Last week began a series focused on the question: Who is Jesus?
· Began with solidifying the basis that the Scriptures reveal the true nature of Christ to us… The testimony of Scripture is both historically grounded and living. We meet Christ both in fact and in mystery. To know him is both a reasonable and spiritual process.
· Now three weeks… help us see Jesus through a prism of 3 broad descriptions. Many names / titles / descriptions… but most tie back to three core roles that have always been a part of man’s spiritual perceptions… prophet, priest, and king. These three have played a unique role in human history… which God has fulfilled in Christ.
· This morning… perhaps the least natural… Jesus as KING.
As Americans… the whole idea of a king is not only a bit foreign, but perhaps even negative. After all, our whole country was birthed in declaring ourselves as sovereign from the king of England… Boston Tea Party… no taxation without representation…
In our cultural relationship to the notion of a king… we’re rebels to the core.
We must grasp…
The ultimate meaning of monarchy… which the rule of a king reflects
Achein / archy refers to ORDER… monos = one > One sovereign order
> There is one ultimate source of sovereign order to life
> The whole Biblical testimony is that of God revealing His sovereign order… reclaims the rule over creation as we know it… makes know the process of redeeming a world being ruled by other powers.
> From God’s point of view… we all have a king, that is, some source consider holds sovereign rule… that can be our provider and protector… and as such we give our allegiance to… often an unspoken allegiance. It may be our parents, employers, government… perhaps most often… ourselves. God knows the consequences… and it’s to this he seeks to reclaim us. Let’s catch a sweep of how this unfolds…
· Begins with Covenant – “I will be your God… you will be my people through whom I bless (save) the whole world.”
· This process intersects with a world ruled by kings… as has been the case through much of human history… While we may think of the evil and oppression of kings… in truth… the rule of kings has represented both unrighteous and righteous rule… both oppression and exploitation as well as justice, peace, and prosperity.
· Earthly kings become a type of the more ultimate spiritual reign of God’s sovereignty and blessing… of the justice, peace, and prosperity that flow from His reign.
· God allows the people… once settled into the land, to have a king… but contends that they might lower their eyes from His own sovereign order… as they settle into earthly pursuits.
· King David captures the fruit of righteous rule… small on a world scale… but central to envisioning what God had in store.
With a longing to enjoy such righteous rule… and subsequent peace once again.. God begins to speak to the prophets of His plan…
Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
> One who would be considered God Himself… establishing everlasting rule.
Micah 5:2
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times."
Luke 1:30-33 (NLT)– The announcement to Mary
"Don’t be frightened, Mary," the angel told her, "for God has decided to bless you! 31You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!"
Fascinating in the genealogy of this child born to an obscure couple… the genealogies trace back to David.
Jesus enters history… and begins a ministry proclaiming God’s anointing to announce good news… release captives… heal…. And then goes forth doing just that.
As he did… he was fulfilling what God had planed (quoting Isaiah’s prophecy made 1000 years previous… Isaiah 42:1-4) …
Matthew 12:17-21 (NLT)
This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:
18"Look at my Servant,
whom I have chosen.
He is my Beloved,
and I am very pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19He will not fight or shout;
he will not raise his voice in public.
20He will not crush those who are weak,
or quench the smallest hope,
until he brings full justice with his final victory.
21And his name will be the hope
of all the world."
Profound words… inaugurated in some initial form that would not be expressed in force… but would establish a new reign of order and hope… and then a final victory would come.
If any of us here this morning have any question of who Jesus is… whether He is indeed the fulfillment of God at work… those words should prove profound when you consider how they have been fulfilled.
Finally enters Jerusalem…fulfilling what had been prophesied centuries earlier in Zechariah 9:9…
Matthew 21:5 (NLT)
"Tell the people of Israel,
’Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
even on a donkey’s colt.’ "
· Often thought that a donkey merely reflects humility… but a donkey is what traditionally carried kings… in contrast to warriors who came on horses.
· Entering the capital city… the city of government and power…. But rather than gloat… he stops and weeps over the city.
And of course it is this role which led to Christ’s trial and subsequent crucifixion.
John 18:36-37 – The Trial
(In the exchange with Pilate)
36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
Enters city… misunderstood… because their sense of what needed to be overthrown was too small… the transition of powers wasn’t simply about Rome… but the whole of creation.
A week later… that authority proved more powerful than all the nations of the earth. The issues of rule and reign over creation as we know it were settled in ways we can only begin to understand.
Christ had ushered in a kingdom…and ‘sat down at the right hand of God.’
And so it is that Jesus lives as the ultimate king … proclaimed not only in the term king… but all that refers to him as anointed from God.
MESSIAH (Mes sigh’ ah) Transliteration of Hebrew word meaning, “anointed one” that was translated into Greek as Christos.
Whenever we say Christ or Lord… we are acknowledging him as the anointed ruler (king) of God.
How does Christ continue to reign as king today?
In the reign of Christ, as the ultimate king (sovereign over life), lies…
1. The ultimate BLESSING of righteous (right relationship over all)
When we think of ‘righteousness’… we can be so conditioned by the repressive nature of do’s and don’ts we think only of quenching anything enjoyable.
Isaiah 32:17
The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
> Righteousness = right relationship… the enjoyment of harmony in relationships… of peace. When we can enjoy right relationship with God… and then with others… there is peace.
> Need to shift our view of what righteousness implies… from constraint… to contentment.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Powers that prevail over our lives… despite the appearance they may offer… not pretty.
> As we sit here today… there may still be potential hostages in Iraq… and rescue missions are being plotted by one sovereign to rescue lives from another who is trying to maintain sovereignty.
> Heaven is doing the same for you.
2. The ultimate EXPANSION of allegiance
The nature of kingdoms is that they are not defined simply by borders…foreign lands could be conquered… and if allegiance secured…. One’s reign / kingdom grew by all who ultimately claimed the king as their own.
> In the reign of Christ as king… lies the ultimate expansion… of such defining allegiance.
· A billion people worldwide in our particular moment... including estimates of 50 million in communist China and growing even as we meet. As many as 50 million believers gave their allegiance to an invisible kingdom even as the visible kingdom made them suffer for it.
· Makes clear… such allegiance cannot be forced… not political but personal. Nature of allegiance is that it must come from a personal choice. Mutuality involved… provider and protector… which one then claims through their submission. (Ex tithing)
Philip Yancey, "The Jesus I Never Knew"
Nowadays, as the U.S. grows increasingly secularized, it appears that church and state are heading in different directions. The more I understand Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God, the less alarm I feel over that trend. Our real challenge, the focus of our energy, should not be to Christianize the United States (always a losing battle) but rather to strive to be God’s kingdom in an increasingly hostile world. As Karl Barth said. "[The Church] exists ... to set up in the world a new sign which is radically dissimilar to [the world’s] own manner and which contradicts it in a way which is full of promise."
Ironically, if the United States is truly sliding down a slippery moral slope, that may better allow the church--as it did in Rome and also in China--to set up "a new sign ...which is full of promise." I would prefer, I must admit, to live in a country where the majority of people follow the Ten Commandments, act with civility toward each other, and bow their heads once a day for a bland, nonpartisan prayer. I feel a certain nostalgia for the social climate of the 1950s in which I grew up. But if that environment does not return, I will not lose any sleep. As America slides, I will work and pray for the kingdom of God to advance. If the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church, the contemporary political scene hardly offers much threat.
God’s kingdom advances slowly, humbly, like a secret invasion force operating within the kingdoms ruled by Satan.
As C. S. Lewis expressed it,
Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying: He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely....God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over.
The reign of Christ does not stop there…in the reign of Christ as king lies…
3. The ultimate VICTORY over evil (final judgment)
If one is the ultimate true king… sovereign… we’d expect ultimate victory over all other powers at hand.
Precisely what has been described by the prophets… by Jesus… and here in
Acts 17:30-31 (NLT) (cf. Revelation 17:12-14, 19:11-18)
God overlooked people’s former ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone everywhere to turn away from idols and turn to him. 31For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."
Confidence… by all that has been fulfilled… that all will be fulfilled. The reign and rule of God will be established… no more sorrow, death, or pain.
But also sobriety…
Billy Graham tells about an inscription in the dome of our nation’s capital in Washington D.C., which few people ever read. The words read, "One far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." When tour guides are asked what this means, they say it points to the Second Coming of Christ. When the capital was erected, some God-fearing official ordered those words to be etched into the dome obviously believing the Second Coming of Christ to be a vital truth for our nation.
> Reminded how unaware and unprepared… and the need to wait with soberness.
> The simple truth is that there are consequences to our allegiances…
Who is your king?
Know this … king has come… left all the protection and prerogatives of heavenly dwelling… removed all his royal robes… to identify with us… and in so doing… he didn’t become less of a king… but more of a king.
> But in so doing, he has called for allegiance.
Announced a change in regimes… Regime change describes what has to occur in every person, as they turn over control to Christ.
Let us not be deceived…
A.W. Tozer, "The Divine Conquest" -
“While few would dare thus to voice their secret feelings, there are millions who have imbibed the notion that they hold in their hands the keys of heaven and hell. The whole content of modern … contributes to this attitude. Man is made large and God small;
How deeply do men err who conceive of God as subject to our human will or as standing respectfully to wait upon our human pleasure. Though He in condescending love may seem to place Himself at our disposal, yet never for the least division of a moment does He abdicate His throne or void His right as Lord of man and nature. He is that Majesty on high. To Him all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein: … heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory." … before Him prophet and Patriarch and saint have knelt in breathless awe and adoration.
Our God has now become our servant to wait on our will. "The Lord is my SHEPHERD," we say, instead of "The LORD is my shepherd," and the difference is as wide as the world.
We need to have restored again the lost idea of sovereignty, not as a doctrine only but as the source of a solemn religious emotion. We need to have taken from our dying hand the shadow scepter with which we fancy we rule the world.”
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