King of kings

One of my absolute favorite kings is Aslan, the majestic lion-king of CS Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia”. Aslan is the rightful monarch of the realm of Narnia who, in an ultimate act of selflessness, offers himself as a sacrificial lamb upon the stone table. His ultimate display of love for the creatures of Narnia breaks the evil spell that had the land in an eternal winter, freeing many creatures that had been dispatched by the evil queen. Aslan is the embodiment of a great king as he puts the needs of his subjects above that of his own and frees them from their bondage. No greater love hath a man then to lay down his life for his friends.

As the last judge of Israel nears the end of his life, the nation cries out for a king to be established and rule over them.  1 Samuel 8:5 “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 

Even though God delivered the children of Israel time after time, they still refused to walk with Him. Seeing that all the other nations around them were ruled by kings, they turned to their own desires demanding that Samuel install an earthly king to be judge over them.

The problem with having an earthly king is that you never know what kind of man he will turn out to be. God tells Samuel to explain this to Israel and then give them what they wanted. While I was traveling in Bangkok, I noticed a very large picture of their king near the airport. As it turns out, the people of Thailand love their king. The monarch treats them very well by providing for their needs:  food, good highways and plenty of opportunities for families to thrive. The reverse can be total misery in a kingdom if the monarch is bent on evil and is self centered, as was the case of several of the kings of Israel.

The Jews of the first century were expecting the prophesied Anointed One, the King-Messiah to show up and lead them to a crushing victory over the Roman oppression. The book of Daniel was very well read during that time of history preparing the people to be on watch for their deliverer. At first, the crowds in Jerusalem were ready and willing to accept Jesus of Nazareth as the man who would fulfill this role. Then, following His arrest, beating and crucifixion, their hopes and dreams for freedom began to disappear replaced by horrific images of Roman cruelty as Jesus suffered and died.

Their mighty Jewish conquer who would ride onto the scene abolishing a corrupt world system, now hung lifeless on a Roman torture device. But because Jesus allowed the men He created to put Him to death, He was able to pay our sin debt for us, a debt that no mere man would be able to pay. Clearly the sages didn’t read the prophecy in Daniel and understand it completely because if they had, they would have known that the Messiah would first come as the Lamb of God and be cut off, returning at a future date as the Lion from the tribe of Judah, setting up an  everlasting kingdom here on earth.

When you really take the time to study the book of Leviticus, you will see the entire outline for God’s plan of salvation that was fulfilled completely by His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ or anointed one. The bible highlights how even the apostles of Jesus didn’t understand what was happening during His arrest, sentencing and execution. At the last supper Jesus tried to explain, laying out the entire plan. In fact, it was not until the risen Christ came back to life and appeared to at least five thousand people, that God’s message of eternal life through the resurrection began to take shape.

As Jesus hung lifeless, nailed to the wooden beams, He breathed His last breath and gave up His spirit. Many family and friends had gathered at the foot of the cross to be with Him, to comfort Him, however, still others mocked Him saying “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Matthew 27:42-44

The answer has always been Jesus. From the foundations of the world God’s plan of salvation was prepared and waiting for the precise moment to be revealed. Our King is coming with a savage roar and bite that will silence His enemies once and forever.