Here we are at the last lesson in the Introduction. WWHHAATT!!!!!!!! You have to be kidding me! This was just the introduction?
We’re talking about a bunch of History, and in the midst of all of that a long succession of kings, kingdoms, and empires. As we study the individual cities and states that the Apostles wrote to, we’ll look at their kings, and the crazy, and also cruel things they did throughout history. For the moment, I want to talk about Jesus,the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. These were titles He never gave himself, but were ascribed to Him later by the Apostle Paul, and John. (See: 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17: 14, Revelation 19: 16, ) In a bitter touch of irony, Pontius Pilate mockingly declared Jesus to be the king of the Jews as they hung Him on the cross. Jesus was MORE than the King of the Jews.
What could Pilate the Roman Prefect of the great Empire have to fear from an unknown zealot who’d been handed over to him by his own people. It was barely worth his time to deal with the situation. To Pilate, Jesus was just another in a long history of messiah’s. The history of the land of Canaan was filled with would be kings, upstart city kingdoms, and small insignificant rebellions. In his mind, this Jesus was just another slave of Rome. He would be hung on a cross just like every other rebellious slave. It would be just one more tree in a forest of crosses that dotted the roads between Rome, and its far flung holdings. Pharaohs had come and gone, The Assyrians, Persians, Babylonians, Philistines, and Greeks had all failed in their attempts to establish lasting kingdoms. Like every good Roman, Pilate believed that the Roman Empire would be the last great kingdom, and it would last forever. The man who stood before him, this Jesus couldn’t even scrape together a handful of supporters to defend him. The man’s ‘disciples’ had all disappeared when he was arrested, with only a few women left to weep and cry as Pilate pronounced his judgment on him. Herod had told him about outlandish rumors of healings, and miracles done by this ‘Jesus’, but the man standing before him could barely stand. If he was a sorcerer, or great magician, he was keeping it well hid.
King indeed!
Little could Pilate know that the beaten, bleeding man who stood before him would one day establish a worldwide Kingdom called Christianity. Little did he know that Jesus would influence the affairs of men from lands as yet undiscovered. The unseen Kingdom of Jesus would change the affairs of mankind from that day forward, and it will do so forever. Jesus was a different King, a servant King, a lowly humble peasant king whose Kingdom wasn’t enforced with military might, but enshrined in grace and love.
As we’ll discover as we go further into our study, the kings of the ancient kingdoms were cruel, and ruled by the carnal nature. Most of them viewed themselves as being more than just kings. They saw themselves as gods, and their exploits were sung everywhere they went until they died, or were killed in battle. Then a new king would arise, and shine briefly, and then be forgotten soon after they too died. The crimes these rulers did to their subjects were never punishable, because they were....kings.
It would be the lowly son of a young girl from the tribe of Judah that would change the course of history more than any other king before Him. Jesus was everything ancient kings had hoped to be. Where King Darius claimed to be the defender of the truth, Jesus said, “I am the truth.” The kings of Persia, Medea, Greece, Egypt, and yes even the Philistines hoped to be seen as placed in rulership by their gods. They claimed to know the way, while Jesus boldly declared “I am the way.” The ancient kings would dress themselves in golden splendor, and sit on thrones plated in gold, Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.” The ancient kings ruthlessly murdered opponents in hideous forms of torture, while Jesus mildly restored the ear of a guard when Peter picked up a sword to defend Jesus. Ancient kings would gather vast armies and send them on great campaigns to conquer and destroy. Jesus would send disciples in front of him to declare that “the Kingdom was at hand.” When the King of kings would arrive, He would quickly get to work healing, delivering, and restoring lives. The Kingdom of God brought new hope to a beleaguered humanity; Individual Worth!
Prior to Jesus, the individual had no rights. The world Jesus was born into didn’t recognize individual worth. Eighty percent of the population of the civilized world were slaves to one ruler or another. The only way a person could be ‘free’ was to live on the fringes of society, or to be born into power. Power was defined in physical strength, prowess in combat, financial strength, or dynastic birth. The only equalizer throughout history was death. Everyone dies! Even in death, your wealth was plunder for the bandit willing to dig up your grave. The oppressor, could be overcome, and become the oppressed. The cycle went on and on through thousands of years. Then Jesus came and offered citizenship in an eternal kingdom. Even this idea wasn’t new. What was new was who was offered citizenship. God’s offer of eternal life was predicated upon one simple premise; Belief in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Eternity no longer belonged to the powerful, noble, or religious adherent. As if to add insult to injury, Jesus made it clear that every human being could have eternal life through believing in Him. His was an unseen kingdom, and its power would eventually change the way governments ruled, secure rights, and liberties for every human being, and lay the foundations for the individual rights we enjoy today.
Sadly, the power of the carnal nature is insidious, and pervasive. It would take nearly 1700 years for men to fully embrace the message of Jesus. When Jesus left this earth, He left behind His Church to advance His kingdom. The Church would stumble and lurch its way forward through outright persecution, and sadly through corruption from within. The carnal nature would infiltrate the Church, and subvert believers into inaction, and impotence. Still, despite the deception of the evil one, and our own carnal nature, Holy Spirit guided and directed the church in its mission to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. Many lost their way, because they listened to their carnal natures, others lost hope, but the Church has never failed.
The message of the Kingdom persisted because Jesus was a king unlike any other before, or after Him. With His death, and resurrection, He defeated the grave, and made us eternal children of God. Not just to one, or a few, but to as many who are called. Jesus gave mankind their individual worth. Many internal battles have been fought, with most people barely being able to live a victorious personal life. Yet, the Kingdom of Grace and Love has changed the world in ways we’ll soon discover. Hold your head high Christian, be a jubilant church, the kingdom is at hand and will be until Christ returns.
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