The King of Christmas
by Christopher Hendrix
The role of a king is somewhat lost on our modern Western minds. When people think of a king, they think of a wealthy, fat, finely clothed man with access to every luxury of the kingdom. They might also picture one who sits above everyone else, who is there to be served, and who makes demands. Some might imagine a tyrant who has let absolute power corrupt absolutely. As Americans, we rebel against monarchial rule, for the power belongs to the republic, not one man. After all, we won the war for independence!
Yet, the Scriptural employment of King does not have these meanings attached to it. Kingship involves a high authority, establishing commands, and ruling to bring about peace in the land. It’s also a representative role. The people are all under the King and represented by him. He is the one who goes before other kings on behalf of the nation. When he decides to act, it’s not only for him but for the people’s best interest. In the Kingship of Israel, the kings were called to lead the people to obedience and to rule well. When this didn’t happen, which was a good portion of the time, the Lord would discipline His covenantal people, starting with the King. These kings were in their position because of the Davidic Covenant. However, the Davidic Covenant points to something more significant: the Kingship of Christ.
Watch Pastor Chris Hendrix’s sermon on 2 Samuel 7:1-17.
When Christ is born, He is immediately recognized as a king. The three gifts given by an unknown number of magi were gifts given only to royalty. In fact, in Matthew’s gospel, before he records this scene, he demonstrates from verse 1 that Jesus is King by mentioning his lineage. The rest of the New Testament screams of Jesus’ Kingship. But also, the Old Testament does! In God’s favorite Psalm (said tongue-in-cheek since it’s the most quoted in the New Testament), Psalm 110 opens up with a scene. David, who wrote this Psalm because of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 22:43), becomes privy to something behind the scenes. He records a scene in heaven in which he writes, “The Lord (Yahweh) says to my Lord (Adonai), ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Jesus, who is in David’s lineage, is the root of the Davidic Covenant. After his resurrection, He ascended to the Father and completed this Psalm by sitting at His right hand. What does this mean? That Jesus, even now, rules and reigns as King!
Contrary to some teachings today, Christ isn’t returning one day to rule, but He leads now. When He returns (the Second Coming), this is to judge. Right now, Jesus Christ rules on the throne. This has a few applications for us. First, every area of our life is under His authority. There’s not one area in which we retain authority or control. Not in your family life, work life, society, or government. How we think about every part of life must be through the lens of Christ. Second, we seek repentance and encourage other believers to repent for sins that disobey His commandments. Christ’s Law is supreme, and when we rebel, we run to His arms for forgiveness. Third, we call those who refuse to bow and submit to Him to repent and believe. We call the people who run in our circles of influence, who are family members, who run our organizations, governments, schools, and whatever place in life to repent for their rebellion and to believe in Christ. We call our culture to repentance and submissiveness to Christ. This is evangelism, proclaiming the good news of Christ and calling people to repent and believe.
Christians serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In light of the Davidic Covenant here at Christmas, let us rejoice that we are in His kingdom, that we are under His rule, and that He is King.