Good morning. Questions, questions, and more questions. Why do our fingers wrinkle when we go swimming? Why do big shells sound like the ocean? Why are school buses yellow? Why do we hiccup? Why are some people left-handed? Are left-handed people also left-footed?
The list of questions that don’t really deserve much thought could be a very long one.
A much more important question was asked of the US Supreme Court in 1964, “How do you define obscenity/pornography?” To which justice Potter Stewart replied, “I know it when I see it.”
Imagine the question being asked at the time of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, “How do you know who a king is?” It was a complicated question, especially so regarding the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.
Claiming to be the “King” was the charge that Jewish leadership placed against Jesus as they turned Him over to Roman authority. Luke 23 and John 18 tell us about the interaction between Pilate and Jesus. Pilate asked if it was true that Jesus was claiming to be king. Jesus said that “Yes, that is true, but it is a kingdom not of this world.” Pilate infuriated the Jewish leadership by placing the charge they had made against Jesus, “King of the Jews”, at the top of His cross.
The Roman soldiers who tortured Jesus made a joke of it: “They bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Matthew 27:29 They continued to mock Him, spit on Him, and led Him to Calvary.In the end, after Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished”, the world shook violently at the mistreatment of the Creator. In the power of that end, the Roman Centurion’s heart was changed: When the Centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Mt 27:54
If the question would have been asked so long ago, “How do you know who a king is?” the words and actions of Jesus on the cross answered it. They knew the King when they heard Him and when they witnessed His willing sacrifice.
Is Jesus going to be your King today? Are you ready to claim Him and bow to His sovereignty? Jesus Christ, He is our present-day King of Kings.
Vern