“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.” Matthew 27:27-31
This week, we celebrate a risen savior. He is NOT dead….. but He is alive!
We call Him our King. His name is Jesus. There is no other name like His name.
One day, everyone will bow down and acknowledge His Lordship.
This is no earthly king that is bound by human limitations or tainted by sinful humanity.
This King is God almighty – the creator of the universe – the One that decided to robe Himself in flesh and be called Emmanuel (which the Gospel of Matthew tells us means “God with us”).
Multiple places in the book of Revelations, He carries the title “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
That means He is KING over every king and Lord over ever lord on this earth.
That’s my KING. This is who we worship.
Man could not stop Him. The devil could not destroy Him. And the grave could not hold Him.
That’s MY KING!
Even still, not everyone feels the same.
Many mock Him.
Many spit in His face.
Many use His name in vain.
Many choose the temporary over Him.
Many deny Him when there is great pressure.
Many walk far behind Him so nobody will know they are with Him.
Many will choose to say no to Him and yes to the crowd.
This is nothing new… God being rejected started all the way back in the garden. We see it throughout the Old Testament, and it only intensifies with the birth of Christ.
In the passage of scripture at the top, we see the mockery of Christ as He was being sentenced to death.
They didn’t believe He was really the King, so they mocked Him.
They stripped Him.
They dressed Him in royal colors.
They put a crown of thorns on His head.
They gave Him a weak reed in place of a scepter.
The placed a sign over Him “King of the Jews”
Everything about this was intended to make fun of Jesus as King. They didn’t believe it, so they mocked Him!
Spurgeon writes, “We can also decide to do the opposite of what these did to Jesus. Oh, that we were half as inventive in devising honor for our King as these soldiers were in planning his dishonor! Let us offer to Christ the real homage (reverence) that these men pretended to offer him.”
MODERN DAY MOCKING
When we ignore His commandments. His law, His word, we are no different than those in the crowd that were yelling, “Crucify Him!”
When we live a life that is not fully committed to Him, we are essentially dressing Him up in mockery as our King.
When we “pretend” to love Him, but love the things of this life more, we are placing a sign over his head “He is King of my life” in mockery.
When Jesus came the first time, many were not ready. And unfortunately, many chose to not get ready, despite multiple opportunities.
The world we live in today is no different.
Regrettably it is getting worse. The government has chosen to take God out of our classrooms.
Man is subtracting away from Christmas and Easter and making a mockery of His birth, His death, His burial, and His resurrection!
This world is no better than those casting lots for His garments at His crucifixion.
God forbid if the church blends in with this sarcasm of worship.
We must be ready for when He comes the second time. It is going to be a day like any other day. It will be business as usual.
“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37-39
Carson writes, “That the coming of the Son of Man takes place at an unknown time can only be true if in fact life seems to be going on pretty much as usual — just as in the days before the Flood.”
What was it like before the flood? What was Jesus referencing in Matthew like the days of Noah?
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8
There was one man amongst all on the earth that found favor with God. His name was Noah. When Noah built a boat for nearly 100 years, he was preaching a sermon to all those that were mocking God.
Flood is coming. Flood is coming.
The message did not change. The boat was the only plan of salvation.They just kept mocking God and ignoring the preacher who looked really foolish at the time.
Let me be your Noah for a moment….
It might sound foolish.
Jesus is coming back.
While we are all about our business, our King is going to make good on His Word!
I have some exciting news….
Our King has conquered death, hell and the grave.
He did that for you, and He did that for me! He knew who I was before I gave my life to Him. He still died on the cross for me!
Because of that, every sin we have in our life – can be forgiven and washed away.
You don’t have to stay the same! I know, I know, it might sound crazy.
Listen to Paul….
“I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost, when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved recognize this message as the very power of God.
This so-called “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest plan of the wisest man, and God in his weakness—Christ dying on the cross—is far stronger than any man.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 & 25 TLB
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” Romans 6:4-9
The cross, the grave, and the resurrection equals our rescue plan.
The King of the world, humbled himself as flesh to die in our place so we would have hope not only in this life, but beyond this life.
He made a plan for us to work our way to Him…through repentance, burial in baptism, and being filled with His spirit! He wants to be King of our lives.
