How God Became King

Matthew 21:1-11

God is the King of Creation

Genesis 1:1, the Bible begins by declaring: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’.

God made the world and so he has authority over it; so, he is the king. He has the right to set the rules and to expect obedience. Those rules are always for our good; we suffer if we disobey them.

In the Garden of Eden, he tells Adam: ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and devil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’ (Genesis 2:16-17).

Human beings are also given responsibility under God’s rule, to rule over the rest of the created order (Gen 2:26-28). Our authority is not independent of God; it is to be exercised under him. So, God is king and humans are vice regent.

God’s Rule is Rejected

Humans like to rule God’s world, but do not want to be kings under God. Genesis 3 describes the rebellion of Adam and Eve. Their disobedient eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes their rejection of God’s rule and their decision to set themselves up as independent rulers.

Human’s rebellious attempt to rule independently of God has had terrible consequences for the whole world. It has led to economic injustice, violence, warfare, ecological crisis and broken relationships—fallen in sin.

God will Rule through a King

God is determined to re-establish his kingdom and put everything right again. He begins with one man: Abraham.

Genesis 12:1-3, God promises Abraham many descendants who will become a great nation. They will be given a special place to live in and they will be blessed and all nations will be blessed through them.

God does not tell Abraham explicitly that he will fulfil his promises through a king—the Messiah, but there are other passages that make this clear:

‘…...I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’ (Genesis 3:15)

God tells the serpent, which represents Satan, that it will be destroyed by a coming saviour. From now on, as we read through the Bible, we are looking for this ‘serpent crusher’ who will defeat evil and counteract the effects of the fall.

At the end of Jacob’s life, he blesses Judah with the promise that one of his descendants will have an eternal, universal reign:

The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to who it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. (Gen 49:10).

Moses also speaks to the people just before they enter the land and tells them that it is God’s intention that they should be ruled by a king. He should be an Israelite appointed by God, who submits to God’s law. Such a king will lead the nation under God and bring much blessing to God’s people (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).

God Establishes a Monarchy in Israel

Abraham’s descendants multiply and become a large tribe, but they are persecuted slaves in Egypt. God does not forget his promises to Abraham. He redeems Israelites from slavery at the exodus and brings them in to a unique relationship with himself. They are given his law and are called to obey it so that they can enjoy his blessing in the Promised Land he has given them.

By now, most of God’s promises have been fulfilled, at least in part. But there is one crucial missing ingredient: there is no king.

The Israelites who have settled in the Promised Land continue to turn away from God and worship idols instead. God responds by judging them, allowing them to be oppressed by their enemies. In their despair they turn to God again and ask for his help. God graciously provides a ‘judge’ to rescue them, but soon afterwards, the people return to their wickedness and the cycle begins again.

What is going wrong?

A recurring phrase in the book of Judges gives us a clue; ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit’. The implication is clear. If only there was a king, of the kind that God had promised before they entered the land, then things would improve.

So, God Establishes a Monarchy in Israel, but it is a false start

The last great judge of Israel is Samuel. The Israelite leaders approach the old Samuel and ask for a change of rule:’…appoint a king to lead us against the enemies, such as all the other nations have’.

It is not the request in itself that is wrong; it has always been God’s plan that they should be ruled by a king. The fault lies in their motivation. They want to have kings leading them to fight at battle like the heathen but not to submit to God’s rule.

As a result, the first king they are given is very different from the kind of king God had intended for his people when he spoke to Moses in Deuteronomy 17. Far from helping the people to live under God’s rule, Saul disobeys God. God rejected him as king. God ‘s blessing will not come through him.

Then God Establishes a Monarchy in Israel - a king from Bethlehem

The focus now shifts to Bethlehem. Samuel is sent by God to visit Jesse to anoint one of his son to be the next king. When he arrives, Samuel thinks among the strong and impressive sons are to be anointed as king, but God tells him, no!

For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Finally, God chooses the youngest son David whom Samuel could hardly notice. God says, ‘Rise and anoint him, he is the one’.

David is anointed and is filled with the Spirit. God chooses ‘the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are’ (1 Corinthians 1:28).

Saul is jealous of David and, despite the young man’s faithful service, tries to kill him. David is forced to flee and remains a fugitive for many years. As we read of those trials, we are left asking, ‘Can he really be the chosen one of God, the anointed, if he is persecuted and rejected in this way?’

We can see in his life a foreshadowing of the one who was to come: “David’s descendant”. He was also anointed by God and received the Spirit at his baptism. He was chased, despised and hated; he was even put to death. But there is no doubt that he was God’s choice, God’s king.

In the end, David is acknowledged as king over the whole Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, establish it as his capital city, and brings the ark, symbolizing the presence and rule God, into the city.

David is a very different king from Saul. He seeks to lead the people under God and the result is great blessing. The Israelites have never enjoyed such security before, we even begin to wonder if he might be the ‘serpent crusher’ of Genesis 3:15 and the great king of the line of Judah who will reign forever.

But it soon become clear that he is not.

David wants to build a permanent resting place for the ark of God, but God tells him, no; that will be the privilege of a future king from his line:

‘When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall by my son.’  (2 Samuel 7:12-14).

These remarkable promises add to the picture of the saviour king that we have been given. We are now looking for a son of David who will also be a son of God, surely when he comes, all God’s promises will be fulfilled and his kingdom will come.

In David’s old age, he makes Solomon king. Solomon’s humility pleases God, who blessed him greatly. Solomon is the first king to rule peacefully over the whole land of Israel without any attacks from foreign powers. He also builds the temple, which provides a permanent dwelling place for the ark of God.

It is beginning to look as if God’s kingdom has once again been established on earth. But the golden age does not last for long. Solomon marries many foreign wives. When Solomon grows old, he begins to turn away from the LORD and worships these foreign gods as well.

God is angry with Solomon, he anoints Solomon’s subordinate, Jeroboam to rule ten tribes (Northern Kingdom) and allowing Solomon’s son, Rehoaboam to rule over the tribe of Judah (Southern kingdom).

As to the kings who succeed them in both kingdoms, there are a few godly ones in the midst of evil ones, but none like David or Solomon.

The Northern and Southern Kingdom - judgment must come

In this Two Kingdoms era, the prophets were very active. Their message is dominated by judgment: God must punish the nations for their rejection of his rule—breaking the Moses Law or Sinai Covenant. As a result, the northern kingdom of Israel is destroyed by the Assyrians in 722BC and Jeroboam’s dynasty comes to an end.

All the focus now shifts to the southern kingdom. Its kings have the right pedigree, being from the tribe of Judah and the line of David.  Nevertheless, judgment also comes on Judah when the Babylonians conquer Jerusalem and bring the people into exile in 586BC.

The Northern and Southern Kingdom - a message of hope

Prophets also prophesize messages of hope that God is faithful, and he has not forgotten his promises to Abraham. They will be fulfilled when God’s anointed king, the Christ, comes to reign. This future king will be a son of David, suffering Servant and son of man.

Nathan’s prophecy in 2 Samuel 7 promised a great king of the line of David. Micah foretells that God’s king will come from David’s town, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Isaiah prophesies his birth:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from the time on and forever.

(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Those verses make it clear he will no ordinary king; he is divine. He is not just a son of David, but also the Son of God.

Psalm 2 speaks of God establishing his king and then saying to him, ‘you are my Son; today I have become your Father’ (v.7).

David himself recognizes this future kings’ superiority over him. He writes: ‘The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ (Psalm 110:1)

Who is this Lord, who is not God the Father and yet whom David recognizes his superior?

God’s promises to Abraham are only partially fulfilled in the Old Testament because the Israelites keep disobeying God. The world will be restored to the perfection that existed in Eden only once the problem of sin is solved.

It is the role of the Suffering Servant to achieve that by dying on behalf of his people, so that God will no longer need to judge them. God will then be free to bless and put everything right again:

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces; he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-5)

Daniel receives visions from God while he is exiled in Babylon. God the Father, the Ancient of Days, will give universal and eternal authority to ‘one like a son of man’. (Daniel 7)

After a few decades of exile in Babylon, the people of Judah return to Jerusalem and expectations are high. But no king is appointed and the throne remains vacant. That is when the Old Testament ends.

We are still waiting for the one who will be son of David, son of man and suffering Servant. Surely, when he comes everything will be put right.

God’s King Has Come- son of David

Matthew ‘s Gospel begins with these words: ‘A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham (1:1). He is the one who is promised: Abraham’s offspring through whom all nations will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3) and the great king of David’s line (2 Samuel 7:12). He is born in Bethlehem, as Micah said he would be (Matthew 2:1-6).

When his public ministry begins, he tells the people, ‘The time has come. The kingdom of God is near’ (Mark 1:15). It is near because the king has come. He is the one whom David called ‘Lord’ in Psalm 110:1 (Mark 12:36). The miracles proclaim his power as God’s king: at his word demons flee and diseases are healed.

At last, we see signs of what a renewed creation will look like once God’s authority has been re-established through his King. But there are many times when he does not seem very regal, not least as he is arrested and crucified. The cross seems to proclaim his failure but he does not stay there.

The resurrection of Jesus is God’s great declaration to the world that Jesus really is the King. Paul tells the Jews in Antioch, ‘What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus ‘(Acts 13:32-33).

God’s King Has Come - son of Man

Jesus prefers to be referred as ‘Son of Man’ than as ‘Christ’. People are hoping for a Christ who will liberate them from the Roman rule. But Jesus knows that his mission must be very different, so he wants the fact that he is the Christ to be kept quiet.

So, after Peter has said, ‘You are the Christ’, Jesus immediately shifts the focus away from that title and on to the other: ‘He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again’(v31).

He is the great ‘son of man’ prophesied in Daniel 7.

When asked by the high priest if he is the Christ, Jesus replies, “I am. And you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Mark 14:61-62).

That is a clear reference to the prophecy of Daniel 7. Jesus is the Son of Man, the great universal king whom Daniel saw in his vision, but he must first suffer and die before he enters his glory.

God’s King Has Come - the suffering Servant

Matthew, Luke and John, all make it clear that the prophecies of Isaiah 53 that speak of the great suffering Servant have been fulfilled in Christ. Mark’s allusions to it are very clear. Jesus says, ‘Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (10:43-45).

The might Son of Man rescues his people, not through a military victory, but by dying in their place on the cross. There could not be a more powerful example of humble service. We are called to follow his example by being willing to be the slaves of others, whatever the cost.

The King’s Mission for the Church

Jesus is God’s King; he his enthroned at the right hand of his Father in heaven, but most people do not accept his rule and much is still wrong with the world. God’s kingdom has come in Christ, but it has not yet fully come. The fall has still not yet been reversed.

We must wait until Christ’s second coming for all God’s promises to be completely fulfilled and for his kingdom to be fully established. In the meantime, God is at work extending his kingdom. He does it in a surprising way: through the proclamation of a message, which is all about Jesus the King. Paul describes the good news he is called to proclaim as,

‘The gospel God promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Romans 1:2-3)

Our task as Christians is to proclaim, to preach, this message about Jesus, the King and Saviour, to all peoples. It is often discouraging work, as many reject what they hear, refusing to submit and trust in his offer of forgiveness. But however hard it may be, it is worth persevering in evangelism.

God sent his Spirt at Pentecost to equip his people for the task and he will ensure that the gospel bears fruit. When we sow the gospel seed, smallest as the mustard seed may be, it might land on good soil and will grow to become ‘the largest of all garden plants’; and there will be a bumper crop.

We must persevere, keeping our eyes fixed on the future when the kingdom of God will fully come.

The Lamb on the Throne

Revelation is the last book of the Bible and is written by Apostle John. John was writing at a time of great persecution; it certainly did not look as if Christians were on the winning side. But the visions that John saw assured him that they were.

John hears a voice in heaven saying, ‘See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed (5:5). We expect him to be a mighty figure, but John continues, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne’ (5:6).

Jesus is the great King of the tribe of Judah, foretold by Jacob in Genesis 49:10, and the mighty son of David, prophesied by Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:12. He is also the suffering Servant who crushed Satan, as the first hint of the gospel in Genesis 3:15 had said he would, through his death on the cross.

It is the past victory Jesus won on the cross that guarantees the final future victory when all his enemies at last will be destroyed. On that great day, an angel will say, ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever’ (11:15).

At last God’s kingdom has fully come.

How Should We Live Now?

The book of Revelation begins with letters from the Lord Jesus to seven churches. In them he urges the Christians to stand firm in the faith. All of them end with a promise to ‘him who overcomes’. Jesus is referring to those who remain faithful to him to the end of their lives. They are the ones who enjoy the fruits of his victory in heaven.

We should be those who ‘overcome’, living today for the rest of our lives in the light of Christ’ kingship. This involves resisting temptation with any cost. When that is hard, as it often will be, we should remember that Jesus has won the victory. He is already King and it is only a matter time before he returns to establish his authority fully.

It is worth obeying him, whatever the cost. He assures us: ‘To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne’ (3:21).