Sermon for Sunday, 23 November 2025 Christ the King
By Revd Nigel Adkinson
[Bible reading: Luke 23: 33–43]
Grace to you and peace from the Crucified and Risen King.
Amen
Christ the King Sunday is supposed to sound triumphant. We expect trumpets, crowns, and glory. But Luke gives us a very different picture. Instead of a throne, Jesus hangs on a cross. Instead of royal robes, he is stripped. Instead of a crown of gold, he wears thorns. Instead of supporters, he is surrounded by mockers.
Above him a sign reads: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ It is meant as a joke – yet it tells the deepest truth in the universe.
From the beginning, Jesus’ kingship was unlike any other. He came not to dominate, but to heal. Not to demand service, but to serve. Not to take life, but to give it.
And on the cross, we see the full revelation of what God’s power actually looks like: self-giving love that refuses to stop loving, even when it is rejected.
The world says kings must be strong, victorious, untouchable. But Christ shows us that true kingship is found in humility, vulnerability, and sacrificial love.
On either side of Jesus are two criminals. They look at the same crucified man and see two very different things. One joins the mockers: ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ His vision of a king is the same as the world’s: a king should fix everything with force; a king should escape suffering; a king should use power to avoid weakness.
But the other criminal sees something deeper. He sees a king whose love remains even in agony. He sees a kingdom that can reach into a place as dark as Golgotha. And he says the most honest prayer in Scripture:
‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’
He is the first person in the Gospel to recognise that Jesus’ kingdom is revealed on the cross, not apart from it.
Jesus answers him: ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’
Not tomorrow. Not someday. Not if you get your life together. Today.
In the middle of betrayal, cruelty, injustice, and suffering, Jesus still gives mercy. In the darkest moment in human history, Jesus still opens the door of his kingdom.
This is what it means for Christ to be King: No one is beyond the reach of his mercy. Not the guilty. Not the broken. Not the fearful. Not the ones who feel they have nothing to offer.
This criminal has no good works to point to, no future to devote to God. He has only a plea—and that is enough for Jesus.
…
Click on the heading to read the full text of the Sermon.
