The Hope of the Believer . . .

RECOGNITION OF THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS (3)

W. Carl Ketcherside  

When Jesus was born, the proclamation was made that "the kingdom of heaven is approaching." It was upon this basis that John, in preparing the way, demanded reformation of life and led the Jews to confess their sins and be immersed in the waters of the Jordan. The word for kingdom as used here (basileia) does not refer to place or people, but to rule or exercise of power. The new order of things was to involve a Messianic reign, and this was to be a reign of conquest until all of the created universe was brought into subjection at His feet.  

It is true when the child was born he was called Jesus (Savior) because he was to "save his people from their sins." But His Saviorhood must never be emphasized at the expense of His Lordship. The design of God and the purpose of the ages was to coronate the Son as king and to subjugate the universe to His rule. It is useless to talk about "Christianity" apart from this purpose, for this is its purpose. A Christian is one who pledges allegiance to Jesus as king and follows Him as a loyal subject, a citizen of the eternal kingdom.

In our day we see other emphases being made to the exclusion of the eternal purpose. These may be good but they may also serve to confuse when not related to the kingdom idea. Great campaigns are waged for "soul winning" or "personal salvation" in which Jesus is portrayed as a Savior who is able to free us from the guilt and penalty of sin, and even to protect us from the practice of evil. All this is valuable and precious, but it may also appear pointless if it is not seen to be part of a universal program in which we all become representatives of a power destined to rule the world in righteousness and peace.

John related reformation of life to the rule of heaven. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This became the identical proclamation of Jesus (Mt. 4:17). When he called the twelve envoys from among the disciples, and sent them forth, this was the message they were told to announce (Mt. 10:7). The motivation for repentance and reformation of life was the approaching rule of heaven. It is apparent that this was true of all the preaching prior to the coronation of Jesus as king, the culminating act of His Messiahship. Men were saved, and this was important. But they were saved for something as well as from something.

The primary mission of Jesus upon earth was to prepare his rule for men, and prepare men for His rule. His teaching was to define the nature of the kingdom, and to distinguish between it and the kingdoms of this world. The Sermon on the Mount is a dissertation on the character and life demanded of those who would be citizens of the kingdom. It opens with the statement, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The kingdom is mentioned nine times, and twice in conjunction with the type of attitude which will debar from it. Just as important is the stress upon the master-servant relationship which is the essence of lordship (Mt. 7:21).

The apostles were ambassadors to an alien world, and were called, trained, and commissioned by the Prince in anticipation of His coming rule. Admittedly, because of their human frailty and circumscribed vision, they did not at first grasp the significance of what was said about the kingdom. They were Jews and Galileans, and their whole life had been saturated with the hope of an earthly "Golden Age" in which a Messiah would throw off the yoke of Roman dominion, and drive out the army of occupation, so that the earthly splendor of the kingdom of heaven in the days of David and Solomon would be restored. It is not surprising that, even after the resurrection of Jesus, we should hear them plaintively asking, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"(Actsl:6).

When we contemplate the perspective in which these humble fishermen viewed the words of Jesus, we can readily understand their disputes about who would occupy the most prominent office in the new regime (Lk. 9:46). We can also sympathize with the wife of Zebedee who sought to win for her sons the favored position of prime minister and privy counsellor in the coming kingdom (Mt. 20:20-21). Jesus allowed none of this to interfere with his preparation of the men, knowing that after his ascension and coronation they would be under the supervision of the royal Guest, the Holy Spirit, of whom He said, "These things have I spoken unto you, while I am still with you. But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (Jn. 14:25-26). The proof of the effectiveness of this method is found in the grasp of the kingdom exhibited in the preaching and teaching of the apostles after their reception of the Spirit.

One of the envoys later wrote of "the eternal kingdom of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:11). The careful student will quickly recognize in the words "Lord", "Savior", and "Christ", the offices or functions of Jesus, and will not need to be told that a kingdom implies rule and the word "Lord" indicates authority. The rule of heaven is eternal but the Lordship of Jesus is temporal. It had a beginning and it will come to an end. It was not inherent in His person nor granted when He entered the world. His sojourn on earth enabled Him to prepare for His coming Lordship when the authority was bestowed.

The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.--Franklin D. Roosevelt