Christ the King
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons
With an Eye to the New
Object:
The temptation of the preacher in using these passages from Ezekiel is to lapse into a sentimental discussion of the gentleness and love of Christ, the good Shepherd. We must remember, however, that the term "shepherd" in the Bible and the ancient Near East, most often refers not to a kindly herdsman, but to a king or to a leader of the people. These texts are therefore eminently appropriate to the Sunday celebrating the kingship of our Lord.
In his first 24 chapters, the prophet Ezekiel pronounces God's stern judgment on the sinfulness of Judah, a judgment that leads to its final destruction by the armies of the Babylonian Empire in 587 B.C. Chapters 25-32 contain oracles against the foreign nations. Chapter 33 announces the fall of Jerusalem to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar II in 598 B.C. In March of 597 B.C., the davidic King Jehoichin was deported to Babylonia, along with the upper classes and leaders of the Judean community, including the prophet Ezekiel. The temple and royal treasures were drained, and the puppet Zedekiah was installed on the Judean throne. Our prophet therefore speaks from his situation in Babylonian exile, after his call to be a prophet in 593 B.C., and beginning in chapter 34, he proclaims God's future restoration of his people.
If we look at the context of Ezekiel 34:11-16, it is clear that the prophet holds King Jehoiakim and the leaders of Judah largely responsible for the sins of the people (vv. 1-10). "... the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep" (v. 8). The weak and poor have not been protected, the hurting have not been comforted and healed. Injustice and idolatry have been rife, with the king and leaders seeking only their own selfish interests (cf. Jeremiah's similar indictment in Jeremiah 22). As the king and leaders have done, so the people have done -- a piercing judgment that could easily apply to our own time in the United States. The leaders of a people set the moral and physical direction and tone of a populace, and as a result, the people have suffered.
The Lord God, however, is in charge, not only of the lives of individuals, but also of the affairs of nations. And so to his compatriots in exile, Ezekiel announces that the time will come when God himself will be the King, Protector, and Savior of the exiled Judeans, as in reality he has always been King. God will seek out all of those scattered in exile and restore them to a good and abundant life in the land of Israel. He will find the lost, and minister to the hurting, and strengthen the weak (v. 16). But significantly, he will also keep an eye on the strong, so that they do not use their power and strength once more to oppress their subjects. God will establish justice in the land, and no one will be in want.
God's monitoring of any powerful leaders of his flock is further dealt with in verses 17-24. But apparently verses 17-19 deal with leaders of the exiled community. There have been dissension and injustices among the exiles, as we know from Jeremiah 29. And some of the exiles have not repented nor do they believe Ezekiel's proclamations (cf. Ezekiel 33:30-33). Therefore God will deal with those oppressors and dissenters too (vv. 20-21). But the prophet does not say what their fate will be.
Instead, God will set over all of his people a new davidic king to rule and guide their life (v. 22). The new David will be "prince" over the people, that is, he will be given his rule by God and established in it as God's representative. Further, he will be their one Shepherd, and the people will be one people, with no divisions among them. No other authority will rule their life. From the new David will come the people's sustenance and direction for all their living. The people will be faithful, for God will be their God (the first half of the covenant formula), with no other idol or deity claiming their ultimate loyalty. And none shall make them a prey.
The surety of this promise is affirmed, then, in the last phrase of verse 24: "I, the Lord, have spoken." The Word of the Lord will stand forever (cf. Isaiah 40:8). God will never take back his Word or ever let it go unfulfilled. He will keep his spoken promise and bring it to fruition.
This promise of God's, delivered by the prophet Ezekiel, is one of the many promises that the prophets include in their preaching about the coming from God of a new davidic king. The prophets proclaim that promise through four centuries of their preaching (cf. Isaiah 11:1-9; 32:1; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11-12; Micah 5:2-4; Zechariah 6:9-14; 9:9-10; 12:8). And the promise is entirely consistent with God's original promise to David that there will never be lacking a davidic heir to sit upon the throne (2 Samuel 7:16). In Ezekiel's time, the line of David has been interrupted by the exile of the davidic Jehoiachin, of whose end we are not told (cf. 2 Kings 25:27-30). Nor does Ezekiel know how God will continue the davidic line. But what he is given to know is that a new David will come to rule over the covenant people, and it is that Word, put in his mouth by God, that he faithfully proclaims.
It is no accident, therefore, that the New Testament begins with the phrase, "Jesus Christ, the son of David...." Throughout its stories it tells us that Jesus Christ is born in the city of David, as a descendant of that great king, that he is hailed by the crowds as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, on what we call Palm Sunday, as the "Son of David" (Matthew 21:9), and that even Pontius Pilate has to confess, according to the Fourth Gospel, that Christ is "King of the Jews" (John 18:33--19:22). God has kept all of those promises given us through the centuries by the prophets, and Jesus comes to us this Sunday as God's representative, God's Prince, God's only begotten Son, God's King.
We should note, however, that he is the King who rules over our life, and from whom we are to find our sustenance and our sole guidance. He gives and supplies our life, the New Testament tells us, and he guides our lives, not only through all of his commandments in the scriptures but also through his Holy Spirit, shed upon us through biblical reading and preaching and sacrament. It is by his Word and his Spirit that we are to live our Christians lives and by no other.
We should also note that in our text for the morning it is stressed that the new davidic king will establish justice in the land. Christ's rule is not only merciful, it is also firm and just. And so our King expects us to establish justice in our society -- to protect the weak, to help the poor, to succor the hurting, to keep the powerful from abusing their power. We have a long way to go before we realize those expectations in our country and in our world. But those acts are commanded us by our King, and if we love him and serve him, we will obey his commandments. Yes, Christ is our King. Let us render to him the worship and obedience that his kingship deserves.
In his first 24 chapters, the prophet Ezekiel pronounces God's stern judgment on the sinfulness of Judah, a judgment that leads to its final destruction by the armies of the Babylonian Empire in 587 B.C. Chapters 25-32 contain oracles against the foreign nations. Chapter 33 announces the fall of Jerusalem to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar II in 598 B.C. In March of 597 B.C., the davidic King Jehoichin was deported to Babylonia, along with the upper classes and leaders of the Judean community, including the prophet Ezekiel. The temple and royal treasures were drained, and the puppet Zedekiah was installed on the Judean throne. Our prophet therefore speaks from his situation in Babylonian exile, after his call to be a prophet in 593 B.C., and beginning in chapter 34, he proclaims God's future restoration of his people.
If we look at the context of Ezekiel 34:11-16, it is clear that the prophet holds King Jehoiakim and the leaders of Judah largely responsible for the sins of the people (vv. 1-10). "... the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep" (v. 8). The weak and poor have not been protected, the hurting have not been comforted and healed. Injustice and idolatry have been rife, with the king and leaders seeking only their own selfish interests (cf. Jeremiah's similar indictment in Jeremiah 22). As the king and leaders have done, so the people have done -- a piercing judgment that could easily apply to our own time in the United States. The leaders of a people set the moral and physical direction and tone of a populace, and as a result, the people have suffered.
The Lord God, however, is in charge, not only of the lives of individuals, but also of the affairs of nations. And so to his compatriots in exile, Ezekiel announces that the time will come when God himself will be the King, Protector, and Savior of the exiled Judeans, as in reality he has always been King. God will seek out all of those scattered in exile and restore them to a good and abundant life in the land of Israel. He will find the lost, and minister to the hurting, and strengthen the weak (v. 16). But significantly, he will also keep an eye on the strong, so that they do not use their power and strength once more to oppress their subjects. God will establish justice in the land, and no one will be in want.
God's monitoring of any powerful leaders of his flock is further dealt with in verses 17-24. But apparently verses 17-19 deal with leaders of the exiled community. There have been dissension and injustices among the exiles, as we know from Jeremiah 29. And some of the exiles have not repented nor do they believe Ezekiel's proclamations (cf. Ezekiel 33:30-33). Therefore God will deal with those oppressors and dissenters too (vv. 20-21). But the prophet does not say what their fate will be.
Instead, God will set over all of his people a new davidic king to rule and guide their life (v. 22). The new David will be "prince" over the people, that is, he will be given his rule by God and established in it as God's representative. Further, he will be their one Shepherd, and the people will be one people, with no divisions among them. No other authority will rule their life. From the new David will come the people's sustenance and direction for all their living. The people will be faithful, for God will be their God (the first half of the covenant formula), with no other idol or deity claiming their ultimate loyalty. And none shall make them a prey.
The surety of this promise is affirmed, then, in the last phrase of verse 24: "I, the Lord, have spoken." The Word of the Lord will stand forever (cf. Isaiah 40:8). God will never take back his Word or ever let it go unfulfilled. He will keep his spoken promise and bring it to fruition.
This promise of God's, delivered by the prophet Ezekiel, is one of the many promises that the prophets include in their preaching about the coming from God of a new davidic king. The prophets proclaim that promise through four centuries of their preaching (cf. Isaiah 11:1-9; 32:1; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11-12; Micah 5:2-4; Zechariah 6:9-14; 9:9-10; 12:8). And the promise is entirely consistent with God's original promise to David that there will never be lacking a davidic heir to sit upon the throne (2 Samuel 7:16). In Ezekiel's time, the line of David has been interrupted by the exile of the davidic Jehoiachin, of whose end we are not told (cf. 2 Kings 25:27-30). Nor does Ezekiel know how God will continue the davidic line. But what he is given to know is that a new David will come to rule over the covenant people, and it is that Word, put in his mouth by God, that he faithfully proclaims.
It is no accident, therefore, that the New Testament begins with the phrase, "Jesus Christ, the son of David...." Throughout its stories it tells us that Jesus Christ is born in the city of David, as a descendant of that great king, that he is hailed by the crowds as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, on what we call Palm Sunday, as the "Son of David" (Matthew 21:9), and that even Pontius Pilate has to confess, according to the Fourth Gospel, that Christ is "King of the Jews" (John 18:33--19:22). God has kept all of those promises given us through the centuries by the prophets, and Jesus comes to us this Sunday as God's representative, God's Prince, God's only begotten Son, God's King.
We should note, however, that he is the King who rules over our life, and from whom we are to find our sustenance and our sole guidance. He gives and supplies our life, the New Testament tells us, and he guides our lives, not only through all of his commandments in the scriptures but also through his Holy Spirit, shed upon us through biblical reading and preaching and sacrament. It is by his Word and his Spirit that we are to live our Christians lives and by no other.
We should also note that in our text for the morning it is stressed that the new davidic king will establish justice in the land. Christ's rule is not only merciful, it is also firm and just. And so our King expects us to establish justice in our society -- to protect the weak, to help the poor, to succor the hurting, to keep the powerful from abusing their power. We have a long way to go before we realize those expectations in our country and in our world. But those acts are commanded us by our King, and if we love him and serve him, we will obey his commandments. Yes, Christ is our King. Let us render to him the worship and obedience that his kingship deserves.
