Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Acts 17:6-7 These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.
CHRIST THE KING
Nowadays governments with a king as the head of state -- one with actual authority and ruling power -- are pretty much a thing of the past. Yet even children know what a king is supposed to do. He's supposed to rule, and he is supposed to carry out his rule for the sake of the people he rules, that is, to make their lives better.
The fact is, people everywhere still desire good rulers and wise heads of state, leaders who exercise authority on the behalf of those governed -- and for the nation's benefit -- rather than their own personal aggrandizement.
When we confess Jesus as Lord, we are saying He is our King, but it is less than obvious to the people of our world that Christ Jesus our Lord is King right now -- and that His rule is one of power and gracious goodness and eternal peace.
After all, don't we, even as Christians, need to review, re-emphasize and proclaim this particular fact: that Jesus rules all (especially his own) for the sake of His own.
There are many who would say, "It sure doesn’t seem like it." But wouldn't they have said the same thing at Golgotha?
But the repentant criminal saw past the outward circumstances, saw his King, God's own promised Messiah. He turned to Jesus and asked to be remembered when He came into his power.
Jesus' response showed that His kingship was not and is not something in the distant future, but rather that His rule was being established right there, that day, on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise."
Jesus' reign was real -- right there, that day -- and the dying thief was remembered by his King.
