Jesus - The Once and Future King

(with apologies to T. H. White)

 

June 11, 1999 ~ Pickering Standard Church

 

It is said that these words were inscribed upon the tomb of King Arthur: "Here Arthur lies, king once and king to be." Elsewhere it is supposed that Arthur will return in the hour of Britain's greatest need to save her once again from her enemies. C. S. Lewis, in his book "That Hideous Strength," paraphrases the legend to have Merlin, Arthur's mentor, return at a time when his faith and strength is most urgently needed. In keeping with the tradition of hero who once was and will be again this message is entitled: "Jesus - The Once and Future King." The basic premise of this message is that Jesus came to earth as a king nearly two thousand years ago and that, at some unknown time in the future, He will return to take upon Himself the kingship over all creation for all eternity.

 

This message does not begin with Christ but with a prophet and a king who both lived about seven hundred years earlier. At this point in time Israel (the ten northern tribes) and Judah (the two southern tribes) had already separated and gone their own ways. Israel would shortly be destroyed by the Assyrians but was at present, having allied itself with the kingdom of Aram, threatening Judah with destruction:

 

Isaiah 7:1-17 - When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

 

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, (Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field. Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood-- because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying, "Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it." Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'It will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'"

 

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."

 

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."

 

Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Immanuel means God with us.) He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste."

 

It is generally understood that the prophecy which Isaiah spoke before King Ahaz is one with two meanings. The most obvious from our point of view is that it is pointing to the birth of Jesus Christ. Matthew even quotes from this prophecy in relating the events surrounding Jesus' birth:

 

Matthew 1:20-23 - But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, (Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.) because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" -- which means, "God with us."

 

King Ahaz, however, was not blessed with the luxury of our point of view. He had an immediate need which, however great Messiah would be could not be met by a baby born several hundred years into the future. So the primary meaning of the prophecy to King Ahaz would have been a baby that would be born in the near future, likely from Isaiah and his wife, who would serve as a measuring stick against which this prophecy would be gauged. And to King Ahaz, watching this boy very carefully, he would be encouraged to know that the two kings who threatened him would be of no account before this child could distinguish between right and wrong. Sure enough, in 722 BC, both Israel and Aram would be overwhelmed by the same Assyrian armies which would later also be used of God to punish Judah herself.

 

Isaiah 10:33-11:16 - See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

 

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him -- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will lay hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. The LORD will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that men can cross over in sandals. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.

 

In this prophecy, in almost the same breath, the prophet is telling of two events widely separated in time. Remember that Isaiah lived about seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, yet he speaks of the Lord reaching out His hand a second time to reclaim His people who had been scattered in captivity under other powers. Yet at the time that Isaiah lived the first captivity was not yet a reality. The phrase "a second time" necessitates a first and that first was also in the future. So the first event that Isaiah is speaking of is the return of the children of God from the captivity and dispersion of Israel under the Assyrians and of Judah under the Babylonians. The second event is clearly defined by the phrase:

 

Isaiah 11:1 - A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

 

That this is referring to Christ is made clear by the words that follow:

 

Isaiah 11:2-5 - The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him -- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

 

By saying that the shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, a clear allusion to the beginning of the line of David and therefore of royalty, Isaiah is saying that this individual would be a king. In verses 2 through 5 Isaiah shows that this person will indeed function as a king for a king in his time did serve as a judge to the people (recall the story of Solomon confronted by the two prostitutes fighting over one baby or of the many times David is portrayed as deciding a matter between two parties). Yet the events detailed in the remainder of the chapter did not take place during Jesus' Earthly ministry but are understood to be the expectation of what will take place upon His return to Earth to take is loved ones home.

 

That Jesus walked this Earth as King is beyond question, His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the city of the Judean kings, is alone proof of His position. All the prophecies speak truly when they speak of the Messiah as a king but they speak both of His earthly kingship and of His Heavenly kingship. Just as Isaiah's prophecy of the virgin giving birth to a son has a double meaning, so his prophecy of the shoot from Jesse's stump has a double meaning. Jesus would come as king and would come again as King.

 

Isaiah 12:1-6 - In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."