Ever since humanity’s exit from Eden, our hearts have been longing for the world to be set right and ruled forever by a righteous king.
Maybe you bristle at that statement, ready to toss away any notion of living under a king, and understandably so. Throughout human history, any time our hopes begin to rise that there might be an honorable leader worthy of our trust, those hopes are doomed to be dashed. This is true regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on or which country you’re from. Sinful humans will fail us.
In fact, God did not intend for his people to have a human king, and he solemnly warned the Israelites of what the outcome would be when they insisted upon crowning one. But they didn’t want to be the misfit nation who depended solely on an invisible God to lead them. They wanted a leader they could see, rely on, and point to as a symbol of their strength, maybe even worship. God told them clearly that this human leader they demanded would demand much from them and call it his right. Their king (and his successors) would take their sons and daughters into service. He would take the best of their lands and flocks and livelihood, not to be invested for the good of the community, but used for selfish gain for himself and his cronies (1 Samuel 8:6-9). They were rejecting God as king, and the warning was ominous:
“When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 1 Samuel 8:18
We may be citizens of a different nation, with three thousand years of history between us, but we can relate to the regret the Israelites came to feel when what the Lord had said came to pass.
“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.” Psalm 146:3
Recklessness Enthroned
It’s no wonder we would want to do away with the concept of kingship entirely when placing our trust in a human leader continually leads to disappointment, sometimes even horror. In our search for a better alternative, what we may fail to realize is that to have no ruler at all is simply not an option. Someone will be in charge. We can decentralize governmental power, spreading it out among representatives we hope will provide enough checks and balances to prevent disaster, or we can throw off governance entirely and become our own authority, deciding for ourselves what is right and how we will live. The trouble is, all such solutions still leave us with the same problem: a sinful human on the throne.
“But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
1 Samuel 8:6-9
No matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we have the moral high ground, that we are wise and kind and devoted to the common good, the truth is that every one of us is prone to a selfishness and self-deception we cannot outwit. This is true of you, of me, and of any person we could put forth to represent us. Humanity has a sin problem, and it’s the root of all the rest of our problems. People may grow in and act on this evil to varying degrees, but it infects every one of our hearts, even our darling little toddler, our human rights activist friend, and the dear old grandmother next door. Each of us has spurned the good governance of God, choosing to snatch authority for ourselves without understanding the cost. All of us have gone our own way, and even our understanding of goodness is twisted by pride. Putting that on the throne of our lives will never lead to thriving.
“Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.”
Proverbs 26:12
“The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14:2-4
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Humanity’s Hope
Enter Jesus. The perfect king. Full of grace and truth, wisdom and kindness, justice and mercy. Untouched by the sin that infects us, and selfless enough to rescue us from it at the cost of his own life. That the king of all creation would bend so low to be born in a stable and die a criminal’s death on our behalf is so outside the realm of our experience that it hardly computes. What kind of king is this who doesn’t demand his rights but lays down his life in love?
“Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:6-11
Jesus’ divine kingship was recognized at birth by worshippers and enemies alike, but his mission at his first coming was not to claim his rightful title in the eyes of man. Rather, he came to open the way for us to enter his glorious kingdom when we had no other hope of obtaining it, and to help us understand that he was the only way to get there.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12
Jesus’ time of public ministry began with a clarion call to repent and turn back to God because “the kingdom of God is at hand.” The central theme of all his preaching was the kingdom of heaven and how to enter it. (Mt 3:2, 4:17, Mk 1:14). The kingdom of God was now available to us, even before it is brought to completion, because the long-awaited king had arrived!
“…Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14
How good and kind it was that God foretold of this coming king and savior all the way back in the garden, speaking hope into our desperate situation only moments after we fell into the very sinful self-governance we would always be powerless to save ourselves from (Genesis 3:15, 20, 21). The promise of an ever-faithful king was later spoken even more clearly to the Jewish people, who, by the time Jesus arrived on the scene, had been waiting centuries for this divine ruler to descend from the line of King David and establish his perfect government on earth (Isaiah 9:6-7).
But Jesus was so different from the kind of king they expected, that many did not recognize him, or suppressed their recognition (Romans 1:18-19), even though they had been waiting for him. Instead of overthrowing their oppressors with a forceful display of military might, this God-King incarnate, who created the world with a word and has legions of angel armies at his command, chose to demonstrate unfathomable humility and servant-hearted love, even to the lowest of society. Even to their oppressors! Jesus’ kind of kingship was upside-down from anything humanity’s sin-scarred minds and hearts could readily comprehend, and some were unwilling to accept it. Indeed, it revealed an unexpected plot twist: Our long-awaited king was coming to reign not just over earthly kingdoms but over human hearts.
Where is this Promised Kingdom?
In the midst of the atrocities happening around them, the disciples who followed him and the religious leaders who opposed him asked Jesus the same question, one that we, too, may find ourselves asking: “Jesus, when will this kingdom of heaven you talk about finally arrive?” Jesus responded by telling them that God’s kingdom is not about earthly power, times and dates, or what we can see (John 18:36, Luke 17:20). “For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21, KJV). The king of heaven was already in their midst, inviting them to willingly submit to his reign!
They needed to understand this about God’s Kingdom before they could have any hope of entering it. They weren’t just oppressed. They were also the oppressors. And Jesus wasn’t just there to bandage up the symptoms of a broken world but to get to the root of the problem— our wayward hearts.
God’s agenda goes beyond restoring the world order. He wants to restore us. Jesus made this restoration available to us by overcoming the power of sin through his death on the cross. But experiencing it is only possible if we choose to put him back on the throne of our hearts.
But is he really a good king? Can he be trusted, or will he let us down like all the rest? Maybe you’ve felt let down already by things he has allowed and not yet made right.
The Greek word used for “kingdom” in the gospels is “basileia,” and more than a visible, geographical territory, it indicates the right and authority to govern. God possesses this right and authority, by the nature of who he is as creator and sustainer of all things. If he is, indeed, a good king, he will not abdicate this responsibility to govern with righteousness and justice, and I promise you, he hasn’t. What may look to us like God’s neglect to right the wrongs in this world is actually his mercy. He graciously waits for as many of us as possible to come under his protection before he will deal once and for all with the evil in this world, an evil which includes our own sinful rebellion, as well.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“Nothing impure will ever enter the City, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27
Jesus bought this protection for us by laying down his own life as a perfect sacrifice, paying the due penalty for our wrongs and shielding us from the wrath of God we deserved. God is not narcissistic or abusive. He is loving and righteous and just. His wrath is not the kind of impulsive, emotional outburst we associate with human anger. Rather, it is his permanent, righteous stance of opposition toward evil, the kind of indignation we, as people made in his image, experience a small taste of when we feel righteous anger over true and terrible injustice.
Jesus is also good in that he does not force himself on anyone. Being under his loving rule genuinely is our highest good, but he holds the free will he has given us in high esteem and will not violate it by forcing us to receive him. Sadly, the natural outcome of our choice to refuse him as our king is the horrific experience of getting what we want— separation from him, the very source of life and goodness, forever.
Jesus experienced this excruciating separation when he took our place on the cross. Knowing he was about to face not just a gruesome physical death but being relationally cut off from the Father was a prospect so terrifying, he sweat drops of blood. It was not just a painful death that he endured for us. Jesus bore the full weight of the righteous anger of God against all the evil humankind has ever committed. He endured hell on our behalf. The Father turned his face away from the Son he loved in that moment, instead of turning away from us. That the King of Heaven would choose to suffer this for us, who rejected him as king and mocked him with a crown of thorns, is unfathomable. He is that good.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11
Come into the Kingdom
Marvelously, all are invited to obtain this pardon purchased for us by Jesus and gain citizenship in Christ’s perfect eternal kingdom! Even the worst of sinners can come, because the comparably “good” among us could not possibly earn it either. It was only possible through the goodness of God who gave it to us as a free gift of unimaginable love. Now, it belongs to anyone who will receive this good news, step down off the throne, and bow their heart and life to Jesus, saying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done…” (Mt 6:9-13)
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us
to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” Colossians 1:13
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:1-9
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Jesus really is that good, the only one thoroughly worthy of placing all our hope and trust in. One day soon, he will return a second time to rule the earth in righteousness, ushering in the kind of kingdom we’ve been waiting for— the world as it should be! Those who, by his grace, through faith in him, have received a spiritual heart transplant and the clean record that he purchased for them with his blood, will rejoice to dwell with their king in the perfect kingdom we were created for.
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:7
“…His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one
that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:14
“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5
One day all eyes will see the Faithful and True King seated on the throne, ruling in righteousness and justice over his kingdom, which will have no end. Oh, how I hope you will come into his kingdom! As we wait for what feels like too long for that day, we don’t lose heart, even as the world around us looks grim. Regardless of how our earthly leaders lead us, God’s ways lead to life, and his kingdom will not be thwarted. Even now, wherever people are willing to bow their hearts to the authority of Christ, the Kingdom is already here.
“Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” -Hebrews 12:28