We DO Have A King

 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”   Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”   Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”  Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:33-37 ESV)

The passage above is from Jesus’ dialogue with Pontius Pilate before His crucifixion.  Jesus was the Messiah, yet His own people rejected Him.  A descendant of Abraham (God’s chosen people), of the tribe of Judah (the chosen tribe), and of the bloodline of David (royal heritage).  Yet in this narrative, we see the religious leaders of His time using the government to carry out their coup.   Why where they so blind?  Because they honestly did not know what they were looking for.  Over Israel’s history, they have been threatened or overthrown by a list of other nations: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Egyptians, and now the Romans.  The popular understanding of the Messiah at this time was from a political perspective; that He would liberate His people from the Roman Empire, set up an independent Israel, and be their king.  When Jesus did not deliver on what they perceived His role was, He was rejected.  It is easy to look at this story and be critical of the Jewish people.  We judge while looking backward.  But do we not do the same thing at times?  When we go through hard times in our own lives, do we see Jesus as king?

One thing we have to understand is a theological saying “now” and “not yet.”  Basically, there are aspects of God’s Kingdom that are already present.  We see this in the church, salvation, sanctification of the Holy Spirit just to name of a few.  These are evidences of our King, that He is alive.  These also point to what is to come, where Jesus will reign as King when the new Heaven and new earth are established.  And no matter what your view of eschatology is, the Christian believes that Jesus will ultimately rule Heaven and Earth.

Another thing we (especially in the West) have to wrestle with is our concept of king.  In societies that value democracy, monarchy is usually frowned upon because absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Putting one guy with a sinful nature in charge will be destined to make some bad decisions.  What we must realize is that Jesus is a good king; He has no sin in Him.  Every decision He makes is good, His will is good, and whatever happens to His people will work together for good.  Although God’s Kingdom does not yet rule the earth, Jesus rules over His people both individually and collectively.  He has plans for each and every one of us, and He has a plan for His church.  Each one of us has a duty in the mosaic that is His Kingdom.  If we trust in Him, we take great joy in our labor.

I love you all and am honored to labor in the Kingdom with you all,

Justin