Why Jesus' Kingship is Good News for Rebels...

In the opening of our series on the Church that Love builds, we saw a breath-taking glimpse of how Jesus loves the church as our prophet, priest, and king.  We saw how Jesus came as the perfect prophet who reveals God to us and speaks to us as God.  This is good news for it brings truth into our lives that provides real direction and wisdom. 

We also saw how Jesus came as our perfect Priest.  He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to pay the debt we owed and could not pay (Heb. 9:25ff).  He was even the priestly mediator of His own blood.  This is one of the reasons why the resurrection and ascension are an essential part of the gospel- the blood of the sacrificial animal had to be sprinkled on the alter before the worshiper was cleansed and accepted.  Hebrews 7:23ff tells us that Jesus is our ever-living perfect priest who appears before the very presence of God Himself and not merely an earthly alter.  There He presents the sacrifice of His own body and blood and ever lives to intercede for us.  This is good news for us for it brings forgiveness of sins, salvation from condemnation, and a sympathetic perfect priest (Heb. 4:15-16) who eternally lives to come alongside of us and give grace and help in time of need. 

"That's wonderful love for sure," you might say, but how is Christ’s Kingship good news?  How is Jesus loving us when He’s commanding us?  We saw a few things on Sunday, but let me let one of the greatest preachers of all time, C.H. Spurgeon, elaborate further on why Jesus' kingship is good news for rebels like us:

"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord."-Micah 5:4

 Christ's reign in His Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, bu it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; He commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.

His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and feed." The great Head of the Church is actively engaged in providing for His people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre withoutwielding it in government. No, He stands and feeds. The expression "feed," in the original, is like an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.

His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and feed"; not "He shall feed now and then, and leave His position"; not, "He shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave His Church to barrenness." His eyes never slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to beat with love, and His shoulders are never weary of carrying His people's burdens.

His reign is effectually powerful in its action; "He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that He who stands to-day representing the interests of His people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before Him as the people of His pasture.

Jesus loves the church.  He loves it as prophet; he loves it as priest; and He loves it as King.  That is good news for rebels like us who need to see the truth, be truly cleansed, and joyfully submit to the truth that leads to life.  As we see the love of the King more clearly by faith, then the cry of our hearts’ hope, joy, and submission to King Jesus may look more and more like that of the Apostle Paul:

Phil 3:20-21- But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

May we see the love of Jesus so clearly that submission to Him as King becomes the joy of our hearts, and His glory becomes the boast of our tongues!