Revelation 1:4b-6 Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power forever and ever!  Amen.

       I must confess that I like the emphasis or themes found in these last few Sundays of Pentecost.  Traditionally, that is with the old Hymnal, these particular Sundays had no special designation.  They were simply known as "Sundays after Trinity."  However with the development of the new hymnal a few minor changes were made.  First, we went from "Sundays after Trinity" to "Sundays after Pentecost."  Second, modern Lutheran hymnals, including ours, designated the last four Sundays as "the Season of End Time."  As far as I can gather this designation of the Season of End Time does indeed go back to the time of the Reformation.  Those four Sunday are: Reformation, Last Judgment, Saints Triumphant and this Sunday, Christ the King.
       It is Christ the King Sunday that is a modern addition to the Season of End Time.  Ancient church calendars had no such designation.  Yet I like it.  I like it because of what it was designed to do.  Our own liturgical help manual states of this Sunday, "It reminds us that the entire year of the church celebrates the rule of Christ over our hearts now and forever."  I can't think of a better way to end the church year and to prepare our hearts for the new church year coming.
       Let's then consider this marvel of Jesus.  Our theme will be: CHRIST THE KING.  1st. What He is!  2nd. Why He is!
       I have always appreciated the fact that Jesus is our King but I'm afraid that this title of Jesus is not very well accepted in our US society.  Our country was established with the idea that we would have no royalty and that all men are created equal.  That is a part of what makes our country great but unfortunately that attitude of our country flows over into our religious attitude.  In our country we have an attitude that says, "Hey, we are all equal and no one has the right to tell me what to do."  In other words we like to pretend that we are our own kings and queens who rule over our own little kingdoms.  We don't like interference and we don't like it when someone tells us what to do, even when what we are told serves the greater good.
Sometimes our attitude is good and sometimes not so good.  It is good when it serves to keep individual rights and freedoms before us.  It is not so good when we so insist on our personal rights with the results are that others around us are hurt.  It is also not so good when we insist on personal rights in religion and the end result is that the truth of God is hurt or souls are hurt because God and his truth are compromised.
What I am speaking of can be clearly grasped in just contemplating the fact that Christ is the King!  I can guarantee you that Christ as a king is neither a tyrant nor is he a power hungry despot who cares only for himself.  Our Jesus is the greatest king there ever was and is.  Our Jesus is gracious and loving toward us, his subjects.  Our Jesus would never do anything to hurt or harm our souls.  So why does the majority of the world (and many times even us) have trouble acknowledging that Christ is the King?  Perhaps it is because we don't grasp the what or how of this king.  Let's explore further.
Listen to what our text says, "Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the Sevenfold Spirit before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth."  Let's start with the most obvious thing to learn here.
The most obvious thing to learn here is that we are speaking of God, the Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Didn't you notice the three parts or the Trinitarian formula found in these words?  There was God the Father, who was and is and is to come.  There was the Holy Spirit who is before the throne of God and with the designation of "sevenfold" is clearly defined as the one who carry's out the Father's will and work among us.  There was Jesus Christ.  Jesus is described in the greatest of detail and it is worth paying closer attention to what Jesus is.
First, it is clear that Jesus is a part of this God-head that is being spoken of.  Second, the role of Jesus in relation to this God-head is also wonderfully attested.  Just look at the descriptions given of Jesus and contemplate his total marvel.  I will share those terms with you in the order in which they occur in the Greek text.
Jesus is "the witness."  It is a word that says that Jesus testifies and speaks about what he has seen and heard, about what he knows and can prove.  Think of what Jesus himself revealed in John 12. "For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.  I know that his command leads to eternal life."  In John 6 Jesus says, "No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father."  It is in Jesus the witness that we learn the truth, wonder and goodness of God.  Without Jesus we could not know the truth of God, the complete truth, the truth that sets us free.
Jesus is "the faithful."  This word tells us that Jesus is trustworthy and true.  What Jesus has said, you can believe.  What Jesus has pronounced as fact, you can know as truth.  Jesus is not only faithful in his witness of God, Jesus is faithful to God and faithful in carrying out the will and redemptive work of God.  In John 5 we hear, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  For the Father loves he son and shows him all he does."
Then we learn that Jesus is "the firstborn of the dead."  Here is a reference to the redemptive work that Jesus has done and to the great promises found in Jesus.  "Because I live, you also will live."  As Jesus has been raised and lives for all eternity so it will be for us.  The term firstborn implies that others will follow.  His victory is ours is what this phrase proclaims.
Finally we hear that awesome truth of Jesus, "the ruler of the kings of the earth."  Jesus is called the ruler because he is God but also because as God's Son our Savior all authority in heaven and earth is his.  He is the judge, the one who has been placed over all things in this world.  He directs this world for the good of his Church and for the salvation of the souls He has won.  He directs this world in and through His Word, the truth that he has revealed and that has the very backing of his majesty.  In Rev. 19 you can see the triumphant picture of this king, our glorious and exalted Savior who has the name: "King of kings and Lord of lords."
That, Dear people, is the who and what of Jesus.  His kingship is not elected or voted on but rather is a kingship that always was.  It is the born of the royalty of God, of the perfection of holiness and existed always in the realm of eternity.  But what we especially need to grasp is that he is our King because of his victory over sin, death and the Devil.  His is not the selfish rule of vanity but the loving rule of a king who fought and won a desperate battle for the sake of his subjects.  Understanding why he took this role is so important for us.
The why is revealed in our text.  Before we even look at the next section go back and realize how our last section started.  It said, 'Grace and peace to you from...."  It is because of Jesus that we have this grace and peace.  It is grace, the unfettered love of God that is ours.  It is peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding that is ours.  The grace and peace of God are ours in Jesus.  Yet there is more to see.
Verse 5b and 6 say, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father."  Can enough be said of these words?  In total love for our souls Jesus came to be our Savior.  Through his blood, yes, his suffering and death and then his resurrection to life he has set us free.  Free from the guilt of our sins.  Free from the fear of death in this life and free from the terror of hell's eternal punishment.  This is all done in his blood.  Our king died for us.  Our Lord fought the fight, endured the battle, suffered the scars and won the victory for us.  He declares us his children, heirs of eternal life by grace, yes, the very same grace we just heard of as coming from God.
In him we have been made a kingdom.  In him we are declared his priests.  And now, in him and because of him we can and do serve our God and Father.  Jesus has done this for us.  Jesus the King, in love has freed us to serve and love our God.
Isn't that incredible!   Jesus wins this victory and is declared the king of kings and lord of lords not for himself, but rather for us.  He did it that we might have a part of his kingdom.  He did it that we might share in his glory and be heirs of his splendor.  He became king for us.
I want you to let that set in because in that way I pray you will grasp the marvel of Jesus.  Remember what was already said.  Jesus is the King because he is God.  In other words, He always was the King.  He lived and ruled eternally in Heaven over all that is.  But for Jesus, this eternal kingdom was nothing unless you and I are included.  So he entered our world.  He set aside his power, majesty, glory and honor as God to become a man.  He became a man to endure the trials, tribulations and temptations of sin and Satan.  And since Jesus remained perfectly holy in everything he offered his life in death for us.  He did this for only one reason: to be our Savior.  Here is the peace that we spoke of earlier.  It is the peace of knowing that our sins are forgiven.  It is the peace of God's promise of eternal life and salvation.  It is the peace found in Jesus and his purpose.  His peace has becomes ours.  His kingdom has become ours.  Don't you see, his desire was to share his kingdom, to share his eternity with mankind!  It is because of this that we realize His kingship, that we realize what Jesus the King has done for us.
I do not find this idea of Christ the King offensive.  His kingship was not established in order that he lord it over us but rather that he share his kingdom with us.  In Jesus we are made princes and princesses, children of our royal God now and forever.  May we rejoice in the marvel and wonder of Jesus, the King, our King.  May we be moved by God's grace and peace to then serve with our King and bring glory to our Heavenly Father.  Amen.