories of our faith.  More importantly, Jesus makes possible our part in the plan because he has paid the membership fee for all of us.  In the economics of God’s kingdom, heaven’s gift is our gain.  When we affirm Jesus as our King and Saviour, the economics of the world are turned upside down. 

Jesus warns his followers: “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25).  The way of the cross is a rejection of what the world offers as reward.  Earthly rulers have wealth and power and privilege. But Jesus follows a different path to kingship.  People try to mold him into their idea of what a king should be. Religious authorities both welcome and fear the challenges this declaration brings to their institution.  And civil authorities, including the present day, are threatened by the political and social implications of his reign.  All of us struggle to understand his servant leadership, where giving all over to God brings about the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever.

When Jesus is arrested and brought to trial before the governor of Judea, Pilate asks him directly, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  A “yes” will condemn him to the cross.  A “no” will be untruthful. Both yes and no are incomplete because of the way the question is framed.  Pilate is labelling him with a title he doesn’t really believe, but he knows will irritate the leaders of Judaism. Jesus turns the question back to his examiner: “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”  In other words, in order to judge him, Pilate has to come to a personal decision of who Jesus is.  The Roman governor tries to sidestep this.  Instead, he asks what Jesus has done to bring this accusation upon himself.  As a reply, Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world.  It is not a place on a map. The now and future rule of God is in people’s hearts. 

All through the Scriptures runs a theme that it is God alone who saves.  The Hebrews understood salvation as being in possession of a space where they had freedom and security without constrictions.  Salvation is what delivers people from that which binds us.  That manifests as injustice, inequity, hatred, fear, oppression: all the policies, programs and people that hurt and destroy what God has in mind.  Salvation delivers from sin.  When judges and kings were raised up, they were supposed to reflect the reign of God by their servant leadership.  They were to put the needs of the people first so that all could live in wellbeing, peace, and security.  It didn’t work out very well, even with prophets around to remind folks of what the common life was to be.  God had to take an active role.

So the Messianic understanding came about: one person would be raised up and anointed by God to lead all into right relationship.  For many Jews, this meant on home turf in the promised land.  Jesus was born as that child of promise.  His name is a big clue: Yeshua or Jesus means “God saves”.  In the stories of his life, time and time again he pronounces to people that they are saved through faith.  They recognize him as King and Saviour and are freed from their sins.  Being saved in healing is more than health of the body.  It is the reorientation of an individual’s heart to recognize the Lord of life. 

Jesus spends God’s power to save those he encounters.  Even when confronted by the fear and hostility of the religious leaders and the Roman authorities, Jesus sticks to God’s plan.  “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice”, he says (John 18:37).  He invites Pilate and us to listen.

Pilate hesitates.  When confronted with the choice between his idea of how earthly kings operate and how Jesus reigns, he cannot take the leap of faith.  But even in his role as the one who condemns Jesus to death, Pilate is powerless to block what God has in mind.  The crucifixion does not mark the end of Jesus’ campaign.  The powers of sin and death are broken not through armed resistance, but by the strength of love.  The truth is that when God puts all heavenly means of salvation into Jesus, nothing is outside redemption.  Nothing costs too much.  God spends it all.

In the resurrection life, the community of faith is invited into God’s continuing saving plan.  The foundations of the kingdom of heaven are laid.  We have a part in building it now and into the future.  Stewardship is about making God’s priorities our priorities by listening to Christ’s voice in community.  The truth is that our wider neighbourhood is anxious, lonely, and looking for hope in an increasingly fearful world.  We are called to respond.  With God’s grace, we have the capacity to be a place of:

Belonging           - welcome, support, compassion and care

Becoming          - openness, transformation, equipping for ministry

Benefitting        - stewardship and servant leadership modeled on Christ our King

This is a place we want to be the body of Christ for the world.  Let's be part of God's saving plan.  Amen.