John 6:15;12:13 – An Audience with the King
In March 2003, a coalition of forces from the US and Britain took possession of Baghdad and put Saddam Hussein out of business. Granted, Iraq is still in hard shape, but that doesn’t minimize what Saddam Hussein was: an absolute ruler, a tyrant, a despot. Actually, the word “despot” is Greek, meaning “sovereign” or “in control”. Today this word has negative connotations, but originally it did not. Because we enjoy a great deal of freedom in North America, we dislike the idea of anyone trying to exercise absolute authority over another.
Maybe that’s why it’s hard for people to accept the sovereignty of God. In Jude 4, there is a reference to people who “deny Jesus Christ, our only Sovereign and Lord.” That is, people do not want to accept the fact that Christ is King. A story has been told of a lion who was very proud and decided to take a walk one day to demonstrate his mastery over all the other creatures. He strutted his way through the forest until he came across a bear, “Who is the king of the jungle, bear?” “Why, of course, you are, mighty lion.”
He went on until he found the tiger, “Who is the king of the jungle, tiger?” “Why, you are great lion.”
Next the lion found the elephant, “Who is the king of the jungle, fat elephant?” The elephant immediately grabbed the lion with his trunk and spun him around a few times and slammed him to the ground.
He then stepped on him a few times and picked him up and dunked him in the water and then threw him up against a tree.
The lion staggered to his feet and said, “Look, just because you don’t know the answer is no reason to get so upset!” The lion couldn’t handle the jungle truth of who was the real king. The truth, not just according to how I see it, but the actual truth, is: Christ is King. And over the next few weeks, we will look at this truth. We will look at different angles and aspects of His reign, His rule, His sovereignty.
From the start of His life to the finish, some people sought Him as King, and some wanted Him dead because of it. At His birth, wise men came looking for the King of the Jews. But out of jealousy, King Herod wanted Him dead. And then, 33 years later, some were looking for Jesus to be King, but some wanted Him dead because of His having more followers than they. Jesus being the King marked the start of His life and the end of it. Each time innocent people were slaughtered without mercy. It was a notable aspect of His whole life.
Today I want to look at just 2 simple instances in Jesus’ adult life, both from the book of John, when His being king was significant. The first is in John 6.
Jesus had been teaching a crowd of 5000 men, perhaps 12000, including women and children. They became hungry, and the only food to be found was one boy’s small lunch: 5 small barley loaves, and 2 small fish. Jesus multiplied the food, so that everybody had enough to eat, and there were 12 baskets of leftovers. People obviously regarded this as what it was: a miracle. We pick up the story in John 6:14-15.
Now, the problem was not that He was king. The problem was that He was not yet ready to cause a big stink over it. He did not want everybody to know it yet. That sort of information would take time to process, and the time was not yet ready to begin. He was not ready to face the imminent conflict with the Pharisees, nor give up His life because He was a so-called political subversive. He would eventually be crowned King, but not in someone else’s timing, not on someone else’s terms. It had to be done on God’s terms.
Philip Yancey, in his book The Jesus I Never Knew, comments on this truth, that Christ can only be King on His own terms. He alludes to the 3 temptations Jesus faced before he began His ministry: 1) to turn stones into bread and feed Himself, 2) after taking Him to the temple in Jerusalem, to jump off with the hope that angels would catch Him, and 3) after showing Him the whole world, to worship him, Satan. Now, Philip Yancey suggests that each temptation parallels the expectation of 1st century culture for the coming Messiah: 1) a People’s Messiah could feed the multitudes, 2) a King who is rooted in the Law, would find his home at the place of sacrifice, and 3) a man who would be King not just of Israel but of the whole world. Ironically, Jesus did play each of these roles. Not as a result of temptation, but as a result of being obedient to God. It had to be in His terms, not Satan’s or anyone else’s.
We often want Christ to rule us, but on our own terms. I want to be forgiven. I want such and such. Give me what I want, but I don’t want the hard stuff. Don’t tell me to go to Sunday school. Don’t tell me to pray. Don’t tell me to tithe. Don’t tell me to turn off the TV or computer. Don’t tell me to forgive, love or commit. Don’t tell me to show up or give up something or go out somewhere or anything else. I want you as King, but I want you on my terms.
The nerve to say that is something. Considering all He has done for us, whatever He asks of us is small. That we would not give up a sin or a habit that is unpleasing to Him or a pattern of living, just because it costs us too much, is hardly thinkable for those who have been washed clean and set apart for Him. If that is you, repent now! Turn from your wants and turn to Him. Let Him rule you on His terms.
The second instance of Jesus’ adult life when His being King comes into attention, that I’m looking at today anyway, is in John 12, beginning in v12. It was Palm Sunday, when the crowds in Jerusalem spread out their cloaks and cut down palm branches to stretch across the road, as a symbol of their wanting to make Jesus their King. John 12:12-15.
Now, what’s different about this instance is that the time had at last arrived. The divine plan was ready. The world was to know that Jesus was indeed King. And they called Him King. At least on Sunday. They were ready to have someone deliver them from being oppressed by the Roman authorities and the self-centered Jewish authorities. The people wanted a champion, a deliverer, a hero, a savior, the Messiah. Once again, it was to be on their terms. They didn’t want to be rescued from within, but from without. They wanted their situation to change, but not themselves. They wanted a champion who would give them what they wanted, not necessarily what was best for them. And by Friday, the tide of public opinion turned against the One they hailed as King 5 days earlier.
We look back and blame them, but we do the same. King in part, but not the whole. But Christ can only be King in His totality – if He is to be King, He must have it all. All you have, all you are. No holding back. Not just on Sundays, but on Fridays too. Too many people over the years have given bad witness to this church by being someone on Sunday and someone else the rest of the week.
I
n the Berlin art gallery there is a painting by the famous artist Mengel that is only partially finished. It is supposed to be a painting of King Frederick of Germany talking to his generals. Mengel painstakingly painted the generals first around the outside of the painting. The King was left until last, leaving a bare patch in the middle of the painting with the background of generals. But Mengel died before he could finish the painting. So there is a painting full of generals but no king. Folks, some Christians spend so much time putting all the generals of personal desires, stuff, and selfishness first, and they leave the King out of the picture until the end. He gets what’s left over, whatever blank spot is left.
Each one of us needs to make a daily commitment to make Him King. “Lord, no matter what I go through today, no matter what happens to me, no matter what temptations I face, I want You to be my King.” That should be the daily prayer for each of us.
I tried to find a way to visualize how Jesus is King. And as always, I thought of the ocean. Picture with me. Because Christ has always existed, and has always been King, I picture His rule, His kingdom, as a wide sand-beach at low tide. The water is deep and flowing, but there is still more left to rule. The tide changed at the coming of John the Baptist, who said, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” That is, a change of rule was coming. And with Jesus, the tide began to rise. Slowly, but noticeably, the tide began to creep up onto the sand, where it had not been since the fall of man. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus began to wash away junk.
The book of Acts signaled a dramatic increase of the kingdom, begun back at Jesus’ ministry. The tide continued to rise. All through the years, God’s kingdom has been increasing, ever-widening, reaching places that the Gospel has never been preached. So even though not everyone is a believer, not every one will be saved, not everyone will willingly call Christ the King, nonetheless, the reality still exists: Christ is the Lord and ruler of all. And one day, the whole beach will be covered, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He indeed is ruler. Yes, it will be too late for some. But every eye will one day see that Christ is King. The beach will be flooded with Christ’s rule.
But until then, as Christians, you can do one of 2 things. You can amuse yourselves by building sand castles. You can spend your lives, building up kingdoms of your own, places and things that you consider sacred to you, only to have them washed away in the end. Or, you can tie a dory. You can tether a boat to a stake, and wait for the tide to come in, wait for Christ to show up, and just be ready to rise with Him. The choice is yours: get on board now with what He wants for you, or wait until the end when it’s too late. This is not just about heaven and hell. This is about reward, fulfillment, and allegiance to the King who gave His life for you.
