Food
for Thought:
Jesus, the Son of Man is King of the World
A Summer
Sermon Series: The Jesus I Want to Know
June 17 , 2007
Dr. Mark Ruppert
Matthew 28:18-20
When I was a kid growing up I vaguely remember watching a TV
program that was the forerunner of reality television entitled:
Queen for a Day. How many of you remember that show? I don’t
recall them ever having a program entitled, King for a Day
and maybe that’s because back in those days, fewer women were
working out of the home, they were, in professional terms called
“Domestic Engineers” who ran the household, which was and is a
full-time job. And so the women were the ones who had a better
chance of being home during the day to watch such a program.
Speaking of King, one of my favorite Disney animated movies is
The Lion King and the song, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” that
is sung by young Simba, young Nala, and Zazu. Simba uses this
musical number in the film to distract Zazu so that he and Nala can
sneak off to the elephant graveyard, while expressing his wish to be
king as soon as possible. And while we are on the subject of king,
of course, we, in Akron have our own homegrown king, King James,
that is, otherwise known as LeBron James. Of course there is the
crowned royalty of England with the king apparent waiting in the
wings, Prince Charles. Oh, to be a King….
The Gospel of Matthew where our passage today is found, is said
to be the Gospel of Salvation History; the Gospel of the King and
His Kingdom. It has been said that Matthew’s entire gospel is a
Coronation Anthem. To explain what I mean, first, look
with me at the first chapter of Matthew and then we’ll look at the
last few verses of the book and you will see. If you have your
Bibles turn with me to Matthew 1 and following, “An account of the
genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of
Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of
Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the
father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and….” I’m going to stop right
there because, well, you get the picture. Makes good bedtime
reading, wouldn’t you agree? And you can keep reading on of who was
the father of whom as the family tree is established until you get
to verse 16 where it says, “and Jacob the father of Joseph the
husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”
And “Messiah” means the Anointed One. And when you look at
the last few verses of Matthew’s gospel, in particular, our passage
today, Matthew 28:18-20 we read, at the end of verse 18, these words
from Jesus, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me.” Sounds pretty kingly to me, don’t you agree?
But who is this one who is to be crowned King? When you
read the first chapter of Matthew we find Matthew giving this king
two names and then he goes on to explain both of them. First, turn
to Matthew 1:21. We read He is to be called Jesus.
The name Jesus means YHWH saves. Now this name,
Jesus, was a very familiar name among first-century Jews. Jesus had
been adopted as the Greek rendering for Joshua. But notice that
Matthew makes it very clear whom this Jesus will save and from
what. Matthew says in Matthew 1:21, “for he will save his people
from their sins.” This one, called Jesus, will be a Savior for He
will save; He will deliver His people from their exile, which was
the punishment from their sin. Was this exile a location, like
Jesus’ predecessors who were held captive in Egypt, or say, in
Babylon during the Babylonian captivity? No. This Jesus will save
His people from their satanic exile of sin and death. It is not a
physical exile but a spiritual one.
The second name that Matthew uses is found in Matthew 1:23.
The second name Matthew uses is Emmanuel.
The name Emmanuel means God is with us. Matthew 1:23 says,
“’Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall
name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
What Matthew has done in his gospel is bring together two
important Jewish expectations. First, Matthew is telling us that
God will save His people from their sins. And God will do this
through this one called King Jesus. And second, Matthew is telling
us that God Himself will come and live and breathe and reside with
His people. And, Matthew is telling us, God will also do this
residential thing through this one, King Jesus. And so Matthew’s
gospel celebrates the coronation of the Savior, the God-with-us King
whose name is Jesus. And he is both Savior and King. Matthew
celebrates this coronation in the beginning of his gospel and he
does so at the end. For in chapter 28 we find the risen Jesus
standing on the mountain in Galilee and He says to His disciples,
“’All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… and
teaching them; and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.’” Jesus uses that Emmanuel theme that Matthew used in the
beginning of chapter 1 at the end. “I am with you always,” were the
last earthly words Jesus every spoke. The Coronation Anthem is now
complete. And, as we discussed last week when we focused on
Colossians how, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
He has defeated the powers of darkness and evil, Jesus is truly a
triumphant King. And so, who wouldn’t want to follow and serve such
a King whom has defeated death and evil? Who wouldn’t want to share
in the fruits of victory and be His disciple?
Our passage today is called the Great Commission passage,
which is prefaced with one of the most important christological
statements uttered by Jesus- “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.”
Jesus said something similar in Matthew 11:27 when He said, “All
things have been handed over to me by my Father.” It has been
suggested that what Jesus is saying in Matthew 11:27 refers to His
revealing authority while Matthew 28:18 is in
reference to Jesus’ ruling authority. What is crucial
for us is that what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 points to Him as the
Messiah. For He is the one who has been exalted through His death
and resurrection to “the right hand of God” (Ps. 110:1) where He
now sits and reigns until “he has put all his enemies under his feet
(I Cor. 15:25).” If you look again at Matthew 28:19 the word
“therefore” is used- “Go therefore.” That very word makes it clear
that Jesus is not sitting back waiting passively in heaven for the
day when He will come again as Judge and King, but rather He is
already exercising His Lordship as God’s Son. This Great Commission
passage declares Jesus’ present Lordship.
The other day I pulled up the Cleveland Indians web site just to
see the roster and I found out that on their 40-man roster they have
19 pitchers. Baseball teams rely heavily on a specialized pitcher
known as the Reliever or Closer. He or she is the one who comes in
if the starting pitcher needs to be rescued and wipe up and finish
the job. He or she, in a way is the Saver because, in the
statistics box, it will include who the winning pitcher was and who
got the save. There isn’t 1 saver for the Cleveland Indians but
several.
Friends, there is only one person who can save you and me and
that is Jesus Christ. He is the one who was 100% God who became a
human being and so was 100% human who came to this earth and was God
with us- Emmanuel. He is the one, who, in 3 short years performed
His earthly ministry and who went to a criminal’s cross to suffer
and die and take your sins and my sins, the sins of the world on
Himself.
He is the one who saved us from eternal separation from God and
eternal death all because of His shed blood, for He was the ultimate
sacrifice for you and for me. Just when it seemed that the powers
of evil were winning and life was slipping away from Him as He hung
there on that cross at Calvary, the cross and what followed, the
resurrection showed that all authority and power has been committed
to Jesus. For the cross and the resurrection created the kingdom of
the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. And because He saved us from our sins
we have hope, we have a victory that can never be taken away from
us.
So where do we go from here? If we believe that Jesus is who He
said He is then Matthew’s Gospel gives us our marching orders. If
Jesus, also called the Son of Man is the King of the entire world,
those who worship Him are to follow Him. And if we worship Him and
follow Him then we are to do exactly what Jesus said in Matthew
28:19-20. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded
you.” Friends, Jesus has rightful sovereignty over the whole
universe, the whole universe. And it is up to us to be His
messengers, to be His disciples who bring the Good News of Christ to
a hurting world. “The Coronation Anthem contains a line of music for
every creature, and the harmony will not be complete until they all
join in.” (Following Jesus, N. T. Wright, p.30). Amen.
Key Points
Introduction:
The TV program Queen for a Day… What about King for a Day?
Oh to be King….
The Gospel of
Matthew is said to be the Gospel of Salvation History; the Gospel of
the King and His Kingdom
It
has been said that Matthew’s entire Gospel is a Coronation
____________
Matthew 1
Matthew 28:18-20
Who is this
one who is to be crowned King? Matthew gives this King two names:
First, Matthew 1:21- He is to be called ________ which
means YHWH _________
Second, Matthew 1:23-
the second name Matthew uses is
_____________ which means God is with ____
Matthews
Gospel brings together two important Jewish expectations
Matthew’s Gospel celebrates the coronation of the Savior, the
God-with-us King whose name is Jesus
Our passage
is called The Great Commission Passage
Matthew 11:27 refers to Jesus’ __________ authority
Matthew 28:18 refers to
Jesus’ __________ authority
This Great Commission
Passage declares Jesus’ present
Lordship
So where do
we go from here? Matthew’s Gospel gives us our marching
orders Matthew 28:19-20
Conclusion:
“The Coronation Anthem contains a line of music for every creature,
and the harmony will not be complete until they all join in.” N. T.
Wright
Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
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