As we continue our journey to Holy Week, I want to pick up from Last week’s blog. This time looking primarily in Matthew’s Gospel. The theme of Jesus as the Servant of God was heard in the Voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism by John. As you recall, the Voice quoted two passages of Scripture:
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 NIV)
The second part of the quote is from Isaiah 42:1 and is the first of what we call the Servant songs, climaxing with Isaiah 53. The first part of the quotation is from Psalm 2, a Royal Psalm. The New Testament does not excise a phrase, ripped from its context, but instead references a phrase and invites the reader to engage its context. Psalm 2 speaks of the King as the Lord’s Anointed, whom He calls His Son (please read the entire Psalm). That King will bring judgment on all the rebellious earth. For the Gospels, Jesus is that King, anointed with the Holy Spirit for a Kingly ministry at His baptism.
Matthew begins this theme from the very beginning with the genealogy of Jesus in chapter one. Jesus is the Son of David, great David’s greater Son. Unlike the interloper, Herod, who tries to kill the infant King, Jesus is the True King. After His baptism and temptation, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17 NIV). It’s clear that, for Matthew, the King of this heavenly kingdom is Jesus.
At the midpoint of Matthew’s Gospel, Peter declared to Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” This sounds like Psalm 2, and Jesus told Peter that he spoke a truth revealed by God, Himself. But then, to Peter’s shock, Jesus told His disciples:
Matthew 16:21 … that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (NIV)
The thought that the Messianic King would suffer and be killed was more than Peter could handle, and he rebuked the Messiah! Now, it was no longer the revelation of the Father speaking to Peter, but Satan’s voice speaking through Peter. Yet, Jesus, as in the wilderness after His baptism, resisted the Enemy’s temptation to avoid the cross. Indeed, the King of Psalm 2 must be the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.
The picture of Jesus as the Messianic King comes to its climax during Passion week. As it began, Jesus went to great lengths to embody the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (NIV)
The crowd of pilgrims saw the kingly image and cried, “Lord save us, Son of David.” Yet, they didn’t fully understand the nature of this King. That they likely meant for Him to save them from Rome, and not from their own unrighteousness, made this a politically volatile moment. That potential volatility would increase until some of these same folks would replace “Hosanna,” with “Crucify Him!” What drove the week to Good Friday was the nature of Jesus’ kingship.
Throughout the week, Jesus acted and spoke with kingly authority. When He was finally arrested and placed before Pilate, the charge was that Jesus claimed to be King of the Jews, and a direct rival to Caesar Tiberius. When scourged, He was mocked as a pretend king, with a purple robe and a crown of vicious thorns. When He was crucified, the sarcastic plaque placed above His head read “King of the Jews.” Yet, Matthew turns the mocking and sarcasm into proclamation! Jesus was and is King of the Jews. The resurrection proved it, in that all authority in heaven and earth was granted to Him.
Passion week was Glory week, and it reached its climax when He was enthroned on the cross, a point that the Gospel of John makes explicit.
So, what kind of King is the King of the Kingdom of Heaven? Further, what does it mean to follow this King? The last words of the resurrected and ascending Jesus point the way for us.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)
And what has Jesus commanded? Matthew would direct us to the Sermon on the Mount to start. He would then move us through the story, to the description of the returning Son of Man as He sits on His glorious throne and separates sheep from goats, so that we see that we are to care for the least in this world by bringing them food, clothing, mercy, and justice (Matthew 25:31-46). That’s what it means for us to follow this King.
Tim