Born to Be King (Part 2: Born to Reign)

"You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37 NIV). 

Jesus says he was born to be king (John 18:37). While his death was expected - and it was necessary to accomplish our salvation (John 3:14-15) - his death was not the final goal of his coming. Instead, his death is the means to bringing about what he was born for. Jesus said, "You are right that I am a king." Just a moment before this, Jesus had explained that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). In other words, he is king of a kingdom that has a different nature than the kingdoms of the world. His kingdom is beyond just the physical world, but includes people from among all the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 28:18-20). He is king of the kingdom of God. Jesus said earlier in his ministry, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (Luke 4:43).

The kingdom of God was a major theme in what Jesus taught. As he says in Luke 4:43, the good news of the kingdom of God is why he was sent. At times, Jesus described the kingdom of God as a specific time in the future when he would be reigning as king (Mark 9:47; 10:15; 14:25; Luke 13:22-30; 21:31; 22:16, 18). Other times, he described what God's kingdom is like without reference to when it would be (Mark 4:26; 10:14, 23-25; Luke 13:18, 20; John 3:3, 5). And at other times, he described the kingdom as already begun because Jesus himself was present (Matthew 21:31; Luke 11:20). 

By claiming to be king over a kingdom that is not of this world, Jesus is declaring that all that belongs to God is what belongs to him (Matthew 28:18). His kingdom consists of all the people who receive eternal life through faith in him (John 3:3-15). Because Jesus is the king, those who come to him and belong to him are part of his kingdom and they will inherit the future kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50-58). So as Jesus says, God the Father sent him (John 5:36-37; 6:57) into the world to declare the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43) and to declare that entrance into the kingdom of God is found in coming to Jesus who is king (John 3:3-15; 18:37). Even John 3:16 speaks to this: “This is how God loved the world: he sent his only Son to die for us so that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but will have life that lasts forever” (my paraphrase). A relationship with the King through faith in him gives you an eternal place in his kingdom. 

(continued next week)