Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Today, we are going to continue our portrait of Jesus.

Remember, we do not start with a blank canvas and portray Him as we please.

Instead, we draw upon His majesty as described in Scripture.

We have already talked about Jesus as the Lamb of God, Servant, Good Shepherd, and Faithful Witness.

This morning we will look at Him as King.

“Kings” in ancient cultures (Egypt, Caanan, and Mesopotamia)

Head of the nation

representative of their respective god’s will

shepherds and caretakers of the poor

son’s of their respective gods

divine beings

warriors

judges

“King” in Hebrew culture

Yahweh is king (Creator)

Eden was his cosmic sanctuary (Ps 104)

Ruling from heavenly throne (Ps 47; 93; 95-97) …Enthronement Psalms

Enthronement Psalms represented Yahweh as a Divine Warrior and Judge

Israel recognized Yahweh as king at one point (Ex 15:18; Num 23:21; Judg 8:23; 1 Sam 8:7; 10:19; 12:12)

Israel wanted a human representative

Prerequisites of king were:

God chooses him

he must be an Israelite

Dependent on Yahweh

husband of one wife

Love Yahweh by reading, obeying, and following the law all his days

a man of great humility

Yet God promised perpetual kingship through the line of David

Messianic expectations began during and after Babylonian exile

Conclusion:

Jesus is King of kings

Not only head of the nation but Creator and head over all things (Jhn 1:1-3; 1 Co 8:6; Col 1:15-17)

Representative of God’s will (Jhn 5:19; 6:38)

Shepherd and caretaker of the poor (Jhn 10)

Divine warrior (Rev 17:14; Rev 19:15)

Judge (Jhn 5:22-24; 2 Co 5:6-10)

Son of God . . .

This is also a common understanding of the “father”-“son” relationship between Yahweh and the king.

Thus the decree of Yahweh in Ps 2:7 that “You are my son, today I have begotten you” is interpreted as a formula of adoption on the day of the king’s coronation.

The king is understood to have a special relationship with Yahweh which sets him apart from other mortals.

However, this divine sonship is an expression of the sacral importance and functions of the king rather than the expression of a belief in the divine nature of the king.

The divine qualities of the king, his god-like abilities, are referred to frequently (2 Sam 14:17, 20; 1 Kgs 3:4–15; 16–28; 5:9–14; 10:1–9, 24; Isa 11:2–4).

Mettinger (1976: 260–75) represents the more general understanding that the king’s divine sonship was not understood in mythological terms as literally a divine descent, but rather an expression of a special relationship which began only at the time of the king’s accession to the throne.

Frick has recently (1986: 32) suggested on the basis of African comparisons that it was the kingship rather than the king which was thought to be divine.

The fact that the prophetic material does not attack royal claims to divinity is often cited as crucial, even if silent, evidence that the king in Israel was not understood to be divine.

Keith W. Whitelam, “King and Kingship,” ed.

David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 45.

When did Jesus become the Son? (discussion)

He is King!!!!!! (1 Tim 1:17; 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19; 16)