Jesus the King

Earlier in 2012, I spent a fair few posts looking at different elements of the character and work of Jesus. With a few notable guest posts, it proved to be a popular endeavour. After a hiatus, I decided to pick this series back up, and so today I'm re-starting with a simple but important understanding of Jesus;

Jesus The King.

This aspect of understanding Jesus undeniably comes from the influence that writers like N.T.Wright, George Eldon Ladd, and John Wimber have had on me. In the Vineyard, the Kingdom of God features heavily in our theology, and Jesus is the King. I reviewed earlier Ladd's book "The Gospel of the Kingdom", and a more modern and challenging book would be Wright's "How God Became King". But my understanding of Jesus as The KING has been a long time coming.

Many of you will hopefully have seen/heard S.M.Lockeridge's superb summary of what Jesus as King means to him. Repeatedly asking the question - central to any engagement with Jesus, and part of the point of this series - "Do you know him?", Lockeridge expands our understanding of Jesus, focusing on the identification of Jesus as King. Here is the video, embedded off Youtube;

Its a powerful video, and if you'll excuse the background music, I think he nails it. I wrote yesterday about the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, where the Devil offers him the kingdom of this world. The clash of kingdoms is an inherent part of Jesus' time on earth - and that of his followers. This is because Jesus is The King. He rode into Jerusalem to be enthroned at the Cross. Jesus is not a normal king. In John 19 we read about some amazing events, just before Jesus was crucified. Pilate recognised - though he meant it ironically - that Jesus was the king of the Jews. Jesus is a very specific, defined thing. The notice nailed to his cross read "The King of the Jews" - but it was written in Aramaic (the local dialect), Latin (the official government language) and Greek (the language of Mediterranean trade). Jesus is King over all different kinds of people. 

The Jesus we see in the Gospels is King.

To say that Jesus is King links directly to the basic and most fundamental Christian confession, 'Jesus is Lord'. To say that Jesus is King over our lives has radical consequences. To say that Jesus is King over all creation means looking at creation, at politics, and social justice, at evangelism, at theology, at every area of human activity and thinking afresh. It links to part of the driving force behind everything, God's sovereignty. As Abraham Kuyper put it;

"Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

Its a powerful quote. About a powerful idea. An idea about the powerful King, Jesus. 

As Christmas approaches I'm loosely going to be blogging on an Advent trajectory. I'm restarting my small notes on Jesus, the Jesus series. As we move towards the holiday that celebrates the first coming of the King, I want to share with you bits and bobs about my King, Jesus.

I hope its of use to someone.

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Previously I've explored Jesus as a variety of things, and guest posters have helped dramatically. Check out the 'JESUS' page at the top of the blog for more.