THE KING AND HIS CROWN
‘Where is He that is born King of the Jews?’
He of whom our hearts are full was born a King, but wants to have His royalty acknowledged by each one of us, waits to have us crown Him as our King.
I. The royalties of Jesus.—There are other kinds of kings besides kings of nations. Every man who is first in a thing becomes a model, a leader, a king. In this light see (a) the royalty of Christ’s manhood—He is the first of men; (b) of His sonship—He is the noblest of sons; (c) of His championship—He is the grandest of heroes; (d) of His submission—He is the most patient of all sufferers; (e) of His exaltation—He occupies the sublimest throne, and has committed to Him the grandest trusts.
II. By whom shall He be crowned?—Shall it be by the Jews only, to whom He bore merely race-relations? or shall it be by those to whom He bears the higher spiritual relationship? He should now be crowned by (a) truth-seekers, seeing that He is the Truth, and the King of the Truth; (b) sufferers, seeing that He is the highest model of bearing suffering, and by right of His profound and varied experiences is acknowledged to be Lord of the suffering ones; (c) self-sacrificers, seeing that He is the perfect example of self-sacrifice, enduring the cross, and despising its shame; (d) sinners, seeing that He is the one only and all-sufficient Saviour, with royal power to pardon and redeem; (e) Saints, seeing that He is ‘King of Saints the Holy.’ Surely we belong to one or other of these classes, and may therefore be urged once again to crown Him as our ‘King of kings and Lord of Lords.’
III. What shall the crown be?—Many while He lived on earth would gladly have crowned Him with the mere earth-crown of the conqueror, yet at last they crowned Him with the crown of thorns. Our crown need be no circlet of gold, spangled with jewels; it should be a wondrous intertwining of (a) steadfast allegiance, (b) adoring admiration, (c) holy thankfulness, (d) hearty trust, (e) consecrated service, (f) unfailing love. These together may make our crown the very crown with which we may, each one of us, adorn Him ‘on whose head are many crowns.’
Illustrations
(1) ‘The Lord is our King. He is on His throne. We adore Him; we obey Him; we belong to His kingdom, and we are bound to extend it. But for the manifestation of His royalty we wait. He is coming. He comes to reign. His regal office is the theme of prediction. Jeremiah specially sketches the sphere of His authority and the nature of His administration. The Psalter grows in depicting the range of His dominion; the nations which shall own Him; the principles of His sovereignty, and the spiritual splendour of His rule. It is to this kingdom He taught His Church to look in supplication when He made it the theme of abiding prayer—“Thy kingdom come.” ’
(2) ‘Christ wields a world-wide sceptre. Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 14:9. The government is upon His shoulder. Isaiah 9:6. God’s promise to David receives its perfect accomplishment in Christ. “He shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne of His kingdom for ever.” Compare 2 Samuel 7:13, with Luke 1:32-33. Christ is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible. The blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:15. “Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” ’