The Present Reign of Jesus as Universal King

Psalm 2                       1 Samuel 17:41-47                    John 1:29-51

The Present Reign of Jesus as Universal King

Little Johnny loved to have the old classic fairy tales read to him and his all-time favourite was “Jack the Giant Killer”, a Cornish legend about a young man who slew several bad giants during the reign of King Arthur. 

Because he loved the story so much, his parents decided to take him to see the stage production at a local theatre. At first, little Johnny was enthralled by the colour and the excitement of the occasion. But then, the “Giant” appeared on the stage. Suddenly the fun was over as little Johnny leaped into his mother’s lap and covered his eyes with both hands. You see, Johnny could listen all day long to the story being told over and over again, but when he was confronted by what seemed to be the real giant, he was terrified.

The Scriptures teach us that the lost dominion of Adam and Eve, created to be God’s vice-regents on earth, was recovered and restored by Jesus (the 2nd Adam, to use Paul’s words) who presently reigns as universal king, seated as he is at the right hand of God the Father. We say we believe this. We repeat this in the Creeds. We sing this in our hymns and songs. And yet, when the giants of the world walk onto the stage of our life, we are deeply disturbed. 

This is nothing new. Remember the patriarchs who said their wives were their sisters because they feared the rulers of the land? Remember Moses who at first did not want to return to Egypt because he was afraid? Remember the ten spies when they saw the giants of Canaan? Remember Israel when they faced Goliath? He had the whole army of Israel cowering in fear. Then one young shepherd boy dared to look past the giant to focus on his omnipotent God. Looking past the apparent enabled him to see the inapparent…what looked impossible at first, suddenly became possible.

We have now looked at two of the three so-called offices of Jesus, namely his priestly office and his prophetic office. Today, we are going to look at the final office of Jesus, his royal or kingly office. My hope is that our understanding of his present reign as universal king will be strengthened as we examine the Scriptures. 

Our Gospel lesson has introduced us to four titles used by John to describe Jesus: Son of God, Messiah or Christ, King of Israel, and Son of Man. Each one of these four depictions points to royalty. Son of God (a title also used for Adam in Luke’s genealogy as well as for Israel in Hosea) describes vice-regency. Messiah or Christ (both meaning the anointed one) speaks of the ancient practice of anointing the kings of Israel. The title King of Israel is clear enough, but it does help to remember that Jesus was of the royal line of David from both his mother’s side as well as that of his adoptive father. And finally, while the title Son of Man at first seems to simply refer to his humanity as it is used of several other biblical characters, it rises to a higher level when read together with a prophecy of Daniel, a passage we will look at briefly later in this talk.

John was determined to present Jesus not only as a Prophet and a Priest, but also as a King…not an earthly king though…no, Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament as a cosmic King, ruling over every part of creation.  So, let’s look a little closer at this office of Jesus, shall we? 

We will be examining the expectation of Jesus in the Old Testament, the exaltation of Jesus in the New Testament, the effects of the universal reign of Jesus, and finally at our personal experience of his reign today. 

There are a number of prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of a King unlike any other king Israel ever had. In Genesis 49:10, we have a prediction concerning the coming monarchy…bear in mind that this prophecy was spoken a long time before Israel ever had a king. In his parting words to each of his sons, Jacob had this to say to his son Judah:

“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him shall be the obedience of the people.” 

The first thing we learn from this prophecy is that the kingly line was to come through Judah and, as you no doubt know, Jesus was of the line of Judah. In the words of John, Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). 

The second thing we learn is that this reign would continue until Shiloh came. Now, while commentators disagree on what this refers to, most believe that the word is derived from the root form of Shalom or Salem, meaning peace. In other words, this king must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet…until he has brought in eternal peace. We will look again at this later. 

And then the last thing to note is that the word “people” is plural…the peoples. The reign of this king would be over all tribes, tongues, and nations.

Another interesting reference comes from the lips of a Gentile man who had been hired by King Balak to curse Israel in the wilderness. But, instead of cursing them, Balaam blessed them, much to the fury of the heathen king. In his fourth prophecy (Number 24:17-19), Balaam said this:

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession; Sier also, his enemies shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob one shall have dominion and destroy the remains of the city.”

Now I do hope that more than just visions of sugarplums are dancing in your head right now, because here we have a reference to the Nativity and Epiphany. When one looks at the wording of this prophecy one can understand why Herod was so disturbed when the Magi from the East came following this mysterious star. Herod was an Idumean, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Edom. This prophecy told of a time when a star would herald the birth of a King of Israel who would rule over all the surrounding nations…including Edom and the Edomites.

The next Scripture I would like us to look at, is Psalm 2. 

“Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’” 

Now, what is interesting about these first three verses is that they are used in a prayer of the Early Church in Acts 4:23-31. If you recall, Peter and John had been threatened by the Sanhedrin and told never to speak about Jesus again. This was no idle threat as the book of Acts shows clearly later, especially with regard to Stephen, but it did not dampen the spirit of the disciples nor discourage them from continuing in their mission to preach the Gospel. 

“For truly,” they prayed, “against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word, by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed this, the place where they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with great confidence and certainty. 

The Early Church knew what it meant to call Jesus King! They knew the true meaning of Psalm 2. “I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to me, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you.’ Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.”

This King had a promise no other king ever had before…that of universal dominion…and it was his for the asking. Paul tells us in Romans 8:34 that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God ever interceding for us. We know that Jesus always prays according to the will of the Father…so is there ever any prayer of his that will not be answered? If he is asking for the ends of the earth as his possession, will God not grant it? 

Let’s look at one more Old Testament reference before turning to the New Testament. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream which none of his wise men could interpret…except Daniel. The dream, if you remember, was of a statue made of various elements that represented four separate kingdoms, starting with Babylon, then Medo-Persia, then Greece, and finally Rome. In the days of the kings of Rome, Daniel said, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.” This kingdom was represented by a stone cut out without human hands…in other words, it has a divine origin. This stone then struck the statue and broke it in pieces…and then it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Jesus came preaching and teaching that the kingdom of God was at hand…and this kingdom began at his incarnation and it was established through his enthronement on the cross.

What some call the humiliation of Jesus began when he took on the form of a lowly servant and coming in the likeness of a human. This is the basis of Paul’s call for the followers of Jesus to cultivate the same humble mind of Christ. While Jesus never ceased to be God, at the incarnation he deliberately chose to live his earthly life never more than a human so that he could not only identify with us in all things, but also provide us with an example of how to walk in step with the Holy Spirit so as to live in total submissive obedience to God. 

But his exaltation began, not at the ascension, but at the cross as it was there that he fought and won the battle against Satan, sin, and death. It was there that his work of recreation was finished. “It is finished,” Jesus said, deliberately echoing Genesis 2:1-3. And then he too rested on the 7th day in the tomb. Whenever Jesus spoke about the cross in the Gospel of John, he referred to the event as his being glorified. It was at the cross that the determining judgment of God upon humanity took place. It was there that he, as the Lamb of God, took away the sin of the world. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. The cross thus became the great watershed of all time and it is, as such, central to the Christian faith.

Without the cross there can be no atonement for sin, and we would remain guilty before a Holy God. It is the acceptance or rejection of this one act of substitutionary sacrifice that ultimately determines the eternal destination of all humankind. We see this most clearly with the two thieves crucified on either side of our Lord. The one who believed entered Paradise with our Lord while the other who rejected him remained under the wrath of God.

In this the cross is glorious in that it accomplishes all that God intended to achieve through the coming of Jesus. Jesus came to save his people from their sin. Jesus came to deliver us from slavery to Satan. Jesus came to gain for us access to the kingdom of God. And he did this by dying for us on the cross. 

Yet the cross would remain a tragic failure without the resurrection. The resurrection testifies to our Lord’s triumph over death…because he had no sin, death could not hold him…and because he died as our substitute, there is no longer a sting in death. Because Jesus is risen, all those who are in him are risen and seated in heavenly places with him. And because we are in him, we can be assured of our own resurrection. This is what Paul and John meant when they called Jesus the firstborn from the dead…the firstborn of the new creation. In this he is the Second Adam…the head of a renewed and renewing humanity. As such the resurrection is glorious as it guarantees what was accomplished on the cross.

Yet, the resurrection would remain largely ineffective if Jesus did not ascend on high to take up his rule over all the ends of the earth. Daniel indicated that it was at the ascension that Jesus became the universal ruler. “I was watching in the night visions,” Daniel wrote, “and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming on the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” It was at the ascension that Jesus, the God-Man, took up his role as King over all the earth. 

And then we must also bear in mind that without the ascension, the Holy Spirit would not have been poured out on all believers. The Church would have been left powerless in her role as witnesses to Jesus. So, the ascension too was glorious as it led to the coronation of our Lord and King as well as the empowerment of his people to do his bidding.

All these things are glorious in and of themselves, but they are made more glorious with the sure promise of the consummation of all things when Jesus returns once he has triumphed over all those who oppose him through the witness of his Body, the Church. As Paul said, “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” Until Shiloh comes…our Lord’s second coming is glorious as it brings all history to an end and subjects everything to the Father so that God may be all in all.

But if Jesus is reigning over all, even now, what are the effects of this reign? Basically, three things. First, his reign means the redemption of all who believe in him. Second, his reign means the restraining of evil…Satan may prowl around like a roaring lion, but he is wounded and bound and therefore limited. And thirdly, Jesus’ reign means that all things will be restored. 

In the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13, Jesus explained that the field, representing his kingdom, is the world, the good seeds are the sons and daughters of the kingdom, but the weeds are the sons and daughters of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. It is interesting to note that the farmer refrains from pulling out the weeds to ensure that the wheat is not uprooted with them. This tells us something about the reality of our Lord’s present reign. At the end of this age, he weeds are said to be gathered out of his kingdom. But once the weeds are removed at the end of the age, the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father…all will be restored.

The reign of Jesus is not subject to anyone but himself. The salvation of believers is not dependent on anyone except our Saviour, and the final subjection of those who persist in their refusal to believe is according to his plan for the advancement of his kingdom throughout the world. 

Now there are, of course, many objections to this triumphant theology. I will look at only two. The first is based on the depravity of humanity. The argument is that if evil is present, there can be no kingdom. At first this argument seems logical and biblical, until one uncovers its basis. It is the presence of evil that becomes the determining factor, not the triumph of Jesus. I do believe the Scriptures teach us that Jesus reigns despite all opposition. There are weeds in his field…there are weeds in his kingdom…and they will remain there until the end of this age. 

The second argument is based on observation. If we examine the world today, does it look like Jesus is gaining the upper hand? This argument is usually used by those who believe that world history is doomed to end in chaos as Jesus returns to rescue his dwindling Church amid all sorts of calamities, disasters, mishaps, and trials. But Scripture does not share in this negative view of history. 

The author to the Hebrews wrote that God has put all things in subjection under his feet (this is in keeping with what Jesus said about himself – that all authority in both heaven and earth has been given to him). “For in that (God) put all in subjection under him,” the author to the Hebrews said, “he left nothing that is not under him.” (In other words, Jesus has supreme authority over everything in all creation.) “But”, and here comes the argument of observation, “but we do not yet see (or observe) all things put under him.” Can you hear the argument? As I hear the daily news, I don’t see evidence of Jesus reigning now.

But the author of Hebrews has an answer for this: we may not see evidence of his reign, but we do “see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour…” We live by faith and not sight, no? So, by faith, we believe that Jesus is on the throne currently subjecting all things under his feet through the reconciling ministry of the Church.

The second argument only stands so long as we keep our eyes fixed on something other than our enthroned Lord Jesus. We need to remember that Jesus never said things would be easy in this life. We are not to deny the presence of evil…the devil is prowling around us…but we are not to be paralysed by it. Jesus warned us that in this world we would face trails and troubles, but that we should rejoice in the fact that he has overcome the world! The world cannot and should not triumph over us! Remember how the Early Church faced persecution. They asked for more boldness to speak in the name of Jesus! John reminds us in his first letter that is our faith in Jesus…that steadfast and abiding focus on him…that overcomes the world.

Joshua and Caleb understood this as they urged the fear filled Israelites to take the land because God had promised them victory. David understood this as he faced Goliath. “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin,” he shouted to the giant. “But I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand…then the whole world will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hands.”

What giants are you facing today, dearest beloved brethren? Are you filled with fear because of the evil all around you? Do you feel more like the ten spies than like Joshua and Caleb? Are you more like Saul and his army than like David? When trouble comes your way do you run and hide, or do you ask God for more boldness to face it head-on? Where is your focus?

The opening chapter of the Gospel of John sets the triumphant tone for the rest of the Gospel. Before he tells us anything more about Jesus, John wanted us to firmly fix in our minds that the one he was writing about was the final and complete revelation of God, the substitutionary sacrificial High Priest who freely gave his life to deliver us from the curse, and the sovereign present reigning king over the universe. 

This is our God, dearest beloved brethren. Set your eyes on him and not on the things of this world. He is working out his purpose. He will bring to pass all he has promised. In the meantime, we have work to do. 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023