WHAT MAKES YOU KNEEL AT THE CROSS? (2): The King Who Was Led There
“And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to be crucified. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS...Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ‘He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God.’ Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing” (Matt. 27:31, 37-44).
Jesus was the King of the Jews—though not the kind of king many were expecting. They were looking for a king who would free them from Roman oppression, restore the glory days of Israel’s united kingdom under David, and rule on an earthly throne. So when Jesus arrived on the scene, he was the opposite of what they had in mind. They expected pomp and glory—what they got was humility and service. They certainly weren’t expecting a king who “came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Certainly not one who said, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and give his life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). All of this was totally against what they had always expected the Messiah to be and what they had been told he would be like.
The part that really confused them was the cross. Jesus’ death deflated them, for they “had hoped that he was the one that would redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). Their dreams of an earthly kingdom, of Israel being returned to exaltation above all other nations, were shattered when Jesus was killed by the Romans. To those who expected an earthly, physical kingdom, the message of the cross was a stumblingblock (1 Cor. 1:23).
Before we throw stones at these ancients who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, we need to examine ourselves to make sure we aren’t doing virtually the same thing that they did. The Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus we have in our minds are not always one and the same. “Our” Jesus looks like us, acts like us, and associates with the people with whom we associate. What a shock we receive when we go to the gospel accounts and see him as he really is.
The Jesus of the Bible often offends “religious” people. We think of a God who sits in the sky pronouncing judgment upon sinners, all the while keeping his distance from them. And then we open the Bible and find Jesus dining at the homes of tax collecting extortionists, “hanging out” with social rejects, and allowing prostitutes to anoint him with oil. It is easy to ignore the biblical Jesus and embrace our own imaginative Jesus. An unrealistic concept of who Jesus is and what his life was about may cause us to do the same thing many Jews did—reject him when he doesn’t square with our preconceived notions.
We had better get back to the word and see the real Jesus and then embrace him for who he was! And who he is! A friend of sinners. And rather than letting that embarrass or offend us, we need to rejoice in it because if he was not the friend of sinners, then he could not be my friend or yours.
Jesus was the king, but not the kind of king the world crowns. Christ was a king who talked a lot about peace, which was a turn-off with many Jews. He preached peace (Eph. 2:17). This they could not understand. How was he going to free them from bondage by talking about peace all the time?
He promised peace. “Peace I leave with you, my peace give I unto you” (John 14:27). He promised peace even though he never spoke of revolt against Rome.
He produced peace. “And having made peace through the blood of his cross....” (Col. 1:20). At the Cross, Jesus showed what kind of peace he was talking about: peace between God and mankind.
He personified peace. “For he is our peace...” (Eph. 2:14). Christ does more than just give peace. He is peace!
The world seeks a king who fights, who upholds his kingdom with the sword, and who forces his kingdom upon his subjects. Jesus tenderly pleads, “Come to me” (Matt. 11:28-30). And though he has the prerogative of force, no one is forced. Imagine that—a king who pleads. A king on a cross.
Christianity baffles those with worldly minds. Paul said the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to those who accept it (1 Cor. 1:18). Salvation is found only by those who kneel before the King. What makes you kneel at Calvary? The King on a cross! It is not that people can’t believe in the King on a cross. They don’t want to believe it. They reject the very thought, which keeps them from understanding the point.
They are like Steve McQueen’s character in “Nevada Smith,” who saw a crucifix for the first time in a church building and commented to the preacher, “Whatever that guy did must’ve been really bad. That looks worse than a hanging.” Many in our world do not understand that Christ was punished for the crimes of others.
People might ask, “How could a king allow himself to be put to death that way?” In this, they miss the whole point. They don’t understand that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). The thief had it figured out (Luke 23:41). He realized that, although he was getting what he deserved, Christ had done nothing wrong.
Jesus the King humbled himself. He willingly left heaven’s glory for a barn in Bethlehem. He gave up everything for us (2 Cor. 8:9). Paul describes what Jesus did in Philippians 2:6-8: “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus, the King of Kings, had to give his life because we were that sinful. Sin had us in a predicament where our only hope was the death of a king. When you realize and appreciate that a king gave his life for your sins, you will indeed kneel at the cross.
Dewayne Dunaway
