Let's look tonight again at 1
Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5. For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. I'm beginning
my message again with this text, which declares that Jesus Christ
is the one mediator between God and men. He is the perfect mediator,
seeing that he is both God and man. And he is declared in Hebrews
to be the mediator of a better covenant, and that better covenant
is the everlasting covenant, the covenant of grace, the covenant
under which we are saved, those who are his chosen people. As
a mediator, we have seen that he has three offices. He's the
prophet, he's the priest, and he is the king. In the Old Testament
history of the nation of Israel, we see these three offices developed
in that same order, prophet, priest, and king. And we always
refer to these offices in this order, prophet, priest, and king. Abraham was the first man to
be called a prophet. And he was, of course, the progenitor
of the nation of Israel. God called him a prophet. And
then after 430 years, more or less, we know that with the giving
of the law, the office of the priest, the high priest especially,
came into being. And then it was several 100 years
later, I believe, that the first king was anointed, that is Saul
of Israel. So we see that progression in
the Old Testament history of Israel, prophet, priest, and
king. And then when we open up the
New Testament and begin to read about the Lord Jesus Christ,
we see the same in his life, that he was first of all a prophet
in the sense that he came preaching That's what the first chapter
of Mark declares unto us, that he came preaching the gospel
of the kingdom of God. And then we think about his crucifixion
when he acted as a priest, offering himself as the one sacrifice
upon the altar of his deity. The one sacrifice that the apostle
tells us in Hebrews chapter 10, puts away all sin by that one
offering, perfected forever, them who are sanctified. And
then, of course, at his resurrection and his ascension into heaven,
his exaltation, he is declared and manifested to be God's king. He appeared unto his disciples
after his resurrection, declaring, All authority, all power is given
unto me, both in heaven and in earth. Now we've looked at his
office as prophet, priest, and tonight as the king. And of all of these offices,
for myself at least, this seems to be the most difficult to deal
with, his office as a king. And the reason being, first of
all, because he's God the Son. We know what a king is. A king
is a ruler. A king is a monarch. And he is
God the Son who has always ruled over all things. Never as God,
as God the Son, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, there
never has been a time when he has not been the sovereign ruler.
as the Son of God. And then a second reason it's
difficult is because the subject is so vast. It's so vast, the
fact that He is King of Kings. And it's going to take not only
tonight, but another message at least for me to bring concerning
Christ in this office as King. And tonight, Tonight I would
like for us to see these four truths about Christ as a King. First, it was prophesied that
He would come as a King. It was prophesied through the
Old Testament that He would come as a King. And I'm going to skip
over the first prophecy of Him that God gave in the Garden of
Eden. Prophecy that we're all very
familiar with. Genesis 3 and verse 15, the seed
of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. Now, when you
think about it, that foretold him to be a king, prophesied
that he would be a king. The seed of the woman would be
a king because he would act in power. That is to bruise the
head of the serpent. In 1 John chapter 3 and verse
8, the apostle said, For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy the works of the devil. For this purpose
he was manifested. For this purpose the Son of God
came into this world. Why? That he might destroy the
works of the devil. Remember our Lord said he was
a liar? And he was a murderer from the beginning. And he came
to destroy his works, to defeat death and sin and hell. I want you to turn with me to
Numbers, the book of Numbers. We're gonna look at a few of
these Old Testament prophecies. I'm saying, first of all, it
was prophesied that he would come as a king. Here in Numbers,
if you will, chapter 24. And these are the words of a
false prophet. A false prophet. His name was
Balaam. But the important thing to see
is that God put these words in his mouth. He said some of the
most glorious things about God, didn't he? And yet he himself
was a false prophet. But he did so because God put
these words in his mouth. Numbers 24 and verse 17. He said, I shall see him, but
not now. I shall behold him, but not now. There shall come a star out of
Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite
the corners of Moab and destroy all the children of Sheth. A scepter shall rise. You notice
that word scepter is capitalized, isn't it? Speaking about a person,
do you have a scepter? I don't. I have a lot of things
at my house, but that's one thing I don't have. And I doubt that
any of you have a scepter. Why? Because scepters are something
that display the authority of rulership, a monarch. I know
that if you've watched any news in the last week or two, you
have seen the coffin of the Queen of Elizabeth, and on that coffin
were two things, a crown, a beautiful crown with all kinds of jewels,
and a scepter. And in that scepter, I remember
we saw that scepter when we were in London. There is one of the
largest diamonds in the world. She had a scepter. She had a
crown. She was a queen, a scepter. This prophecy speaks of Christ,
the ruler, who would come out of Israel. A king would come. We know that he is the king. And you know, it says before
that, it says a star. There shall come a star out of
Jacob. Now many people believe that
it was this prophecy concerning this star that the Magi, the
three, or the wise men who came seeking the Lord Jesus Christ
at his birth, it was this prophecy that caused them to follow, to
be looking for a star, to see that star and to follow that
star. And do you remember their question
when they came to Jerusalem? Their question was, where is
he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east and are come to worship him. Now, the answer, of course,
the religious leaders, they looked up, and let's look at that place
that they looked at in Micah, chapter five, so that they could
answer the question of the wise men, where Where is he that is born King
of the Jews? Well, they came to Micah chapter
five, didn't they? In verse two. Bethel, Micah chapter five in
verse two. But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou
be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee, now
notice this, shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler
in Israel. Who is to be ruler, a king, as
prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ who would come. unto God Almighty come forth
to him and to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting. You know who that is. We all
know that is speaking of the son of God who was made flesh,
who came into this world, who was born a king. And if you look
down in that same chapter, Micah chapter five, down to verse four,
we read, and he shall stand and feed. You notice in the margin
of your Bible, if you have a marginal reading, he shall stand and rule. This one that would come forth,
this one who's prophesied to be born in Bethlehem, that would
come forth unto the Lord God Almighty, To be ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting,
he shall stand and rule in the strength of the Lord. In the
majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide,
for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. If we
take the word that is in the text here, in the translation
I should say, he shall stand and feed, it makes us remember
that many times the kings of Israel were called shepherds,
the shepherds, a king over Israel, a shepherd. And included in this
text here and in this word feed or rule, It speaks of Christ
as the King who feeds the people. And that includes
everything that a shepherd does for his sheep. Everything. Everything that a shepherd does
for his sheep. What does he do for them? Well,
first of all, he finds them, doesn't he? He finds them. We didn't find him. He found
us as sheep going astray. He finds His sheep. He conquers
His sheep. He gives us a heart to follow
Him. By nature, men despise Him. We will not have this man to
reign over us, to rule over us. He finds His sheep. He conquers
His sheep. He leads His sheep. So thankful
tonight to know that the Lord God leads us through this world,
aren't you? Through this wilderness, just
like in the Old Testament, the children of Israel, they were
led through the wilderness by that pillar of fire and that
cloud. So the Lord leads his sheep and
he rules. He rules. He's a king. He reigns. He protects. He protects his sheep. He keeps
his sheep. Everything that a shepherd does
for his sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of his Holy
Spirit, he does for his sheep. They were given to him by the
Father in that everlasting covenant of grace. But the point is, these
prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of him as coming as to
rule, a shepherd, to reign, to rule. Then look back to probably
a better known passage in Isaiah chapter 9. In Isaiah chapter 9. For unto us, verse 6, for unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given. There we see his two
natures, don't we? He's a child who was born, but
he is a son, the eternal son of God who was given. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, and notice the very first thing that is
said about him is, the government shall be upon his shoulder. The
government. It speaks of him as ruling, reigning. government shall be upon his
shoulder." Remember, you read about the key of David. There
was a key, evidently it was an insignia of some kind that was
placed on the shoulder of a ruler. And the Lord Jesus Christ appeared
in Revelation chapter one to John with the key, didn't he? The key of death and hell. He
is a ruler. He was prophesied to come. The
government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.
Notice, the Prince of Peace, the King of Peace. Prince of
Peace. According to Strong's Concordance,
that word that's translated prince in this text means a head person,
captain. that had rule. Chief Captain,
General, Governor, Keeper, Lord, Master, Ruler, Steward. Could have been translated in
any one of those ways. But all speaking of the fact
that he is a king. It was prophesied that he would
be a king. And then look in the next book
in Jeremiah chapter 23. And verse 5 and 6, I've got the
wrong. I guess it helped to get in the
right book. Jeremiah chapter 23, I was in Isaiah. Didn't look
right. Verse five. Behold, verse five. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and
a king shall reign and prosper. and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth. In his days, Judah shall be saved
and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby
he shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. So that's
the first point I wanted to make tonight is it was prophesied
that he should come as a king. Second, it was announced that
he came as a king. Look with me, if you will, in
Luke chapter one. It was announced that he came
as a king. In Luke chapter one, we have
the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, the Virgin Mary, and basically repeating that
prophecy that we looked at there in Isaiah chapter nine, But in
Luke chapter one, verse 31, and behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus
and he shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father
David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and
of his kingdom there shall be no end. When you read that he
shall reign over the house of Jacob, we're talking about spiritual
Israel here. We're not talking about national
Israel. We're talking about spiritual
Israel. God's elect. God's chosen people. He reigns over Jacob. Jacob have I loved. Esau have
I hated. This refers to spiritual Israel
here. But notice in chapter two there
of Luke chapter two, that was the angel telling Mary that she
should have a son and that he should reign upon the throne
of David. And of his kingdom, there should
be no end. And in Luke chapter two and verse
seven, And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped
him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord
came unto them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.
which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. The Lord. You see, he was born
king. He was born Lord of lords and
king of kings. Remember, Brother Ralph Barnard
used to say, you can't make him king. God's already beat you
to it. He's God's king. He's God's king. He was born king. He was born
Christ the Lord. So it was announced that he came
as king. And third, it was acknowledged
that he came as a king. Now we've already seen that the
bad guy, the wise man asked where is he that is born King of the
Jews. But let's look at the fact that
after his baptism, he was immediately recognized as a king. Now, we know that in the Old
Testament, the kings, just like the priests and the prophets,
they were anointed to that office. And of course, they were anointed
with oil. God sent Samuel to Jesse's house, you remember,
to anoint him a king, one that he had chosen. And of course,
I think Jesse had, what was it, seven sons, and six of them passed
before Samuel, before Samuel finally asked, is this all of
your sons? No, there's one left that's out
taking care, wouldn't you know it, he was a shepherd. out taking
care of the sheep. And so he was brought in. And
what happened? Samuel poured the oil upon his
head, didn't he? He anointed him to be king. Now,
that oil, of course, pictured God the Holy Spirit. It was at
his baptism, the Lord's baptism, that God the Holy Spirit came
upon him in the form of a dove, and remained upon him. So he
was anointed to this office of king, not with oil, but with
what that oil pictured, that oil was a type of, of God the
Holy Spirit. And look with me in John chapter
one. And this is early on. Because
you know, in John chapter one, this is when John the Baptist
pointed him out. Behold, the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world. And then the next day, and then
the next day, just a few days later, notice here in John chapter
one, in verse 49, 45, I'm sorry, verse 45, Philip, he's one that I believe
had, no, Andrew and John, they followed the Lord Jesus Christ
after John pointed him out. And then Andrew found his brother,
Simon, and brought him to Jesus. And the day following, Jesus
would go forth into Galilee and find that Philip And saith unto
him, follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida,
the city of Andrew. And Peter, Philip findeth Nathanael. And saith unto him, we have found
him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write, Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him,
can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Evidently, Nazareth
had a bad reputation as a town. Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth? Well, Philip, I love the way
Philip answered, and this is the way when you made objections,
when you're witnessing to others about Christ, come and see, come
and see, come and see. And Jesus saw Nathanael coming
to him and saith of him, behold, an Israelite indeed, and whom
is no God. Nathanael saith unto him, Whence
knowest thou? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the
fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith
unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King
of Israel. So what am I saying? I'm saying
that he was acknowledged as king. He was prophesied. to come as
a king. It was announced that he came
as a king, and he was acknowledged, or it was acknowledged, rather,
that he came as a king. This was very early on, as I
said, after his baptism, after he began his public ministry. And then at the end, at the end
of that ministry, look back to Luke chapter 19, And this is on the first day
of the crucifixion week. The first day, Sunday, of the
week in which he would be crucified on Friday. So we've got at the
beginning of his ministry, Nathaniel's testimony that he was the king
of Israel. And now here at the close of
his ministry, plus we're not going to see this tonight, but
remember Pilate had That sign printed on his cross, the King
of the Jews in three different languages. But here in chapter
19, verse 29, it came to pass when he was come
nigh to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount called the Mount
of Olives, he sent two of his disciples saying, go ye into
the village over against you. In the which at your entering
you shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man set. Loose him,
and bring him hither. If any man asks you, why do you
loose him? Thus shall you say unto him,
because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent
went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And
as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto
them, Why loose you the colt? And they said, the Lord hath
need of him. And they brought him to Jesus. And they cast their
garments upon the colt. And they set Jesus thereon. And as they went, they spread
their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even
now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude
of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works that he had done, saying, blessed
is the King. Blessed is the king that cometh
in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in
the highest. That, of course, we know fulfilled
that Old Testament prophecy in Zechariah. Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just. having salvation
lowly and riding upon an ass and upon the foal of an ass. And the last thing, it was confessed
by him that he came as a king. It was confessed by him, by Jesus
the Lord. He confessed that he came as
a king. He confessed that to Pilate.
If you look there in Luke chapter 23, Luke 23, verse 1, the whole multitude
of them arose and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse
him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ the
king. And Pilate asked him, saying,
Art thou the king of the Jews? He answered him and said, thou
sayest it." In other words, that's correct. He was. He confessed to be the king. I pray that the Lord would bless
these verses to all of us that we've looked at tonight and help
us to