Jesus-King of Kings!

Intro.: As Americans we don't have a good feel for living in a monarchy.

1. The King receives that title by right of birth – or kidnapping or murder.

2. It is not something you can earn. It is not something you can buy. You cannot be elected to the position of King.

3. And we don't have a king in our country.

4. And yet we understand that Jesus is a King.

5. I would like to look to at three roles that the King played in previous generations and that may help us to understand the roles Jesus plays in our life.

Pray

Trans: The word King is one of the most common words in the OT.

1. The Hebrew word is Melek occurs almost 2700 times

2. The Greek word, Basileus, occurs 125 times in the New Testament

3. This does not include other related words – but when we put it all together, we understand that the concept of a KING is am important theme throughout the scriptures.

4. It is a theme illustrated by believers, non-believers, and by God himself.

T.S. Lets look at three pictures of the KING that will help us to understand Jesus as the King

1. The King is unique in his own right

   1. English royalty are unique. They have land, they have servants. When they do something or something happens to them, they are all over the news. Nothing like that happens to me. Like most of you, I have to do most of it myself.

   2. Royalty has an amazing place in the minds of people. In Canada, the King and/or Queen of England are still recognized as being their formal head of state. The same is true in Australia and throughout most of the former United Kingdom.

   3. Of course, if I were to say “we here in the United States could care less what happens to English royalty” you would all know that it is not true. The American press is still discussing the repercussions of the death of Princess Diana.

(Ill.) Perhaps the most famous king in England is King James I. This is the king who commissioned the writing of the King James Bible. But his life certainly did not seem to warrant that kind of memorial. Here was a man who was habitually drunk and was rumored to addicted to other drugs and behaviors as well. He married off his children – only to forward the power of England. He was said to have drained the royal treasury to satisfy his thirst for wine and women. His behavior was obnoxious.

Not only was his behavior obnoxious, so was his appearance was also very un-king like. J. R. Green writes that his head was big, he slobbered while he ate, his clothing was so ostentatious to be offensive. Rickety legs, google eyes made him stand out even more. He had no personal dignity. Those who knew him said that he was pandantric. I did not know what that meant either. It meant that he was continually bragging about what he know – whether he knew it or not. Further, he was described as a coward. As you can tell, he was not a well-liked king. But such was the life of a king.ⁱ

4. John, in the book of revelations, calls Jesus, the “King of Kings”

5. The history of divine kingship has its roots in the life of Moses, where it is declared, “The Lord will reign for ever and ever.” (Ex 15:18)

6. David reminds us that royalty will be an everlasting right to the descendants of David. (2 Samuel 7:11-16)

7. It is in the book of Revelations that we find Jesus is called the “King of Kings”.

8. In Jesus we find one who has authority over the world's governments. Whether it be President Bush, Pres. Hamid Karzai from Afghanistan, Emperor Akihito of Japan, or the heads of any of the other 130 countries. 1

9. Whether they acknowledge it or not, Jesus is their King. He is the King of Kings.
   
   

1. The King is responsible for all the land

   1. In medieval times the King was at the top of a geographical pyramid. And he owned all of the land.

   2. But it would be impossible for him to care for all that land. So that is where Counts and Countesses, Lords and Ladies came from. The land would be divided between the other members of the royalty. And then subdivided again.

   3. Each subdivision was the responsibility of all those who to whom it had assigned – starting with the King on down to Lord's or Counts and so forth down to the lowly cerf who was responsible for directly working the land.

   4. But it is the one above the kings who was ultimately responsible for the land.

(Ill.) I think John Wesley understood this. It is well-known that John Wesley had a greater impact on his generation than any other man of his time. But he changed England in other ways as well. As John Wesley rode up and down through the English countryside during the last half of the eighteenth century, his soul was touched by the poverty, the drabness, and the ugliness of the village life. One day he hit upon the scheme of distributing flower seeds to the housewives, and offering prizes for the most beautiful gardens, with the result that today the English countryside has the reputation of being the most colorful in the world. One man had changed the complexion of the rural districts of an entire nation.ⁱⁱ

4. God created it. Jesus was there. We need to care for what God created. Wesley did – we must also do so.
   
   

1. The King is responsible for all of His people

   1. A nation's king was not only responsible for the land, he was also responsible for the people that resided on that land.

   2. The castle was the King's home, but it was also a place of refuge for the community – when trouble hit the community, they could lock themselves in the castle till it passed.

   3. It also was the place where the towns people could find nourishment and community – it was the site for the weekly market, it was often the location of the local chapel.

   4. You see, the King provided for his people what God provides for His people.

(Appl.) I don't know what you need. When it really comes down to it, I don't know what I need. I know what I want, but not what I need. You see, the only one who knows what I really need is God. The only person who knows who what we need is God. Amazingly, he is also the one person in a position to give what we need. After all, he is the KING.

Conclusion: Jesus is King

1. He stands above everyone – Presidents, kings, Lords, and even, you and me

2. He created this planet upon which we live – and as King is responsible for it. As our Lord's servants, so are we.

3. He is responsible for us – and as such, he give us what we need, not necessarily what we want.

Pray

iTan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

iiTan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.