Jesus, during the three years of His ministry in this world, preached incessantly only one message: the good news of the Kingdom of God. To make us understand the magnitude of this idea, even after His resurrection He taught the disciples for 40 days the things concerning the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). As He himself is the central foundation and cornerstone of the Kingdom of God, we can never understand this concept without first figuring out who He is. In fact, all that He preached revolved around this basic principle. He had no other message to tell the world. Sadly, this good news is nowadays either completely ignored or manipulated to suit the system of the world and the needs of mankind. There could be neither any Christian life nor gospel that does not center on Jesus and His Kingdom. Therefore, this entire book teaches only this one concept as ‘Christian life’ in its entirety.
JESUS THE CHRIST - NAME AND TITLE
We all know that Jesus is God Himself who came in the flesh to redeem us from our sins. But not many of us know Jesus as the Christ. ‘Jesus’ was His given name; ‘Christ’ was not the given birth name of Jesus, neither was it His second name. Jesus was simply referred to as ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ or ‘Jesus son of Joseph’ by the family and community. ‘Christ’ is associated with Jesus not as His name but rather as an inherited royal title.
Matthew 16:15-17 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
‘Christ’ encompasses Jesus’s very essence because it does not identify only His function but is descriptive of who He is. And this has to be a revelation for each one personally. Therefore, whenever we say ‘Jesus Christ’ we need to be aware that we are not calling His name but we are professing Jesus as who He is!
The Greek word used for Christ is ‘Christos.’ ‘Christos’ was used to translate the Hebrew word ‘Mashiach’ which is Messiah. Therefore, Christ and Messiah are synonymous of each other.
John 1:41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).
Messiah and Christ mean ‘anointed’ but, for the Jews, Messiah in reality held more importance and represented a wider concept. Messiah in fact was meant to be the ‘anointed King’ who would have come to deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors, establishing an everlasting kingdom and restoring peace. For the Jews, He would be the everlasting mighty king and a political leader who would conquer all their enemies, gain back the territory, rule, protect, and guide them, thus offering eternal peace.
In fact as stated in one of the many prophecies of Isaiah regarding the Messiah:
Isaiah 9:6,7 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. 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.
If interpreted in the above sense, does it mean that the Messiah holds significance and is functional only to the Israelites? If He should be the King of the Jews then what role does He have in the lives of us gentiles (all non-Jewish people were considered as gentiles) or why do we follow Him?
Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.
It is very clear from the above prophesies of Isaiah and the many words of Jesus and the disciples themselves later, that the Messiah though is a root of David, He is a banner, King and ruler for all the nations. He is not a restricted figure for the Israelites alone.
Romans 1:6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
So ‘Jesus Christ’ actually means ‘Jesus Messiah’ i.e., ‘Jesus the anointed King’. This habit of addressing Jesus as ‘Jesus Christ’ over the centuries made the title ‘Christ’ into merely a name associated with Jesus and it lost its significance, power and truth. This has eventually led to the collapse of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Anointing was a ritual performed in Jewish tradition to consecrate someone for a special and specific purpose. It was a sacred investiture reserved for Kings and High Priests. So, Jesus was the anointed Messiah, the King(1).
Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Jesus, unlike humans, was anointed by the Holy Spirit by God Himself. This was parallel to the anointing in the Old Testament where oil was poured on the heads of kings to anoint them.
The Jews were waiting for a Messiah, a powerful king who would free them from the dominion of the Romans and bring eternal peace to Israel. Therefore, they celebrated in grandeur when Jesus entered Jerusalem. They believed that their day of deliverance had finally come. But disappointingly when Jesus went straight ahead to ‘clean’ the temple instead of trampling the Romans, the people turned against Him. Even after His resurrection, though His disciples had the revelation that He was the Messiah, they still associated it with deliverance from Romans and a physical restoration of the Kingdom of Israel.
Acts 1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
If Jesus did not come as Messiah to restore the kingdom of Israel, then what was His purpose? How is He the Messiah in our lives?
JESUS THE KING
We saw Peter acknowledging who Jesus is and in many instances in the gospel we see people recognizing Him as the Messiah.
Matthew 16:20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Furthermore, we can see Jesus Himself claiming that He is the King.
John 18:37 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, 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.”
Jesus Himself bears witness to the truth that He is the Messiah i.e., the Christ; but He will reveal it to the world in a very shocking and unimaginable way - by not wearing rich garments and sitting on a throne, instead hanging naked on a wooden cross with a crown of thorns.
Revelation 19:16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
THE DISCIPLES PREACHED JESUS THE KING
The gospel that Jesus is the King was the biggest and life changing revelation that the disciples witnessed and experienced. For the joy and deliverance that came from this gospel, they could not cease from proclaiming it after Jesus’s ascension and this became the core message and essence of the early church.
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Acts 17:6,7 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king – Jesus.”
In order to perceive Jesus as King, let us try to understand what it would be like to have a king in practical life. We are not used to being ruled by royalty like in ancient times; hence it is a little difficult to understand who actually a king is and what would be his authority, characteristic traits, attributes and prerogatives.
1. A Kingdom is not a democracy. In a democracy, citizens elect and have the freedom to choose who their ruler can be. But in a kingdom, we are at the king’s mercy and he is the one who chooses us. We do not have the rights to decide who our king can be. Whether we like it or not, the one who reigns is the king. Being a king and ruler of his kingdom is the king’s birthright and unquestionable, unshakable authority.
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
Most of us think that we have chosen to follow Jesus. But it is merely His grace that He chose to reveal Himself to us. The gospel of late preached is to ‘accept’ Jesus into our hearts or lives as our personal savior. When He is the King, He is the one who needs to accept us into His Kingdom and we can only cry for His mercy and acceptance. He is the one who chooses us. What rights do we have or who are we to accept Him, the King? When He called His disciples, He only said “follow Me.” It was a command. A King does not beg people to be citizens in His Kingdom.
Mark 1:17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
2. A king who rules an absolute monarchy is in full power and authority over his kingdom. He is the supreme ruler and everything comes under his control. The entire kingdom is his and the people are just debtors living in his land. So everything in the kingdom belongs to him. There is neither private property nor personal claims that can be made by any person staying in the kingdom.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.
Often we think that we need to serve Jesus and that we are appointed to build His Kingdom and consider ourselves valuable and superior since we are doing His service. We plainly forget that Jesus the King builds His own Kingdom and does not need anything from us and our hands. Our very life and breath is His grace and choice to give. He chooses us and gives what pleases Him to give. What could we possibly own and possess that we can offer Him when we do not even possess our very own breath?
Acts 17:24,25 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
3. As everything in the kingdom belongs to the king, the king has the rights to take and give whatever he wants. He decides what his people will have and will not have. Nobody in a kingdom has any right to question the king’s decisions.
1 Samuel 8:10-17 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.”
The prophet Samuel here clearly explains all the prerogatives of an earthly king according to the instructions he received from God. If a king appointed by God could have this authority, how much more the King of Kings? We can see that the king gives what he likes to whom he likes and removes what he wants from whoever he wants. Therefore, whatever the king gives or doesn’t, is his mercy. If we think we own our children, job, wealth, education, house, etc. we have failed completely in getting the truth that nothing was ours to begin with.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Romans 9:18-20 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.You will say to me then, “why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
God is our creator and reigns with supreme authority and power. We, the created do not have any rights to question the King and creator! If we do, then we the formed, simply are rejecting Jesus the Christ.
Romans 9:21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
4. We need to understand one basic fact very clearly. In a democracy we have the rights to object, question, protest and express our dislikes. We have an influence over the decisions made in the country. Whereas, in a kingdom the king’s word is final. The word uttered by the king becomes the final commandment and law of the country. For e.g. If the king wants all the houses in his kingdom to be painted pink, it has to be done and it is the law whether we like it or not. There is no other opinion or discussion entertained on the subject.
Leviticus 22:31 “Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the Lord.”
We often address Jesus as ‘Lord’. This is not just another word or a means to simply address Him; instead, it denotes again a very important role of Jesus and who He is. ‘Lord’ is the translation of the original Greek word ‘Kyrios’. ‘Kyrios’ means “supreme in authority, controller, master, and owner and to whom a person or thing belongs to, about which he has the power of deciding”. Therefore, when we call on Jesus as ‘Lord’ we are acknowledging that we do not belong to ourselves, have no authority and rights of decision making over our lives but He is our owner. Many times we call on Him ‘Lord’ completely ignorant of the glory it holds and thereby we abuse the word. When we say “Lord Jesus Christ” we simply mean: “Jesus our owner and King, whom we belong to.”
5. A king and his kingship is irrevocable and not dismissible. Those who protest or rebel against him will be cut off from the kingdom, labeled as rebels and possibly executed or thrown out of the kingdom. We have a clear example of rebellion that was staged in the Kingdom of God.
Luke 10:18 And He (Jesus) said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
When we often resist, fight, question and ridicule God’s ways, we forget that we are the dust of this earth, unworthy of anything without Him. Moreover, we also do not realize that He does not hesitate to cast rebels out of His presence.
6. In a kingdom the king does not require suggestions from the people to make his decisions or how to execute his work. No one can tell or counsel the king on how he needs to function.
Job 38:1-6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone?”
Chapters 38 to 41 in the book of Job are full of God’s expression of His might, wisdom and power as creator. When God is the one who laid the very foundation of this universe, what advise can we possibly give Him and what suggestions can we give on how He should work in our lives? Job, till chapter 37, questions God, complains, justifies and professes to have been undeserving of all that had happened in his life and demands vindication. But after he understands the function of God as a King, creator and supreme authority, note the change in his behavior:
Job 40:3-5 Then Job answered the Lord and said: “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
This is the attitude that is fit and worthy of us with Jesus the King simply because:
Isaiah 55:8,9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
7. The king in a kingdom is the supreme judge. The verdict issued by the judge supersedes any other statement or fact. We may have certain situations or experiences with people in which unavoidably we judge them. Often we think that judging someone negatively is wrong but considering someone as good is acceptable. Both good or bad, we have no rights to judge anyone because each one runs his own race and takes his own cross and we are in no superior position above the other to pass judgments.
Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
When God decides to put one down and exalt another, who are we to judge anyone’s poor or successful life or character?
Psalm 75:7 But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.
Moreover, when we are accused, persecuted or judged wrongly, we find it in our nature to rise up in our defense and work towards exonerating ourselves from the shame or disgrace, but we do not realize that Jesus is the supreme judge who can vindicate us and all our efforts at it are not in line with His Kingship. He has promised to bring everything to light in His judgment. If we desire to work for our justice, then we reject Him as our judge.
Hebrews 10:30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
8. A king can never be taken for granted. We all think that Jesus the Christ is merciful and long-suffering, so we can go about our ways, enjoy a little while and when we decide we have had enough, we could always get back to Him. We think He will work in our own sweet time. We forget that He also does not show mercy to those who despise and disrespect Him.
Matthew 22:2-7 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”
A king is not our servant. Yes, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. He came to serve so as to give us an example of how we should serve one another and not to be our servant whom we can exploit whenever we need to fulfill our desires.
John 13:12-15 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
Matthew 23:8 “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.”
We do address everyone as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ but in practice we are strictly hierarchical, wanting recognition and expecting to be served. But Jesus left an entirely different example. There is no pyramid of hierarchy in the Kingdom of Jesus. He is the only one supreme authority and everyone else takes just one similar position under Him as brethren. Each may have a different role to play as preacher, administrator, pastor, translator, writer, manager, praise and worship leader etc. but it is not a role to exhibit power or ownership rights towards anything or anyone, as all rights belong to the only King, Jesus.
Though we are required to serve one another and may have received certain authorities from Him, our equation with Jesus is that of Him being our Lord and King. This implies that He is not our servant. Often we pray with our bucket list of desires to be fulfilled and even set deadlines to Him to accomplish it. We want Jesus to work for us according to our will; but only servants work for us according to our desires. We fail to understand that He will fulfill only His uncontestable and supreme will and not ours.
Considering all the above discussed attributes of a king, it might be discouraging because we are used to being our own kings. The earthly kings could be cruel, partial and unjust, but Jesus is a good King. He takes care of us, protects us, is concerned about us and loves us. There is nothing He would do to destroy us as long as we do not rebel His Kingship.
ANTICHRIST
An antichrist need not be one who has to appear with two horns and a tail or with numbers inscribed on his forehead. In light of the truth we have discussed so far as who actually Jesus is, anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ i.e., anyone who rejects His Kingship and Lordship in his/ her life and desires to be his/ her own king is basically an antichrist. This realization and acknowledgement is a function of the heart and not mere acknowledgement by lips.
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
THE KING’S PRESENCE
By now, we hope it is clear that Jesus is not only our savior and redeemer, but is also our Lord and King. Since we do not know this truth, we take Him for granted and are not even aware of how to enter or stay at His presence. Imagine you are being called to make an appearance with the king of England. What would you do? We call ourselves as sons and daughters of Jesus and treat Him with utmost casualness and carefree attitude. Would we do that to an earthly king? If we are to stay in the presence of Jesus the King or approach Him, what is required of us? We imply this even for our routine activities where we come in contact with Him every day through prayer.
A. Requirements to enter the presence of the King:
1. Washed with water
Exodus 29:4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water.”
John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
When we meet a king, the preparation we first do is to clean up. When we meet Jesus the Christ and stay at His presence, we need to be thirsty and be ready for His word. His word is the one that can make us clean. Our minds are filled with the things of the system of this world. His word, the truth is the one that will clean us off our convictions, self-held believes, traditions etc. that are not according to His ways.
2. Clothed appropriately
Ephesians 6:14-17 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
The next step we do after cleaning up is to find the best clothes to wear in the presence of the king. What better clothes can we have than Jesus our Christ Himself ? Truth, righteousness, faith, peace and salvation can never be ours without Him. Unless Jesus the Christ becomes our truth, righteousness, faith, peace and salvation, we are never clothed but naked in His presence.
3. With valuable presents
Isaiah 1:12-15 “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.”
Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.
Once we are presentable before the king, we finally make sure that we take the best gift or offering possible to please the King.
When our God is the owner and ruler of this entire universe, what could we possible give Him? He does not require our festivals, sacrifices, offerings, and prayers. He says that He cannot endure our efforts and that His soul hates it. The only present that makes us eligible to enter His presence is the blood of Jesus; our trust in His blood will be our only righteousness. If we ever think that we by our works and self-righteousness can please Him and stay at His presence, we are simply infuriating Him.
B. Our position in the presence of the King:
Our position we take while we approach Jesus, usually is physical, which is commendable but mere physical position with an arrogant or empty heart is of no value and is just a sham. Often our physical position shows our reverence, but the heart does not. No matter the level of reverential physical attitude, if the heart is emp