The King Who Serves and Saves
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| "Christ on the Cross" by El Greco |
“Pilate also wrote an inscription and put in on the cross.
It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
“Give us a king like
all the other nations have,” the people demanded. Their request had to come
like a vicious kick to the gut. Samuel had served Israel long and well as their
judge. But the years were taking their toll. No longer could he maintain the
grueling schedule he once had kept as a young man. So Samuel appointed his two
sons, Joel and Abijah, to assist him.
Sadly, the sons were
not as unselfish as their father and not nearly as devoted to duty. They used
their office for personal gain and, for a price, perverted justice. It’s
difficult to explain their actions. You wouldn’t think that Samuel would be one
to neglect the training of his children. After all, he had grown up alongside
Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phineas, and had seen firsthand what such permissive
parenting can lead to. But it appears Samuel’s sons simply had given in to those
temptations that so commonly beset those in public office.
By the time the elders
had arranged a meeting with Samuel to discuss their concerns, their minds were already
made up. “Behold, you are now old and your sons do not walk in your ways,” they
said. “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” Samuel asked
for time to think over their request and to discuss it with God in prayer.
Understandably, Samuel
took the people’s request personally and regarded it as a rejection of himself.
God reassured Samuel he was not the one they had rejected. The people had forgotten
they already had a King. The Lord God was their king, enthroned on the Ark of
the Covenant, between the cherubim. In calling for a king like all the nations,
they were rejecting the kingship of God.
An earthly king might
have used a show of force to put down such a rebellion; but our patient, loving
God relented. “Give them a king,” He told Samuel, “but let them know up front
the consequences.”
Samuel warned the
people: “If you get a king, instead of your king helping you and serving you,
you are going to make matters worse for yourselves… for you are going to serve
the king, not the other way around. He is going to want your money. He’s going
to want your property. He’s going to want your sons and daughters. And he is
going to want you to bow down before him. The day will come when you will cry
out for relief from this king you have chosen.”
And that is exactly
what happened. God gave the Israelites a king. And he was just like the kings
all the other nations had. He demanded to be served. He demanded their money. He
demanded their property. He demanded the service of their sons and daughters. And
he demanded them to bow down before him.
For 400 years they had
a king. First Saul, then David, then descendants of David. Some, like King
David, were men after God’s own heart, most were usually worse than the one
preceding. Those kings led the people to worship other gods. They led the
people to make peace treaties with other nations who were God’s enemies. They
permitted people to harm their neighbor and said nothing. And those kings were
usually getting something on the side to keep their mouths shut.
Because of the
disobedience and rebelliousness and injustice of the kings and the people, God
eventually took away their land and left it mostly empty around Jerusalem. The
people of Judah were taken away in exile to Babylon for seventy years. Even
when they were allowed to return, they had no king. For 600 years after the
city of Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, until the time of
our Lord, there was no son of David who ruled as king. Even Herod, who had
taken the title for himself, was no king, but a puppet put in place by Rome as governor
of a small portion of the region of Galilee.
Now, a thousand years
after the glory days of King David, the people of Judea were waiting for another
king. They wanted a king to give them back what David had—a little bit of real
estate where they could be safe. Self-rule free from the dictates of a foreign
conqueror. A king like all the rest of the kings of the world—only one they
could call their own.
When Jesus came, He
said, in effect: “My kingdom is not of this world. I am not the kind of king
you want, but I am the kind of King you need. I have not come so that I can
bring some glory to you, so that everyone else will do your bidding, and work
for you, as the people once did for Solomon. I have not come to keep your belly
filled with bread and fish so that you can sit back and do nothing.
“The problem that you
have is much deeper than having a roof over your head, beautiful clothes on
your back, wonderful children, and someone to serve you. From the time that
your first father and mother sinned, you have rejected God as your King. Oh, occasionally,
when it was fresh on your mind, you would celebrate God’s love and deliverance.
But very quickly you would forget again that He is a king who saves you and
serves you and bids you to do the same for your neighbor. And you would go back
to your old sinful, selfish, and rebellious life.
“Such treasonous
behavior carries the threat of capital punishment in earthly kingdoms. But I am
going to suffer the consequences of your sin and rebellion. I am going to
suffer your death, destruction, and eternal damnation, so that you don’t have
to, so that I might be your King.”
Christ’s coronation as
King is most shocking. Human beings kill God the Son. The Jews do so, claiming
Jesus committed blasphemy by saying He was God. And that was the truth. He did
claim that. The irony was that they did not know that He was telling the truth.
The Gentile governor, Pontius Pilate, who didn’t know what truth was, puts
Jesus—the Truth—to death, because he wants to save his own skin and keep on
playing king, as if his were the final authority.
But even more shocking is
that King named Jesus willingly suffers eternal death. The Crowned Prince is
punished by His own Father in the place of subjects who are unwilling to be
ruled by anyone, not even by a loving king, their God. Jesus goes to the cross
because He wants to be our Lord and must go into battle against the powers
which hold His own subjects captive—the devil, the world, and our own sinful
flesh.
Jesus yields His Spirit
to His Father and He declares publicly that everything needed to bring every
human back into His kingdom has been done. It is finished. All of that
brokenness which humans experience over against God, self, and others, all of
those problems, all of the blindness and deadness and being at enmity with God,
with ourselves, and with each other, is at an end.
The once crucified King
comes to us, offering forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life, solely out of
His mercy and grace. And the only thing we have to bring to Him is our sins. But
that’s okay—that’s exactly what He wants from us!
We are summoned to
stand before our almighty God, that we might confess what in us caused our
Lord’s death, what wickedness in our hearts moved Him to love us sinners. We
are asked to examine our heart: “Where have I sinned? Where have I rejected
what You are and what You have done for me, O Lord, my King?” We are called to
ask Him to open our eyes to see and to confess the many ways in which we wish
God would be a different kind of God. We are called to lay our sin-filled lives
before His cross, that we might go forth, washed in the blood of the Lamb,
freed, restored, and alive.
Jesus wants us to
acknowledge what we really are, who we really are. We are poor miserable
sinners who justly deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment. We are by
nature sinful and unclean and have consistently sinned against God in thought,
word, and deed. We have rejected our King!
But even on this Good
Friday, our King does not want us to go away with our heads hung low, in fear
and in shame and in doubt. Even, and maybe especially this day, He wants us to
go forth in joy knowing that the Creator and Lord of the universe loves us so
much that He would give Himself up to a horrendous death because He wants us to
be with Him forever. He does not say, “Go away from Me,” but says, “Come unto
Me, you who labor and are heavy laden. I can give you rest.”
Jesus really is a King
who comes to serve and save us! He gives us forgiveness of sins, life, and
salvation as He makes us His sons in Holy Baptism. He feeds us His own body and
blood for our forgiveness and the strengthening of our faith. Through His
called and ordained servant of the Word, He speaks words of forgiveness and
life. Then, He who took up His cross tells us that, for the joy set before us,
we can follow in His footsteps, enjoying the challenge to love as we have been
loved.
So go forth in the
peace of the Lord. Your King Jesus reigns. Crucified, risen, and ascended to
the Father’s right hand, He lives and reign to all eternity on behalf of His
Church. He intercedes for you before the Father, and comes to you with
forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. For His sake, you are forgiven of all
of your sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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