Historically kingship widely seen as originating from among the Ancient Near East communities. Apart from their political roles, the kings then had significant spiritual functions. They were even seen as refractions or manifestations of the divine beings; no wonder some were called sons of the gods. They were mostly accredited with a good number of sacred activities like clairvoyance, intuition, unusual strength and valour (they were seen warriors). In some places the kings were worshipped. Most of us can recall the event that led to the throwing of Daniel the lion’s den. (Dan. 6:1-28).
In fact the history of the world is actually replete with the rising and falling of kings and kingdoms; the rising and falling of empires and emperors. The entire gamut of the world history presents us with tales of enthronements and dethronements of kings with their transient powers. No king and his kingdom had survived a full century. There were the Pharaohs of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzars of Babylon, the king Herods, the king Aggrippas, the Emperors of Rome etc.. Down the path of history we know of Alexander the Great whose reign was felt around the known world of his time, we know of Alfred the Great, Darius the Great, Charlemange, Louis xiv and others. Many empires rose and fell: Roman Empire, Spanish Empire, and the Empires of France and Britain.
In modern history we know of Haile Selassie (the last emperor of Ethiopia after 224 predecessors), Adolf Hitler (the Nazi machinery of the holocaust), Idi Amin (the ruthless self-acclaimed field Marshal and president for life of Uganda). In contemporary history we know of the Saddam Husseins, and the Mubaracks. The last from this era was Mommah Gaddaffi who organized his crowning as king of kings of Africa but died before that could happen. One common denominator is that all these kingdoms and their kings crumbled at some historic points.
Our celebration today is focused on Jesus Christ the universal king. We are today drawn to contemplate our Lord to Jesus Christ the King who reigns for eternity. That our lord Jesus Christ is King is not a figment of imagination or mere wishful thinking; testimonies abound in the scriptures:
Psalm 24:7. Tells us that he is the king of glory.
Isaiah 9:6-7. Calls him our ruler, the Wonder Counsellor, Mighty Father, Prince of Peace whose kingdom will have no end!
Zecharia 9:9. Calls him our King that rides humbly, triumphantly and victoriously on a donkey.
Zecharia 14: 9. Calls him the King of all the earth.
Matthew 2:2. Calls him the King of the Jews.
Luke 1: 33. Says that his kingdom will have no end.
Luke 23:38. His executioners confirmed him as the King of the Jews.
John 1: 49. Calls him the King of Israel.
Rev.17:14. Calls him Lord of Lords King of Kings.
The King we are acknowledging and worshipping today is very much unlike the earthly kings. His Kingdom is also very much unlike the Kingdoms of the earth.
- Earthly Kings slept on costly beds and sat of expensive chairs, but Jesus our Lord and King had nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9:58) and the cross was his throne (Luke 23:32-38; John 19:23)
- People serve and die for earthly kings, but Jesus the King came not to be served, but to serve and also gave his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
- Earthly kings obtain resources from their subjects but Jesus our King fed the people with bread and fish (Matt.14:15- 21) and went further to give them his body and blood to sustain them in their journey to eternity (Matt. 26:26-28).
- Earthly Kings fight and destroy their enemies but Jesus our King forgave his executioners establishing that they didn’t know what they were doing? (Luke 23:34).
In our world today, there are many distracting kings and kingdoms springing up everywhere. In our contemporary human society money for instance has constituted itself as a king as many run after it as if their lives came from it. The same is applicable to immorality, fashion, family, relationship, technology and other forms of materialism. All over the world people give “101” attention to these temporal kings and kingdoms to the detriment of the required attention to Jesus Christ the King.
It is most regrettable that the only time most people remember that Jesus Christ is the most powerful King is when they go through some deplorable experiences wherein other useless kings and kingdoms fail them. At such time they “order” Jesus Christ to intervene immediately and confront their situation. When the challenge is over they tend to drop Him by the side until yet another time. That is why people merely call him a helper, provider, sustainer, rewarder etc. But he is beyond all these. He is our HELP, PROVISION, REWARD, SALVATION, SUSTENANCE etc.
Drawing from the above we discover that we cannot put a limit to what Jesus Christ our King can do for us and with us. If you read the encounter between Moses and God in Exodus (3:14ff) you will find out that when Moses asked God “who should I tell that sent me?” God said to him tell them that “I AM” sent you. This is actually an open withdrawal cheque which God left for us. God did not say I am the protector for instance so that all He owes us would be to protect and nothing more. But He said “I Am…….” And left blank spaces for you to add whatever you desire from him. It is from this that we understand Jesus expanding into various areas like: “I am the way, I am the light of the world, I am the truth, I am the resurrection. I am the life, I am the good Shepherd” etc.
As we go out to proclaim Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords, let us remember that this proclamation must surpass mere verbalization. It must resonate with our lives. We must allow our Lord Jesus Christ to reign in our lives. The little and useless kingdoms in our world would all pass away; they are incomparable with the eternal Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ which should be our utmost concern and focus!
Happy Christ the King!
Fr. Bonnie.
fatherbonny@hotmail.com