Jesus the King Part 4
(All of Psalm 2 is applicable to King Jesus).
The people of Nazareth took Jesus to a nearby cliff to throw him off.
They did not see who He was.
They showed Him no honour and respect.
As King, Jesus governs His Kingdom, and we as His subjects, serve Him.
The word ‘Government’ can be rather negative, especially when we start thinking about politicians.
But Christ governs with justice, and with total truthfulness.
In Isaiah it says of Him:
“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever.” (Isaiah 9:6)
There is peace in His government.
The only time we won’t experience peace, is when we rebel from His authority.
He rules His subjects by Law, and by love.
Whenever we look at what Jesus says, there will be things for us to obey.
These are not heavy, and they aren’t a burden.
But obedience is expected from us.
One of the last things the risen Jesus said to His followers was:
“...teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
John in his 1st letter wrote:
“This is love for God; to obey His commands.”
He rules by love, and He sheds love into our hearts to give us the motivation to obey Him.
He also rules with promises, as well as laws.
So that we become volunteers, willing to obey, and walking in love.
So where does fear come into this, when it says in Psalm 2
“Serve the Lord with FEAR.”?
Let’s look at an example;
Noah loved the Lord, but he also had a correct fear, and awe of Him.
Noah knew He was safe, and loved, while he stayed in the Ark, but if he had rebelled and had stepped out of the Ark, that would have showed no fear of the Lord, who had caused the flood.
Perhaps the anger of King Jesus is a part of Him we have not seen before.
It is good for us to have a Holy fear of God.
To some this may seem wrong, so let’s look at a few Bible verses, from the dozens, and dozens of verses that encourage us to fear the Lord.
Psalm 31:19 “How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You.”
Philippians 2:12 “...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey His own purpose.”
It is good for us to cultivate a holy awe, and fear of Him, the Holy God.
The Psalmist encourages us to ‘...kiss the Son....’ There is a lovely example of this in Luke chapter 7, where a sinful woman came to Jesus and wept at His feet.
The proud Pharisee was indignant at such a thing, so Jesus said to him:
“Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much.”
She was not ashamed to kiss Jesus the Saviour.
In fact, this is the correct response.
The word ‘worship’ in the New Testament can often be translated as ‘to kiss’
In our worship, do we kiss Jesus?
Psalm 2 finishes with: “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
There is true peace and rest for those who take refuge in Him.
If we hold to Him in faith, and take refuge in Him then we will be truly blest.
Revelation speaks of those who have made God their refuge:-
“They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and will 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.” (Revelation 21:3)
So what happens to Christ’s Kingdom at the end of time?
Paul answers the question:
“Then the end will come, when He (that is Jesus) hands over the Kingdom to God the Father, after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all his enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For He ‘has put everything under His feet.’ Now when it says that ‘everything’ has been put under Him, it is clear that this does not include God Himself, who put everything under Christ. When He has done this, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:24)
Hill at Nazareth image: thanks to David Alexander, The Lion Handbook to the Bible.
Crown image: ‘The Pictorial Dictionary’ published by The Educational Book Company, London.
© 2003 Bible Explained part of www.seeking-god.co.uk
