Jesus - King Of Kings

ILLUSTRATION

Let me present you with a portion of the speech John Ashcroft gave at Bob Jones University back in 1999. Ashcroft said: “A slogan of the American revolution which was so distressing to the emissaries of the king that it was found in correspondence sent back to England, was the line, "We have no king but Jesus". Tax collectors came, asking for that which belonged to the king, and colonists frequently said, "We have no king but Jesus". … Unique among the nations, America recognized the source of our character as being godly and eternal, not being civic and temporal. And because we have understood that our source is eternal, America has been different. We have no king but Jesus.

My mind thinking about that once raced back a couple of thousand years when Pilate stepped before the people in Jerusalem and said, "Whom would ye that I release unto you? Barabas? Or Jesus, which is called the Christ?" And when they said "Barabas," he said, "But what about Jesus? King of the Jews?" And the outcry was, "We have no king but Caesar".

There's a difference between a culture that has no king but Caesar, no standard but the civil authority, and a culture that has no king but Jesus, no standard but the eternal authority. When you have no king but Caesar, you release Barabas -- criminality, destruction, thievery, the lowest and least. When you have no king but Jesus, you release the eternal, you release the highest and best, you release virtue, you release potential.” (John Ashcroft's remarks at Bob Jones University's commencement on May 8, 1999)

I am not endorsing John Ashcroft, but I am in full agreement with his position that Jesus is King. Unfortunately, the belief that Jesus is King of King and Lord of Lords does not dominate American Christendom today. Most people, who call themselves a Christian, are willing to view Jesus as: a babe in a manger; a dynamic teacher or even miracle worker; and perhaps some can even view Jesus as a suffering savior. But, very few can honestly say they see Jesus as a physically resurrected ruler, sitting on the throne of the universe, who reigns as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

SERMON

THE BIRTH OF A KING

One of the problems modern Americans are faced with is the fact that we have never experienced what a king really is. We cannot really envision what it is like to live under a ruling monarch; to be subject to the absolute authority, power and dominion of a single individual with supreme power. And, that is exactly what a king is: the person who rules or controls every aspect of a country and its people. A King is precisely what many people, who call themselves a Christian, just cannot seem to see in Jesus.

At the time when the Old and New Testaments were written, people understood what a king was and, for the most part, they actually expected to be ruled by a king. In fact, one might say that the entire Holy Bible points to the promise that mankind will one day be ruled by a benevolent king. Scripture refers to this benevolent king as the Messiah. In Jewish messianic tradition the messiah refers to a leader who has been anointed by God to be the ‘End of Days’ King of Israel and King of the entire world. Jesus Christ is that Messiah! Jesus Christ is therefore an absolute monarch who holds final and complete authority over the universe.

The rule of Jesus cannot be compared to any earthly form of Government. After all, no earthly government has ever survived the ravages of time and Satan’s influence. Even that esteemed form of government, called democracy, is becoming nothing more than the haggard prostitute of elitist pimps; her services satisfying the deranged and those who cannot imagine anything better. Think about it, democracy, as well as all other human governing institutions, is nothing more than a very imperfect system created in the arrogance and incompetency of man’s mind. The Kingdom of God, however, was not created in the mind of man.

When we look into the manager and see the Baby Jesus we need to see the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The author of Hebrews wrote: “And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end."” (Hebrews 1:10-12)

THE KING

Jesus created this universe and all that is in it; one day Jesus will do away with the old system and create a new universe where He will rule forever. Therefore, Jesus was our ruler, He is our ruler and He will always be our ruler. If we claim to worship and serve Jesus but cannot accept this fact then we are liars and the truth is not in us. There is no profit in wanting Jesus as a great spiritual teacher, but having no desire to bow to His authority as an absolute monarch: no matter how benevolent he is. It is totally folly to acknowledge the existence of Jesus but deny His deity; to see a savior in the manger but not see the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.