What Child Is This? The Great King!

Who Is This Child Born in Bethlehem?

For the past couple weeks, during the Christmas Season, here, we’ve been giving some special attention to the coming of Jesus, and specific things – specific roles – that he has come to carry out. Even though God raised up other significant figures in the Old Testament to be prophets, priests, and kings – we’ve seen that God also made promises that he would one day send a Greater Prophet, a Better Priest than all the others, and a Supremely Great King.

So far in this series, as a church in Mt Pleasant, we’ve already given attention to how Jesus has come as the Great Prophet, and the Great Priest. This morning, we’ll be see that Jesus has also come to be the Promised Great King. And even though this promise is repeated in many parts of the Old Testament, including Psalm 110, which we looked at last week – this morning we’re going to consider the significance of Jesus’s kingship by turning to Jeremiah, Chapter 23. So if you haven’t already, please turn with me in your Bibles to Jeremiah, Chapter 23. I’ll be reading verses 1 through 8. (This morning our focus will be on verses 5 and 6). But before I read our text, it really is important for us to ask God to help us to benefit from us word. So please pray with me:

[Pray and Read Text]

A Christmas Gift We Truly Need

When I was a kid, I would come downstairs on Christmas morning – and it always seemed like we had to wait a long time to open gifts. Because my sisters and I had to wait for parents to wake up. We had to eat breakfast. Usually, my mom would have us do a simple house chore before we could open presents – Parents, you might want to be taking notes here. And then finally, we’d gather in the living room, we’d read about Jesus’s birth from the book of Matthew or Luke – and then it would be time to open gifts.

And I want to be clear – I never received any bad gifts for Christmas. My parents and extended family were always thoughtful. But I’ll admit, there were times when I had a hard time appreciating the gifts I got. One of the most common experiences for me, was I would find a box under the tree, about 20 inches long, and 12 inches wide. And my mind would be racing – what is this? Is it a board game? Are there books in the box? Is it a sling shot? Is it model train?

And then I’d tear off the wrapping paper, and there’d be a white box underneath. And printed across the box in big, bold letters would be the words: J. C. Penney – or sometimes “Kohls” or something like that. And I’d open the box, and inside – sure enough, I would find clothes. Sweaters. Jeans, maybe. A polo shirt. And as a little boy, I found it to be one of the least exciting gifts I could possibly receive.

On my better days, I’d force a smile, and tell my parents thank you. But sometimes as a kid, I’m pretty sure I’d talk to my mom about it. And I’d say, “Clothes? I didn’t ask for clothes. This isn’t what I needed.”

But, of course, now that I’m an adult – now that I understand my needs better, and how helpful it is to have an adequate supply of decent clothes – I can appreciate now that I really was getting good gifts at Christmas. My family members were taking care of me better than I would have been able to take care of myself.

Now, the reason I bring this up, is because God has given us a Christmas gift that some of us may not think we need. God has given us a king. I think that for many people, for many Americans especially, receiving a king doesn’t sound like a gift at all.

But in our text this morning, the king who’s promised for us – he isn’t a lazy, self-indulgent king who lounges about in his palace. He isn’t a cruel-hearted tyrant of a king who intimidates his people into submission. But God gives us a king who’s truly great and good. Because He gives us himself. Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, he becomes our king, and he comes to guard and guide and govern his people, to ensure their everlasting happiness and peace. At first this may not seem like a nice present. It might not be obvious that this is good news. But as we work through the text, I want to point out five things that King Jesus does for us – five things that make his kingship wonderful and worthwhile.

First, King Jesus – his kingship – it confirms God’s faithfulness to us. Second, he confronts our arrogance. Third, King Jesus carries out perfect justice. Fourth, this great king conquers our enemies. And then fifth and finally, our king covers his people with righteousness. So these will be my five main points as we work through our text this morning. King Jesus confirms God’s faithfulness, he confronts our arrogance, he carries out justice, he conquers our enemies, and he covers us with righteousness.

King Jesus Confirms God’s Faithfulness

So first, this great king confirms God’s faithfulness. When we read through our text a bit earlier, you probably noticed that God’s promise of a great King is especially laid out for us in verses 5 and 6. God prompted this man Jeremiah, who was set apart as a prophet – God prompted him to write these words about 600 years before the birth of Jesus. It’s a rather remarkable thing, that God would make this promise about Jesus hundreds of years in advance.

But as it turns out, this isn’t even the first time in the Bible that God gives this promise, to send a great king. Nearly two thousand years before the birth of Christ, God entered into a special relationship with a man named Abraham, and God promised that he would raise up kings from Abraham’s family line, and that through his offspring – through one of Abraham’s descendants in particular – all nations of the earth would be blessed. And from Abraham’s family line, from the his great-grandsons, and all their descendants, God established a nation out of them. The nation of Israel. God gave them a land, he gave them his law, and he gave them leaders – he raised up kings.

The most prominent of these kings – the king who ushered in the Golden Age of Israel’s history – it was a man named David. I wouldn’t have blamed anyone if they thought that King David was the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. But as King David was ruling over the newly established kingdom of Israel, in all its power and prosperity, God sent a message to him. And in 2 Samuel 7, God clarified and reaffirmed the promise, that another king was coming – an even greater king than David.

And this promise to David – it was given about 400 years before Jeremiah. It was given at a time when the nation’s economy was still expanding, when its influence was still extending. And my guess is that it wasn’t hard for people to believe that God was serious about raising up a king who would be even greater than the glorious King David.

But over the course of those 400 years between King David, and the prophet Jeremiah, a lot happened. Within a few decades, there was political infighting and the nation split. The economic and military power of the Jews dissolved. Their kingdom had been influenced and overpowered by foreign empires. And at the moment, the Babylonian empire was on the brink of destroying their capital city.

To make matters even worse, most people in leadership had rejected God. And in their corruption, they were like bad shepherds, as we see in verses 1 through 3 of our text. Instead of caring for the sheep – for the people of Israel, here – these shepherds were oppressing them, abandoning them, and scattering them. The shepherds and the sheep together, were guilty of turning away from God, and provoking him to jealousy and anger.

And so by the time Jeremiah was writing, the promise of God to raise up a great king – it seemed nearly impossible. There was so much destruction from the Babylonian armies. The people had been reduced to such terrible poverty and humiliation. And their idolatry was so offensive – the wrongness of their crimes against God were so great – surely, God must be finished with them. Surely, there’s no way that God would still be committed to helping them. That’s what you might think.

And yet, here in Jeremiah 23 – God reemphasizes the certainty of his promise. He confirms his faithfulness. Even though the nation is ruined, and reduced to nearly nothing, God announces that he will not make a full end to these people. Even though the great tree of King David’s royal line is being cut down and burned with fire by foreign armies – God promises that from the ashes he will raise up a new king. Just look again at verse 5: “Behold the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch.” God will bring a new branch of hope and life. It will sprout up from the dry root of David’s family line. And the people of God will be raised up and restored and refreshed under the power of the great King.

And the arrival of King Jesus is proof of God’s commitment. If confirms his faithfulness, to follow through on what he’s said he’ll do for us. He has sent his great King, – even when raising up a king from David’s line seemed impossible – even after so much destruction and disgrace. And so we can be certain, that God isn’t wishy-washy. He doesn’t forget, or change his mind, or have second thoughts. But whatever God promises for us – he will perform it! God has raised up a great King from Abraham to bless – not the only Jews, but to bless all nations. The promised Son of David has risen from the dead, and has ascended to heaven to take his throne. And his kingship is a guarantee to us that God will keep his promises. King Jesus confirms God’s faithfulness.

King Jesus Confronts Our Arrogance

But the coming of King Jesus also confronts our arrogance. This is my second main point. In the second half of verse 5, Jeremiah tells us that this coming leader of God’s people “… shall reign as king…”

The fact that God has appointed Jesus to be king, needs to register in our minds. I’m sure that many of us understand that Jesus has some sort of authority position. And that’s good. But I think, as citizens in a democratic republic, especially – we still struggle to grasp what it means for Jesus to be king. Remember, a king is someone with absolute power over his domain. He doesn’t have to go ask permission from Congress. He can’t be impeached. But in the context of a monarchy, the king has full and final authority.

And so when a king gives his command, the correct response isn’t “Well, I didn’t vote for you.” The correct response isn’t “I don’t feel like it. Tell someone else to do it.” Instead, when a loyal subject of the king hears his decree, the only appropriate response is to say, “Your wish is my command.” That’s the type of authority that a king has.

But I think that many of us – if we’re honest – we don’t have a right perspective on the weight of Jesus’s commands. When we read the Bible we think, “That’s a nice suggestion,” or “Maybe someday I’ll get to that.” But when King Jesus speaks to us from his word, he speaks with authority. He isn’t just giving us wimpy little recommendations – but he is announcing a mandate from heaven. “He shall reign as king.” That’s what our text says.

And this is intended to obliterate our arrogance. Jesus’s royal greatness – it humbles us. The most helpful, healthy thing for us – for our comfort, our contentment, and our own personal character – the most helpful thing for us is to admit we are not the king. We aren’t in charge. The world isn’t about us. The people in our lives – they don’t exist to serve us or to make us happy. We aren’t the king. Jesus is. And the right response to this, is for us to kneel before him, morning after morning, day after day, and to say – here I am, LORD. Your servant is listening.

This means that some of us will need to adjust how we relate to Jesus a bit. Certainly, the Bible explains our relationship with Jesus in other ways, too – Jesus calls his followers friends in John 15(:15). And Christians are referred to as his brothers and sisters in Hebrews 2:11. I’m not denying these things at all – and it should affect our confidence with Jesus, and our affection for him. But being in a close relationship with Jesus like this doesn’t make him any less a king. Being Jesus’s friend, or being adopted into his family – it doesn’t do away with the expectation that we would respect him, trust him, and obey him. In fact, being close to Jesus should actually elevate our regard for Jesus’s kingship, rather than causing us to be less invested, or less reverent.

So let’s set aside our arrogance and our wrong perceptions about Jesus – and let’s honor him in a way that fits with his kingly office. The great gift that God has given to the Church isn’t boyfriend Jesus, or political activist Jesus, or rock star Jesus, or BFF Jesus. Instead, we’ve been brought into worship before the royal presence of a king. The king above all other kings, hand-picked by God himself, enthroned with power and glory, forever. You aren’t in charge of your life. I can’t call the shots in mine, either. Jesus is king. And we need to actually live like it’s true!

King Jesus Carries Out Justice

But here’s the third thing that King Jesus does for us. He carries out justice. This is my third main point.

The Lord tells us, later in verse 5, that his coming king “shall deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

In other words, this leader raised up by God – he won’t be corrupt. He won’t use his position to lie, cheat, and steal. He won’t abuse his power, to coerce and manipulate people. But he’ll be blameless – all the time.

And this perfectly relates to Jesus. Because during his earthly life and ministry – Jesus feared the Lord, and embraced the true wisdom of godliness. And his whole life was one of true rightness and morality. Toddler Jesus didn’t steal toys from his siblings. Never once did little boy Jesus hit other kids and yell at them out of selfish anger. Teenager Jesus never talked back to his mom and dad. Young man Jesus didn’t look at women in indecent ways, or lust after them. Hebrews 4:15 acknowledges, even though Jesus was tempted in every respect, he remained without sin. His whole earthly life was one of maintaining justice and righteousness.

And as our King, Jesus also carried out God’s law perfectly – he executed justice – when he went to the cross. Because there was a death penalty that stood against people like us – people who have disobeyed God. We’re law-breakers. And yet Jesus sacrificed himself, and he went to the cross to suffer the death penalty in our place. He had no sins himself. He didn’t deserve to die. But he came under the hammer of God’s justice, so that you and I wouldn’t have to. In a few minutes, I’ll explain the significance of this a bit more. But my main goal here is just to acknowledge that even when King Jesus went to the cross for sinners, he wasn’t putting justice aside. He faithfully carrying justice out.

But the justice of Jesus is even something that’s being carried out right now, from his position in heaven. He’s ruling justly and righteously over his people, in special way, in the church. I think it’s tempting to think that Jesus is just far off somewhere, on a tropical vacation in paradise, sunning himself on a beach chair. It may seem like he’s not really doing anything, because we can’t physically see him at work here.

But that’s not the case at all. King Jesus is actively carrying out justice and righteousness in his church. He’s given us the Scriptures, he’s called us together into a body, he’s given us instructions for worship, and for church government and structure, with elders and deacons – he’s set all this up because these are the channels that Jesus uses to exercise kingship over his people. He works through these things, by His Spirit, to instruct us, to protect us, to provide us with oversight and accountability. He rebukes us and disciplines us, he trains us and strengthens us. He calls us and commissions us to be good witnesses and honest workers as we go out in to the world. In all kinds of unseen, unappreciated ways, Jesus is continuing to work through faithful churches to execute his justice and righteousness in the land.

Now that being said, the corruption of human hearts and the fallenness of the world – these things aren’t gone yet. Even though the Church is ultimately ruled by a perfect king, the people of the church, even the preachers and leaders – won’t be perfect in the way they carry out justice and righteousness. And sometimes, there will even be people in positions of church leadership who abuse their power and cause a lot of distress – kind of like the bad shepherds of Israel who Jeremiah spoke about earlier in our text. And it might cause us to question whether this great King – King Jesus, is really alive and well.

But the reason why King Jesus doesn’t punish everybody, right away, for all their sins – the reason why he can deal patiently with slow-learners and stubborn sinners like us, is because there’s a future day that’s been planned, when all the world’s wrongs will be set right – Judgment Day. As God’s great king, Jesus will be the one seated in the divine courtroom to measure out justice, and to punish all evil. At this point, the court date hasn’t arrived yet. The earth hasn’t yet been brought before the throne of Jesus. But the Bible indicates that that day is certain to come. John 5:22, says that all judgment has been given to the Son. And Acts 17:31 indicates that Jesus is the one who’s been raised up to “judge the world in righteousness.” He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land – that’s what’s promised in Jeremiah 23.

And for people who have suffered evil from other people – this should comfort you. Evil people aren’t getting away with it, even if it sometimes like it. King Jesus isn’t turning a blind eye to your pain. But he’s keeping the books. He knows the wrongs you’ve suffered. He will repay every evil deed. Certainly, there’s comfort in this, for those who have been sinned against.

But there’s also a word of caution here for us. Because none of us are without sin. All of us done things that are unjust; we’ve been violators of God’s law. And so for as long as we’re off on our own, relying on our own resources, wrecked with our corruption and guilt, there’s no chance that Judgment Day will go well for us. The only way you can face that day safely is if you have a hero who can rescue you from your evil.

King Jesus Conquers Our Enemies

And the only hero who can do it, of course, is King Jesus. This brings us to the fourth feat that Jesus does in his kingship. He conquers our enemies. Look at verse 6 with me. Jeremiah tells us that, “In his days (in the days of this great king) Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.”

In other words, Jesus isn’t just a King who sits on his throne, to issue proclamations, and to hand out penalties. But we have a king who gets off his throne, and who goes to battle for his people – not just for the Jews – not just for the people of Israel – but he goes to battle for everyone who receives him as their king. This is confirmed later in the Bible, in Romans 10:13: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (who calls on Jesus) will be saved.” King Jesus steps away from his heavenly throne, he dresses himself in human flesh to go to battle on our behalf – and he comes to earth, to save his people. This is what we’re celebrating at Christmas! – not that Santa has come – not just that presents have come – not just that a baby has come to Bethlehem – but that a king has come to conquer the evils that stand against us, so that we can be saved.

But what enemies does Jesus conquer? What or who does Jesus overcome, and save his people from? When we think about enemies, normally, I think we usually just think about people – people who seem to be out to get us. But the enmity of people is very limited; because people might change – the person who used to be your enemy might apologize and become a friend. Or human enemies – they might move away, or forget about you, or have a heart attack.

But there are certain mortal enemies against humanity that don’t turn away from hunting us – they’re like wolves that snarl at us, and snap at us and chase us our whole lives long – enemies that do not cease to oppose you and I, and our well-being. And these are the enemies that King Jesus is most concerned about. When he came to earth – he came to conquer the devil, and death, and our own moral darkness.

And Jesus won the war for us at the cross. He suffered and died there, for our sins, so the Satan could no longer accuse us, so that the grave would no longer have a claim on us, and so sin’s power would be slain and subdued within us. And by rising from the dead on the 3^rd day, Jesus certified for us that his victory is real. And he proves to us that the power of his enemies (and our enemies) is fading away.

But King Jesus’s victory isn’t something we fully experience yet. Because he still isn’t ready to overthrow the world, and to establish the kingdom of his new heavens and new earth. That’ll all happen at his second coming. Jesus will come again as a conquering king, not just to vanquish his enemies, but to banish them forever.

But from what we can tell in Scripture, the reason why we’re still waiting for that day is because Jesus still has ruined sinners that he intends to rescue. Before he nukes the enemy’s stronghold, once and for all, he still has hostages he wants to save. And so as our victorious commander, Jesus sends us out to be part of his royal mission, to gather people into his kingdom. In Matthew 28, he declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”

Evil still rages in the world – so we should go out carefully. But since our King has won the ultimate victory, it should cause us to go out with confidence. Jesus has conquered our enemies. Our king will prevail against the darkness. And he will soon bring his kingdom for the lasting security of his people.

The Great King Covers Us with Righteousness

But King Jesus does one more incredible for us. King Jesus covers us with righteousness. This is my fifth and final point. Earlier, I already mentioned Jesus’s justness and rightness in the way he lived – his sinlessness. Certainly, this is a remarkable attribute for Jesus himself to have.

But look with me at the end of verse 6 – because the righteousness of our king isn’t just significant for him. It’s significant for us. Because we’re told that “this is the name by which he (our king) will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” Consider what’s being said here: the true and living God, Yahweh, the Master of heaven and earth – HE, will be our righteousness. And the promised king is held out to us as the embodiment of that reality. This King is connected with God’s righteousness becoming ours.

And the reason why this is significant is because in order to be in Jesus’s perfect kingdom, you and I, and whoever else – we need to become perfectly righteous somehow. Otherwise, if we just came as we were – if we dragged our selfishness and greediness in with us, Jesus’s kingdom wouldn’t be a perfect kingdom. So something needs to be done, to make us suitable – so that we can enter into the eternal satisfaction and security that King Jesus has obtained for his people.

And through the prophet Jeremiah, here, God tells us where to go, to find righteousness. We just need this great King. This great King, “The LORD our righteousness.” We need our great king, to spread out his royal purple robes, to cover our shame and guilt. We need our great king, to make a judicial pronouncement – that our sins have been dealt with at the cross, and that our souls have been dressed with his righteousness. That’s how we become qualified to enter into the perfect presence of God – it’s by receiving the Christmas gift of a divinely righteous king, who clothes us with his goodness. It turns out that getting new clothes at Christmas is a pretty good gift after all.

And so if you have Jesus as your King, your enemies are conquered, your sins are crucified and dealt with, your concerns about Judgment Day can be settled. Because at Christmas time, 2000 years ago, God sent you a king – the great king, who saves us, and who makes his people secure forever. So let’s thank God for the great gift of his Son. Please pray with me: