Not Another Earthly King

[0:00] Well, this morning I'm going to be looking at various passages from the Bible, but if you want! to flip open to Mark, no, not Mark, Matthew chapter 2, sorry, Matthew chapter 2, right at the start of! the New Testament. And as you're finding that, let me just reiterate what Stephen said about the Women's Aid. What a fantastic organization, and that little story that you told about Jeanette phoning up, Jeanette, we're not surprised, but that's wonderful. And this is what church should be like, you know, phoning up and just saying, is there anything we can do to help? That's what a church is supposed to do, supposed to be like, the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

[0:51] And what a great work it is that you do for that Women's Aid. Such a sad story about that family coming in, but if not for you, where would that family go and what would they do? And so what a wonderful thing it is. It pleases the Lord Jesus that there is help. There is help for families like that. There's other amazing charities and organizations like that, like when we do the shoebox appeal, or many of you support and sponsor children through compassion, and there's others.

[1:24] Perhaps there's something in your heart this morning or this year where you can do what Jeanette did, and reach out to someone somewhere and just say, hey, we're from the church. How can we help?

[1:36] What a wonderful thing it is. So we thank the Lord for you, really do. Okay, Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2. I'm going to read just from the start. Lord, as we open your word, please would you speak to us and be glorified through the reading of your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we saw a star when it rose, and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

[2:36] They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, and you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly, and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child. And when you have found him, bring word to me that I too may come and worship him.

[3:12] After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

[3:26] And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary and his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. And when they departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, said, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.

[3:53] Remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him. And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt.

[4:05] Remain there until the death of Herod. And this was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt, I call my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he'd been tricked by the wise men, became furious. And he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem. And in all that region, who were two years old or under, according to the time that he'd ascertained from the wise men.

[4:33] Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping in loud lamentation. Rachel weeping for her children, she refused to be comforted, because they are no more. But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead. They're dead. Herod is dead. Amen. This is God's Word.

[5:05] King Herod. King Herod. Herod the Great. Herod was known for two things in particular. Does anybody want to guess what those two things were? Two particular aspects of his life he was known for. Different Herod.

[5:33] Good guess, but different Herod. No? Sorry? The temple. Yes. Herod was known for his building projects. In fact, that's what got him the term Herod the Great. Some of his building projects were immense and massive and impressive. And then there was something else that Herod was known for.

[5:52] Anyone want to guess? Murder. You're right. There's been a murder. In Herod's life, you'd be as well saying there's been another murder. Herod was known for two things. For his impressive building projects, like the palace, like fortresses of Masada and Herodium, or building Israel's magnificent port city of Caesarea Maritima from nothing, or renovating the second temple in Jerusalem to a massive scale.

[6:26] He was known for his building projects, and he was known for his tyrannical rule. Now, I'm going to, as we go through, I just want to compare kings as we go through this. We want to compare Jesus and Herod, and then Jesus and then Caesar, and then Jesus and all the kingdoms of the earth. And so, Jesus and Herod. You might remember in the Gospels later on, Jesus' disciples pointed out the temple to Jesus. Do you remember that? Like in Matthew 24, the disciple says, look at this, magnificent. Look at the stones. Look at the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said, well, not one stone will be left on top of the other. And he predicted the destruction of that in 70 AD.

[7:16] But here's a few reasons why Jesus wasn't impressed by this magnificent temple, and it was magnificent by the world's standards. Here's a few reasons why Jesus wasn't impressed. Number one, the person who built it was a tyrant, and he killed even babies to try and kill Jesus, the infant.

[7:37] The one that the disciples are pointing who built this temple is the one who tried to kill Jesus. We forget that when we get to that point in the Bible, that the temple was actually impressive because of the person that tried to kill Jesus, and many other people he killed. Number two, Jesus wasn't impressed because the temple was never designed to make Herod look good. Jesus knew as the Son of God that it was his Father's house, a house of prayer and of worship to God. Number three, because according to Hebrews 9.24, the temple was just a copy of things that were in heaven.

[8:17] And the design was given from heaven. And Jesus came from heaven. You're not going to impress Jesus with an earthly temple. Number four, the Bible says of Jesus that all things in heaven and on earth were made through him and for him. So not just the stone that Herod used for the temple, but Jesus created the earth along with Jupiter and along with Saturn and its amazing rings, along with the sun and the Pleiades and the pillars of creation and every other galaxy in the cosmos was made by Jesus. Are you going to impress him with a temple? No.

[8:59] Herod. Herod also as a king was just a client king. He was under the supervision of Rome. Jesus was the king of heaven before he came down. And when he was born, he was born the rightful heir of the throne of David. And Jesus is not just the rightful king of the Jews. He's the Christ. And the Christ is the final king, the only king, the one all the prophets have been pointing towards.

[9:28] Jesus. Jesus isn't just another earthly king. Even now, even today, throughout history, all the religions want a piece of Jesus. They all acknowledge and exalt Jesus. And Jesus exalts or acknowledges none of them. None of them. Just like Herod himself acknowledged Jesus when he said, where's the Christ to be born? Herod acknowledges Jesus. And Jesus never acknowledges one other king ever. Ever. There's no one like Jesus. There's no other king like Jesus. Now, aside from the building projects, Herod was mostly known for his cruelty. Herod knew that the Jews hated him and that they would rejoice when he died. So, Herod, if you know your history, Josephus tells us this, that Herod ordered all the notable Jews of the region to be gathered up, arrested, and he gave his soldiers instructions to kill them when he died, just so that they would be mourning in the land. Thankfully, when he died, his sister Salome released him and stopped it. But he was an absolute tyrant. In fact, Caesar Augustus, who we're introduced to in Luke chapter 2, Caesar Augustus, whom Herod was always under, is quoted to have said about Herod that it's better to be Herod's pig than it is to be his son. Because Herod killed his family members, including three of his own sons, and yet kosher pigs would live. It was safer to be a pig than a son of Herod. Now, we see this kind of paranoia in Herod in Matthew chapter 2, which we've just read, when the wise men ask about, this person born king of the Jews? King of the Jews, if you don't know, was actually a title that was given to Herod. And so, when the wise men said that, it really stung.

[11:42] I'm the king of the Jews, except he was only given that title by the Roman Senate on the advice of Mark Antony. And yet, despite being called the king of the Jews, Herod was not a Jew. Herod was born both an Arab and Edomian by birth. Here's how ironic it is that he is not the rightful king. His mother's lineage on the Arabic side, his mother's lineage goes back to Ishmael, not Isaac. And his father, Edomian, his lineage goes back to Esau, not Jacob. And so, how's that for not being in the rightful lineage? But we see in Matthew and in Luke, there are two genealogies. And people have noted that they're different, because Matthew and Luke give you a genealogy of Joseph and a genealogy of Mary, and both of them come from the lineage of King David. Jesus is the rightful king and heir of the throne of David, not Herod. And Herod knows it. Herod knows it. You see, if you want to know

[12:54] Herod's greatest claim to fame, it is this, being a footnote in the birth of Jesus. It's his greatest claim to fame. How about Jesus versus Caesar? Interestingly, the only place in the Bible that we see the term king of the Jews is at Jesus' birth and at his death. First, the wise men from the east paying homage to him, and then Pontius Pilate questioning him, the soldiers, the Roman soldiers mocking him, and then it's written on his cross, this is Jesus, king of the Jews. When Jesus was asked about being a king, however, he would not allow himself to be compared with earthly rulers. John 18 records Pilate interrogating Jesus, and Pilate says, are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus answers, do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? And Pilate says, am I a Jew?

[13:54] Your own nation and your chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? Now, at this point, Jesus could have said, you're right, I am the king of the Jews, but the people just didn't recognize me. The people have rejected me, but he did not say that. Instead, he said, Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting so that I wouldn't have been handed over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not from the world. Jesus is a king, but not just another earthly king. Now, Jesus isn't saying to Pilate, listen, my kingdom is not of this world. It's of another world, and my servants are too far away. They can't get here and fight for me. That's not what he's saying. In fact, what he is saying is, this world does not know a king like me. You've no idea who you're dealing with here, Pilate. He's not interested in earthly thrones. He is from above. Jesus doesn't need to wrestle with Pilate or Herod or even Caesar.

[15:05] The name of Jesus spread so fast throughout the Roman Empire that many of Roman citizens started calling Jesus Lord instead of Caesar, even when they were faced with execution. And one day, even the Roman Emperor bowed the knee to Christ. Constantine turned the tide of history.

[15:30] Jesus' kingdom would far outlast the Roman Empire. Where's the Roman Empire today? Apart from Roman numerals on your clock at home. Jesus' kingdom far outlasts it. People all over the world pledging allegiance to Christ. Jesus and all the kingdoms of the world.

[15:53] In Matthew 4, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the final moment came. The devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said, this can all be yours, Jesus, if you would fall down and worship me.

[16:15] Now, what could all the kingdoms of this world offer to the King of heaven? What could the glory of this world offer to the Son of God and the Lord of glory? You see, the devil didn't understand Jesus.

[16:31] We know that he didn't understand Jesus because of the way that he tempted him. And we know that the earthly rulers, like Herod and Pilate and the chief priests, showed that they didn't understand Jesus by the way that they threatened him. None of it worked. Neither the temptations nor the threats worked against Jesus. None of it worked because Jesus is not just another earthly king. And this is what Paul touches on in 1 Corinthians 2.8 when he says, none of the rulers of this age understood this.

[17:05] For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. He didn't understand. He can't touch Jesus. He's from another world. His kingdom is of another world. He's not interested in earthly thrones. He's not worried about earthly threats. He didn't come down just to rule over the Roman Empire. These are small things. This is child's play for him. What do the kingdoms of this world have compared to the glory of his kingdom in heaven? He didn't come just to rule the kingdoms of the earth. He came to die as a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. In John 19, when the Jews see that Pilate wasn't going to kill Jesus for this being a king business, they then said, we have a law, Pilate, and according to that law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. And when Pilate heard this statement, Pilate was even more afraid. Pilate had already spoke to him, and Jesus says, my kingdom's not from this world. And then the Jews start saying he's the son of God. And Pilate's like, who on earth is this?

[18:21] And so Pilate goes back into Jesus, and he says, where are you from? And Jesus says, nothing. Pilate then says, will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you, or the authority to crucify you? And Jesus says, no, no, you have no authority over me unless it has been given from above. You think that Rome's in control? Pilate, you think you're in control? You think the chief priests are in control? He has no idea who is standing in front of him. Jesus is saying that where his kingdom is and where he is from is above Israel, is above Rome, far above this world.

[19:05] Pilate thinks his authority trumps Jesus. But Jesus is saying the only reason Pilate's allowed to do all of this is because his father in heaven has allowed him. Jesus is from above. And that's why after the devil tempted him with all the kingdoms of this world, Jesus began to preach about the kingdom of heaven. Not interested in earthly thrones. Men have their interests in kingdoms of this world, but Jesus is not just another earthly king. And so think about today. Who is it that's ruling in our world today? Who are we exacerbated by? Not just in our own government, but what about the dictators in our world who are sending threats every other day to fight wars? The way that the world leaders rule today and throughout history are like tyrants and fools, unable to bring peace, unable to solve the problem of sin, not only in their citizens. They can't control their citizens. Not only that, they cannot control their own evil impulses, drunk on power, threatening wars and destroying their own people. It's nothing new. It's all child's play compared to what Jesus is doing. He's not like them.

[20:33] Jesus isn't drunk on power. Even if all the kingdoms of the world were given to Jesus, the people of those kingdoms would still be enslaved to sin and darkness. He's not just another earthly king because he can and does rescue us out of darkness. He's the only one who can, and he does. Colossians 1 says, in Christ, God delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. Transfer is only possible through Jesus. No one else in this world, no leader, no ruler, the greatest of them, cannot deliver us out of sin and out of darkness, but Jesus can. Colossians 2 says he did this by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, setting it aside by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them in

[21:41] Christ. This is what John the Baptist said in John 1.29, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the only one who can do that. More than that, he's not just another earthly king because he himself has no darkness in him. As it says in John 1.9, he is the true light who came into the world. Peter says in 1 Peter 2.22, he committed no sin. Neither was there deceit found in his mouth. Now try saying that about any other leader in the world. There's no deceit in his mouth, yeah. There's no ruler or king or leader on this earth like him. Is he not worthy of more than just the kingdoms of this world and their glory? Of course he is. His rule and his glory will not just be on this earth, and it won't just be limited to this age, but it will be throughout the entire cosmos in the age to come. Ephesians 1.20 and 21 says, God seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that's named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. Hebrews 1.2 says that God appointed his Son, the heir of all things. Verse 6, it says, let all God's angels worship him. Ephesians 1.10 said that

[23:19] God's plan for the fullness of time was to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him. Philippians 2.9-11 says, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that's above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, so that at the name of Jesus every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Revelation 11.15 says, then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there was loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forevermore and evermore. Hallelujah. Colossians 1 says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Hebrews 1 says he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. And 1 Peter 2 says, of those who pledge allegiance to Christ and trust in him, that you are a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

[24:50] You see, Christmas is about the coming of a king who's not just another earthly king. See what a king he is. See how he compares to all the other kings of this world. What a king he is. There's no one like him. As Peter said in John 6, Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life, and you are the holy one of God. And the gospels, the likes of Herod and Caesar, are just footnotes in the coming of Christ.

[25:23] They are forgotten like faint echoes of the past. As it says in these books that we read, in the days of Herod, the days of Caesar Augustus, but never once does it say in the days of Jesus, because today we are still in the days of Jesus. What year is it? A.D. 2025. That means in the year of our Lord. 2025 years reigning. We are still in the days of Jesus, and today across the world we see his power continuing to transform people and rescue them out of darkness for those who put their faith in him. So, folks, let me finish with this. Times might be hard. They certainly are for many people.

[26:14] Times might be unpredictable and troubling. The rulers of this world are waging war, making false promises.

[26:27] People come and go. Things in this world are constantly fading and passing. Rulers rise and fall, but his kingdom is ever-growing every day, and it is all going to culminate in his glorious coming again when he brings his kingdom, and he comes back, and he makes all things new. As it says in Revelation 21.5, Behold, I am making all things new. Let me pray.

[27:00] Amen. God, it is so easy. We give you thanks for these words because it is so easy to believe the lies in this world, whether that is our own eyes that only see a small, dim picture of reality, whether it is our fearful heart when we think about these tyrannical rulers of our day, whether it is our own lives, whether it is our own lives, and we see the frailty of our own bodies.

[27:44] Let us remember Jesus, who made no small mark in history but changed the world forevermore. He is alive. He is risen.

[27:57] He is high and lifted up. May we see him for who he is, and may we give him praise and glory forevermore. Amen.