“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm’ Therefore Pilate answered, ‘So You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’” (John 18:36,37)
Jesus was born a king. At birth He was born into earthly royalty. He was of the lineage of King David (Matt. 1:1), and rightful heir to his earthly throne,
“There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” (Is. 9:7)
The prophet Micah prophesied He would be born in Bethlehem
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah , from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel
And so, Jesus was born the king of the Jews.
What is a king? Most of can only relate to a president, who is someone we elect into office. But not so with a king.
A king is a male monarch. This is a ruler who has a kingdom, and rules over it with absolute power and authority. A king is not elected. He is born a royal heir to the throne, and inherits it. It is strictly hereditary, and he rules for life.
King Jesus will rule as King of the Jews for life, eternal:
“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:33)
“But of the Son God says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of Your kingdom.”(Heb. 1:8)
But far more than being born the eternal King of the Jews, Jesus Christ was born to be the King of His own kingdom, given Him by His Father. It’s referred to in 2 Peter 1:11 as “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The prophet Daniel was shown this. Turn with me to Daniel 7:13.
“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”
As King of His kingdom, Jesus Christ came to earth to invade Satan’s domain here, and do warfare. He came to dethrone the devil, and to destroy his works of wickedness and lies. He came to set the prisoners free.
For 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, these two arch enemies fought. It was a war of words. It was the kingdom of truth and righteousness fighting against the kingdom of wickedness and lies.
And finally, praise God, our Lord Jesus emerged victorious, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to proclaim:
“Repent! The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 4:17).”
When a person turns from their sin to Christ for salvation, they are miraculously taken out of the domain of Satan and transferred into this kingdom of heaven. (Col. 1:13) It is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, hallelujah! And He is its King.
No longer is that person under the rule of Satan. No longer does that person have to do what Satan says. He whom the Son, our King Jesus, sets free, is free indeed from the tyrant, Satan.
They are seated with Christ in heavenly places. They are in a completely different kingdom now, the kingdom of God
And O what a Servant King this Ruler is! What a kind and benevolent King is our Lord Jesus Christ! What other ruler of any kingdom would have done what King Jesus did, so we could be a part of His kingdom.
Our King died for our sins, so we could enter His kingdom and live with Him!
Our King continues to forgive us, when we fail Him.
Our King gives us His righteous, eternal life. The Christian will never die!
We are being transformed into our King’s image, from glory to glory!
We are made sons and daughters of God, and will share in the inheritance that belongs to Christ. [Rom.
We will rule and reign with our King, forever and ever!
Turn with me to Revelation 19:11-16. [Note: Jesus Christ is no longer wearing a crown of thorns!]
What does it mean to rule and reign with our King? Here we are, the armies, clothed in “the righteous acts of the saints”, going forth with the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. This goes beyond human imagination. But still, we are there with our King.
King Jesus came to earth to abolish all demonic rule and all authority and power. He came to put Satan under His feet, and to destroy all his works. One day in the future, it will be declared for all to hear, in all of creation!
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Rev. 11:17)
This is our King. His wonderful name is Jesus Christ, and we obey Him, amen? In His kingdom, He makes the rules, and He judges with perfect justice.
“God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9)
“God raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in submission under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Eph. 1:20-23)
Turn with me please, to one last Scripture: Matthew 25:31
I want us to consider this absolute power that God the Father has bestowed on Jesus Christ. In this last text, we see our great King, sitting on His throne, and He is the one who will judge all people of every generation.
Read Matthew 25:31
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