JESUS- THE KING OF KINGS

On Sunday, prior to His crucifixion, Jesus and His apostles came to the village of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of His disciples into the village to get a young donkey. They found the colt and brought it back to Jesus. Throwing their cloaks across the donkey’s back, they lifted Jesus up and sat Him on the cloaks.

As Jesus rode down the hill toward Jerusalem, people spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them in front of Jesus (Matthew 21:8-9). A large crowd of people began praising God and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9). “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38).

Some Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” (Luke 19:39). In other words, “Tell them to shut their mouths!”

Jesus replied, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 39:40). Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.

The King in Prophecy

Approximately 500 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Zechariah described the coming king. Zechariah wrote, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

Instead of riding into Jerusalem on a magnificent horse, Jesus rode on the back of a pack animal. Some people think Jesus was trying to demonstrate humility, but that was not His primary objective. He rode on a donkey to identify Himself as the promised Messiah. He rode into Jerusalem, not to conquer the city politically, but to conquer the hearts of men and women.

Why were the Pharisees so upset with Jesus’ followers when they shouted praises to Him? They were angry because his followers recognized Jesus as the Messianic king of Zachariah’s prophecy.

Jesus entered Jerusalem exactly one week prior to his resurrection. He came into the city as a king with a peace treaty. His aim was to reconcile all things to Himself “by making peace through his blood shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20). King Jesus died so that we might have a friendly, peaceful relationship with God.

The King Fulfills Other Messianic Prophecies

Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies that pointed to Him as the true King. (Genesis 49:10; 2 Samuel 7:16; Psalm 110:1-2; Isaiah 2:2-4; 9:6-7; 16:5; 32:1; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Daniel 7:13-14; Micah 5:2; etc.). Jesus is referred to as king fourteen times in Matthew, six times in Mark, five times in Luke, and fourteen times in the gospel of John.

No wonder people shouted, “Hosanna”, meaning “save now”, as Jesus rode into the city. They realized that Jesus was the King who had come to save them.

Gabriel Predicts the King’s Birth

Before Jesus was born, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said to her, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. . . his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33).

Jesus was destined to sit on a throne in His eternal kingdom.

The King Is Crucified

While on trial before Pilate, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).

Pilate said, “You are a king, then!”

Jesus replied, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37b).

Jesus is a different kind of king. His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom maintained by military might. It is a spiritual kingdom. People who seek truth listen to Him and submit to His kingly authority.

When Jesus was crucified, Pilate had a sign made and fastened it to the cross. The sign read, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19).

The King Rises from Death

As we saw in Jesus-The Lamb Of God, Jesus prophesied that He would be killed and that He would rise again on the third day. Three days after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1).

When they arrived, they discovered that the stone had been rolled away from the mouth of the tomb. Two angels appeared to them and said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:1-6).

Forty days later, Jesus ascended back to the Father.

Jesus, the Lion, Lamb, and King

In the book of Revelation, Jesus is referred to as a lamb twenty-eight times. But now, He is a different kind of lamb. In a heavenly vision, John saw God sitting on a throne with a scroll in His right hand. The scroll was sealed with seven seals, and no one could remove the seals to look inside. John wept in disappointment, wondering what was written on the scroll. One of the elders said to him, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5).

The lion is a symbol of strength, courage, and royalty. The lion is “king of the jungle”. It’s roar can be heard five miles in every direction. The sight and sound of a lion strikes fear into the hearts of many other animals.

John looked up expecting to see a lion, but to his amazement, he saw a lamb instead. The lamb looked “as if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). At first glance, the Lamb in Revelation appears to be the same sacrificial lamb that we have seen elsewhere in the New Testament. But a closer look reveals that it is different. This Lamb is “standing” (Revelation 5:6). It has been slain, but it is alive again, and it is standing in the center of the throne of God.

Moreover, this Lamb has “seven horns” (Revelation 5:6). In scripture, a horn is the symbol of strength and power, and the number seven indicates perfection. The Lamb in Revelation has enormous power. He has seven-fold strength. Only He has the authority to remove the seven seals from the scroll (Revelation 6:1-14).

Here, the Lamb and the Lion are one and the same. Both symbolize Jesus. The Lamb took the scroll from the right hand of God, and millions of angels encircled the throne singing “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). The lamb that has seven horns now receives seven-fold praise from the angels.

The Lamb Is the King of Kings

In his vision, John saw that the forces of evil will “make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS” (Revelation 17:14).

Jesus, the Lamb of God, has received all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18-20). He is the king of the universe. He alone has infinite wisdom and majesty. He alone is perfect in character and judgment. He alone can give us a full and meaningful life. He alone can erase our sins and guarantee eternal life in heaven.

John wrote, “I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11-16).

This is symbolic language depicting the power, authority, and sovereignty of Jesus Christ. He has sacrificed his life for us. He has made God known to us. He has revealed the truth to us. He has warned us of the pitfalls of sin. He has set an example for us. He has invited us into His kingdom, and He has promised to bless us. He was the perfect man. He is the Prince of Peace. He was the Son of Man. He is the Son of God. He was a miracle worker. He is the Light of the World. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And now, we see Him as the King of Kings and Lord of lords.

The King Is Coming Again

Jesus also prophesied about His second coming. He said, “When the Son of Man comes in glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father’” (Matthew 25:31-34). “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41). As King of kings, Jesus has the authority to make such judgments, and His judgments are right.

The Wrath of the Lamb

The Lamb in Revelation has qualities not usually associated with sheep. This lamb is capable of wrath.

As the sixth seal on the scroll is opened, John sees two groups of people. The first group consists of kings, princes, generals, rich and mighty people, slaves and free men who are hiding in caves and calling to the rocks and the mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:15-16).

The second group consists of a great multitude of people dressed in white robes. They are from every nation, tribe, people, and language, and they are standing in front of the Lamb shouting, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10).

One of the elders says, “These are they who have. . . washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). These are the people who have believed in Jesus, turned away from sin, and have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. What will you do with King Jesus?

JESUS - THE RISEN LORD

Prior to His death, Jesus prophesied that He would “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).

In the previous article, we saw that Jesus fulfilled the first part of this prophecy by dying as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But, did He fulfill the second part of the prophecy? Did He rise from death? Is there any evidence that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact?

The resurrection of Jesus is extremely important –so important that Paul said to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection of Christ is proof that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus as payment for our sins and that justice and mercy have mingled. The resurrection took away the sting of death and assured us that we too will be raised from death, never to die again.

A Law Professor’s Testimony

Dr. Simon Greenleaf, noted law professor at Harvard University, believed that the resurrection of Jesus was a hoax. So he decided to expose the resurrection as a myth. After extensive research, he reversed his thinking. In his book, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice, Dr. Greenleaf concluded that “it was impossible that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead” (page 29).

What changed Dr. Greenleaf’s mind? What evidence did he find that he could not ignore? Why did this skeptic become a believer and give his life to Christ?

In this article, we will examine some of the evidence he found.

The Dramatic Transformation of the Apostles

When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, the apostles ran away. “Everyone deserted him and fled” (Mark 14:50). Peter had just promised Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Mark 14:31). But that night, Peter denied Him three times (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:56-62).

The next morning, Jesus was crucified. He died in shame, humiliation, and disgrace. The apostles were stunned. Their hopes were dashed. They had left everything and followed Jesus. They had seen Him heal the sick, cast out demons, walk on water, still a storm, and raise the dead. They had given three years of their lives to Him thinking that He was the Messiah. Now, He was dead, and they were dejected, disheartened, and defeated. The apostles hid behind locked doors fearing for their lives (John 20:19).

Now, fast-forward fifty days. Something has happened to these frightened, dejected men. They are standing in the temple courts preaching with boldness and power.

Peter stands up with the other apostles and proclaims, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles and signs which God did through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you . . . and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead” (Acts 2:22-24). “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts 2:32). What transformed a group of frightened men into bold advocates of Jesus? What changed these cowards into fearless activists? Listen.

The Jewish high court arrested Peter and John and commanded them not to speak about Jesus again. Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

The apostles continued preaching, and they were arrested again. The high priest said to them, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood” (Acts 5:28).

The apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things” (Acts 5:29-32).

What had the apostles seen that transformed them from lambs to lions? They had seen the resurrected Jesus. Jesus had appeared to them after He arose from death.

Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances

Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:15-18; Mark 16:9-11), to other women including Mary, the mother of James, Joanna, and Salome (Matthew 28:1, 9-10; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10). He had appeared to Peter privately (1 Corinthians 15:5), to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33), to ten apostles on the day of the resurrection (John 20:19-25), to eleven apostles, including Thomas the following Sunday (John 20:26-29; Mark 16:14), to seven apostles by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-2), to 500 followers at once (1 Corinthians 15:8), to His half-brother James who had been an unbeliever (1 Corinthians 15:7; John 7:5), to eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20), to the apostles in Jerusalem (Luke 24:36-49), and to the apostles on the Mount of Olives at the time of his ascension (Acts 1:3-11).

Later, Jesus appeared to Stephen in a vision (Acts 7:55-56), to Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-8; 18:9), and to John on the Island of Patmos (Revelation 1:12-20; 22:20). All of these people were eye-witnesses of the risen Christ.

Persecution and Martyrdom

Many of these eye-witnesses endured persecution, torture, suffering, and death rather than renounce their testimony. This virtually rules out deception on their part. They could have avoided persecution and saved their lives by simply renouncing their claims. But, there is no record of any first-generation eye-witness denying the resurrection in order to avoid persecution. They all chose to suffer and die rather than renounce their eyewitness testimony. All of the apostles, except John, suffered horrific deaths as martyrs.

The apostles’ martyrdom was quite different from what is happening today. The hijackers who flew airplanes into the twin towers on September 11, 2001 were sincere. They were willing to die for their faith. However, they did not know, and they could not know, if their beliefs were true. They simply trusted the teachings that had been passed down to them through the centuries.

In contrast, the apostles knew whether or not Jesus had been raised from death. Either they saw the living Jesus after His resurrection, or they were lying. Why would they cling to a lie in the face of social rejection, mockery, persecution, imprisonment, torture, and death? People in their right minds do not die for a lie when they know it to be a lie. You can search the annals of history, and you will not find a group of eleven men who died for a lie, knowing it was a lie. The apostles chose to be tortured, and killed rather than change their testimony about the resurrection of Jesus.

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus

The men who stoned Stephen to death laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul (Acts 7:58). At that time, “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:3).

Saul breathed out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples (Acts 9:1). He went to Damascus intending to arrest Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners (Acts 9:2).

As Saul approached Damascus, Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light (Acts 9:3-6). This encounter with the resurrected Christ changed Saul’s life. Saul, the skeptic, became a staunch believer in the risen Lord.

In Damascus, Saul fasted and prayed for three days. Finally, the Lord sent Ananias to him with a message from heaven. Ananias said to him, “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16).

Saul was baptized by Ananias (Acts 9:18), and immediately, he entered the synagogues in Damascus and began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20).

Saul, the violent persecutor became the great apostle Paul who wrote half of the New Testament. Saul the killer became the world’s greatest missionary. As a result of his unswerving belief in the resurrection of Jesus, Paul was beaten with rods, whipped, stoned, imprisoned, and finally beheaded. Even at the point of death, he never denied the resurrection of Jesus.

What caused this violent persecutor to do an about face? Why did he leave a promising career as a Jewish rabbi to become a hated, rejected, abused preacher of the gospel of Christ? The answer is, he had seen the risen Savior and had heard his voice. The conversion of Saul is strong evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Conversion of James

Prior to the resurrection, James, the half-brother of Jesus, did not believe Jesus was the Messiah (John 7:5). Following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to James (1 Corinthians 15:7), and James became a believer, a leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:12-14), and the author of the epistle of James in the New Testament.

What caused James to change his mind and to become a devout follower of Christ? He had seen the risen Lord.

The Empty Tomb

After Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea received permission from Pilate to remove Jesus’ body from the cross and bury it in a tomb. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw where the corpse was laid. Then, they went home to prepare spices and ointments for Jesus’ body (Luke 23:55-56).

Early Sunday morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:1-3). Suddenly, two angels stood beside them and said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again” (Luke 24:5-8).

Jesus had been publicly crucified and buried. Now, the tomb was empty. If the tomb had not been empty, nobody in Jerusalem would have believed that Jesus had been raised from death. The Jewish high court and the Roman soldiers would have produced the body to prove that the resurrection story was a hoax. But they did not. Instead, they tried to explain the empty tomb by accusing Jesus’ followers of stealing the body. That was a lame cover-up. How could the apostles have broken the Roman seal, rolled away the stone, and stolen the body while armed soldiers were standing guard?

Some people think that Jesus did not really die –that He only faked His death and later escaped from the tomb. That, too, is absurd. Jesus was whipped thirty-nine times with a Roman scourge. The scourge had nine tails, each of which had imbedded bits of metal, glass, or bone that cut through the skin and into the flesh. So much blood flowed from the wounds that many people died from the flogging. After being whipped, Jesus was forced to carry His own cross until He collapsed. Large nails were driven through His hands and feet as He was crucified. After six hours, soldiers were asked to break Jesus’ legs to hasten His death, but they discovered He was already dead. One of the soldiers thrust a spear into Jesus’ side, into His heart, releasing blood and plasma. It is foolish to think that Jesus revived in the tomb without medical attention, rolled away the stone weighing several tons, and appeared to His followers hale and hearty. Who could believe such a story?

Women Witnesses

All four gospels indicate that women were the first eye-witnesses of the risen Lord. This fact indicates that the gospels were not fabricated. In Jewish and Roman cultures, women were not highly regarded. Their testimony was not admissible in a court of law. If someone had manufactured the resurrection story as critics claim, He would not have made women the primary witnesses.

The fact that women were the first to discover the empty tomb can only indicate one thing. They were, in fact, the first to see the risen Savior.

Conclusion

Prior to His ascension, Jesus met with His apostles in Jerusalem and said to them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:46-48).

Jesus had died and had been raised from death. Now, He was sending the apostles into all the world to preach that good news to men and women everywhere. Those who believed, repented, and were baptized were forgiven and saved (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38).

Jesus is coming again. His resurrection paved the way for our resurrection and our ascension into heaven.