I write this piece just after experiencing the coronation of king Charles the third. Whilst I was watching with interest someone who I have never met phoned me and asked if he could send me a copy of a book of selected sermons from his headmaster. I would like to share with you one particular sermon which resonated with me. I was overwhelmed when I thought of the timing of receiving, and the receiving from a stranger came together beautifully to bless me.
Matthew 21:5
‘Behold, thy king cometh unto thee’
If I was to ask, what does Jesus Christ mean to you, I know I should get many answers? ‘He is a most wonderful teacher: the greatest moral leader the world has ever known. He is the loveliest of men: my dearest, constant friend: my master: my saviour’. Very good, but if your list ends there, my friend, I must, in the words of the master himself, say “One thing thou lackest” for ultimately, above all else he must be your king. “Behold, thy king cometh unto thee.”
Have you ever stopped to consider these three things:- The first official word spoken of Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem was spoken by the wise men from the east when they said, “where is he that is born to be king?”
The last official word spoken of him in public came from the lips of Pilate, “Behold your king”
The last official word written of him before his crucifixion was the inscription placed upon the cross. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the king.
Jesus is a king with subjects who own allegiance to him. Jesus is king with a cabinet. Jesus a king with an army. Even so, a king with an army – an army in which every soldier is a peacemaker; an army in which every soldier is a person of meekness and humility. What an army!
Ah yes there is power which can crush, destroy, and enslave. And this the power of earthly majesty which we freely recognise. Yet there is a power which builds up, which creates and sets free – and this is the power of Christ. Earthly majesty assumes power over our lives: only the king whose name is Jesus gives power in our lives. That is the power which can take a life that is empty, a mind which is distraught or a spirit which is weary and broken and build it up again into a life which is good, lovely, and full of joy and hope. He is the one king who does not acknowledge the crowd: here is the one king eternal whose loving concern is for the one who has nothing to give, but is in great need. My friend, if this is you, then look up, for, ‘Behold THY king cometh unto THEE!’