Jesus The KING!

A good king is a king that is righteous, one that judges the scales perfectly – delivering justice and mercy, he shows no partiality between the rich and poor, he loves his subjects even with his very life.  This kind of king we would lift on a high throne, we would honor him, pay tribute to him, and we would be his loyal subjects – because of his goodness.  We love to have these kinds of qualities in our leaders.  When we think of the great ones throughout history, Kind David, King Solomon, Caesar Augustus, Charlemagne, George Washington, and there are others, there is this natural longing in our hearts that we be led by virtuous and great leaders.  The problem here is twofold, the first is that God did not want us to have demi-god type of leaders but rather that decisions be distributed equitably, i.e. judges.  The second problem, which is unavoidable is that leaders always fall short.  Lets take a look at the first problem, God reminding us that He alone is our King.

In his old age Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel. His sons did not follow his example, but looked to their own gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice. Therefore all the elders of Israel assembled and went to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, like all the nations, to rule us.”   Samuel was displeased when they said, “Give us a king to rule us.” But he prayed to the LORD. The LORD said: Listen to whatever the people say. You are not the one they are rejecting. They are rejecting me as their king. They are acting toward you just as they have acted from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this very day, deserting me to serve other gods. Now listen to them; but at the same time, give them a solemn warning and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them. Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. He told them: “The governance of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot. He will appoint from among them his commanders of thousands and of hundreds. He will make them do his plowing and harvesting and produce his weapons of war and chariotry. He will use your daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will tithe your crops and grape harvests to give to his officials and his servants. He will take your male and female slaves, as well as your best oxen and donkeys, and use them to do his work. He will also tithe your flocks. As for you, you will become his slaves. On that day you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.” The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, “No! There must be a king over us. We too must be like all the nations, with a king to rule us, lead us in warfare, and fight our battles.” Samuel listened to all the concerns of the people and then repeated them to the LORD. The LORD said: Listen to them! Appoint a king to rule over them. Then Samuel said to the people of Israel, “Return, each one of you, to your own city.” (1 Samuel 8:1-22)

This warning was given to us by God because He never wanted us to forget who the real King was, He is the King of kings, and yet we did not listen then nor do we take heed now.  God knew that we would replace Him with a human being (king).  If you don’t believe it, let me ask you this, “who gets more air time in today’s media, both by those who deliver it and those who receive it, Jesus or the human leader, king, or president?

The Lord relented and gave in to the people of Israel and gave them their king, now we live with the consequences.  I don’t want to paint a dire picture, for we do have good and great leaders from time to time, but even the best of them fall short, they are sinners – as is everyone.  God desired that people share responsibility in smaller groups making up the whole; it makes things more equitable, both in economic terms but also in shared responsibility for all of society.  God did not want us to become indebted to one person, as we are when we appoint a king over us.

The second issue is this, man is imperfect, therefore no matter who is king we will not be satisfied.  Even King David, and even the saintly Abraham Lincoln had strong detractors, people who wanted them dead.  King David’s life was threatened numerous times and we know that Abraham Lincoln was indeed assassinated.  As sinners ourselves we denounce all our kings, even today we still do this.  No matter who is president we are never happy, we always complain, complain, and complain.   We put so much trust in our leaders and we back our party, right or wrong with a fierce determination and then we crucify the other party and eventually our own when the king does not live up to expectations.  We will find fault with everyone and no system of government will ever be perfect.  This has been going on since the very first appointment of a king in this world and it won’t stop until the King of kings returns.

The Good News today is that there is one we can put all our faith in as our leader, as our King.  God reminds us, “I AM your King.”  We can put that faith in Him because He is without flaw, prejudice, favor, or even any vice.  He judges perfectly, keeping justice and mercy in perfect balance.  He leads by example being a servant King - loving His own subjects so much so that He gave His own life for them, even though He had the power and right to wipe them from existence for their treason.   This is whom we should put our trust in; He will not fail us nor will be disappointed, for Jesus Christ is true King, a King of Kings, one whom we can follow without disappointment.  So yes, we are to be obedient to who God has appointed as our rulers, but they are not to become king in our hearts, for that belongs to Jesus alone.  All the rest will fall short and disappoint us but Jesus Christ the King of the universe will never fail us.  Praise be to Jesus King of the Universe.  Peace, FJ