"He Is The King"

I'd like you to turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 2.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

Actually, we're going to skip around a little bit today, but we're going to start there in chapter 2.

And I'm going to read a few verses from that passage.

It's interesting in the Gospels that very little is said about Jesus' birth.

Of course, Mark and John do not even mention Jesus' birth.

Most of the time when Jesus referred to his early life, he talked about coming down from heaven.

He spoke very little of, like one time I think mentioned something with reference to Bethlehem birth.

Luke gives us the most information.

Matthew mostly just tells us at the end of chapter 1 that Jesus was born.

And then chapter 2, now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,

behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying,

Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

They told him,

In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet,

And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly, and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,

Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him.

After listening to the king, they went on their way.

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose,

went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

And going into the house,

they saw the child with Mary his mother,

and they fell down and worshipped him.

Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

When an heir to the throne is born, it causes quite a stir.

For some, there is great joy in celebration.

For others, there is despair and maybe even some panic.

Matthew records this meeting between King Herod and some magi from the east

who came searching for the one whom they had discerned had been born in Bethlehem.

The magi assumed that the present king of the region would certainly know something this monumental.

So they scheduled a meeting with King Herod.

Herod was king, was the ruler over this portion of the Roman world.

He was known as King of the Jews.

He had been in this position at this point for about 30 years.

The magi were anxious to find this baby king so they could worship him.

Possibly, the possibility of a new king in town was, to say the least,

rather unsettling to this reigning king.

We'll see that pattern repeat.

Warren Wiersbe wrote a little booklet called His Name is Wonderful.

He made the case that the names that Jesus wears are the blessings that he shares.

He was referring to the words that we just sang,

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Well, we know his name from the outset when the pregnancy was announced, even before that,

His name was to be called Jesus, which means Savior.

And he certainly shares his name with us, and then he gives us his salvation to all who believe he is Savior.

He is Jesus.

He's also called King.

And as King, he exercises his sovereign rule over everyone.

For all who believe, that's a great blessing.

For those who don't, not so much.

Sovereign rulers call all the shots.

They have all the power.

Those who fall before them are responding appropriately.

Those who fail to submit to that sovereign authority will be in a battle that they cannot win.

Everywhere the king appears, there are the same reactions.

Joy and fear.

Admiration and hatred.

Attempts to exalt.

Efforts to destroy.

So we're going to follow some of those responses as we consider Jesus as the king as described in the New Testament.

So we're going to start with when the king came to Bethlehem from the passage that we just read.

And we're going to discover some interesting witnesses who express the understanding, at least in some form,

and the awareness that Jesus came as king.

The first testimony comes from the Magi.

Where is he who was born king of the Jews?

It shouldn't surprise us that a king is among Jesus' earliest titles.

For centuries, it was promised that God would send a king who would sit on the throne of David.

How many times do we read that in the Old Testament?

But this king would not be subject to the same challenges that were faced by the former kings of Israel.

Prophet Micah prophesied that this king would come from Judah.

He is, according to Micah, one who is to be ruler in Israel.

He shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

He shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Micah's contemporary, Isaiah, said, again, for the passage we're learning,

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.

If you continue in the passage, it reminds us of the increase of his government,

and of peace there will be no end.

And of the throne of David over his kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

So at his birth, Jesus was the fulfillment of these prophecies.

He truly was the king of the Jews.

So the Magi come searching for Jesus, they find him, they treat him as a king, and even more.

They worship him, they give him royal gifts.

The Magi's testimony collectively was, he is a king, and they were delighted.

That was not so much true for the current king, Herod.

But in a strange way, Herod also acknowledges and testifies that Jesus is king.

Herod was a ruthless ruler.

He, having murdered his own wife, several sons and relatives, mostly to protect his position.

When he heard that there was a king of the Jews that had been born,

he wanted details regarding this infant's whereabouts.

Now he said, I'm going to worship him, but that was hardly his intent.

He was to arrange a murder of this rival king.

The news troubled the king, and when the king was troubled, everyone else felt the pain.

Herod called together the chief priests and the scribes of the Jews

to find out when and where this Christ was to have been born,

and they shared an understanding of Micah's prophecy.

I find that kind of interesting, where here you have these scribes and rulers of the law,

and we sometimes think very negatively of them, which is probably appropriate,

but they understood the Old Testament scripture, and they quote from Micah's prophecy,

and they share that information with Herod.

Now make no mistake, Herod believed Jesus to be a king.

He wanted no part of this rival.

His extended quote may help us, this extended quote may help us understand this ruler a little bit better.

This comes from a MacArthur commentary on Matthew.

MacArthur writes,

Because he was not Jewish, Herod married a Jewish heiress.

In order to make himself more acceptable to the Jews, he now ruled.

He was a clever and capable warrior, orator, and diplomat.

In times of severe economic hardship, he gave back some tax money collected from the people.

How about that?

During the Great Famine of 25 BC, he melted down gold objects in the palace to buy food for the poor.

He built theaters, racetracks, and other structures to provide entertainment for the people.

In 19 BC, he began the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

If you read history, you'll find that it's known as the second temple,

or sometimes referred to simply as Herod's temple.

Continuing the quote, he revived Samaria.

He built the beautiful port city of Caesarea in honor of benefactor Caesar Augustus.

He built the remarkable and almost impregnable fortress of Masada,

where in AD 73, nearly a thousand Jewish defenders committed suicide,

rather than to be captured by the Roman general Flavia Silva.

But Herod was also cruel and merciless.

He was incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid for his position and power.

Fearing his potential threat, he had the high priest Aristobulus, who was his wife's brother.

He had him drowned.

After which, he provided a magnificent funeral where he pretended to weep.

He then had his wife killed, and then her mother, and two of his own sons.

Five days before Herod's death, about a year or so after Jesus was born,

he had a third son executed.

At that same time, he had the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned.

And then shortly before Herod died,

he knew that no one would mourn for him, for his death,

so he gave orders for these distinguished citizens,

these prisoners to be executed the moment he died,

in order to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem.

By his horrific actions, however,

Herod was declaring that Jesus was the true king.

And then we have a testimony of the people in verse 3.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Now, to be fair, the reaction of the people had not too much to do with Jesus' birth,

and almost everything to do with Herod's reaction to it.

As we've learned, when Herod got mad, people got hurt.

It's true that people react to the deeds and attitudes of those in power,

both positively and negatively,

even when they know little or nothing about the issues in question.

But what I'm proposing is that when Jesus came to Bethlehem,

he came as king, even as a baby.

And his coming as king shook up the place.

One way or another, most of Israel was affected,

even if they knew little about King Jesus' birth.

Because of Jesus' birth as king of the Jews,

you recall that several families lost their infant children

at the hand of a jealous king.

Well, this is not the end of the record of King Jesus,

so what we're going to do is leave this scene.

We're going to fast forward about 30 years toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry.

We're going to take a look not when Jesus came to Bethlehem,

but now when Jesus came to Jerusalem.

I'm going to turn first, just to jump ahead of that,

or behind it just a little bit,

but we're going to look at how the people wanted Jesus to be king.

In John chapter 6, verse 15,

John 6:15

this was following the miraculous feeding of the 5,000,

5,000 men plus women and children.

John writes this,

Now this technically wasn't in Jerusalem,

this was in Galilee,

but this will help us to see what was happening.

Jesus came as king,

but he didn't come as the kind of king the people were looking for.

You see, they didn't want Jesus to rule over them,

they wanted Jesus to rule over the Romans.

You can see the difference.

Sometimes people today want Jesus to be king to rule over the bad guys,

but not really that interested in ruling over them.

When he refused to submit to their wishes,

they wanted no part of Jesus.

We'll see that in a little bit.

So, people wanted him to be king.

Well, when a little bit later in John's gospel,

in chapter 12,

people even declared Jesus to be king.

You recall the passage of Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem,

this, we sometimes call it the triumphal entry.

In John chapter 12, the passage goes like this,

John 12 · chapter mention

the next day,

the large crowd that had come to the feast

heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees

and went out to meet him,

crying out,

Hosanna,

blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,

and then the next phrase,

even the king of Israel.

Jesus didn't reject their acknowledgement,

but he did not bow to their desires.

A week later,

they were calling for his demise.

I doubt that it can be proven,

but I wonder if some of those who cried out,

Hosanna,

blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,

even the king of Israel,

were not among those who were calling for his crucifixion.

So, the people tried to force him to be king.

They acknowledged that he was king.

But then you have the scene,

just a little bit later,

where Jesus has been arrested,

now he's been brought before Pilate,

the soldiers have worked him over,

and there's a mockery that takes place.

But it's interesting that they mock Jesus,

and they emphasize the idea of king.

Listen to the passage in John 19,

John 19:1–5

verses 1 to 5,

Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.

And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns

and put it on his head,

and arrayed him in a purple robe.

They came up to him, saying,

Hail, king of the Jews!

And struck him with their hands.

Pilate went out again and said to them,

See, I'm bringing him out to you

that you may know that I find no guilt in him.

So Jesus came out,

wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.

Pilate said to them,

Behold the man.

Now earlier, they'd had a discussion,

Jesus and Pilate.

Pilate asked him,

Are you the king of the Jews?

Remember that?

And there was this response from Jesus and Pilate,

very interesting and intriguing time.

Pilate's contemplating this whole idea

of Jesus being king.

And again, there's mockery involved by the soldiers,

and there is somewhat of a mockingness

toward Jesus by Pilate.

But nevertheless, there's an acknowledgement there

that Jesus is king.

Pilate and the soldiers were making light of the truth,

but speaking the truth without intending to do so.

Jesus was the king,

and all they did to him did not change that truth.

So they determined to kill him.

But as Jesus is hanging on the cross,

remember what the sign said over him?

That was to be the charge.

A sign was put on the cross typically to say,

This is what this person died.

This is the crime they've committed.

So that those who would pass by

would see the crime,

and would think to do that crime

results in this punishment.

So here's the crime.

Jesus of Nazareth.

You finish it.

King of the Jews.

So even the charge that's printed

is a declaration that Jesus truly is king.

Now you remember,

the people didn't want that up there.

The rulers didn't want that there.

He said he was.

Look, now what I've written, I've written.

So, you have these testimonies.

The people.

Let's now fast forward

to the very end of the story.

Revelation chapter 19.

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

We've looked at Jesus,

when Jesus came to Bethlehem,

and when Jesus came to Jerusalem.

Now we're going to see

when the king comes to reign over the world.

Revelation 19, verses 11 through 16.

Revelation 19:11–16

Then I saw heaven opened.

Behold, a white horse.

The one sitting on it

is called faithful and true,

and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

His eyes are like a flame of fire,

and on his head are many diadems.

He has a name written

that no one knows but himself.

He's clothed in a robe dipped in blood.

And the name by which he is called

is the word of God.

And the armies of heaven,

arrayed in fine linen,

white and pure,

were following him on white horses.

And from his mouth comes a sharp sword

with which to strike down the nations.

And he will rule them

with a rod of iron.

He will tread the winepress

of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh,

he has a name written,

King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

What kind of king is this Jesus?

Well, from that passage,

we could do an exposition of that,

but I want to do something

a little bit shorter than that.

I want to think about

when the Apostle Paul at one point

was talking to Timothy

about who God is

and this concept of the idea of king.

He actually uses a very,

sort of a summary

of what we just read in Revelation 19.

It's 1 Timothy 1, verse 17.

1 Timothy 1:17

Here's the verse.

To the king of the ages,

immortal, invisible,

the only God,

be honor and glory

forever and ever.

Amen.

Again, what kind of king

is this King Jesus?

Well, he's the forever king.

He's the king of the ages.

It's true that Paul

could have been speaking

more generically

about the triune God

than specifically about Jesus

in this verse,

but surely this applies to Jesus.

He is the king

and he is the king of the ages.

As far as I understand,

the Greeks had no word for eternal.

So in order to describe eternity,

it would be unto the ages

or unto the ages of the ages.

In other words,

when the ages are past,

he remains.

He remains as king.

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

It's an unshakable kingdom.

It is a kingdom

that is incorruptible.

It is a perfect kingdom.

It's a kingdom

of which he,

Jesus,

is king

and he is the forever king.

He is fully

and publicly,

he will demonstrate this

fully and publicly

in his return.

In chapter 19 of Revelation,

there was talk

of the diadems,

the crowns on his head.

There was talk

of the power

of his ruling

with a rod of iron

and his title

was king of kings

and lord of lords.

He is the forever king.

What kind of king

is Jesus?

The forever king.

He is also

the God king.

Paul described it

as immortal,

invisible,

the only God.

Many kings

believed themselves

to be gods.

Nebuchadnezzar

thought he was a god

to be worshipped.

It cost him

his mind

for seven years.

I wasn't going

to read this

but I've got to read this.

This is great.

This is from

a pagan king.

Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylon.

And in Daniel

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

Listen to this.

Nebuchadnezzar

had been

under judgment

by God.

He'd been

eating grass

and all this

for all these years.

And now at the end

of the days,

I, Nebuchadnezzar,

lifted my eyes

to heaven

and my reason

returned to me

and I blessed

the Most High

and praised

and honored

him who lives forever.

Here's his description.

This pagan king,

here's the description

of God

where his dominion

is an everlasting dominion.

His kingdom

endures

from generation

to generation.

All the inhabitants

of the earth

are accounted

as nothing

and he does

according to his will,

according to the host

of heaven

and among the inhabitants

of the earth

and none can stay

his hand

or say to him,

what have you done?

And then he concludes

this way.

Now I,

Nebuchadnezzar,

praise and extol

and honor

the king of heaven

for all his works

are right

and his ways

are just

and those who walk

in pride

he is able to humble.

That's amazing

coming from this king.

King Herod Agrippa I

thought he was a god

or at least god-like

but he failed

to publicly

give God the glory

after giving

this great oratory message.

It cost him his life.

If you read

Acts chapter 12

Acts 12 · chapter mention

it ends with

a very ugly scene

of him being

eaten by worms

and dying.

The prince of this world,

the devil

has a hold

on this world's kingdoms

right now.

He even offered

all of his dominion

to the Lord Jesus

in the temptation

accounts

if Jesus would have

bowed down

to worship him.

He so wanted

to be like God

to rule over all

including God

but that temporary

permitted dominion

my friends

is just about

to come

to an end.

It will cause

Satan an eternity

of torment

in the lake of fire.

There is one king

who is worthy.

It's King Jesus

and he's the God king.

There's one king

there is the God king

the forever king

but Paul also mentioned

he is the honor

and glory forever king.

The honor and glory

forever and ever.

Honor has a way

of turning

into disrespect.

glory

has a tendency

to fade.

The trophies

of the past

become dusty

and corroded

and finally

discarded

but there is one

whose glory

never fades.

It grows brighter

through eternity.

It will never

become old

or routine

to declare

the glory

of King Jesus.

We will be doing

that forever

and we will be

thrilled to do it.

I read somewhere

this

we are not

saved from sin

and changed

into righteousness

for the sake

of pride

but for the sake

of praise.

And when God's

work on us

is done

and we stand

perfected before

Christ in the last

day

we will not

exult in our worth

but we will sing

with millions

of angels

worthy is the lamb

that was slain

to receive power

and wealth

and wisdom

and honor

and glory

and blessing.

Do we get it?

Jesus was

and is

the king.

He is the king

of all wisdom

and knowledge.

There is nothing

that we can do

to con the king.

No question

we can ask

to stump the king.

He is the king

of all power.

There is nothing

we can do

to outmaneuver

the king

or defeat the king

or run from the king

or hide from the king.

He is the king

of all glory

and we must not

think that

we somehow

can siphon

some glory

for ourselves

or accept

from others

what to do

alone to him.

He is the king.

To him belongs

our allegiance

our obedience

our worship

our dedication

to serve him

and to speak well

of him

throughout our lifetime

both with words

and actions.

God's government

is not a democracy

it is a dictatorship.

He alone

is the supreme ruler.

He needs

and receives

no counsel.

He is in perfect control

and he will accomplish

all that he has planned

to do.

To resist him

is foolish

and futile.

To embrace him

and follow after him

and to be subject

to him

is the only response

that makes any sense.

And when we understand

who he is

that response

is pure delight.

In a weird sort of way

the people declared it.

Herod declared it.

Even Satan declared it.

But in a perfect way

God has declared it.

Jesus

is the king.

And I would like

to declare it as well.

He can be

your king.

Now perhaps

you're not convinced.

Let me make

one final appeal

in scripture.

The final appeal

is in

Psalm 2.

I encourage you

to take a look

at that.

Here's the passage.

Why do the nations

rage

and the people

plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers

take counsel together

against the Lord

and against his anointed

saying

let us burst

their bonds apart

and cast away

their cords from us.

He who sits

in the heavens

laughs.

The Lord

holds them

in derision.

Then he will speak

to them

in his wrath

and terrify them

in his fury

saying

as for me

I have set

my king

on Zion

my holy hill.

I will tell

of the decree

the Lord said to me

you are my son

today I have begotten you

ask of me

and I will make

the nations

your heritage

and the ends

of the earth

your possession.

You shall break

them with a rod

of iron

and dash them

in pieces

like a potter's vessel.

Now therefore

kings

be wise

be warned

oh rulers

of the earth

serve the Lord

with fear

rejoice

with trembling

kiss the sun

lest he be angry

and you perish

in the way

for his wrath

is quickly

kindled

blessed

are all those

who take

refuge

in him.

Kings of the earth

the rulers

continue to take

counsel against

the Lord

and against

his anointed

they continue

to want to

break free

from the

from the

what they sense

is the bondage

that God has

on them

they want to

do their own

thing

they want to

reject God

they want to

be rulers

themselves

what a foolish

idea

he's king

no wonder

God sits

in the heavens

and laughs

not a funny

laugh

a laugh

of scorn

because he

has set

his king

Jesus

on the throne

no wonder

he says

at the end

therefore

oh kings

be wise

be warned

oh rulers

of the earth

serve the Lord

with fear

rejoice

with trembling

kiss the sun

that's an odd

statement

isn't it

James Boyce

helped me

with this

a little bit

he wrote

this is what

these rulers

will not do

of course

it's why

they are

in danger

of final

fierce destruction

make sure

you're not

among them

the rulers

of this world

rage against

Christ

but why

should you

the hands

he holds

forth

for you

to kiss

are hands

that were

pierced

by nails

when he was

crucified

in your place

one day

he's coming

back

coming as a

great judge

of all

on that day

the wicked

will be punished

but today

is the day

of his grace

blessed are

all who take

refuge

in him

it's a reminder

says voice

that the only

refuge

from the wrath

of God

is God's

mercy

unfolded

at the cross

of Jesus

Christ

he's king

is he your

king

let's pray

father how

we thank you

for your

great plan

and purpose

we thank you

for the season

that we

celebrate the

coming of

Jesus

in the flesh

all part

of your

wonderful

glorious

remarkable

providential

purposeful

plan

to redeem

those

whom you

had

chosen

before the

foundation

of the

world

to be in

your family

you revealed

here in your

word

how Jesus

comes as

king

king

and how

he will

rule and

reign

over all

we

I think

I hope

I believe

we in this

local family

of believers

love that

you are our

king

we rejoice

that we are

able to be

able to bow

to your

authority

we even

pray

when we pray

your kingdom

come

we are

praying

that you

will rule

and reign

in our

lives

every day

that we

will not

try to

usurp

your

authority

we will

bow to

what you

called us

to do

may that

increase

in our

daily

walk

may we

not only

live

in light

of the

fact that

you are

king

but may

we declare

your rule

and reign

to all

who will

hear

thank you

for this

great privilege

of worshiping

the king

of heaven

in Jesus

name we

pray

amen