Sovereign King | Pastor Jake Sweetman

Well, we are wrapping up a series today called The Arrival of God. Who has enjoyed this time going through the Gospels? It has been so powerful. I was thinking, Pastor Ella, we could take all of the messages from the series and put it on like a cassette or a CD, a CD, and we could make it available to people. These have been some of my favorite sermons ever, honestly.

It's just been such a joy to study God's Word as we've been looking at God's arrival in Christ. The title of the message today is The Sovereign King. The Sovereign King. And again, we're talking about the birth of Jesus Christ, and today we're looking at it from the perspective of Luke's Gospel. Did you bring a Bible to church?

Yes. Awesome. Why don't you open up your Bible to the gospel of Luke chapter 1. We'll hang out there for just a couple of moments and then it won't be a lot of work for you. We'll just flip the page over to Luke chapter 2 in just a moment. Think you can handle that? Okay, Luke 1 and verse 1.

So at the start of Luke's gospel, he actually tells us why he's taken the time to write this account of the life of Jesus. And that's a pretty unique thing where the writer says, hey, here's why I wrote this. And so I thought we could start there, Luke 1, beginning in verse 1.

Luke says, "...many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us." That is, the stuff that God has accomplished in our midst. "...just as these things were handed down to us by those who from the first, who from the beginning, were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word." That is, up-close followers of Jesus Christ.

So with all this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus. If you want to start addressing me as most excellent Jake from now on, like that'd be, I'm just kidding. Maybe try that amongst one another. Most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know. I prayed to the Lord to humble me today. I already blew it.

Okay. So that you may know. So that you may know... Here's why I wrote this to you, Theophilus. So that you may know the certainty of the things that you have been taught. So Luke says, I've written this orderly account. And really, Luke's orderly account is a two-part volume... comprising two books in your New Testament.

The first one is the gospel according to Luke, which we're hanging out in today. And the second one is the fifth book in your New Testament called the book of Acts. Luke, Acts go together, which is why the book of Acts picks up right where the gospel of Luke leaves off. And together, Luke and Acts tell the story of Jesus and the story of Jesus's church.

Okay? It's one unified story of Jesus and His church. And specifically, they trace something really awesome. And that's how the good news of Jesus the King and His kingdom managed to go from such humble beginnings in a tiny town outside of Jerusalem... all the way to being proclaimed throughout the entirety of the Roman Empire, even being proclaimed from within the heart, the capital city of Rome itself.

All of that happened in just a handful of decades. That's the story that Luke, Acts, tells us. How the gospel went from complete insignificance to being heralded throughout the biggest empire the world has ever known. And obviously Jesus is the focal point of that story. And Luke is writing this account to a man named Theophilus. so that he may have certainty about the things that he's been taught in relation to Jesus and in relation to the church.

Now, we don't know who Theophilus is exactly, but his name means friend of God, which I think is pretty awesome. It's possible that Theophilus may have been a high-ranking Roman official. It's likely that he was a wealthy guy who actually funded Luke's ability to be able to do this research and have all the interviews and write down this account of the life of Jesus and his church.

What I think is most significant for us today in regards to Theophilus is the fact that this guy knew about Jesus. that Theophilus was probably already a believer, and he wants Luke to write down this account of the life of Jesus Christ, so that he can see all of the divinely woven details that God has woven into the life of His Son, so that as Theophilus reads that, he can be strengthened in his faith. Right? And we need that as well.

And we actually found that over the course of the last several weeks as we've been traveling throughout this series. As we rehearse the gospel story of Jesus Christ, our faith is in fact strengthened. We need to let the divinely woven details of Jesus' life help us grasp the cosmic plan that God has accomplished through Christ. And when we do this, it accomplishes two things.

Number one, it helps us to grow increasingly more in awe of Jesus. And it also helps us to see how to live our lives in light of Jesus. In other words, rehearsing the gospel aids us in our worship and in our discipleship. And I think that that's what Luke was aiming to do for Theophilus. And not just for him, but for every friend of God that picks up this account of the life of Jesus and his church.

And so with that little bit of background, let's turn the page over to Luke chapter 2, which tells us the story of Jesus' birth and sets us up to trace a really significant theme about Christ. Luke 2 and verse 1 says this, "...in those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world." This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. Or maybe your translation says before Quirinius was governor, and that probably is the more accurate translation.

So we talked briefly last week about this guy, Caesar Augustus. But it's worth saying a little bit more about him today because he features so heavily in this account of the birth of Jesus. Caesar Augustus' real name was actually Octavian. And Octavian was the nephew of Julius Caesar. And when Julius Caesar was assassinated, Octavian wrestled his way into supreme power over the newly formed Roman Empire.

And the Roman Senate actually gave him the name Augustus, which means majestic. And Caesar Augustus thought high of himself, so he really liked that accolade. He liked that title. In fact, Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor to encourage the deification of his reign, the deification of his name. And all kinds of claims are made about him.

We heard last week that about a decade before Jesus was born, it was written of Caesar Augustus that his birth signaled the beginning of good news, the beginning of euangelion right evangel evangelism is where we get our word from euangelion that's that word is associated with christ as well as we'll see in a moment but that is claimed about augustus that he is the arrival of good news for the world other claims about augustus include that he was god that he was the son of a god that he was the savior of rome the provider of hope and peace for the empire and again he's no passive recipient of these accolades he's encouraging them

He thinks quite highly of himself. And so it's no coincidence that with the birth of Jesus, a lot of these same titles are used to describe the arrival of God in Christ. Because what Jesus is saying, what the gospel writers are saying, is hey, he's the faux version of all of that, but the real thing has arrived, right? Jesus is the true God. He's the true son of God, the true savior of the world, the true good news.

Caesar Augustus claimed to be Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. But Jesus Christ is Pax Mundi, the peace of the world. Now, this Roman backdrop in Luke's gospel is very significant in helping us understand an important message here in the gospel of Luke. And Luke highlights this Roman background on purpose. And that's unique compared to the other gospels, right?

For instance, if you look at the gospel of Matthew, he focuses very heavily on the Jewish background of Jesus' arrival into the world. But Luke zooms out and gives us the broader picture of Rome and Caesar, right? And that's important, especially when we consider where the story is headed by the time you get to the end of the second volume, the end of the book of Acts.

Look at the very last verse in the book of Acts, chapter 28, verse 31. This is speaking of the apostle Paul. He's finally made it to Rome, and Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without impudence. hindrance that's the end of the book of acts that paul makes it to rome and with him the proclamation of the gospel of jesus the king and his kingdom now i cannot emphasize this enough that luke at the start of his gospel is planting a seed that he wants you to recognize as a fully grown flower by the time you get to the end of the book of acts and what that seed and flower is is that in the shadow of the iron-fisted Roman Empire and right under the nose of Caesar himself, a child is born.

And this child, bring up that slide, this child is the true king of the nations. And that truth will be proclaimed from within Rome itself before this story is through. Christ is the true sovereign king. That's the story that Luke is telling here right at the start with this ironic arrival of the king in the person of the humble Jesus into the world. And it's exactly where we should expect Luke to begin because back in Luke chapter 1, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her, you're going to give birth to the Savior of the world.

And look what the angel Gabriel says in Luke 1.32. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. Jesus Christ is the sovereign king, and his sovereign power will not be overcome by the power of Rome or by any other power for that matter, no matter what the circumstances look like.

And that is significant for us grasping this message today because the circumstances at the arrival of Jesus' birth look pretty dicey, right? What does Caesar do here in this text in Luke 2 and verse 1? He issues a decree that a census must be taken throughout the entire Roman Empire. And the purpose for the census was for taxation. Yeah, Rome loved their taxes.

All of their subjects were oppressed by their taxes, but Rome loved their taxes. It's actually interesting at both the start and the end of Luke's gospel, you have the two things that Roman subjects hated the most, taxation and crucifixion. And so the narrative of Jesus' birth is set against this background of the oppressive rule of Caesar. Here's this picture of the worldwide Roman emperor and the worldwide rule of Caesar. And in comes Jesus, the true king, in the most humble of conditions.

It's the making of a pretty great story, isn't it? But it's not just a story. It's how God actually chose to come into the world. In fact, I love, put Luke 2 and verse 1 back up for me. I love how this sentence begins with, in those days. Because it grounds us in actual history and shows us how God moves in the context of real human events and real human challenges.

You see, the gospel is not a fairy tale suspended from reality. It's the true story of how God has acted in human history. I love how one Bible commentator said it. His name is James Edwards, and this is what he has to say. The story of Jesus, just like that of Israel as a whole, does not begin once upon a time. Rather, the story of Jesus begins in those days.

We often long for a once upon a time, don't we? Right? That's what all the marketing of the world is trying to sell us. A reset of our whole lives. An escape from our existence on the basis of a product purchased, a trip taken, a desire indulged. But friends, God does not do once upon a times. God does not do escape plans. God does in those days.

Because He is the God who enters into our mess. Enters into the chaos and the imperfections of our lives and works something beautiful together from within for His glory. God works within human history because He's sovereign over human activity. And He does so for the benefit of those who love Him and who are devoted to Him. And this is the way that God works in your life.

There are going to be many things that happen to you. But you can trust that God is working for you. You can hold on to that even when it seems like Many things are going awry in your own life. And that's important for us to understand for the sake of what we're seeking to learn from this text today.

Let's have a look and see how God's sovereignty works in the lives of Mary and Joseph. Luke 2 and verse 3. It says this, that everyone went to their own town to register. So Caesar is given this decree of a census being taken. As a result of that, everybody has to travel to where they're from so they can register for this census. And so Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and the line of David.

Joseph was in the line of King David. And so he went there to Bethlehem to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. So when the decree for the census was given by Caesar, Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth. Now they're not married yet at this time, but Mary is pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit with Jesus.

Now Nazareth was in the northern part of Palestine, the northern part of ancient Israel. And it was in a region called Galilee. And then down the south in the region of Judea is Bethlehem, just outside of Jerusalem. And there's 70 miles distance... between Nazareth and Bethlehem. And part of it is uphill.

That's why Luke says that they had to go up from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And my point in highlighting those details is that this is a sucky situation. for Joseph, and especially for Mary. Because Mary, where all my mama's at, Mary is pregnant, and she's probably nearing the later stages of her pregnancy at this point.

And now she's got to go a 70-mile journey by foot and by donkey uphill to Bethlehem to be registered for the census, which is all for the sake of paying more taxes. And what's more, Joseph and Mary are pregnant out of wedlock. And this census would have meant that they would have been rubbing shoulders with their fellow Jews on the road and getting a lot of sideways looks.

A lot of judgmental remarks. Oh sure, it was the Holy Spirit who did it. That's what people are thinking. And so their situation is socially scandalous. Their journey is physically exhausting. And the whole thing is about taxes. And it's all because of the tyranny of Caesar.

And yet, at the same time, this arduous, challenging journey is fulfilling the will and the word of God. Because Bethlehem is the town of David, the place where David himself was born and was lifted up out of in order to become king over the tribes of Israel. And of course, we know from what we've learned so far in this series that God makes a promise to David that you will have a descendant who sits on my throne.

And who reigns over an everlasting kingdom. And so here comes Jesus the son of David. Carried in the womb of Mary to the town of David. And yes it's under the weighty requirement of Roman law. Yet ultimately it was fulfilling the word of God. And the prophetic will of God. That the messianic son of David would come out of Bethlehem.

Look at the book of Micah chapter 5 and verse 2. This is a prophetic book in your Old Testament. But you Bethlehem. Though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Verse 4. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they his people will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. the earth.

This guy coming out of Bethlehem, his name is Jesus Christ and in fact his greatness did reach to the edges of the largest empire the world had ever known within 60 years of him being born. So yes, it was a difficult and even embarrassing journey and yes, it was directly because of Caesar's oppressive command but ultimately God used all this to accomplish his plan that the son of David would come out of Bethlehem.

God used an act of wickedness to fulfill His will. Because here's the deal, you need to know this, that God's purpose always triumphs over human power. Even when it seems like human power is overpowering you. Or to borrow the words of Joseph from the Old Testament, Genesis chapter 50 and verse 20. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

That's the sovereignty of God. And I think that God's sovereignty over humanity, or as we said before, the fact that Christ is king of the nations, is a point that Luke wants his readers to deeply grasp as they

read his account of Jesus and the church.

And he's going to emphasize the sovereign power of God in this way at every single major point in the story of the gospel, making its way from Bethlehem all the way to Rome.

Fast forward in the story to the book of Acts chapter 2.

Remember, Acts was written by Luke as the follow-up to his gospel account.

And in Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is poured out on the believers.

At this point, Jesus has been crucified.

He has resurrected.

He has ascended to the right hand of the Father.

He's seated on the throne in heaven.

And now in Acts 2, he's poured out the Holy Spirit.

on 120 disciples who have gathered for 10 days in prayerful expectation for the Spirit to come.

And now that they've received the Spirit, the Apostle Peter stands up and he preaches the gospel to a crowd of people who have gathered in response to all of this commotion.

And look at Peter's words that Luke records in Acts 2 beginning in verse 23.

That this man, that is Jesus, was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge.

And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

And so it was the religious leaders of Israel, in partnership with the Roman governor, who had Jesus crucified.

But ultimately, Luke says via Peter, that it was God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge that brought it to pass.

Now look at Acts 2 and verse 36 where Peter says, Therefore let all Israel be assured of this, that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

So they acted wickedly towards Jesus.

They are accountable for the crucifixion.

God's not accountable for the crucifixion.

They did it.

And yet God was acting in and through human activity for the benefit of humanity.

In fact, in the case of those whom Peter is preaching to, those who crucified Jesus, God was even working through their evil actions for their own good.

Because here Peter is preaching the forgiveness of sins that is only available because of the death and the resurrection of Jesus that they killed.

That's God's sovereignty at work so that what the enemy intended for harm, God used for good and the saving of many lives.

Consider one more example from the life of Paul, the Apostle Paul.

One of the things that we know about the Apostle Paul from his letter to the church in Rome, it's a letter in your New Testament called Romans, is that Paul planned on visiting the Christians in Rome and then after that he would travel on to Spain because he wanted to preach the gospel in new territory.

But before he made that trip, Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem to bring a financial offering to them because they were suffering from famine and poverty.

Look at what Paul says in Romans 15, 28 and 29.

He says, after I've completed this task and have made sure that they, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, have received this contribution, this offering, after that I will then go to Spain and visit you Romans on the way.

And I know that when I come to you, Romans, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

I love Paul's confidence.

Now, this is where the story that Luke records in the book of Acts is so helpful.

Because Luke shares the story of how Paul did in fact make it to Rome after he went to Jerusalem.

But how Paul got there is a really significant detail in the story.

Because once Paul got to Jerusalem, he ended up getting attacked by his Jewish opponents in the temple.

And then he winds up getting imprisoned.

And he's in prison in Palestine, in ancient Israel, for more than two years.

And during that two-year Palestinian imprisonment, Paul's opponents are making all kinds of accusations against him because they hate Paul, they hate Christianity, and they're making all these accusations to the Roman governor in ancient Israel.

You following me?

Right?

So Paul's having all these accusations made about him.

He's imprisoned in Israel, and he's got no other choice but to appeal his case all the way to Caesar.

And because of the way the legal system worked in ancient Rome, that gave the Roman governor no other choice but to put Paul on a Roman ship under the protection of a Roman guard who had to sail him all the way to the city of Rome where he could be tried by Caesar.

And so Paul's dream of getting to preach the gospel of the kingdom in Rome is coming true, except he's not even the one who's having to pay for it.

Rome is paying for it.

You might even say that some of those pesky tax dollars that Caesar Augustus collected back at the birth of Jesus Christ are now being used to fund the Apostle Paul's mission trip to preach the gospel of Jesus in the city of Rome.

God made sure that the proclamation of Christ as King reached the capital city and He made the devil pay for it.

Because what the enemy intended for harm, God used for good to bring about the saving of many lives.

Friends, be reminded today that Christ is sovereign over the nations.

And it does not matter what attempts the enemy makes to counter the spread of the gospel.

Christ will be victorious.

Jesus said there will be wars.

There will be rumors of wars.

There will be acts of political deception and political oppression.

There has been and there will be the rising of nations and the falling of nations.

There will be many attempts to lead people away from faith in Christ and to put their trust in lies, but through it all, Christ is King.

His kingdom is everlasting.

His reign is reaching to the ends of the earth.

At His name, eventually, every knee will bow.

Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

And in the end, the thing that will abundantly clear is His glory and how He has worked for the good of those who trust in Him.

That's God's sovereignty.

And the power of God's sovereignty is deeply applicable to your own life as well.

Because God is intimately and lovingly involved with every single one of his children.

You see, it does not matter what weapons the enemy forges against you.

They will not prosper in the end.

God's purpose is what will be accomplished, even when the power of the enemy comes against you.

That's something that you and I can take as application straight from Luke's message about the arrival of God in Christ today.

That no matter the opposition of the enemy, no matter the attack, be it spiritual or physical, God is sovereign.

And we can say, along with the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 and verse 28,

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Come on, that is good news for us today.

How can we know that God works in the midst of even our trials for the sake of...

Our ultimate victory.

Well, we can know that because this triumph through trusting in God in the midst of trials is the story of Jesus himself.

It's the story of the one to whom we cling for our salvation.

And we have seen again and again as we've journeyed throughout these gospel stories of the arrival of Christ that his victory is the story of supreme humility.

That is the revelation, the revealing of the glory of God and his triumph over evil is in the paradoxical arrival of the eternal Son of God coming as a humble infant and dying a slave's death, a thief's death.

It's a paradox that we see woven throughout these next few verses in Luke chapter 2.

The presence of glory and humility intermingled with one another.

Look at Luke 2 and verse 6.

While they, Mary and Joseph, were there in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born.

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.

That's glory.

And she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.

That's humility.

Because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds, that's humility, living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord, that's glory, appeared to them, shepherds, that's humility.

And the glory of the Lord shone, that's glory, around them, shepherds, that's humility.

And they were terrified, but the angel said to them, Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news, that's glory, that will cause great joy for all people, that's glory.

Today in the town of David, a Savior, that's glory, has been born to you.

He is the Messiah, that's glory, the Lord, that's glory.

And this will be a sign to you.

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, that's humility.

This whole passage is highlighting to us the presence of glory and humility in the God-man, Jesus Christ.

And the whole passage is also highlighting again and again the difference between Caesar and Christ.

We're meant to notice the contrast between them.

Because at the start of the text, Caesar, the supposed son of a god, the savior and peace of Rome, decrees his oppressive senses from the comfort of his palace.

But Jesus, the true Son of the true God, the Savior and the peace of the world, is born in an animal stall and laid in a feeding trough.

And yet, He is the very Lord that the angel of the Lord appears to announce.

He is the glory of the Lord that's shown around the shepherds.

The glory of the Lord that lit up the skies is found in an infant born in a stable.

True glory.

God's victory.

Seen.

in His ultimate humility.

The ironic victory of King Jesus is on display right at the start of the story.

His victory that culminates on a cross begins in a trough, right?

That's the message.

Don't mistake His humility for powerlessness.

Because we know that Christ actually conquers through His cross.

And here in the instance of his birth, when it looks like Caesar Augustus is conquering with his taxes, we know Christ is actually the one conquering as the God who comes to his world with sacrificial love and supreme humility.

And this is one of those details that I think Theophilus needed to be reminded about.

That God was sovereignly at work right at the start.

So that even when it looks like God's people are losing, they are in fact winning.

In fact, through the birth of Jesus and the cross of Jesus, we know that even when it looks like God Himself is losing, He is in fact winning.

Every detail of Jesus' birth screams out the means of His victory and therefore our victory.

He was subjected to the powers of darkness in the world, born in utter humility, laid in an animal feeding trough.

The announcement of His birth is made first of all to shepherds, a group of people considered of very low regard,

certainly the last class of people you'd expect to be first on the list to come and see the newborn king of the world.

Humility in every single detail, all of which points to Jesus' ultimate act of humility on the cross, which would be His ironic, unexpected triumph over the powers of darkness.

The cross wasn't some accident.

not some wrinkle in God's plan that he did not foresee.

No, no, look right at the start, Theophilus.

You can see the signs of how God sovereignly uses evil against itself in order to bring about his plan of redemption, the son of David born in Bethlehem.

So whether it's being laid in a manger because of the decree of Caesar or fixed to a cross because of the decree of Pilate,

Christ is king of the nations and ruler of the world.

And he has overcome sin, death, and the devil.

And as a result, all those who belong to him can be certain of their eternal destiny in the kingdom of God.

And perhaps Theophilus did need that reminder.

Because at this point in human history, history of the church, many of the original 12 apostles have been martyred

The Apostle Paul is under house arrest in Rome.

Maybe even at this point in time, he himself is martyred.

Christians everywhere are faced with immense trials as a result of their faith in Christ.

From extreme economic hardship to relational turmoil, some of them are disowned by their very own families.

And the worst is still yet ahead in terms of the Roman Empire's treatment of Christianity.

In the year AD 64, right around the time when Luke wrote Luke Acts...

The emperor Nero scapegoated Christians for the great fire of Rome.

He blamed the fire on them.

This is history.

You can look it up.

As a result, many Christians were brutally tortured.

They were killed in the most hard of ways.

And maybe in the midst of all of that, Theophilus is thinking, where's God in all this?

Has the purpose of God been overrun?

Has Rome won?

If the powers of this world overcome the power of God, to which the whole story of Jesus, not excluding the narrative of Jesus' birth, offers a firm and resounding not a chance.

Because Christ the King came into this world in the midst of oppressive powers, and He maintains His rule in the midst of those powers.

That's why Psalm 110 says He's been...

at the right hand of the father and he rules in the midst of his enemies and he uses that opposition to bring about his own purposes of salvation so when trials come you had any trials this year when difficulties come when challenges are waiting to meet you in 2025 no matter how intimidating they are

WE CAN KNOW THAT EVERY TRIAL IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRUST IN GOD CAST OUR CARES UPON HIM HUMBLE OURSELVES BEFORE HIM BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT EVEN IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS CHRIST WILL BE VICTORIOUS DEATH ITSELF HAS BEEN DEFEATED FRIENDS WHAT TRIAL COULD THEREFORE SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD IF WE'RE NO LONGER SLAVES TO DEATH THAT MEANS THE WORST THING THE DEVIL CAN DO TO YOU IS ULTIMATELY POWERLESS

The worst thing that can happen to us just brings us into the presence of God sooner than we planned.

So that even when we lose, we win.

That's how sovereign God is.

Because the reality is not just that Christ is king of the nations.

He's also king over eternity, over life and death.

And he came to give you the gift of eternal life.

And that's something that Luke wants to make abundantly clear as he nears the end of his gospel account of the life of Jesus and presents to you Christ as the King.

Look at Luke 23, 42.

It says, Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdoms.

Jesus answered him, truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.

As we've seen throughout this series so far, the gospel writers love to present Jesus ironically enthroned on his cross, his place of triumph of the powers of darkness, triumph over sin.

And Luke presents the same picture.

Here in this text, we see one of the criminals who's being crucified next to Jesus ask for mercy.

Remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Now this criminal was being crucified because he was an insurrectionist and a murderer.

He was probably in cahoots with Barabbas, if you know the story of Barabbas.

So he's a bad man.

And yet on the cross, in the midst of his suffering, he cries out to Jesus for mercy and Christ in his place of suffering

offers the criminal forgiveness and mercy.

All the while at the foot of the cross are those who make mockery of Jesus.

What do they say?

If you are the king of the Jews, then save yourself.

And Jesus in the midst of his powerlessness does one even better.

He does not save himself.

He extends salvation to somebody else.

And it's not some final favor on his way out, not some last ditch effort to exercise his authority as his supposed reign is coming to an end.

No, his act of forgiveness is a paradigmatic act that points to the fact that his reign as the son of David has only begun.

You see, traditionally, when a new king ascended the throne,

One of his first acts was to offer pardons to people and to bring them into his good graces.

And so Luke is showing us that contrary to what the circumstance looks like, Jesus is entering into his reign while on the cross.

So that even when it looks like he's losing, he's actually winning.

Because by dying on the cross...

He is paying for the sins of the criminal beside him so that he may not just mercifully say, but justly say.

Today, you will be with me in paradise.

Friends, if Jesus Christ can pardon you into paradise while he's hanging on a cross, what is too hard for the sovereign Lord?

Surely Christ, as the King of the nations, will work all things together for your good as you trust in him.

Let's all stand.

God's good, huh?

The gospel's still awesome?

It's still the best news that you could possibly hear?

Truly, Jesus is incredible.

Let's pray.

Let's fix your attention on Jesus.

King of kings.

King over every Caesar, every governor, every president, every prime minister.

every seat in Parliament and Senate, over every king and queen, Christ is the King.

Lord Jesus, we turn our attention to you in these moments and our hearts are swelling with gratitude.

And it's something that we feel, but it's a feeling that's based upon the truth of who you are and what you've accomplished

And we're so grateful for the gift of your word that we can constantly be reminded of how awesome you are.

God, we thank you that you are sovereign, that you do reign, that you have no competition.

We give you praise, honor, and glory.

In this moment right now, if we're worried about anything, we choose to lay it down to trust in you.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

We trust you in the middle of our pain, in the middle of our unresolved circumstances.

We trust you even in moments of darkness where there is no silver lining, where there is no light at the horizon.

We trust you because you're sovereign.

You rule and reign over everything, and we know that you will work all things together for good.