Weekly Message
JESUS IS KING!
Nathaniel answered and said to Him, Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! (John 1:49)
Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the Cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.....Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, The King of the Jews.....Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
(John 19:19-22)
On a National News broadcast a few nights ago a segment entitled, "Nails Of The Cross" aired. Leading into the segment was the question, "Is this one more Biblical hoax?" Supposedly, two of the nails that had been used to crucify Jesus on the Cross had been identified. When I heard someone say that there is a "crucifixion controversy", I felt compelled to make it clear in this Online Message that Jesus is King.
I recently received a personal invitation from a couple that I know to come to a celebration of the death of Jesus Christ. The problem, I know that the couple does not believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Otherwise they seem to be very nice people. However, it is incumbent on all Christians during this Easter Season to stand firm regarding the deity of Jesus Christ.
In the passages above, we find that Nathaniel recognized that Jesus is King. However, the Jewish leaders repeatedly asked Pilate to remove the title, "King Of The Jews", from the Cross. Pilate refused. We could speculate on why Pilate refused to remove the title. Some would say that Pilate was mocking the Jewish leaders. Regardless of the reason, Pilate was right not to give in to the Jewish leaders' request. The truth is, Jesus was King! I marvel at how God can direct even a heathen like Pilate to acknowledge who Jesus really is even though Pilate may not have realized it. As Pilate put it, "What I have written, I have written."
This season leading up to "Resurrection Sunday" is an important time for us. We must not compromise on our belief that Jesus rose from the dead. We must stand by Nathaniel's revelation that Jesus is King of Israel. In fact we can go further and say, He is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords! Whether or not the nails that were spoken of on the News broadcast were genuine, or a Biblical hoax, is beyond my ability to say. But there is one thing that I can say without any hesitation. I can say, "JESUS IS KING!"
