Saturday, February 27
The Promised King
by Gary Avila
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." Matthew 2:1-2
The growth group that meets at the Halls began a study in the book of Matthew, while waiting to receive our materials from BILD International. In my study of Matthew, I found that there is an actual Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) written as a handbook, drawing heavily from the book of Matthew, to be a guide for the early believers. It was in this study I realized Jesus Christ came first as a King when He came to this earth. Like earthly kings, He had a pedigree and a birth record. As a heavenly King, He was prophesied through His ancestral lineage before they were born--Abraham, to King David, through the Babylonian Captivity, to the birth of the King of Israel.
My understanding of Jesus (Yeshua) simply casts Him as the gentle Teacher, who becomes the Saviour by His sacrifice. This is not completely accurate. If I were truly to understand His message, Matthew compels me to first see Him as the Promised King.
It is easier for me to understand Him as the Saviour and I am the sinner, or as the Great Teacher and I am the student. Even the disciple would be more accurate, because the disciple has to leave home to follow the Rabbi. The student goes home after his lesson. To say He is my Master and I am his slave takes my whole existence and brings my entire being captive. I am to be all of these things and can be to Him, His creation, when I first realize that He is my King.
The Magi recognized the King by a star in the East and came to worship Him. The Angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and they came. Why didn’t all Bethlehem of Judea, the City of David, come to worship the King of Israel?
They already had a King, a pseudo protector, and though they knew the prophesies of a coming King, a baby in a manger, without the herald pomp and circumstance, did not meet the cultural expectations in the tradition of King David and King Solomon.
When I first met Jesus Christ, I did not understand His majestic heavenly royalty and who He really is. He calls us all differently--a star, an angel, a still small voice--but once we know Him as Saviour, then we can know Him as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and then we can be to Him, His creation!
King Jesus, may You be highly exalted in my life.
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