king

Who

The most important question I will ever answer is: “Who do I say Jesus is?”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)

Reflect:

Verse 15 is the hinge upon which Matthew’s gospel turns. Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” was addressed to his disciples. Yet Matthew places it at the narrative core of his gospel so that Jesus effectively asks Matthew’s readers as well: “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter was ready and bold with his answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Simon knew that Jesus was God’s anointed king, the Messiah (in Greek, the Christ), but he clearly had no idea that God’s king was to ascend to his throne via his own death and resurrection.

Simon said Jesus was the Christ, but at this time he did not know what it would mean for Jesus to be God’s Christ. Matthew spends the rest of his gospel revealing exactly what this means. But here, Matthew leaves me with Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”

I say Jesus is my King, God’s Son, my Saviour and Redeemer, my Lord and my God.

crux:

The most important question I will ever answer is: “Who do I say Jesus is?”

Respond:

LORD God Almighty,

I say, Jesus is the Christ-King.
I say, Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of God.
I say, Jesus is my Saviour, who saved me from your wrath by his death.
I say, Jesus is my Redeemer, who bought me out of slavery to sin and death.
I say, Jesus is my Brother, through his blood shed so that you, my heavenly Father, may adopt me.
I say, Jesus is my Head, the authority and source of all spiritual blessing and experience.
I say, Jesus is my Rabbi, the one who teaches me all things because he is your Word.
I say, Jesus is my Righteousness, the source of all that is good within me.
I say, Jesus is the Lamb, the sacrifice which paid the price for my sins.
I say, Jesus is the Lion, the great and mighty King of all God’s people.
I say, Jesus is my Lord, sovereign in authority over me.
I say, Jesus is my God, the one and only True God.

I say these things, not only think them or write them. I declare them to be true.

May I always say them confidently, for your everlasting glory.

Amen.

Surpassing

No human king’s glory can compare with the surpassing glory of the King of kings

Read: Song of Songs 3

I looked for the one my heart loves…
I will search for the one my heart loves…
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”…
I found the one my heart loves. (Songs 3:1-4)

Who is this coming up from the wilderness
like a column of smoke? (Songs 3:6)

Look! It is Solomon’s carriage.
escorted by sixty warriors. (Songs 3:7)

Look on King Solomon wearing a crown
the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced. (Songs 3:11)

Reflect:

The juxtaposition of characters in this chapter is intriguing. The bride yearns and searches for “the one my heart loves” and the reader assumes this is her groom. But upon finding her “one”, she immediately describes the appearance of King Solomon in his royal carriage.

King Solomon is accompanied by 60 warriors, twice as many as King David’s famed chief warriors of 2 Samuel 23. He drives a carriage made by himself, which is replete with royal materials like purple cloth, gold and Lebanon cedar. Furthermore, it seems King Solomon wears his wedding crown.

So, is King Solomon the bride’s groom? Or is she just favourably comparing her beloved groom to King Solomon, wisest and richest and most powerful of Israel’s kings? I’m not sure.

But there is another comparison at play here in the text as well: King Solomon in all his splendour is seen coming “from the wilderness like a column of smoke”, a clear reference to the LORD who went before the people of Israel through the desert as a pillar of fire by night and a column of cloud by day.

King Solomon may be twice as mighty as his father King David, but here he is compared to the LORD himself, the King of kings. This King shall one day return rejoicing to claim his bride (the church) who yearns for him and searches for him eagerly.

Crux:

No human king’s glory can compare with the surpassing glory of the King of kings.

Respond:

LORD God Almighty,

You are the King of kings, majestic in glory.

Your coming will be like that of a great king riding his carriage, made from the finest materials, draped in royal purple. All will see you coming on the clouds.

Your attendants are too numerous to count: the vast hosts of heavenly angels who serve you, the countless descendants of Abraham who shared his faith, the multitude of saints who believe in your Son.

You wear a crown, a crown of thorns, which was placed on your head by your own mother, Israel herself. On that day they celebrated your death on a cross, but you celebrated your union with your bride, the church.

It is not King Solomon, still less any human husband (including mine), who displays your glory in all its magnificence. These are but pale imitations. It is in Jesus the Christ, your Son and Heir, the Messiah, that the radiance of your glory shines fully.

May Jesus ever be praised; may he be forever exalted as the King of kings!

O how my heart loves him!

Amen.

Jesus is King and his throne is a Cross

Read: John 19

It was the day of Preparation for Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. (John 19:14-16)

Reflect:

Every single time I read this true story, I am shocked anew at the boldness of the Jewish chief priests in declaring, “We have no king but Caesar!”

The Jews did have a king: the LORD, the Almighty God was their king. But in this instant, it seemed to them that they would achieve their own ends faster and better if they denied God their heavenly king and proclaimed someone else, the Roman caesar, to be their king. What blasphemy!

Even if you take into account that these Jews did not believe Jesus was sent by God to be their king, it was still total hypocrisy to condemn one man to death for “claim[ing] to be king of the Jews” (John 19:21) while proclaiming another mere human man to be their only king.

I call it shocking, but I shouldn’t be shocked. I, too, often seek to enthrone someone other than Jesus as king over my life. All too often, I want to establish myself as my own king. This is my sin.

This is why Jesus died: He was king, not only of the Jews, but of me, of all people. And the throne upon which he was crowned was a Roman cross.

Christ on the Cross — Illustration copyright Chrissie D.
Permission to print this image is granted to families or churches for use in teaching about Jesus Christ. This image must NOT be sold or used for any commercial reason. Please do NOT copy it to your website or blog.

Crux:

Jesus is King and his throne is a Cross.

Respond:

LORD God Almighty,

I declare Jesus of Nazareth is King – not just King of the Jews, as Pilate listed on his crucifixion notice. Jesus of Nazareth is King of all the universe, and Jesus of Nazareth is King of me. May it ever be so!

May I always, in every moment of my everyday ordinary Christian life, humbly submit to my sovereign king: Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus your Anointed One, Jesus of Nazareth who died on a cross for me.

May I be a willing and obedient citizen of Jesus’ kingdom. May I never seek to subvert Jesus’ rule or overthrow his reign in my life. May I submit and find joy and satisfaction in Jesus my king.

LORD, I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Please help me to submit to Jesus, through the voice and work of your Holy Spirit in my heart. Please help me to exalt you as King in my life.

Help me to submit in a righteous and holy way to those human authorities you have set over me: my pastor-husband Jeff, our church elders Dawson and David, my bosses at work, my nation’s elected government and its officials.

Amen.