Psalms 2; 72; Luke 1:26-33; Revelation 1:1-20; 19:11-16
Christ the King
In those churches that follow the Church Calendar very closely, this day is called the “Feast of Christ the King.” It is a feast of very recent origin (1925) and was not followed with regularity until 1970. I include it because it seems fitting to me that the last Sunday of the Church Year should pay special honor to our Savior who, though he came in humility, shall one day return in majesty as King of kings and Lord of lords. (I say, “last Sunday of the Church Year,” as next Sunday shall begin the Season of Advent, the beginning of the new Church Year.)
Each one of the passages above deserves consideration on its own terms, but I shall focus on Luke and the “Annunciation.” It’s a favorite passage of mine because of the profound mystery it unfolds, that our Savior was “born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4). But even though God ordains that Jesus be born to parents of no reputation in a town with a poor reputation (“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46), the angel, Gabriel, makes clear that this baby is royalty: “He shall be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
An unbeliever might wonder if the angel had the wrong house, for we see nothing in the gospels that indicates that Jesus fit the description of the angel at all. And yet he was all the angel said he was. Indeed, the believer responds that Jesus did fit the description; after all, whoever spoke such words that have changed the lives of billions over the centuries turning thieves and murderers into saints? Whoever performed such miraculous signs? Whoever raised the dead? And most important, whoever rose from the dead? The Jews and Romans were right: he is a king, only of a different kingdom. And he reigns now from heaven over the hearts of his people. Oh, he rules the world through his unseen providence and care; but one day, what the believer only sees now by faith, everyone shall then see by sight. In Psalm 89:3-4, God says, “I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” This is what the angel announced, this was the prophecy that was fulfilled, this is the One who will one day gather us together into a kingdom which shall have no end, where we shall behold the beauty of the Lord and worship the King in the splendor of holiness (Psalms 27:4; 29:2).