Jesus Our Reigning King
READ MATTHEW 2:1-14
MEDITATION: Jesus is many things to many people. To the believer, Jesus is the Prophet of God, who came to tell us the words of God. He is our Great High Priest, who has come to bridge the gap between God and human beings by offering the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Today we will look at another title for the child who was born in Bethlehem: Jesus our reigning king.
This is a difficult title for lots of people to understand. Even though the prophets made it clear that the Messiah was coming to be a king, his arrival in the form of Jesus Christ was completely unexpected. If you were looking for a king, you would not be looking for someone like Jesus. Who ever heard of a king being born to a peasant woman? Who would have guessed that the coming King would be born in a stable? Who could have imagined that the king would be a carpenter? This was not the kind of kings that the world was used to. Kings are born of noble birth. They are born on silk sheets in fine palaces. They spend their childhood being trained by philosophers and warriors in the fine arts of governing and conquering.
Kings lead mighty armies: Jesus led a ragtag bunch of fishermen. Kings ride on noble steeds: Jesus walked the dusty roads of Judea. Kings are followed by lords and ladies: Jesus was followed by sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and the sick. Kings live in ornate castles: Jesus had no home to lay his head. Kings wear fancy robes and jewels: Jesus had only one outfit, which was taken from him before he was killed.
Jesus does not strike you as the kind of king that the world expects. In fact, many of the scholars of Jesus’ time thought that there must be two Messiahs who were coming. The prophets made it clear that the Messiah would be a king, but they also made it clear that the Messiah would be humble and would suffer greatly. How can a king suffer in humility?
Did you ever wonder about the reaction of those Magi from the east? They saw the star of Jesus and knew that a King from heaven had come to the earth. They saw that it was rising above Israel, so they knew that the king of the Jews had been born. So, naturally they went to Jerusalem, the capital, heading for the palace of King Herod. They must have been surprised to find out that there had not been any new births in the castle; the king had not been born to King Herod. They must have been surprised as they asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.“ They knew that he had been born because the star led them there, but nobody seemed to know who or where the new king was.
In fact, Herod was disturbed, and why shouldn’t he be? After all, he was the reigning king, and if a new king had been born outside of his family, it meant that he was going to be deposed. Matthew says that all Jerusalem was disturbed as well. If there was a new king born while the current king was still on the throne, it meant that there was going to be trouble. Democratic societies often change administrations quite easily. A new president or congress is elected and power is transferred peacefully. But when you have a despotic king like Herod on the throne change only comes through armies and bloodshed. A new king meant that there was going to be a battle. So, Herod called together all of his scholars and asked them where the new king was supposed to be born, since the Magi had determined for him the time of his birth. They put their heads together, dug out the prophecies, and determined that the king was to be born in Bethlehem, a sleepy little town about six miles outside of Jerusalem. So, Herod sent the Magi off to find the king and instructed them to come back and let him know where the king was exactly, “So he could go and worship him as well.“ Of course, he planned to worship the newborn king with a sword!
Overjoyed to know exactly what town the king was supposed to have been born in, the Magi headed off for Bethlehem. Now, just try to imagine their faces when they came to the house where Jesus lay, went in, and instead of finding a royal household or a conquering army they found a peasant household. They must have been dumbfounded! The king was this young child? The King of the Jews was going to be descended from a poor, teenaged woman and her carpenter husband? I am sure they checked their charts and the prophecies over and over again and scratched their heads in wonder that this was the king they were searching for! But, when everything was said and done, they realized that no matter how incredible it might be, this was the king that they were looking for, so they did what came natural to those in the presence of a king: they fell down and worshiped him, showering him with costly gifts. I would love to have seen their faces when they found out that this child was a king, but I also would have loved to see the reverence in their faces as they worshiped the child.
Our world is faced with a similar dilemma today: will we worship Jesus as king? Like the people of Jesus’ time, there are a lot of reactions to the idea of Jesus being a king. He commands no one by force to follow him, content to let the world choose to serve him or not.
ACTION: THIS IS CRUNCH TIME; IT IS DECISION MAKING TIME. DETERMINE NOW THE DIRECTION YOU WANT YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE TO TAKE AFTER LENT AND START PRAYING ABOUT IT. WILL YOU WORSHIP JESUS THE KING? WILL YOU BE HIS LOYAL SERVANT?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work. I give you my feet to go your way. I give you my tongue to speak your words. I give you my mind that you may think in me. I give you my spirit that you may pray in me. Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me your Father and all mankind. I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me.
