Seeking the True King

Merry Christmas from all of us at Tipping Point!

Two thousand years ago, the Jewish people had been longing for a Messiah. When the Messiah arrived, in a humble manger in a stable near Bethlehem, they missed Him. Why? Because Jesus’ birth failed to meet their expectations.

But later, the Wise Men in the Nativity story found Jesus when no one else did:

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, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”—Matthew 2:1–2 NKJV

The “wise men from the East” recognized that Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was about the arrival of a King. They sought Him from afar and celebrated. They worshipped Jesus. They brought sacrificial gifts. They were the only ones who recognized Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Despite the common manner of His arrival, they celebrated His authority and honored the birth of a king.

This is significant, and says as much about the perspective of the Wise Men as it does about the perspective of the Jews.

How to View Christ’s Authority

We can learn from the way the Magi recognized Christ’s authority, because how we view Jesus and His authority will determine our entire relationship with Him—as well as our ability to experience Him in our lives:

…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.—Romans 10:9-10 NKJV

Romans 10 says that salvation comes when we confess Him and submit to Him as the supreme authority in our lives. Authority separates the wise from the foolish…the God lovers from the God haters…the sheep from the goats…and the spiritual seekers from the sleepers.

In fact, many people want a savior who isn’t a king. That is deception. Many in Israel wanted a Messiah who was a powerful warrior and could overthrow the Roman government, and that’s why they missed Jesus. They didn’t know what they needed most.

Jesus expressed His frustration with those who didn’t understand their need for a king:

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”—Luke 6:46-48 NKJV

The significance of Jesus coming to earth as a King is critical for us to understand, because a king is what we need most.

We Need a King

The biggest problems in our lives are caused when we try to be our own king. In our jobs, in our marriages, in our families, and as individuals, we want to rule. We want the authority. We want to make the decisions and call the shots. But this only leads to stress, confusion, strife, failure, and division, because we make lousy kings.

What’s the solution? We need to change kings.

We shouldn’t be kings, but sheep. One of the most common analogies God uses in the Bible to describe our relationship with Him is that of a shepherd and sheep, as in Psalm 23 or John 10. Jesus is our true Shepherd:

“…he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”—John 10:3-5 NKJV

Sheep are weak, defenseless animals. None of us know anyone who was attacked by a sheep or hurt by their sharp teeth—because they don’t have sharp teeth. They aren’t aggressive.

Furthermore, sheep can’t bear burdens. (Have you ever heard of a “pack sheep”?) Sheep can’t navigate, nor can sheep provide for themselves. They are extremely vulnerable.

And yet Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep to describe His followers throughout the Gospels. Later in John 10, after the passage above, He says “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” He wants us to be sheep because sheep need a shepherd.

In other words, we are designed to be led. We need a leader. We need a King—someone to bear our burdens, to guide us through life, and to protect and provide. The good news is that God has given us the best King in the universe. Being a king is Jesus’ eternal identity, as described in the Book of Revelation:

Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

—Revelation 19:15-16 NKJV

Jesus as King is the basis of His relationship with us. We only have to receive Him. We will never experience God’s true power or peace until we acknowledge Him as King.

Recognizing the King This Christmas

Like the Wise Men, I hope you’ll spend part of this Christmas seeking the King. I pray you’ll look past the gifts and stress and busy-ness to point your heart toward the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I hope you’ll acknowledge the leadership and Lordship of Christ in your daily life. This dramatically changes the way you see the world around us, the way you interact with people, and the way you relate to God.

May you and those you love find the true King this holiday season. 

Merry Christmas from all of us at Tipping Point!