The King Takes the Throne

All three synoptic gospels reach an initial climax by describing Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah. This blog has previously addressed the Hebrew term Messiah and it’s Greek equivalent Christ. It’s a title referring to the anointed king of Israel. The prophets foretold that the Messiah who would arise from the line of David and establish God’s kingdom over all the earth.

The Jews divided history into two ages. During the present age, the powers of darkness held sway over God’s creation. But the Messiah would inaugurate the age to come. He would destroy the agents of wickedness. His reign would characterized by righteousness, justice, abundance, joy, peace and eternal life.

But immediately after the revelation of his royal identity, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that his kingdom would not come about through a military campaign whereby he would violently subdue his enemies. Rather, Jesus saw that the decisive victory over evil would require him to face torment, torture and ultimately a shameful execution. “From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matthew 16:21)

Jesus concluded by telling his disciples: “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)

It seems that this statement has confused many Christians. Our present world is indisputably filled with all kinds of evil. Surely, people think, God’s kingdom must be a future reality. Yet here Jesus clearly states that some among his audience would remain alive to witness the coming of the kingdom.

This consternation can be avoided if we pay attention to the gospel writings. We should begin by examining our English word gospel and its Greek equivalent euangelion. Most Christians are aware that these words can be translated as “good news.” We might use that phrase in any number of relatively mundane situations. But in ancient world, this term was used in a much more specific way. Euangelion denoted the coming of a mighty ruler whose reign would bring about a time of great prosperity & peace.

At the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire controlled much of the known world. Formerly the Roman Republic, the empire had been established in 27 BC by Octavian, better known as Caesar Augustus. In 1899, an inscription was discovered among the ruins of the ancient city of Priene, located in the Roman Province of Asia (Western Turkey). Dated to 9 BC, the “Priene Calendar Inscription” praises Caesar Augustus and celebrates the blessings of his reign. The citizens of Asia were so grateful that they changed their calendar so that the birthday of Augustus marked the beginning of the new year and signified a new era.

The text speaks of how “Providence…has set [all things] in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as savior, both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things…and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good news (euangelion) for the world that came by reason of him.”

The parallels between the Priene Inscription and the New Testament are stunning. The inscription praises Caesar Augustus as the god-man who is the savior of all humankind. His arrival on the pages of history, and the establishment of his kingdom, constitutes the good news. Caesar Augustus brought an end to war and ushered in a time of peace & stability. This is precisely the same language that the New Testament employs to honor Jesus of Nazareth. For the early Christians, the core content of the gospel was that Jesus had assumed the throne as the world’s true king.

Unfortunately, most Christians have been taught to think about the gospel only as a message of individual salvation: on account of Jesus’ sacrificial death, you can receive forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. This personal dimension of the good news is marvelously true. But if we are to comprehend the full scope of the gospel, we must learn to think much, much bigger. The euangelion is that Jesus has been enthroned as the Messiah. His kingdom will bring about the rescue & redemption of the entire creation.

Matthew records that Jesus began his ministry by declaring “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17) This succinctly summarizes the central content of Jesus’ gospel: the immanent arrival of God’s kingdom. Mark makes the connection between the gospel and the kingdom even more explicit: “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news (euangelion) of God. “The time has come,’ he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! (euanglelio)” (Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus made it abundantly clear that God’s kingdom was at hand. But precisely when did that occur?

Jesus’ so-called triumphal entry into Jerusalem was recorded in all four gospels. His followers clearly regarded this as a pivotal event. All of these passages are suffused with royal imagery. The Lord rode into the holy city upon a donkey, thereby fulfilling the words of the prophet Zechariah: “Say to Daughter Zion, “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Matthew 21:5) The crowds extoled Jesus by calling him “the Son of David,” an explicitly Messianic title. Luke’s version has the people crying out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38)

It should be noted that the triumphal entry is the first moment when Jesus publicly accepted acclaim as the Messiah. Prior to this moment, Jesus had made only veiled references to his royal identity, knowing that such an explosive claim would certainly to put his life as risk. It was only in private moments with his closest followers that Jesus openly revealed himself as the Messiah.

Of course, it would only be a matter of days before Jesus’ fate would take a dark turn. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, he fell into the hands of the Jewish leaders who sought to snuff out his life. Arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was brought before the High Priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing council. This confrontation reached a crucial moment when Caiaphas demanded that Jesus make himself plain: “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” (“The Son of God” at this moment is not an indication of Jesus’ deity, as in later Christian usage, but a Messianic title. See “The Christ, the Son of God” https://whyseekthelivingamongthedead.com/?p=6011)

““You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”” (Matthew 26:64) The Lord’s answer seems quite opaque to many modern readers. But for those who understand its Old Testament background, Jesus’ gave the High Priest the clear & compelling answer that Caiaphas demanded. Drawing on the language & imagery of the prophet Daniel, Jesus effectively responds, “Yes. I am indeed the Messiah. And you will soon see me enthroned in glory at God’s right hand.”

The gospels all clearly portray Jesus’ crucifixion as his royal enthronement, the moment when he is exalted as the world’s true king. (I’ve previously written about how the gospel of Mark in particular portrays Jesus’ crucifixion in parallel with the celebration of a Roman Triumph. See “The Astonishing Triumph” https://whyseekthelivingamongthedead.com/?p=206)

The details of the crucifixion narrative are well known, but it seems that many Christians have strangely failed to reach the appropriate conclusion. When Pilate hands over Jesus to be executed, he is taken into the Praetorium (the residence of the Roman Governor) by a company of Roman soldiers. The soldiers arrayed Jesus in a purple robe of royalty and bestowed upon his brow a crown of thorns. They presented him with a staff as scepter. Then they knelt before him and hailed him as king of the Jews. Of course, these were acts of mockery. But in the clear light of the resurrection, Jesus’ disciples understood that these moments of shame were paradoxically the unveiling of Jesus’ true identity.

When Jesus is finally nailed to the cross, the written charge against him is posted above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The gospel writers did not intend to leave us perplexed. They’ve shown us how the crowds extolled Jesus as the Messiah when he entered the royal city. The Jewish leaders condemned him as a false Messiah who deceived the people. But in spite of those who raged against the purposes of God, Jesus was nevertheless enthroned as king upon Zion. (Psalm 2) It turns out that his royal throne was an instrument of death: the rough-hewn wood of a Roman cross.

It’s quite true that Jesus’ death did not mean that the “age to come” had arrived in full. Both history and today’s headlines illustrate that God’s creation remains plagued by bloodshed, injustice & depravity. But make no mistake, the death of Jesus fundamentally altered the world. It represents God’s decisive victory over all the powers of darkness & evil. There is now good news to be proclaimed, for “the Son of Man has [come] into his kingdom.” And as the prophet Daniel wrote, “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”