Advent Season
(Anticipating the Birth of Jesus)
28 Names of Jesus | December 31, 2020
Name #28: “King of the Jews” (Isaiah 11: 1 – 9; Matthew 2: 1 – 2)
It is that time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Jesus, when he came down to Earth, came as a lowly servant. We celebrate the birth of a king but what kind of king was He? He was the King of the Jews, but the Jewish leaders did not refer to him as that. No, they expected him to come as a king in the earthly manner. They expected someone to come in and rule the earth. But he didn’t come to rule the earth at that time. He came to save the earth. Who referred to Jesus as the king of the Jews?
Well, two references come to mind for me right away. One was the Wisemen who came in search of this child that was born (Matthew 2:2), and the other was Pontius Pilate when he put the sign on the cross above the head of Jesus (John 19:19). It was the Jewish leaders of that time that wanted it removed. They did not recognize Jesus as the King of the Jews. But did Jesus claim to be the King of the Jews? The answer to that is “Yes,” for when he was questioned by Pontius Pilate, Jesus says He was. So, what the Israelites were looking for is a political king to take them out of the misery of occupation. What they (and we) got was something much better. We got a Savior who is king for all of eternity.
One day, those who have rejected Jesus as our Messiah and King of the Jews will know that Christ is King. And on that day, as it is written, “Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” And what kind of kingdom will He rule over? We get a small picture of that in Isaiah 11: 6 – 9. This is just a small glimpse of what heaven will be like, but doesn’t it sound great, where animals will not be in fear of each other nor will we have anything to fear from them?
As we say good-bye to 2020 (FINALLY!) and bring in the new year, let us do that by worshipping our Savior Jesus, the King of the Jews!
Dave Kellerman