In William Shakespeare’s play Henry IV, the king wrestles with the
burden being the king, “How many
thousands of my poorest subjects are a this hour asleep...Uneasy lies the head
that wears a crown!” How true
that statement seems to be as I look upon the closest thing we have here in the
United States to a king. Just look at a
photo of the Presidents of the U.S. who enter into office and then look at a
photo when they leave the office of President at the end of their term. There almost always seems to be this
incredible aging process that takes place and I would imagine that it comes
with the position of being a person of great power who is burdened with great
responsibility.
Greg Gilbert, in his book, “Who is Jesus”, writes, “I think you could say there’s another
kind of person who’s head lies even more uneasily than a king’s—and that’s the
man who claims to be a king when nobody else recognizes it”. This in so many ways was the life of
Jesus. From the time of His birth to
this very day, the belief that Jesus is the King of all kings as the Bible proclaims is a statement that has
been doubted and discounted through the ages.
But in looking in the Bible you find that much was made over a would-be “poser”
and “fraud” to the throne.
IT WAS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE KING
If we look to Jesus’
birth—before He was even able to speak on His own behalf to this claim of being
the “King” we see the stir that was caused.
Matthew 2:1–2 (HCSB)
2 After Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived
unexpectedly in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been
born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship
Him.”
The claim made
is not from the mouth of Jesus or even His earthly parents, but of those who
were hundreds of miles away and had nothing to gain from their statements. For them they weren’t going to see Jesus;
they were going to see the King; the One who the prophets Isaiah (9:1-7) and Micah
(5:2) foretold. Now how these wise men knew that this Jesus would be “The King”, I do not know, but in
hindsight and seeing Jesus life from beginning to end through the Bible—what I
can say is that they, without doubt or question, were right.
And maybe the
act that started it all after the wise men had arrived was an act of fear from
the current king at the time who was Herod. It was a fear of this baby who was being
heralded as the “King of the Jews”
that caused Herod to make a royal decree, throughout the land, that all males
two years and under be massacred. Little
did Herod know that he was only fulfilling the words of the prophet Jeremiah (31:15) that only gave
evidence and proof of—THE ONE, THE ONLY,
JESUS who truly is THE KING OF KINGS.
CORONATION DAY
Now Jesus
birth was an incredible moment in History, For the Church it is one of the most
important and notable events, since all around the world most recognize this
day as the celebration Jesus’ birth—“Christmas”. As well, there is another of these important
days in the life of the Church; it is the baptism of Jesus—which we could say
was his coronation (act or ceremony
of crowning a sovereign). From this
point on Jesus would begin His public ministry and do so many things that were
more than just “good” they were “godly”—of God.
In the period of three years,
we have recorded in the gospels almost 40 miracles performed by Jesus Himself. Things such as turning water into wine in John 2:1, Raising Jairus’ daughter from
the dead in Matthew 9:23, healing a
demon possessed man in the synagogue in Mark
1:23, healing an official’s son in John
4:46 and raising His dear friend Lazarus from the dead in Luke 11:38.
But before the
first of these many miracles was performed there was the moment when John saw
this figure coming to him as he was baptizing disciples in the Jordan River at
Bethany.
John 1:29–31 (HCSB)
29 The
next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world! [The
great burden of the king ]30 This is the One I told you
about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before
me.’ 31 I didn’t know Him, but I came baptizing with water so
He might be revealed to Israel.”
It was at this
occasion that we see a continuation of what the wise men did some thirty years
before. As they came to recognize the
Kingship of Jesus, so did God the Father
as we have recorded in the gospels of Matthew
(3:17) and Mark (1:11).
Matthew 3:16–17 (HCSB)
16 After
Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly
opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming
down on Him. 17 And there came a voice from heaven:
This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him! [In whom I am well pleased]
At this
moment, Jesus’ public ministry would begin and so would all the things that
would solidify Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world” and rightful heir to the throne not only of the Jews, but
off all mankind, as “King of Kings”.
With all that
Jesus did to give proof of who He was and is, we must remember with all that did that we
have recorded in the Gospels, there is so much more that we do not have, that continued
to give proof to those around Him that He was and is—THE ONE, THE ONLY, JESUS who truly is THE KING OF KINGS. For it is
at the conclusion of the gospel that bears his name that John writes,
John 21:24–25 (HCSB)
24 This
is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know
that his testimony is true.
25 And
there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written
one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that
would be written.
HIS CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT
In the
Hallelujah Chorus, part
of the oratorio “Messiah”
written in 1741, which is to this day George
Frideric Handel's best-known
piece and in it we find these words,
The kingdom of this world Is become the
kingdom of our Lord, And of His Christ, and of His Christ; And He shall reign
for ever and ever, For ever and ever, forever and ever,
At the end of His life, Jesus’ was
ushered not as a king, but a criminal to a hill in Jerusalem where He would not
take a seat on the throne, but a place on the Cross. After all that Jesus had done for the good of man and the glory of God, He found Himself nailed
to a wooden cross—not being handed a scepter to rule, but rather a branch of
hyssop to tend to His suffering and wounds because of crimes He did not commit.
This, by all earthly standards, was
not the King for who the people of Israel had hoped. This was not the kind of king they laid palm branches before
with the herald of “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” and
because of that there were few who remained with Jesus at the time of His death
there at Calvary. But, again, what we
know in
hindsight gives evidence that this act in history proves to be the crowning jewel of Christianity. This jewel is the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. It is as Jesus declared in the gospel of John that He came and died—so
that the world might be saved and that those who believe in Him will be saved
through Him—because we have believed in THE
ONE, THE ONLY, JESUS. Yes, Jesus
died, but on the third day, just as He promised, He was raised from the dead.
John 2:18–22 (HCSB)
18 So the Jews replied to Him, “What
sign of authority will You show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three
days.”
20 Therefore the Jews said, “This
sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He
was speaking about the sanctuary of His body. 22 So when He was
raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they
believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.
It was upon this statement that the
Church then and the Church today stands.
This truth is the very sermon
that Peter preached at Pentecost
where 3,000 came to faith in Jesus
Christ in the period of one day.
Acts 2:22–24 (HCSB)
22 “Men
of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out
to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through
Him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though He was delivered up
according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people
to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. 24 God raised Him up,
ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by
it.
Acts 2:32–33 (HCSB)
32 “God
has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore,
since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the
Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear.
Conclusion:
What we know from Scripture is that
not only was Jesus raised from the dead, but that He rules with the Father in
heaven and one day He will return again, not as a baby, or even a suffering
Savior; Jesus will return as a King
coming to defeat the enemy and claim His prize.
Revelation 19:11–16 (HCSB)
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there
was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and
makes war in righteousness. 12 His eyes were like a fiery
flame, and many crowns were on His head. He had a name written that no one
knows except Himself. 13 He wore a robe stained with blood, and
His name is the Word of God. 14 The armies that were in heaven
followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A
sharp sword came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it.
He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress
of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And He has a name
written on His robe and on His thigh:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.
AND LORD OF LORDS.
In the words of George Frideric Handel from the Messiah:
Hallelujah:
for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world has become the
kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!
This is THE ONE, THE ONLY, JESUS who is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS!
