Chaplain’s Corner –
December 15, 2011
Rev.
Rich Hines
Jesus Our King
This message is
primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and
Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel minister in a jail, prison
or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the
All Scripture
quotes are usually taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible,
copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any deviation from the
NKJV text is placed within bracket signs [
]. These usually occur as direct
translations from the original languages, or as notes from the original setting
to help apply the text to today’s culture.
ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or to make a comment
about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.
Jesus,
whose birth into this world is celebrated at Christmas, is King. In John 19:12-15, the historical record says
the following about His trial:
12
From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If
you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against
Caesar.”
13
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in
the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew,
Gabbatha.
14
Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify
Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king
but Caesar!”
In
terms of your evangelistic efforts to help people know the truth about Jesus
and to repent and believe the gospel at Christmastime, the truth of Jesus as
King really comes down to challenging people to decide which side they want to
be on. Either they are part of His
kingdom now by accepting Him on His terms which includes surrendering to Him as
their King, or they side with the crowd that early Friday morning that said in
John 19:15, “Away with Him (Jesus)” …”We
have no king but Caesar!”
The
Christmas season is a good time to announce that Jesus is King. For and to truly saved people, He is THEIR
KING NOW. He rules His people and He has
a program and a spiritual government, which orders the lives of His people even
in the midst of this fallen sin-filled world society. In the coming future He will rule the world,
even unbelievers as KING.
It
is important to teach this to professing inmate believers. This Christmas and beyond you and your staff
need to teach inmates who say they are followers of Jesus, the Christ, about
His kingdom rule in their lives, even as prisoners of fallen human governments,
led by fallen mankind.
I
say that because to acknowledge and commit one’s self to the fact that Jesus IS
the Christ, is to commit to His rule and reign, which at the present time is,
as He said, “not of this world."
The
office of the Christ or the Messiah (same word, different language) is
three-fold. The word Messiah means “The
Anointed of the LORD.” The One who has
that office has been anointed, and recognized by God the Father as His
manifestation as Prophet, Priest and King.
The
Christ then is:
1.
God, in His clearest and greatest message to men, or God as Prophet.
2.
God, who makes sacrifice and represents believing men before His own
throne, or God as Priest.
3.
God, who rules and establishes true righteousness on earth, or God as
King.
Speaking
of the Messiah, Isaiah 9:6-7 says:
6
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be
upon His shoulder. And His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it
with judgment and justice from that time forward, EVEN FOREVER. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform
this.
Micah
5:2 (NASB) says about Him,
2
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans
of
When
we consider the biblical Christmas, or birth of the Christ into this world, we
should be familiar with the record of the visit of the magi. They were observers of the times. They descended down from the wise men of
Matthew
2:1-6 (NASB) reads:
1
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
magi from the east arrived in
2
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come
to worship Him.”
3
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all
The
word there in verse 3 “troubled,” means agitated, or shaken back and
forth. This Herod was a notoriously
ruthless murderer. When he got upset,
everybody got upset because they knew what he was likely to do .
4
Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he (Herod)
inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
5
They said to him, “In
6
AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF
JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A
RULER (KING) WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”
All
believers, and especially inmates that profess to be followers of the Christ,
need to understand two aspects of Jesus’ kingdom rule. They are: the PRESENT manifestation and then
the FUTURE manifestation of His kingdom.
I use that word manifestation to mean the obvious display of His rule
and reign.
Presently
we are in the somewhat hidden display of Jesus’ kingdom. Right now, today as I give this message Jesus
is King over all, BUT for God’s purposes and in demonstration of His patience,
He is allowing rebellion by sinful men that think they are in control.
Currently
the obvious manifestation and display of His rule is ONLY in the lives of those
He has truly saved. BUT IT WILL NOT
CONTINUE THIS WAY. One day in the future
He will absolutely reign on earth, and all open rebellion to His righteous ways
will be put down. That will be the
FUTURE display of His kingdom.
In
Luke 17:20-21, Jesus answered some religious leaders. There He spoke of the PRESENT aspect and
manifestation of His kingdom. Note the Amplified Version:
20
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied to them
by saying, The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with
visible display,
21
Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]!
or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the
Furthermore,
when Jesus stood before Pilate, the Roman Governor for human judgment, in John
18:36-37, we read:
36
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD (meaning, this present world
system). If My kingdom were of this
world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews;
but NOW My kingdom is not from here.”
37
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that
I am a king. For this cause I was born,
(He was king at His birth) and for this cause I have come into the world, that
I should bear witness to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Again,
Jesus was here referring to the PRESENT manifestation and operation of His
kingdom. The words “hears My voice” in
John 18:37, mean to comprehend by hearing Him, and are often used as a synonym
for believing what has been heard!
Then,
the New Testament is filled with references to the FUTURE manifestation and
display of His Kingdom rule. In the
future it WILL BE openly observable. I
will only point out three such passages.
First
look at Matthew 24:29-30.
29
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and
the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn, and THEY WILL SEE the Son of Man coming on the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory.
Then
consider Revelation 19:11-16
11
Now I (the Apostle John) saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12
His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many
crowns. He had a name written that no
one knew except Himself.
13
He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The
Word of God.
In
ancient times a conquering king rode a large white horse. According to John 5:26-27, God the Father,
has given all judgment to Jesus, God the Son.
The Rider then, in the Apostle's vision, was and will be Jesus. The fact that His robe was dipped or baptized
in blood, speaks of His crucifixion. The
name "The Word of God" further fits with the identity of Jesus in
John 1:1-14. You should explain those
verses to your inmates.
Returning
to Revelation 19, we read:
14
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him
on white horses.
15
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the
nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16
And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.
When
Jesus returns to earth it will be to execute judgment and establish his real
visible government as absolute King over everyone. I find it compelling that His blood stained
robe also has His identity as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS written on
it. There can be no one else that this
passage is talking about, except Jesus.
Finally,
this passage in Rev. 19 links up with what Jesus taught in Matthew 25:31-46.
31
“When the Son of Man (another name that applies to Jesus as the Christ) comes
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne
of His glory.
That
is the position and posture of a king who is about to judge those in his realm.
32
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
This
pictures impending judgment. As King,
Jesus will come to judge this world's population.
34
Then the King will say to those on His right hand (that is the true sheep),
‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world:
35
for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I
was a stranger and you took Me in;
36
I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in
prison and you came to
37
“Then the righteous (note that the true sheep are those here described as 'the
righteous') will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed
You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38
When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39
Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as
you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it
to Me.’
41
“Then He (the King, who is Judge - compare vv. 34, 40) will also say to those
on the left hand (not sheep, but goats), ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42
for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no
drink;
43
I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit
44
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to
You?’
45
Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did
not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to
Me.’
46
And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous (again,
the true sheep) into eternal life.”
So
the Savior-King of believers is also the King and Judge of unbelievers.
Many
Christmas songs and Christmas carols speak of His being King and of His kingdom
rule. For instance, “Joy to The World”
has within it the following lyrics:
“Joy to the world! the Lord
is come; Let earth receive her King; … Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns; …
No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to
make His blessings flow far as the curse is found, … He rules the world with
truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness,
and wonders of His love,”
In the classic Christmas
song, “O Holy Night,” the older version lyrics are:
“Now
come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger; in all our trials born to be
our friends. He knows our need, our
weakness is no stranger, behold your King!
Before him lowly bend! Behold
your King! Before him lowly bend!”
Lately,
Chris Tomlin has written a wonderful spiritual song titled “You Are My
King.” It should be a Christmas song,
and yet I am glad it is sung by Christians all year long. Here are some of the lyrics. I urge you to have inmates in your services
learn this song, and I mean really understand and believe these words:
“I'm
forgiven because You were forsaken. I'm
accepted, You were condemned. I'm alive
and well Your Spirit is within me because You died and rose again.”… “Amazing
love how can it be that You, my king would die for me. Amazing love, I know its true. It's my joy to honor You. Amazing love how can it be? That You, my king, would die for me. Amazing love, I know its true. Its my joy to honor You in all I do. I honor You.”
“You are my king. You are my king. Jesus, You are my king. Jesus, You are my king.” “Amazing love, how
can it be? That You, my king would die
for me. Amazing love I know it's
true. Its my joy to honor You. In all I do I honor You.”
Such
are the true heart responses of any that are part of Jesus' somewhat hidden kingdom
today. The ancient magi bowed to Jesus
as their King, even as they came to worship Him as a young child. They were wise to know the times and to
actively believe God’s words about the coming Savior-King, as Daniel prophesied
to their forefathers.
Is
Jesus truly your King today? He should
be.
Rich Hines, Minister
to Chaplains, Chaplain Help Ministry