A King Who Doesn’t Meet Our Expectations
What do you picture when you hear the word “king?” Maybe you think of the coronation of the British monarch that took place in the recent past. You picture wealth, pomp, and majesty. Perhaps you think of someone sitting on a golden throne wearing an ermine cape and holding a gold scepter. Maybe you think of a mighty and valiant warrior clad in armor and valiantly leading his soldiers into battle. Your first thoughts are probably of power and glory, might and honor. Those are our expectations about what a king should be. But what do you picture when you think when you picture Christ as your king?
Jesus is a king who doesn’t always meet our expectations. On the one hand, we think of the power and glory of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. We think of him coming again on the last day when every knee will bow, and every tongue confesses that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus as that kind of king meets our expectations. But what about the Jesus who was born in a manger; the Jesus who was crowned not with gold, but with thorns; the Jesus who continues to rule all things for his church, but still lets times of persecution, sorrow, and suffering afflict his people? This is a king who may cause us at times to question if he is really ruling all things for his church. This is a king who is a paradox. This is a king who doesn’t always meet our expectations.
Pontius Pilate found himself early on a Friday morning conversing with a king who didn’t meet his expectations. Sitting before him was a poor and wretched man who had been brought before him for judgment. He wasn’t rich or powerful. He had a band of followers, but they were few in number and not a mighty army. There was nothing glorious or majestic to Jesus’s appearance as he sat before the governor. So, Pilate questioned Jesus about his kingship and the answers Jesus gave only confused Pilate. Jesus was not doing any of the things that someone who claimed to be a king would do. He was not trying to seize power or liberate his people from the oppressive rule of Rome. He wasn’t ordering his followers to free him from the hands of Pilate. Instead, he sat meekly before the governor and tried to explain that his kingdom was not of this world. Pilate feared a king who would rouse the people against him. He knew what to do with that kind of king, but he didn’t know what to do with this king who didn’t meet his expectations.
Many of the Jews including the Jewish leaders didn’t know what to do with Jesus either because he didn’t meet their kingly expectations. Instead of being born in a palace, Jesus was born in a stable. Instead of amassing wealth and power, he lived a life of service and poverty. Instead of using his power to rule and conquer, he used it to heal. Instead of preaching a message of glory, he preached a message of selfless love. The people of Jesus’s day wanted a king who would restore their nation to the heights of glory that it knew under the rule of King Solomon and King David. Jesus did not meet their expectations because he did not come to establish an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly kingdom in the hearts of those who listened to his voice.
In the same way Jesus as our king today does not always meet our expectations. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2: It is as great as the working of his mighty strength, which God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and above every name that is given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church. We know that Jesus is ruling over all things for the good of his church, but as we look at the world today, we can be tempted to wonder, “Where is our King?” It doesn’t seem like things are working out well for the church. Believers throughout history have faced times of persecution and suffering. In our own country, we are mocked and ridiculed for proclaiming the truths of God’s Word. We look at our own congregation, see the empty pews, and wonder, “Where is our king?”
During times of persecution and suffering when we are tempted to wonder if our King is still ruling all things for the good of his church, we remember that our suffering is for our good. Our suffering keeps us humble by reminding us that the kingdom of God is advanced according to his wisdom and not ours. We remember that success in the kingdom of God is not a reward for our efforts, but a gift of his grace. Suffering gives us patience and teaches us to rely on Christ alone. Paul reminds us of this in Romans 5 when he says, “Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces
hope. And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.”
We think this because our human expectations are not the same as God’s expectations. Our sinfulness clouds our vision and warps our thinking. We want the glory and power of our king now. Like the people of Jesus’s day, we want Jesus to come and smite our enemies. We want Jesus to smash the nations with an iron fist and bring justice for the suffering we have endured. We forget that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. Jesus does not promise us glory in this world, but in the world to come. In this life, Jesus promises that his followers will be persecuted and suffer just as he did. Jesus says, “Remember the saying I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they held on to my word, they will hold on to yours as well. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name because they do not know the one who sent me.”
In the same way, the suffering of Jesus does not meet our expectations. We expect that a righteous and holy God would punish sinners. We expect that we need to do something to earn God’s love and forgiveness. But God did something unexpected. He sent his one and only Son into this world to be a sacrifice for the sins of all people. Jesus tells Pilate that this is the whole reason he came into this world. Jesus came to live a perfect life in our place. He came to willingly suffer God’s wrath in our place and die on the cross to pay for our sins. This is the truth that Jesus wants Pilate to understand. All people are sinners. We can do nothing to save ourselves. We need a Savior to rescue us from our sins. The only way to be saved is to have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to free the world from sin.
When Jesus talks about his kingdom he means his rule in the hearts of those who listen to his voice. The kingdom of Jesus is not about wealth or power. It is not advanced by strength of arms. The kingdom of God grows by one person sharing the truth of Jesus with another. It seems so simple and easy. And yet we know how difficult it can be to talk to someone about our faith. Satan attacks us on many fronts. He uses the kingdoms of this world to openly oppose and attack the church of God. He uses our own fear and guilt to keep us from sharing our faith with another. But Satan cannot stop the spread of the Gospel. God promises that wherever his Word is preached there will be results and hearts will be changed. Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it.
Jesus is truly a king who does not meet our expectations because he is far greater than any expectation we could ever have. By his life he has freed us from the requirements of the law by fulfilling them for us, by his death he has washed us clean of all our sins, and by his resurrection, he has given us the crown of eternal life. As we live in this world of sorrow, we will face times of persecution and suffering. We will be tested in our faith. But we cling to the certainty that Jesus has defeated all our enemies. Satan may rage against us, but he cannot defeat us. Christ has won for us the victory. We know that Jesus is ruling over all things for the good of his church in his wisdom. We seek to advance his kingdom through the spread of his powerful Word. And we look forward to that great and glorious day when our King will return with all his power and glory. We eagerly look to the skies and wait with expectant hearts for that day when we will be taken to the eternal kingdom of Christ our King.
Psalm 2:10-12 So now, you kings, do what is wise. Accept discipline, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, or he will be angry, and you will be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. How blessed are all who take refuge in him.