The Prophecies of Jesus as King, 12/14/25

This morning we come to our third series in looking

at Christ as prophet, priest, and king. And so

today we're going to consider the prophecies

of Jesus as a king. Our texts are Psalm 2, Isaiah

Isaiah 9:6

chapter 9 verse 6 and 7, and Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

1. Let's begin. With reading Psalm 2. This is

a messianic psalm. Speaking of the coronation

of the Lord's anointed. Why do the nations rage?

And the people plot a vain thing. The kings of

the earth set themselves. And the rulers take

counsel together. Against the Lord and against

his anointed. Say, let us break their bonds in

pieces. And cast away their cords from us. He

who sits in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord

shall hold them in derision. Then he shall speak

to them in his wrath and distress them in his

deep displeasure. Yet I have set my king upon

his, upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare

the decree. The Lord has said to me, you are

my son today. I have begotten you. Ask of me

and I will give you the nations for your inheritance

and the ends of the earth for your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron. You

shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.

Now, therefore, be wise, O kings. Be instructed,

you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with

fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss. the son

lest he be angry and you perish in the way when

his wrath is kindled but a little blessed are

all those who put their trust in him i'm going

to be reading the isaiah passage a little bit

later so now we turn to hebrews chapter one chapter

one god who had various times and in various

ways Spoken time past to the fathers by the prophets.

Has in these last days spoken to us by his son.

whom he has appointed heir of all things, through

whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness

of his glory, and the express image of his person,

and upholding all things by the word of his power,

when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down

at the right hand of the majesty on high, having

become so much better than the angels, as he

by inheritance obtained a more excellent name

than they. For to which of the angels did he

ever say, You are my son, today I have begotten

you. And again, I will be to him a father, and

he shall be to me a son. But when he again brings

the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all

the angels of God worship him. And of the angels,

he says, Who makes his angels spirits, and his

ministers a flame of fire? But to the son, he

says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of

your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and

hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has

anointed you with the oil of gladness more than

your companions. And you, Lord, in the beginning

laid the foundation of the earth. And the heavens

are the work of your hands. They will perish,

but you remain. And they will all grow old like

a garment. Like a cloak, you will fold them up

and they will be changed. But you are the same

and your years shall not fail. But to which of

the angels has he ever said, sit at my right

hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth

to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Let's ask the Lord's blessing on this time together.

Oh, Father, we are gripped. with the truth of

the kingdom of Christ today and of his lordship

and kingship. We pray, Father, that as we study

into this, into this third office, we ask, Lord,

for your blessing. Lord, we pray that today Christ

would be exalted and magnified. We pray that

he would be worshipped as king and that we would

fall before him and bow to him. We thank you

for this time together and pray that you would

bless the words of my mouth. and pray that you

would send forth your spirit to guide us and

pray that you would open up our hearts to hear

and to understand. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

One day, when Jesus of Nazareth came into the

region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,

Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They

answered, Some say John the Baptist. Some, Elijah,

and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets

who have risen from the dead. Jesus then said

to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon

Peter answers and he says, you are the Christ,

the son of the living God. Jesus answers and

said to him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona,

For flesh and blood have not revealed this to

you, but my Father who is in heaven. This same

question reverberates through time and through

history. And we are confronted in every generation

with this question. Who is Jesus? And the answer

is very clear. Because there are many conceptions

of Jesus in various belief systems and the imaginations

of the mind and of religions. To some, he is

portrayed as a divine idea, a demonstrator of

God's healing power, or as the Arians taught,

that he was not co -eternal or co -equal with

God the Father, but was a created being who had

a beginning. This, incidentally, is the controversy

that brought forth the summary of Christian doctrine

in the Nicene Constantinople Creed that we confess

today. Some teach that he is a man or a heavenly

being progressed to divinity. Others, that he

was a great and an enlightened teacher and that

he was an exemplary human being. Like the crowds

of Jesus' day, they say that he was one of the

great prophets, a great man, one who healed people

and spoke words of truth. Now, a right understanding

of who Jesus is is absolutely crucial. And this

is why so many false religions attack this point.

They redefine who Jesus is. Jesus himself said

in John chapter 8 verse 12, I am the light of

John 8:12

the world. He who follows me shall not walk in

darkness, but have the light of life. And he

continues in John 12 verse 32, and I, if I be

John 12:32

lifted up from the earth, will draw all people

to myself. This he said, signifying by what death

he would die. The people answered him, We have

heard from the law that Christ remains forever.

And how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted

up? Who is this Son of Man? Then Jesus said to

them, A little while longer the light is with

you. Walk while you have light. Unless darkness

overtake you, he who walks in darkness does not

know where he is going. While you have the light,

believe in the light that you may become sons

of light. Now in the Advent series of sermons

this year, we've focused on who Jesus is by considering

his offices. We've looked at Jesus the prophet.

The one who foretells, revealing the words of

God to the people, and the one who foretells,

that is predicting future events. Last Sunday,

we considered how Jesus was the priest. He fills

the office of a priest. This priesthood was of

the order of Melchizedek. He was the one who

made an offering for sin by offering his own

sinless body to make atonement and reconciliation

before a holy God, thus bringing sinful man and

a holy God together. He truly was a high priest,

the one to whom all sacrifices pointed to and

foreshadowed. But if we were to stop with these

two offices of prophet and priest, we would fall

woefully short of understanding who Jesus really

is. For it is the third office that completes

the glory of Christ, and it is one to which the

apostles continually spoke of and allude to.

Any understanding of Jesus the Christ that does

not speak of this office as king, has a greatly

diminished and truncated view of the person of

Jesus. I speak of Jesus as the faithful witness,

the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over

the kings of the earth. Revelation 1 and verse

5. He is Lord Jesus the king. He who is the Lord

of lords and the king. Of kings. Revelation 17

Revelation 17:14

verse 14. One might see the benefits of the first

two offices. And yet miss the lordship of Christ.

His kingship over all. Jesus the eternal son

of God. was begotten of the Father, and he lived

on the earth and became man. After his life,

his suffering, his death and resurrection, and

then his ascension, he was crowned as king, not

only over all of the earth, but also of everything

above the earth and of everything under the earth.

Jesus. is the second person of the Trinity. He

is the eternal Logos, the word of God, and he

is king. Today, we want to look at some of the

many prophecies of Jesus as king and then see

how the New Testament declares him to be so with

great clarity and with boldness. Everywhere the

apostles and evangelists went, they pressed this

point home. They would speak the prophetic word

by calling for repentance. They declared the

remission and the forgiveness of sins through

the sacrifice and atonement of Christ. And then

they would declare him to be Lord and Christ.

Acts 2 verse 36. Therefore let all the house

Acts 2:36

of Israel know assuredly that God has made this

same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.

He is King and Messiah. And then again in the

sermon in Acts chapter 5 verse 30 and 31. The

Acts 5:30

God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered

by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted. to

his right hand, to be a prince and savior, to

give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of

sins. Now, as we begin with the Old Testament

prophecies, there are many of them. They are

numerous. I will not have time today to fully

cover them all. This also indicates the importance

of this office. But we will begin by going all

the way back to the deathbed of Jacob. This is

around 1600 to 1700 years before Christ was born.

So let's get started in the Old Testament prophecies.

Genesis chapter 49 and verse 10. Now Jacob has

Genesis 49 · chapter mention

lived in the land of Egypt for about 17 years.

This was since the great famine when his son

Joseph became governor of the land. And now he

is about ready to die. He calls for his 12 sons,

gathers them together, and he prophesies over

each one of them. The three oldest all have some

major, major problems. And so his prophecy of

them is not really very good. But then he comes

to the fourth son, to Judah. had experienced

a great redemption. Judah at one time was in

favor of casting away Joseph, but then Judah

has repented of that. He has assumed responsibility

for his brothers. All of this occurred in the

book of Genesis and the whole story and saga

of Joseph. And so to Judah, the fourth son, Jacob

prophesies. He says, the scepter shall not depart

from Judah, nor a lawgiver, from between his

feet until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be

the obedience of the peoples. Now let's unpack

this a little bit. A scepter is a ceremonial

staff. It's held by rulers such as kings, queens,

or emperors. And it serves as a symbol of sovereignty,

of authority, and power. In this prophecy, Jacob

says the scepter will not depart from Judah until

Shiloh comes. What is he saying? That is that

the kingly line throughout all of the history

of Israel would always be a king from Judah.

A descendant of Judah. And this indeed was the

case. We see starting in David and then David.

And of course, there's the covenant made with

David about his kingly line. And then David has

Solomon. Solomon has Rehoboam. And all down through

the whole history of Israel, it's always a descendant

of both of David, which is also a descendant

of Judah. But then he says until Shiloh comes.

So Shiloh here is a name for the Messiah. And

of this, he says that the scepter would not depart,

a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh

comes. And then to him, that is to Shiloh, shall

be the obedience of the people. In other words,

he's going to continue the kingly line. But he

doesn't go any further than that. Because to

him, all people are to obey. They are to bow

down before this coming one. shiloh the kingly

line would continue until messiah would come

and to him then as king and as ruler the peoples

of the earth would be obedient we gain further

in understanding of this in psalm 72 this is

written by david one of the great great great

great great great grandsons of judah Of this,

the son of David would come down like rain upon

the grass before mowing, like showers that water

the earth. In his days, the righteous shall flourish

an abundance of peace until the moon is no more.

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea and

from the river to the ends of the earth. Those

who dwell in the wilderness will bow before him

and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings

of Tarshish and of the Isles will bring presence

the kings of sheba and seba will offer gifts

yes all kings shall fall shall fall before him

all nations shall serve him this is the self

-same messiah it's the self -same shiloh that

judah predicted all nations would serve this

great king now we see this same theme recurring

in many places in the old testament prophecies

including the psalms But so we see here, Judah

predicted this. This is the first one of speaking

of the kingship of the Messiah that we have in

the Old Testament. Then we're going to look at

Psalm 2, which we read. Psalm 2 again, King David

is prophesying about the coming king. This is

in a messianic psalm. There's quite a number

of psalms. Psalms are divided up into a number

of different categories. There's psalms of lament.

There's psalms of rejoicing. There's prophetic

psalms or messianic psalms speaking about Jesus.

There's psalms that are great hymns of praise.

And then there's imprecatory psalms. That is

psalms of judgment against evildoers. So Psalm

2 is a messianic psalm. It begins by showing

the rebellion of rulers and kings against the

Lord and against His anointed. Speaking of the

Son of God, Jesus Christ, against the Lord and

His anointed. Why do the nations rage at the

people's plot of anything? That is, they conspire.

The kings of the earth, they conspire and take

counsel against the authority of the Lord and

His anointed. The Lord Jehovah and His anointed,

Jesus Christ. They say, let us break their bonds

in pieces. Let's cast away their cords. We don't

want them to rule over us. They rebel against

this king. What happens? David goes on to describe

this in verse 4. God laughs at them. Can you

imagine anything more terrible than the laughter

of God against you? You in your weakness as you

conspire against him and God looks at you in

his authority and he starts laughing at you in

derision. You think you're somebody I'm going

to show you. God laughs at them. He who sits

in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall hold

them in derision. And in his wrath then he says

and he speaks to them and he distresses them

in his deep displeasure. I will set my king on

the holy hill of Zion. I will declare to the

decree the Lord has said to me you are my son.

Today I have begotten you. Ask of me. I will

give you the nations for your inheritance. In

fact, you shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.

To all, all nations who rebel against his son,

Jesus Christ, they will be dashed. And broken

like a clay pot. And then comes the exhortation.

In light of this great truth, what should kings

and rulers and judges do? What are they called

to do? David goes on and he prophesies. Be wise,

O king. Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the son and that's an old image of bowing

down and of worshiping and being obedient to.

You follow the feet and you kiss the feet. And

so that's what's saying here. You kiss the son

in obeisance to him. You serve the Lord with

fear. You rejoice with trembling. You kiss him

lest he be angry. And you perish in the way when

his wrath is kindled but a little. And then he

ends with this blessing. Blessed are all those

who put their trust in him. This is Psalm 2.

This prophecy shows us the importance of Christ

the Son of God as king. And of the relevance

of that truth to all other rulers. For they all

are called to obey him. To revere him. to serve

him in their capacities as king or ruler or president

or judge or congressman or senator or commissioner

or city councilman and all other positions of

authority. They are all called to bow the knee

to Christ, to govern according to his law and

word and to submit themselves to him. They must

then recognize their own authority as one that

is derived and limited because they serve the

Lord Jesus Christ. This is Psalm 2, the prophecy

of Jesus as king. Number three. That one is Isaiah

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9, which we read through that in our

responsive reading. But I'm just going to bring

out especially verse 6 and 7. For unto us a child

is born. Unto us a son is given. And then Isaiah

goes right into this. He shows the kingliness

of this son right away. He says the government

will be on his shoulder. And the government will

be on his shoulder. In other words, there's a

number of metaphors that that can refer to. That

of him bearing the weight of government or them

submitting to him or him bearing the burden of

it. However it is, it's the government is on

his shoulder. And then it goes on. His name is

going to be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty

God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And

then Isaiah continues again in the same theme.

Of the increase of his government and peace,

there will be no end on the throne of David and

over his kingdom to order it and establish it

with justice and judgment from that time forward,

even forever. And we think, how can this happen?

How can? Jesus, especially with given what we

know now, his lowly birth, him giving himself

as a sacrifice for sin, which is not in view

right here in this particular prophecy. How can

it be that this will actually happen? Well, Isaiah

continues. He says, the zeal of the Lord of hosts

will perform this. It's going to be done. You

don't have to understand it all. It will happen.

This man, this one will come. This child who

is to be born is the son of God. And as a son,

Isaiah prophesied that he will be given authority

over all. He shall rule. The governments of the

world will be vested in him. And we see this

in his names. First of all, that he will be the

mighty God, which testifies that Jesus is God

and therefore he is eternal. And he will be a

father, everlasting father. Now, this is not

confusing the Trinity here in the sense of God,

the father, the first person, but rather that

this father is the sense of being one with the

father and being a father to the church and of

the world to come. The father of the gospel state,

which is being put in subjection to him and not

the angels, like Hebrews 2, verse 5 says. And

Hebrews 2:5

then he is the prince of peace. He brings peace

to the world. He sits on the everlasting throne

of David and over his kingdom. So we see the

prophecy Judah gives. David is in this line.

And then God also makes a covenant with David,

talking about him that there would not fail one

who would sit on the throne, which was ultimately

fulfilled in Christ. He sits on the everlasting

throne of David. This kingdom will be established

with judgment and justice. This means that he

is not a figurehead. He's not a token. He is

a real king exercising his authority and his

power as Psalm 2 prophesies. This kingdom then

will endure. In fact, there's no end to the increase

of it, of his government and kingdom. We see

Jesus alluding to this prophecy as just before

he ascends, he gathers the disciples around him

and his words to them are this, all authority

has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

All authority. Direct fulfillment of this passage.

Now there are so many more Old Testament passages.

There's Psalm 110, one and two. The Lord said

to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make

your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send

the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in

the midst. There's Jeremiah 23, verse 5 and 6.

Jeremiah 23:5

Now this is his name by which he will be called.

The Lord, our righteousness. And then there's

Daniel. Daniel chapter 7 verse 13 and 14 describes

Daniel 7:13

the ascension of Christ. This is the actual coronation

of Christ. And Daniel prophetically describes

it. He says, I was watching in the night visions.

And behold, one like the Son of Man. Coming with

the clouds of heaven, he came to the Ancient

of Days, and they brought him near before him.

Then to him was given dominion and glory and

a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting

dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom

the one which shall not be destroyed. Then in

Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9. Rejoice greatly,

Zechariah 9:9

O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just

and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey.

A colt, the foal of a donkey. This is a direct

prophecy of how Jesus would enter into the temple

mount during Holy Week. Then there's Psalm 45,

1 through 6. I'm not going to take the time to

read it right now, other than just saying that

the exhortation is to gird your sword upon your

thigh, O mighty one, with your glory and your

majesty, and in your majesty ride prosperously

because of truth, humility, and righteousness.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter

of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

And then I'm going to classify the last one,

even though it's in the book of Luke, I'm going

to classify it as Old Testament because this

is before Christ was born. But when the angel

comes to Mary and tells her that she is going

to become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit

and she is going to bear a child, here's what

he says. It's what the angel says. Do not be

afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and

bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus.

Now that he gives this description, he will be

great and will be called the son of the highest.

And the Lord God will give him the throne of

his father, David, and he will reign over the

house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There

shall be no end. As I said, there are many more.

This is just some of them. Many prophecies of

Jesus as king. Let's move on then and look at

the fulfillment in the New Testament. Did the

apostles and the New Testament writers understand

Jesus to be king in this way? And I ask this

question because There are some Christian believers

who say that Jesus right now is only king of

the church, that he will be king at his second

coming over everything else. The New Testament

writers did not see it this way, but yet it's

a very common understanding as they go into all

the prophetic time charts and everything that

they put together. They say that Christ is king

now, but he is not king of the nations. He is

not yet. But they did not see it this way. Let's

look at how the New Testament writers speak about

Jesus as king. First of all, he is highly exalted.

He has been highly exalted by God so that all

should bow before him and serve him. This is

now on the other side of the ascension. Of the

work of Christ on the cross. And his resurrection.

His death and his resurrection. And then his

ascension. And so now we have these passages.

How did they see Christ? Who is Jesus? He is

a king. Paul recounts this in the book of Philippians

Philippians 2:5

chapter 2 verse 5. He says to the Philippian

believers. Let this mind be in you. Which was

also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of

God. did not consider it robbery to be equal

with God, but made himself of no reputation,

taking the form of a bondservant and coming in

the likeness of men and being found in appearance

as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient

to the point of death, even the death of the

cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted

him and given him the name which is above every

name, At the name of Jesus, every knee shall

bow of those in heaven and of those on earth

and of those under the earth. And that every

tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father. How did Paul

explain the kingship of Christ? Every knee will

bow. He is Lord of all. And including... Everything

in heaven, everything in earth, and everything

under the earth. Jesus has been highly exalted

and is king over all. Next we look at John. John,

in the beginning of that great book revealing

Jesus Christ, that is the book of Revelation,

he describes Jesus in this way. Chapter 1, verse

5. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. the

firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the

kings of the earth, to him who loved us and washed

us from our sins in his own blood, and has made

us kings and priests to his God and Father, to

him be glory and dominion forever and ever. John

the Revelator, he sees him. He is the ruler of

the kings of the earth. Paul writes of this kingship

in the letter to the Ephesians. After describing

how the Father has chosen us, the Son has redeemed

us, and the Spirit has sealed us in chapter 1,

Paul then speaks of how the Father of glory,

the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, worked in Christ

when he raised him from the dead and seated him

at his right hand in the heavenly places. Far

above. all principality and power and might and

dominion and every name that is named, not only

in this age, but also in that which is to come.

And he put all things under his feet and gave

him to be head over all things to the church,

which is his body, the fullness of him who fills

all in all. These are wonderful passages demonstrating

the fulfillment of all those glorious prophecies

that we read. But I want to spend the rest of

my time in the book of Hebrews chapter 1. And

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

so to that now we turn Hebrews chapter 1. This

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

first chapter is one of the most sublime and

glorious summaries of the superiority of Jesus

above all others. Jesus is shown to have fulfilled

all of the Old Testament prophecies. He is specifically

shown in verses 1 through 4 as having fulfilled

and filled the offices of prophet, of priest,

and of king. Let's read the first four again.

God, who at various times and in various ways

spoke in time past by the fathers. through to

the fathers, by the prophets, has in these last

days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed

heir of all things, through whom also he made

the world, who being the brightness of his glory

and the express image of his person and upholding

all things by the word of his power, when he

had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the

right hand. of the majesty on high, having become

so much better than the angels, as he has by

inheritance obtained a more excellent name than

they. As the greatest of all prophets, Jesus

is the culmination of all the prophets. There

can never be another prophet after him that is

superior to him. Jesus is the greatest of all.

He is the last and the greatest. There is none

greater. Notice the phrase, in these last days

of this Matthew, Henry says, This is the final,

the finishing revelation given in the last days

of divine revelation to which nothing is to be

added, but the canon of scripture is to be settled

and sealed. It is the revelation which God has

made by his son, the most excellent messenger

that was ever sent into the world, far superior

to all ancient patriarchs. and prophets by whom

God communicated his will to his people in former

times. And thus, Jesus fulfills the office of

prophet. There will not be a greater than he.

There can be no one after Jesus who can rise

up and say, I'm at the level of Jesus. Or you

need to also listen to my words because my words

go together with Jesus' words. No, Jesus is the

last, the final. greater than all others. He

then also has cleansed our sin. We see this in

verse 3. This is the purification, the purging,

the washing away of our sins. This fulfills his

priestly office. So Jesus is shown here by the

writer of Hebrews. He fulfills the office of

prophet. He fulfills the office of priest. And

then he goes on about the king. He says, as God,

Jesus is equal with the Father. He says, he...

has been appointed as heir of all things it is

through Jesus that all the worlds were made and

we're going to get into this in just a bit but

first of all we want to understand this equality

this Jesus and God how how is this here well

look at Philippians chapter 2 verse 6 Jesus who

Philippians 2:6

being in the form of God did not consider it

robbery to be equal with God and this is why

the Jews sought to kill him This is described

in John chapter 5, verse 18. Therefore the Jews

John 5:18

sought all the more to kill him because he not

only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God

was his father, making himself equal with God.

And as the God, man, and mediator, he was appointed

by the Father to be the heir of all things. God

created the world through him. Jesus upholds

all things by the word of his power. And being

the heir and ruler of all creation, he fulfills

the office of king. All of these are found in

these first four verses. In being the heir of

all things, which is here in verse 2, he is appointed

heir of all things. This is how we understand.

that all authority in heaven and earth has been

given to him. I mentioned this already from Matthew

Matthew 28:18

chapter 28, verse 18. But also in John chapter

John 5 · chapter mention

5, Jesus asserts that the Father has given to

him all judgment. All judgment has been given

to the Son. So he is the heir of all things.

Now God also created the world through him. The

world's both visible and invisible. The old creation

was made through him, and by him comes the new

creation. And Christ rules and governs all, both

the old creation and the new creation. Jesus

also upholds all things by the word of his power.

We see this in verse 3. He upholds all things

by the word of his power. I don't remember exactly

which one is negative and positive, and I have

forgotten about this illustration until right

now. But when you look at the very core of the

atom and you split the atom and it goes three

ways, you know how things both attract and they

pull apart? If it would not be for the overshadowing

power of God and actually of Jesus Christ in

this, Every atom would instantly explode because

they would naturally repel one another because

of the elements that are within them. I should

have gotten the exact details and phraseology

for you, and I'm sorry I don't have that. But

it truly and literally is that Jesus holds together

all things by the word of his power. Else this

world and every atom that is created would simply

explode. Jesus holds all things. and upholds

all things by the word of his power. He then,

as verse 3 brings out, he is the heir and ruler

over all creation. He fulfills the office of

king by sitting down at the right hand of the

majesty on high, which position is much higher

than the angels. Verse 4 brings that out. Begotten

by the Father as a son, he then is to be worshipped

by both men, and angels. Chapter 1, verse 6,

but when he again brings the firstborn into the

world, he says, let all the angels of God worship

him. The writer then effectively delivers the

crowning summation of his kingship by quoting

three Old Testament passages in verses 8 through

13. This is the kingship of Christ summarized

in Hebrews 1. But to the Son he says, Your throne,

O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness

is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved

righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore

God, your God, has anointed you with the oil

of gladness more than your companions. And you,

Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of

the earth and the heavens are the work of your

hands. They will perish, but you remain. and

they will all grow old like a garment, like a

cloak. You will fold them up, and they shall

be changed. But you are the same, and your years

shall not fail. But to which of the angels has

he ever said, Sit at my right hand till I make

your enemies your footstool? This is Psalm 45,

6 -7, Psalm 102, 25 -27, and Psalm 110, and verse

1. He then follows up this glorious truth of

the kingship of Christ. And this is where it

really hits home to us. In chapter 2, verse 1,

he says, Therefore, we must give the more earnest

heed to the things which we have heard, lest

we drift away. For if the word spoken by angels

was... Proved steadfast. And every transgression

and disobedience received a just reward. How

shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

How is it possible to escape the wrath of God

if we deny his kingship? If we take away from

him his rulership and lordship and atonement,

his offices of prophet and priest and king? We

cannot, we dare not do this. He warns us, watch

out lest we drift away. So in closing then, how

should we then live? Jesus is not an angel. He's

not just a good man, a wise teacher or a healer.

Either he is who he said he was and who he was

prophesied about or else he's an imposter. Or

even a lunatic with grand delusions. You cannot

possibly conceive or call a man a good man who

says what Jesus said about himself and what the

scripture said about himself. He is either who

he said he was or he's crazy and off the rocker.

There is no middle ground. He cannot be a good

man and say those kinds of things about himself.

We would think him crazy, delusional, and demented.

He is who he said he was. Christ was born for

this. He was born to be a king. Hail the heaven

-born prince of peace. Hail the son of righteousness.

Light and life to all he brings. Risen with healing

in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by. Born

that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons

of earth. Born to give them second birth. Hark

the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn

king. He dearly beloved is our king. And we bow

before him, we reverence him, and we remember

him. And at his birth, we celebrate it, that

he was born a king. Of course, the one other

example we have are the wise men. And we don't

know how many there were. Traditionally, we say

three, but the scripture doesn't say. What do

they do? They bring him great gifts, and they

come and they bow before him. They, by their

actions, are fulfilling Psalm 2, bringing the

gifts and bowing before him. And so I say to

you, behold the regal majesty of Jesus. Be utterly

captivated with his glory, with his beauty, with

his kingly majesty, his rule and his reign over

all things. Bow before him, worship him, serve

him, rejoice in him. Be filled with awe and love,

with honor and with... reverence like psalm 45

Psalms 45:3

verse 3 gird your sword upon your thigh almighty

one with your glory and in your majesty and in

your majesty ride prosperously because of truth

humility and righteousness for indeed the lord

reigns he is clothed with majesty we do not follow

cunningly devised fables, Peter says, when we

made known to you the power and the coming of

our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses

of his majesty. Now, what does a king do? Well,

a king rules. He reigns. He comes to conquer.

He invades. He comes to destroy the evil. And

when we think of Jesus, We need to see him in

this same way. This Jesus is not one who's just

meek and mild and he's a good man. He goes around

and heals. No, he's a king. And he does what

kings do. He conquers. He invades. He destroys

the dragon and slays him. He comes to rescue.

He comes to save and to deliver. He comes to

vanquish evil and to scatter darkness. And this

king came to defeat death. He comes. As the triumphant

king of kings and lord of lords. Whose kingdom

shall have no end. I'm amazed at how many people

sing that most glorious of pieces of music in

Handel's Messiah. And they sing that great and

triumphant hymn. That hallelujah for the Lord

God. For the Lord God reigns. And yet they miss.

The point of it so much. They sing of all the

glories of Christ's kingdom. And yet, how can

you do that and not bow the knee to Christ? And

yet, so many do. If we miss this aspect of Christmas,

we risk missing the point and spirit of Christmas

altogether when a person sees Jesus as he is.

They either fall before him in the terror of

the rod that can dash them to pieces, or they

fall before him in worship, which leads to doxology.

The word of glory and praise to him who sits

on the throne, who lives forever and ever and

ever. And so to you, dear believer, hear these

words of comfort. Speaking of Jesus, the prophet,

the priest, and the king, Jude, worships in doxology

when he says, Now to him who is able to keep

you from stumbling and to present you faultless

before the presence of his glory with exceeding

joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be

glory. and majesty, dominion, and power, both

now and forever. Amen. Worship and doxology.

It's either we fall before him in terror of his

rod and his rule, or we fall in worship and surrender

in bowing to him as our king. We get a glimpse

of heaven as the apostle John describes the scene.

of jesus as the lion of the tribe of judah the

root of david the lamb as it has been slain and

he says now when he had taken the scroll the

four living creatures and the 24 elders fell

down before the lamb each having a harp and golden

bowls full of incense which are the prayers of

the saints and they sang a new song saying You

are worthy to take the scroll and to open its

seals for you were slain and have redeemed us

to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue

and people and nation and have made us kings

and priests to our God and we shall reign on

the earth. Then I looked. John says, and I heard

the voice of many angels around the throne, the

living creatures and the elders, and the number

of them was 10 ,000 times 10 ,000 and thousands

of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy

is the lamb. who was slain to receive power and

riches and wisdom and strength and honor and

glory and blessing. And every creature which

is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth

and such as are in the sea and all that is in

them, I heard saying, blessing and honor and

glory and power be to him who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb forever and ever. Let us then,

dearly beloved, worship our king, our prophet,

our priest, and our king. Let's pray.