Christ the King
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons:
With an Eye to the New
Both Luke (15:3-7; 19:10) and John (10:11-12) characterize our Lord as the Good Shepherd. And Matthew, Mark, and Luke all use the title of King to describe him. Actually, the two terms, shepherd and king, are synonymous, because kings, throughout the scriptures, are known as the shepherds of their people.
Thus our text is dealing with the rulers of Israel, and it is made up of two separate oracles (vv. 1-4 and 5-6) that have been editorially included in Jeremiah's long section concerning the kings and leaders of Judah in the last decades of her life (Jeremiah 21:11--23:8).
The first oracle, verses 1-4, pronounces woe on the bad king and leaders of the people who have not cared for the flock of Judah. The reference is probably to the despot Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.), whose evil deeds of forced labor and injustice and oppression are described in Jeremiah 22:13-17. That woe is pronounced on Jehoiakim indicates that he is as good as dead. But the oracle then continues with the promise that the exiles of Judah who were carried into Babylonia in 597 and 587 B.C. will be returned by God to their own country and have placed over them shepherds who will care for their welfare.
The second oracle of salvation, in verses 5-6, goes even further. In the future, the Lord will raise up a descendant of David to occupy the throne. He will be a righteous king, whose name will be "The Lord is our righteousness." He will rule wisely, with justice and righteousness, so that all in a reunited Israel and Judah will be secure and "saved." The latter word has as its root meaning "to be spacious," "to have room," and this promise is stating that a new Israel, returned to its land, will have room to live in full abundance and security. No longer will enemies threaten or destroy them. And no longer will they live under the judgment of God. Rather, they will live in favor with God, guided and sustained by his chosen ruler.
There are centuries of background that lie behind these passages. According to 2 Samuel 7, in the tenth century B.C., God promises David that there will never be lacking an heir to sit upon the davidic throne. And the life and fortunes of the people of Israel are from that time forth bound up with the character of the davidic king. He is the "corporate personality" of Israel. If he is a good king, therefore, ruling in righteousness and justice according to the commandments of God, the people will be counted righteous in God's eyes. But if the king is evil, then the people also will be counted as evil and will be judged by the Lord.
But what does it mean to be "righteous," according to the scriptures? "Righteousness" is always a relational term, and it consists in fulfilling the demands of a relationship. Every relationship -- with parents or siblings, with colleagues or compatriots -- brings with it different demands. The primary demands of our relationship with God, for example, are to love and trust him, so that we obey his commands.
But the primary duties of a righteous king in Israel are spelled out rather clearly in many passages, particularly in the Royal Psalms such as Psalm 72. The righteous king, says that Psalm, delivers the needy and poor, and has pity on the weak and saves those in need. He turns aside oppression and violence and values the life of his people (Psalm 72:12-14). In Ezekiel 34, in negative terms, the "shepherds" of Israel are condemned by God because "the weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them" (Ezekiel 34:4). Or in Isaiah 11, the righteous king does "not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth" (Isaiah 11:3-4).
The picture, wherever we look in the scriptures, is of a ruler who reigns in mercy and kindness, in justice and concern for even the least of his people. That is the king that Jeremiah promises that the Lord will raise up in the future to rule over his people Israel. Because the king will reign in such fashion, he will be a righteous king. And therefore his people too will be counted righteous in the eyes of God.
Throughout the centuries, the covenant people looked for such a king to be sent by God to rule over them. Of every ruler after the time of David and Solomon, they asked of the new occupant of the davidic throne, "Are you the one who will come? Or should we look for another?"
In such expectation, Israel was looking for its Messiah. For The word "Messiah" is taken from the Hebrew word, masiah, which simply means "anointed." Davidic kings were anointed in Israel, and the expectation of a Messiah was for an anointed davidic ruler, who would reign in justice and righteousness, in mercy and love for his people.
Israel's hopes for a Messiah to save them were dashed, however, by the Babylonian exile, when their davidic king was taken prisoner to Babylon. And yet, the hope persisted, and some even thought that Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, would be the Messiah in the post-exilic time of Haggai and Zechariah. But the ages stretched on, and in the New Testament, we still find faithful Jews "looking for the redemption of Israel" (Luke 2:38; cf. 24:21). The question we are left with, therefore, is: Did God ever fulfill this promise that we find in our text from Jeremiah? Did he ever raise up a davidic king, who would save the life of his people?
The Gospels tell us that God kept his promise. When Jesus of Nazareth rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, on what we call Palm Sunday, he was hailed as the Son of David (Matthew 21:9), and the disciples cried out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38; cf. Mark 11:9-10). And when our Lord was crucified, even Pontius Pilate had to acknowledge that Jesus was the King of the Jews (John 19:19-22), the long-expected Messiah from Israel, sent to save his people.
Certainly we find in our Lord all of those qualities that Israel said would characterize its Messiah -- the mercy and love, the justice and righteousness that belong to God's promised king. And in his righteousness, do we not find also our righteousness in the eyes of God? Because Jesus Christ took all of our wrongs, our evil, our sins, and our terribly human mistakes upon himself, and let them be nailed to the cross and buried with him, and then was raised triumphant over them all, we now are forgiven and counted righteous in the eyes of our God. So we can join in the confession that we find at the end of our text in Jeremiah, can't we? "The Lord is our righteousness." He is indeed. And because that is true, you and I can be saved.
Thus our text is dealing with the rulers of Israel, and it is made up of two separate oracles (vv. 1-4 and 5-6) that have been editorially included in Jeremiah's long section concerning the kings and leaders of Judah in the last decades of her life (Jeremiah 21:11--23:8).
The first oracle, verses 1-4, pronounces woe on the bad king and leaders of the people who have not cared for the flock of Judah. The reference is probably to the despot Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.), whose evil deeds of forced labor and injustice and oppression are described in Jeremiah 22:13-17. That woe is pronounced on Jehoiakim indicates that he is as good as dead. But the oracle then continues with the promise that the exiles of Judah who were carried into Babylonia in 597 and 587 B.C. will be returned by God to their own country and have placed over them shepherds who will care for their welfare.
The second oracle of salvation, in verses 5-6, goes even further. In the future, the Lord will raise up a descendant of David to occupy the throne. He will be a righteous king, whose name will be "The Lord is our righteousness." He will rule wisely, with justice and righteousness, so that all in a reunited Israel and Judah will be secure and "saved." The latter word has as its root meaning "to be spacious," "to have room," and this promise is stating that a new Israel, returned to its land, will have room to live in full abundance and security. No longer will enemies threaten or destroy them. And no longer will they live under the judgment of God. Rather, they will live in favor with God, guided and sustained by his chosen ruler.
There are centuries of background that lie behind these passages. According to 2 Samuel 7, in the tenth century B.C., God promises David that there will never be lacking an heir to sit upon the davidic throne. And the life and fortunes of the people of Israel are from that time forth bound up with the character of the davidic king. He is the "corporate personality" of Israel. If he is a good king, therefore, ruling in righteousness and justice according to the commandments of God, the people will be counted righteous in God's eyes. But if the king is evil, then the people also will be counted as evil and will be judged by the Lord.
But what does it mean to be "righteous," according to the scriptures? "Righteousness" is always a relational term, and it consists in fulfilling the demands of a relationship. Every relationship -- with parents or siblings, with colleagues or compatriots -- brings with it different demands. The primary demands of our relationship with God, for example, are to love and trust him, so that we obey his commands.
But the primary duties of a righteous king in Israel are spelled out rather clearly in many passages, particularly in the Royal Psalms such as Psalm 72. The righteous king, says that Psalm, delivers the needy and poor, and has pity on the weak and saves those in need. He turns aside oppression and violence and values the life of his people (Psalm 72:12-14). In Ezekiel 34, in negative terms, the "shepherds" of Israel are condemned by God because "the weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them" (Ezekiel 34:4). Or in Isaiah 11, the righteous king does "not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth" (Isaiah 11:3-4).
The picture, wherever we look in the scriptures, is of a ruler who reigns in mercy and kindness, in justice and concern for even the least of his people. That is the king that Jeremiah promises that the Lord will raise up in the future to rule over his people Israel. Because the king will reign in such fashion, he will be a righteous king. And therefore his people too will be counted righteous in the eyes of God.
Throughout the centuries, the covenant people looked for such a king to be sent by God to rule over them. Of every ruler after the time of David and Solomon, they asked of the new occupant of the davidic throne, "Are you the one who will come? Or should we look for another?"
In such expectation, Israel was looking for its Messiah. For The word "Messiah" is taken from the Hebrew word, masiah, which simply means "anointed." Davidic kings were anointed in Israel, and the expectation of a Messiah was for an anointed davidic ruler, who would reign in justice and righteousness, in mercy and love for his people.
Israel's hopes for a Messiah to save them were dashed, however, by the Babylonian exile, when their davidic king was taken prisoner to Babylon. And yet, the hope persisted, and some even thought that Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, would be the Messiah in the post-exilic time of Haggai and Zechariah. But the ages stretched on, and in the New Testament, we still find faithful Jews "looking for the redemption of Israel" (Luke 2:38; cf. 24:21). The question we are left with, therefore, is: Did God ever fulfill this promise that we find in our text from Jeremiah? Did he ever raise up a davidic king, who would save the life of his people?
The Gospels tell us that God kept his promise. When Jesus of Nazareth rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, on what we call Palm Sunday, he was hailed as the Son of David (Matthew 21:9), and the disciples cried out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38; cf. Mark 11:9-10). And when our Lord was crucified, even Pontius Pilate had to acknowledge that Jesus was the King of the Jews (John 19:19-22), the long-expected Messiah from Israel, sent to save his people.
Certainly we find in our Lord all of those qualities that Israel said would characterize its Messiah -- the mercy and love, the justice and righteousness that belong to God's promised king. And in his righteousness, do we not find also our righteousness in the eyes of God? Because Jesus Christ took all of our wrongs, our evil, our sins, and our terribly human mistakes upon himself, and let them be nailed to the cross and buried with him, and then was raised triumphant over them all, we now are forgiven and counted righteous in the eyes of our God. So we can join in the confession that we find at the end of our text in Jeremiah, can't we? "The Lord is our righteousness." He is indeed. And because that is true, you and I can be saved.
