“Soon – and Very Soon”
Is. 65:17-25; Malachi 4:1-6; 2 Thess. 1:5-12
Sometime it is difficult for us to identify with biblical and theological concepts. For example, since we are unfamiliar with the nature and functions of a king, it is hard to get excited about Jesus as King. Yet without a proper understanding of King Jesus, we miss one of the most sober yet exciting elements of who He is – it’s an understanding that can change your life.
Consider THE RULE OF THE KING. Our knowledge of kings and royalty is pretty much limited to the formality and pomp surrounding the royal family in England. While it’s interesting, it fails to give us any insight into Jesus. Such current knowledge falls far short of THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT. In the Bible we learn that kings gained the throne by DIVINE APPOINTMENT. God established a family tree, a line of people, into which all the kings of Israel would be born. To be born into the line of David was to join the line of kingly succession.
The rule of the king was not a mere formality. The King possessed ALL AUTHORITY. His word was law. What the King spoke became reality. There were no legislatures, no congresses, no pollsters – the king spoke and it was. This was only natural because divine appointment meant divine authority – the king was the representative of God.
And this authority also contained ALL POWER. The King could do whatever he desired. If he ordered troops to war, they went. If he wanted to expand his borders, he set out to do so. If he didn’t like his wife, or got tired of her, or became displeased with her, he could do away with her and/or marry another. The king had his way. Just recall David who committed adultery with Bathsheba. He ordered her husband to be killed in battle – and it became reality – because the king had all power.
Now today we proclaim that JESUS IS KING. Why? Because He fits the mold! As we confessed in the Creed, “ Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God.” The Heidelberg Catechism states that from there God rules all things through Jesus. Here’s why. The very first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel gives the lineage of Jesus – He was born into the line of David. He was born to be appointed king. But Jesus was not just given the position as king – He EARNED HIS DIVINE APPOINTMENT. Paul wrote (Phil 2:8-9) that because Jesus was obedient unto death, God exalted Him to the highest place. The highest place is the right hand of God. And the right hand of God is the seat of authority and power. In other words, Jesus has ALL AUTHORITY. Matthew records Jesus’ ascension this way (28:17-18): “17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He had conquered death, He had shattered the power of the tomb, He had won the last battle over evil. So God vested all His authority in Jesus.
And with His authority, Jesus also has ALL POWER. According to Paul, ”9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...” At the name of Jesus – at the mere mention of His name! All authority. All power. All in Jesus. Jesus is King. Jesus rules through divine appointment with all authority and power.
But what is THE ROLE OF THE KING? The role of the king is to use his authority and power to bring about justice. Remember the words of the Creed? “From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.” To the Thessalonian church, Paul wrote (6-7): “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” First, Jesus the King is to ADMINISTER JUSTICE through the arm of divine retribution. ”8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power…” Those who rebel against the king, those who refuse to give up their life of sin, those who ignore the king will be punished. It’s true that the New Testament teaches that Jesus is love and mercy – but do not think for a moment that this means He is not still charged with the administration of justice. “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell…” (Mk. 9:47) “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Lk. 13:3)
Choices and actions do have consequences. How do you feel when someone desecrates the American flag? What do you feel in your gut when you hear an American citizen trashing America? What is your reaction when someone lashes out against someone you love? How, then, do you think God feels when His authority is abused, His law rejected, and His Son condemned? “8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power…”
Yet Paul reminds us that it is also Jesus’ role to PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE. Provision for His people is, in fact, the other arm of justice. “5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.” I love how our Catechism states it. In explaining the benefits of Jesus’ ascension it says, “By his power he DEFENDS US AND KEEPS US safe from all enemies.” That’s simply an echo of Jesus’ own words (John 10:27-30): “27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."
From Malachi 4 we read, “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.” From that time on for about 400 years nothing happened. Then Jesus, the Son of Righteousness, rose from the womb of Mary. The Psalmist (84:11) wrote, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing will he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Isaiah 60:19 prophesied “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light and your God will be your glory.” Jesus then called Himself the Light of the World. And John, when He wrote of Jesus’ life, claimed “In him as life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” What the sun is to the earth so Jesus was to His people – THE CENTER OF ALL THINGS, THE SOURCE OF LIFE AND LIGHT. He brought light to a dark world and health to a diseased world. The Jews had a proverbial saying, “As the sun rises, infirmities decrease.” Like flowers which close up and droop during the darkness of night but revive and open in the light of the morning, so people who were ill and dying were revived by Jesus.
Then Jesus stood on trial for His life before Pilate, who asked Him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus calmly but victoriously replied, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Jesus was telling Pilate, “Go ahead. Do what you need to do. Crucify me. Put me in tomb. I will rise again. I will claim my throne. And I will return to claim my victory. I will usher in a whole new world.” Then Jesus rose from the tomb to win for us everlasting life.
And now JESUS IS PREPARING FOR US A WHOLE NEW WORLD. As we read in Isaiah 65, it will be a world of delight and joy where there will be no weeping or crying. Death will be unknown. Listen again to how he spoke of it: “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years.” It will be a place of life, a place where people are blessed by the Lord, a place of total peace! It’s the world John envisioned (Revelation 21 & 22) that will come down from Heaven as the new earth. And guess what will be the center of all things, the source of life and light? (Rev. 21:3) “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Every so often we read or hear a story about someone who received a transplant meeting the person who gave them the organ and, in essence, saved their life. It’s usually a moving story. Can you imagine what it will be like to meet Jesus face to face, the One who saved us by His grace? What a day, glorious day that will be! I can only imagine! Let it be soon – very soon.
So today we celebrate the fact that God rules the world through Jesus. The battle has been won and Jesus is in control. As Paul wrote in Colossians 1:17, “…in Jesus all things hold together.” I read again from 2nd Thessalonians: “5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.” Let it be soon – very soon.
So which do you prefer? Do you want to be paid back for trouble or given relief and counted worthy? It all comes down to OUR RESPONSE TO THE KING. I once read how, in the spring of 1981, a young man was flown into desolate northern Alaska to photograph the natural beauty and mysteries of the tundra. He took along
500 rolls of film, several firearms, and 1,400 pounds of provisions. As the months passed, the words in his diary changed from
wonder and fascination into a nightmare. In August he
wrote, "I think I should have used more foresight about
arranging my departure. I'll soon find out." In November he died in a nameless valley, by a nameless lake, 225 miles northeast of
Fairbanks. An investigation revealed that though he had carefully planned his trip, he had made no provision to be flown out. Difficult to imagine, isn't it? How could anyone be so
foolish? He made every provision for his journey except
how to get home! Unbelievable! "How tragic," we say. And yet, how many people make every provision for life here on earth but no preparation for their departure? God has warned us that there is life after death ... after which is God's judgment. As God
warned the nation of Israel to prepare to meet God (Amos
4:12), so He warns us, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:27). Are you prepared to meet God?
And how do you prepare to meet God? You focus your attention on and confess your faith in Jesus Christ. PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST! Soon – and very soon! Jesus wants to be glorified in you! “10…on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people…” A teacher’s glory lies in successful students and scholars. A coach’s glory lies in players who move on to success at the next level. Jesus’ glory lies in those who believe in Him and confess His name. Once again I turn to the Catechism (#52): “In all my distress and persecution I turn my eyes to the heavens and confidently await as judge the very One who has already stood trial in my place before God and so has removed the whole curse from me. All his enemies and mine he will condemn to everlasting punishment: but me and all his chosen ones he will take along with him into the joy and glory of heaven.” “This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” You prepare to meet God when you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Do so soon – and very soon.
In verse 10 Paul wrote, “…the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.” I marvel now. I STAND AND LIVE IN AWE. I stand in awe that Jesus left the glories of heaven and came to earth for me – and for you. I stand in awe that Jesus died and paid the price for me – and for you. I stand in awe that Jesus will be glorified in me – and in you – and that we are His glory! I stand in awe of that coming day when “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” I stand in awe of the day when I shall see him face to face and shall become like Him! I stand in awe that you can still choose Jesus. Do so soon – and very soon. “11With this in mind, (I) constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12(I) pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
