Nov. 23, 2025 - Who is this Jesus? - Christ the King Sunday - Lord

In a world filled with opinions, theories, and carefully curated beliefs, one question cuts through the noise with startling clarity: Who is Jesus to you?

Not who was Jesus to your parents. Not who your Sunday school teacher said he was. Not the Jesus of Christmas cards or cultural Christianity. But who is he to you?

This isn't a question we can answer casually or dismiss with religious platitudes. It's the most important question we'll ever face, and our answer—or lack thereof—shapes everything about how we live.

Stripping Away the Familiar
Most of us who grew up in Christian homes carry what we might call "embedded theology"—beliefs we absorbed before we could even articulate them. We sang the songs, heard the stories, and learned the vocabulary of faith long before we understood what any of it truly meant.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this foundation. But here's the challenge: Have we ever examined these beliefs for ourselves? Have we looked at Jesus with fresh eyes, stripped of all the cultural Christianity we've inherited?

C.S. Lewis, the brilliant Christian apologist, recognized his own embedded biases. Born and raised in Christian England, baptized as an infant, confirmed in the Church of England—he knew Christianity before he knew himself. Yet he had the intellectual honesty to step back and examine Jesus objectively, looking at his words and actions in their original context.

What Lewis discovered led him to articulate what he called the "trilemma"—a logical framework that leaves us with only three possible conclusions about Jesus: He was either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord.

The Context Changes Everything
To understand Jesus properly, we must transport ourselves back to first-century Palestine. We cannot ask 21st-century questions of an ancient text. We cannot project our modern sensibilities onto a culture vastly different from our own.

During Jesus' time, people had their own embedded theologies. They believed in Nephilim—half-human, half-angel beings. They had sophisticated teachings about angels based on just a few verses of Scripture (not unlike how some today build entire belief systems around angels or end-times prophecy with similarly limited biblical foundation).

Most importantly, they had crystal-clear theology about God's oneness. From Deuteronomy 6:4, they recited daily: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." God had declared through Isaiah: "I am the first and the last. Besides me, there is no other God."

Into this context walked Jesus—the illegitimate son of a carpenter (or so everyone believed). Mary's pregnancy before marriage was scandalous. When people called Jesus "the son of Mary" rather than "the son of Joseph," it was a deliberate insult, highlighting what they saw as his questionable origins.

This blue-collar carpenter's son, this redneck boy from Nazareth, began making absolutely outrageous claims.

The Audacious Claims
Jesus didn't speak in careful, qualified terms. He made statements that were either profoundly true or utterly insane:

"When you've seen me, you've seen the Father."

"I am the resurrection and the life."

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

"I am going to my Father's house to prepare a place for you."

Think about what he was saying. The people expected a Messiah—a military leader who would overthrow Roman occupation and restore Israel to its former glory under David. They wanted David 2.0, a tall, shining warrior-king.

Instead, Jesus talked about a different kind of kingdom. He claimed authority not just over earthly matters but over life, death, and eternity itself. He said he would be the one standing at the final judgment, deciding who enters heaven and who doesn't.

Strip away two thousand years of Christian theology. Forget everything you've been taught. Just look at what this carpenter's son was claiming.

If he wasn't who he said he was, he was either delusional—a lunatic—or deliberately deceiving people—a liar. There's no comfortable middle ground where he's just a "good moral teacher." Good moral teachers don't claim to be God.

What's at Stake
This isn't merely an intellectual exercise. If Jesus is Lord—truly Lord—then everything changes.

Your identity. Your spending. Your politics. Your vote. How you spend your idle time. What you advocate for. Who you stand with. Everything.

Because if Jesus is Lord, then one day we will all stand before him and give an account. All that authority he claimed? It's real. And he will evaluate not just our words but our actions.

We see clearly throughout Scripture who Jesus identifies with and cares about:

In Matthew 25, he says that when we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger, we're doing it to him. When we fail to do these things, we fail him.

Throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and the Gospels, God repeatedly commands care for foreigners, immigrants, and strangers. "When you welcome a stranger, you welcome me," Jesus said.

This isn't abstract theology. This impacts how we think about SNAP benefits, immigration policy, and who we support politically. Our faith must inform these decisions, or we're compartmentalizing Jesus into Sunday morning while living by different values the rest of the week.

The Danger of Popular Belief
Just because something is popular doesn't make it true. Just because everyone around you is saying something doesn't mean it's right.

We live in a time when Christian nationalism—a marriage of selective Christian teaching with political ideology—has become incredibly popular. It sounds Christian enough to be appealing, but it often contradicts the actual teachings and priorities of Jesus.

The question isn't what's popular or what gets the loudest voice. The question is: What does Jesus actually say? What does he actually care about? Who does he actually identify with?

If we believe Jesus is Lord—not a lunatic, not a liar, but Lord—then his priorities must become our priorities, even when they're unpopular.

The Question Remains
On Christ the King Sunday, Christians around the world acknowledge Jesus' lordship. But acknowledging it one day a year isn't enough.

So the question stands before each of us: Who is Jesus to you?

Is he the guy you sing about at church? A historical figure you read about occasionally? A wise teacher with some good sayings?

Or is he exactly who he said he was—Lord and God, the one with all authority, the one you will stand before one day to give an account of your life?

Your answer to this question isn't measured by what you say. It's measured by how you live.

Does your life reflect your belief in Christ as Lord? Does your checkbook? Your calendar? Your voting record? Your treatment of strangers and immigrants? Your advocacy for the poor and hungry?

These aren't comfortable questions. But they're necessary ones.

Because if Jesus is Lord, everything changes. And if he's not, nothing we do in his name matters anyway.

The trilemma remains: lunatic, liar, or Lord.

Who is Jesus to you?