The King is Here

We have a new king! You probably heard. :P

With the death of Elizabeth II, His Majesty Charles III is now King of Australia.

But you know what, for most of us it is probably and insignificant matter. Eventually our currency will change, and various official documentation of government will be updated too, but in day to day life it is rather irrelevant to us who is the monarch of Australia. This is not least because the role is largely ceremonial these days.

So for most of us this is our only lived experience with a King (or the Queen beforehand). There is a distant figure, who doesn’t even live in the same country as us. He has little impact on our outlook on the world and the choices we make. He is historically significant, but as a curiosity to us rather than as a valued leader.

You know, many people think about Jesus Christ that way:

A distant figure,

from a different time and different country,

who has no impact on my worldview,

and no impact on my daily choices,

yes he is interesting, but mostly as a historical curiosity.

Perhaps that describes you? Is that how you think about Jesus?

I can understand why you would think that way. The modern world is intent on burying Jesus, either willfully or in ignorance.

Many people know Jesus name only as an exclamation or expletive, having no idea who the man was.

Yet, year after year the calendar in most western nations revolves around two big holiday seasons: Christmas and Easter. Both times centered on celebrating Jesus Christ. So no matter how we might overlook him, it is not long before we are once again presented with another holiday where we need to choose to either ignore the reason for the season, or face the events that bring such joy to Christians the world over!

The fact that you’re here today leads me to believe you’re probably interested in the Birth of Jesus Christ, or at the very least you may be sympathetic to that family member who convinced you to come! ;)

Whether you’re here because you’re relishing the birth of Jesus Christ, or or you’re here to get your religious fix for the year, or here as a favour to a friend, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just glad you’re here.

You know why?

Because the enigmatic life of the historical figure Jesus Christ is the most important thing you need to know about right now.

War in Ukraine, climate change, voice to parliament, cost of living, human rights... all of these things pale in comparison to this topic we’re looking at right now, because Jesus Christ is not just a distant historical figure, he is a reigning king. And no ceremonial king, but an actively reigning king! Today!

The child that was born, and laid in a manger was a promised King. He was long awaited, and on that fateful day about 2000 years ago, the King Arrived.

The King is Here.

The King is Here, and it changes everything!

Let me give you 3 reasons why this changes everything,

1. He is King over the World

King over the world? That’s a bit of a far fetched claim right? Some kid born out of wedlock to a young woman in Palestine centuries ago, king of the world?

Yes!

You see, to become a king you need a few things,

You need a kingdom to rule over, to be born into the right family and/or be given the kingdom.

This is the case with Jesus Christ.

The records of Jesus Life in the Bible go to great lengths to point out that Jesus was a descendant of kings. He was a great, great, great.... grandson of King David of Israel.

That’s why Jesus was born in Bethlehem, because his family was descended from King David, and for the census they were returning to Bethlehem which was the ancestral hometown of the family.

Luke 2:4 ESV

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

King David was a great king over Israel in it’s hey-day. And the people of Israel looked favourably back on his reign.

Through prophesy God had told Israel that he would restore the kingship to David’s descendants, but not only that, the king would reign forever. Not just for a lifetime, but for all lifetimes!

Baby Jesus, laid in a manger was that promised King. He had the claim through birthright.

Many of the royal families around the world have intermarried to strengthen their claims on their thrones and to build strong alliances. In fact the reason that Scotland and England have one king today, is because at one time the King of Scotland was also inline to the English throne, and the crown fell to him when others died.

Jesus, was not the product of intermarriages like these, but he did have another linage that would cement his kingship - he was the Son of God!

This is why the virgin birth is key. Mary was a virgin, no way that she could fall pregnant. God miraculously made Mary pregnant by the Holy Spirit. God sent angels to announce this both to Mary and the fiancee Joseph to explain what was happening. The fact that Mary was a virgin made it clear that the baby Jesus was not merely a man, but that he was divine. He was from God himself. If anyone had a claim to rule in Israel, it was the child who was both descended from David and who was divine. This was the God-man.

God was born into human flesh, in a child who was an heir of King David. The angel said as much to Mary:

Luke 1:32–33 ESV

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

So there we have it, Jesus is king of Israel, so there’s the kingdom, he has the birthright. God is going to give him the kingship.

So that’s all well and good for Israel, but I said that Jesus is King over more than just Israel, he is king over the world!

Yes!

Jesus has taken up kingship over the whole world. God, who is the one with all authority and power over the universe, gave Jesus not only kingship over Israel, but over all people everywhere.

This matters to you because you are a person in a place, and you need to come to grips with the idea that there is a king right now who claims the right to rule over you and everybody else. No longer is everybody left to their own devices, but all nations and people come under his jurisdiction.

This is the ancient prophecy!

Psalm 2:7–8 ESV

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

That baby born in Bethlehem was royal blood. Born in meager circumstances, to an ordinary working class couple, yet one who was destined to reign over all humanity.

Yet, the that kingship isn’t fully realised yet. The world doesn’t say with one voice that Christ is King. As we said before, Jesus is often considered a far off and irrelevant figure. It is all well and good to say that Jesus is King over the world, but how? And why do so many doubt his claim to the throne over humanity?

Because, even though the King is Here, and it changes everything, the kingdom is still being established. Let’s look at how...

2. He is a Conquering King

Jesus is the king who changes everything by conquering all the enemies of His kingdom.

It’s not warmongery, it’s for the defence and safety of the kingdom to tackle the threats that face them.

So for humanity, what is the biggest threat? What is our biggest enemy?

You could say it is ourselves. We are our own worst enemy - hurting one another, killing, pilliaging, greed, cowardice, stealing, cheating, etc. The list goes on and on.

In religious language, we call this “sin”. It is all the bad things we do, It is all our failures to be good people. It is ultimately breaking the King’s laws, because God has told us what is right and wrong. When we do something that is immoral or unethical we are sinning against God.

And this sin is really our worst enemy. Sin is the infection that has spread throughout all humanity and needs to be healed.

You and I are sinners. We have all sinned. The nicest person you know? The most devout Christian? All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All have failed.

Sin is the great enemy that Jesus need to overcome, and that is what he came to do:

Matthew 1:21 (ESV)

[Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus came to save his kingdom from sin. To do that he would need to conquer sin.

But sin is not the only enemy, there are more.

The effects of sin is death.

Death is so normal to us because we are used to the idea that you live 80 or so years and then you die. We have not known anything else.

Yet humanity was not built to die. Death is the result of sin. Death is like a symptom of sin. An external effect of an internal illness.

Jesus needs to conquer sin and death.

But there are more enemies, one of which is called Satan, or the devil.

This fellow was an angel, in God’s presence. Yet he wanted more. He thought he deserved it all. He undermined God as the rightful ruler of the cosmos, and rellebed against God.

God cast him out of heaven. Satan has been trying over the years to undermine God’s work in the world by winning more people to is cause. Whenever he got the chance he would try to establish a rival kingdom.

But Satan’s kingdom is an insurgency. Enemies in the midst.

It is in Satan’s interest that sin and death and chaos reigns.

He is an enemy of good and keen to undermine the reign of Jesus as king.

Jesus needs to conquer Satan, sin & death.

And that's what he did.

He came to save his people. SO he didn’t remain a child in a manger, but grew up into the King that Herod feared and the magi anticipated.

Sin deserves death, but Jesus sacrificed himself in our place to save his kingdom from these enemies. He took the weight and guilt of our sin on himself and was executed horribly by crucifixion.

But he did not stay dead, he rose from death three days later! He triumphed over death! He disarmed it! He has the keys to death, and can free anybody from the grave.

Jesus now had the tools to overcome Satan as well. Satan’s rebellious fake kingdom was founded on the guilt of humanity, but Jesus can take away guilt, he paid for it with his own life.

Satan, Sin and Death are undermined enemies. Jesus conquered them.

They’re still in operation, but not for long. They are enemies overcome but not yet wiped out.

Now the Good News of this is spreading everywhere. Over the past couple thousand years we have seen people around the world hear this Good News.

Naturally, you are an enemy of Jesus, because you are a sinner (just like the rest of us). But the kingdom of Jesus is being established, and he is making enemies into friends. He is taking the territoy that once belonged to the bad guys, and you’re invited to submit to the winning king. And not just the winner, but the one who gives freedom and peace, love and joy.

The kingdom is being claimed. Jesus is King now, but there are many who haven’t heard, who don’t realise it yet, or who have heard that Jesus is King, and they don’t want to submit to him.

Right now Jesus is patiently waiting. He died, rose again, and then he ascended to heaven and is patiently seeing his kingdom established across the world. The day is fast approaching that all will know that Jesus is King.

Then Jesus will bring people to account. Like the Nuremberg trials, at the end of the war the winning side sets up court and judges, which brings me to our last point...

3. He is a a Judging & Gracious King

Jesus is the king who will judge everybody, living and dead.

This is something that we’re not all that familiar with, but historically kings were understood to be the highest judge in a nation. He would decide the hardest cases, uphold justice and protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

Now because all humanity are sinful, the problems is that even kings can mess up judgement. To combat this we try and separate the powers, with judging cases done over here and other leadership stuff done over here.

But Jesus is no mere man. The one we celebrate today is the best king you could ever hope for, the best judge.

Jesus is the conquering king, who has conquered sin, death and Satan, and now he’s giving amnesty to everyone who wants it. You can ask him for a royal pardon for the sin you have committed.

Acts 10:42–43 (ESV)

And [Jesus] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

So What?

Most important news you’ll ever hear is that Jesus is King.

The baby born at Christmas is the promised King of David’s line, and God himself. He is the God-man who would become king over the world.

He is a conquering king, taking on Sin, Satan & death. They are all functionally overcome, although the news of their defeat has not yet reached every heart. Eventually all will know and acknowledge Jesus is Lord.

Jesus will judge the living and the dead. But as we know, all people have sinned. All people are guilty in his courtroom. So, we need to be saved from our sins, and that can only happen with a royal pardon - the forgiveness of King Jesus. We need to become citizens of His kingdom.

There is a spiritual war raging for your soul, and your indifference to Jesus is a sign that you’re a pawn on the loosing side.

The King is Here, and he reigns now. You can come to him and become a citizen in his kingdom, or stand against him as he reclaims the world.