A Heroic King

King of Kings • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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There have been heroes who willingly died for others, but none had ever risked so much; nor had any gained as much from it.

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Famed Heroic Kings

I began this sermon series on Palm Sunday when we talked about what it means to be a king. I hoped that you enjoyed the message as we concluded that Jesus met all the requirements to be a king. As we saw Him ride into Jerusalem, you and I (at least) were convinced that Jesus was the true King of Israel and that He ought to be king of our lives even today. His Kingdom is very real and very near.

Stories of the fabled King Arthur and the knights of the roundtable fascinated me as a kid. In junior high I learned about Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy. These two fictional stories captured my imagination. There was a strength, honor, humility, and brilliance in King Arthur. Aragorn (Strider/Ranger) from The Lord of the Rings was also strong, honorable, humble, but also mysterious. Both of their kingdoms were limited – 5th and 6th century England for King Arthur and a fictitious Middle Earth for Aragorn.

King Jesus (if we can dare to compare Him to fiction) is far mightier, far more understanding, far more caring, and far more heroic than these or any other historic kings of this world. On this Good Friday evening I want to spend a few minutes to help us realize that Jesus is a truly heroic King.

Jesus, King of kings

“Before the Resurrection, we encounter the Cross”. It is true that Good Friday is a day that commemorates the tremendous suffering of Jesus Christ. It is also true that the next day, Silent Saturday, was a day where nothing happened and without faith, the disciples sat in shock from the crucifixion the day before. These things remind us that we are not promised comfort and that, sometimes, silent days follow tragedy. But, don’t despair, the Resurrection is just hours away!

Two weeks ago I encouraged all of us to Take Heart! The verse that we considered was . A point that we should remember is that Jesus never guaranteed a trouble-free life. In fact, He said,

John 16:33 NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I mentioned King Arthur and King Aragorn earlier. While the ladies may be watching more Hallmark, the guys are likely watching more war movies, Marvel, DC Comics like Batman, or stories of the Vikings. These are stories of heroes. Often in a heroic story there will be a scene when the hero stands above the battlefield and places a flag, lifts a hammer, or extends a sword. He is our hero and adrenalin pumps through his veins.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”.

This evening I would like to turn our attention to the amazing heart and strength of our King and Hero, Jesus Christ. On Good Friday, our hero was nailed to a cross. It seemed he had lost but the battle wasn’t over!

John 19:19 NIV

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews.

The Romans laughed, and the Jews demanded the sign be taken down. Jesus remained silent. In , the Apostle John would have a prophetic dream that showed the ultimate end of the battle.

(NIV) 19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews.

Revelation 19:11–16 NIV

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

The Romans laughed, and the Jews demanded the sign be taken down. Jesus remained silent. In , the Apostle John would have a prophetic dream that showed the ultimate end of the battle.

I posted on Facebook a segment of a sermon by S. M. Lockridge earlier this week that was called, “That’s my King”. I hope you heard it. I’m going to just give you the first and last section,

(NIV) 11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

I posted on Facebook a segment of a sermon by S. M. Lockridge earlier this week that was called, “That’s my King”. I hope you heard it. I’m going to just give you the first and last section,

"The Bible says my King is a seven-way king.. He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king.. He's the King of Israel; that's a national King.. He's the King of Righteousness. He's the King of the Ages.. He's the King of Heaven. He's the King of Glory. He's the King of Kings, and He's the Lord of Lords. That's my King. Well. I wonder, do you know Him?...

Well, you can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hand. You can't out live Him, And you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him, And the grave couldn't hold Him. Yea!, that's my King, that's my King.

A Hero’s Story

I’ve heard, easily, dozens of heroic stories of men and women who fought for their lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mogadishu, Croatia, Vietnam, and Central America. I’ve looked into the eyes of men and women struggling with parts of a hero’s story that I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing this morning. There is a scene at the end of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy that I really understand. The heroes, Frodo and Sam, are back in the Shire with their childhood friends who have no idea of what had happened in the larger world. Frodo and Sam look at one another. Each knows of the cost paid for peace, they know of the pain required for peace, and they understand that their friends, community, and people of not just the Shire needed to be protected by a hero.

As Jesus hung on the Cross underneath the sign that nobody truly understood, He was paying the cost, bearing the pain, and defending the weak as our Hero – the greatest hero this world will ever know.

At a Personal Price

Jesus experienced all possible types of suffering on the cross — spiritual, physical and emotional. prophetically described the scene:

Isaiah 53:3–5 NIV

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:3-5

Physically, of course…emotionally, denied by those closest to him and separated from His Father…so spiritually exhausted that He had asked his friends to pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

(NIV) 3He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

But Jesus knew that His death on the Cross would break the power of death over each and every one of us. The author of Hebrews put it this way:

Hebrews 2:14–18 NIV

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus is our Hero who, knowing that His actions would cost him His life, did it anyway as an atonement for our sins.

(NIV) 14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.

17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus is our Hero who, knowing that His actions would cost him His life, did it anyway as an atonement for our sins.

Personal Scars

My friend and mentor, Dave Roever, was nearly killed in Vietnam when a sniper hit his hand that was holding a phosphorus grenade. It is a miracle that Dave lived through the attack. It is even a greater miracle that he survived debridement in the hospital and the dozens of surgeries since. Decades after the attack, he wrote a book called, “Scars That Heal”. His life has been about using his scars to help others. One of the points that he makes is that “scars are evidence that a healing has taken place.”

Preston Ulmer asks this question in his article, The Cross and Our Deepest Questions, “I’ve always found it curious that the glorified body of Christ retained its scars. We don’t know much about what the resurrected Lord looked like, but Scripture seems to indicate He had scars (). It’s as if the Resurrection is insufficient without the Cross, and the Cross is entirely worthless without the Resurrection.”

I know that this is painting with too broad of a brush, but the heroes that I have met would be far more likely to say that they would do it all again if they were asked to. Jesus clearly understood what there was to gain, so much that He willingly came as a man to become a sacrifice for each of us.

Defending the Weak

As the Allies advanced into Germany they came across a horror no one had imagined. They found camps of emaciated men and women whose ribs stuck out. They were concentration camps were the Germans had murdered, experimented on, starved, and exploited Jewish citizens. No longer able to defend themselves, they needed a hero.

Colossians 2:15 NIV

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

is a graphic description of the Messiah and the struggle that He endured through the torture of the Cross. As the Psalm moves into the final words, the object becomes the desperate cry of those who were imprisoned by sin and suffering. It reveals the heart of a heroic King who charges in to rescue the helpless.

(NIV) 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Psalm 22:24–26 NIV

For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!

As I read those verses, I imagine the faces of the emaciated prisoners of the concentration camps seeing their saviors dressed in American and British uniforms. I can also appreciate the man or woman destroyed by the evil kings of this world. They have been ravaged but as they realize that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords. And, He died from each of them….each of us.

(NIV) 24For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

25From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!

That’s My King!

Many years ago I chose Jesus to be my King. Over and over, as I consider the amazing grace and mercy of my King I am overwhelmed.

“In his children’s classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis described a grim season in the land of Narnia: “always winter, but it never gets to Christmas.” Similarly, it felt like the Crucifixion was the end of the story. Where was Easter?

Because of our Heroic King, we no longer live in a world that is always winter and never Christmas. He conquered death through His death on the Cross. It would be a tragic mistake for us to leave Jesus on the Cross. It would miss the point. For the greatest act in history to have taken place, Jesus acted as our heroic King, embraced the pain and scars, and advanced into the dark where no one else could go.

On this Good Friday let’s conclude with a picture of Jesus on the top of the mountain surrounded by dead enemies –

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 NIV

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(NIV) 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

55“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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