Consider the Word, November 18, 2021 The Reign of Christ Sunday

 
Consider the Word, November 18, 2021
The Reign of Christ Sunday
Email stpauls@pei.aibn.com for the link to the Bible Study.
 
Readings for November 21:

• 2 Samuel 23:1-7
• Psalm 132:1-13 (14-19)
• Revelation 1:4b-8
• John 18:33-37

 
Collect

Almighty and everlasting God,

whose will it is to restore all things

in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King,

grant that the peoples of the earth,

now divided and enslaved by sin,

may be freed and brought together

under his gentle and loving rule;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 
Reading: John 18:33-37

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. 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."

 
Reflection Questions
The charge of kingship is the central question of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Jesus never answers Pilate’s question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Who do we say Jesus is?

1. What are the implications for us and our claims for Jesus?

 
Closing Prayer

Most High God, majestic and almighty,

our beginning and our end:

rule in our hearts

and guide us to be faithful in our daily actions,

worshiping the one who comes

as Savior and Sovereign,

and who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

 
The Message:

³³ Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?”

³⁵ Pilate said, “Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?”

³⁶ “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”

³⁷ Then Pilate said, “So, are you a king or not?”

Jesus answered, “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”

 
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson