The King of Kings
Jesus Christ Challenges Our Notions of Greatness
By Tim Giovanetto
We live in a world where people have a remarkable influence on one another. Think back to a time when the kind words of a friend turned your whole day around, or a mentor took the time to teach you a needed lesson, or a personal hero inspired you to make a life-changing decision you never would have chosen on your own. It’s stunning what an effect our words and actions can have on others!
This is no accident. Part of what it means to be made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27 NIV) is that we have the built-in ability to impact other people. As our Creator and Lord, God designed us to serve Him by modeling His perfect love, justice, and goodness toward one another, holding up a mirror to His character from many different angles in order to uniquely reflect His glory in the world. That’s what God’s Kingdom was designed to be: all God’s people living in God’s appointed place, thriving under God’s reign.
Only, there’s a problem. The mirror in all of us is broken, shattered by sin. Instead of using our God-given influence to serve the Lord and love others, we often turn our gaze inward, forgetting the Lord and building our own kingdoms on the backs of others.
A GLORIOUS REVERSAL
The people of God have seen many good examples of bad kingdoms. Throughout history, the ancient Hebrews were never far from oppression and opposition. They endured centuries of slavery in Egypt, faced generations of war with the Philistines, entered into exile under the Assyrians and Babylonians, and underwent occupation by the imperial Greeks and Romans. Much of the Bible is marked by a heartfelt, aching cry: “How long, LORD?” (Psalm 13:1 NIV) How long will the nations oppress Your people? How long until the promised Deliverer comes? Through this long- expected Savior, the Kingdom of God would be seen again. Finally, God’s people would live together again in God’s appointed place, thriving under God’s reign.
When Jesus began His ministry with a repeated exhortation—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17 NIV)—Israel took notice. As Jesus went around feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and teaching with unmatched authority, people began to wonder if this no-name carpenter from Galilee might be the Christ who would set them free. More than once, entire crowds desperately sought to crown Jesus as their king.
As His closest disciples saw Jesus’ influence rising, they began to dream of what His Kingdom might mean for their own lives. They would often argue about which of them would get to be Jesus’ marshal, or His treasurer, or His right-hand man. When they couldn’t stand it any longer, they sought the answer from Jesus Himself. “Who then,” the disciples asked, “is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1 NIV) Jesus’ answer astonished them.
“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’” (Matthew 18:2-5 NIV)
The disciples were dumbfounded. Their expectations were turned upside down. All they had ever known was the abuse of influence and authority; this was their chance to turn the tables and seize their own wealth, power, and prestige! But Christ knew better. In a world where people use their influence to put others down to elevate themselves, Jesus invited His disciples—and He invites us today—to embrace a glorious reversal of priorities.
A KING LIKE NO OTHER
Ultimately, Christ’s disciples were shocked and disappointed because they weren’t looking for God’s Kingdom. They were looking for their own. They yearned after power, accolades, and respect, not childlike dependence and humble servanthood! Instead of throwing off the yoke of Rome, Jesus taught them to continue paying taxes (Mark 12:17). Rather than rising up against their unjust oppressors, He told them to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38). His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and so it turns the values of this world on their head.
See, the people of God had gotten themselves stuck on this idea that the problem is out there somewhere. They came to believe—as we all often do—that their ultimate need was salvation from outside circumstances and deliverance into personal freedom. But what God’s people needed most of all was salvation from themselves, from their own sin, from their tendency to forget God and to manipulate others for their own personal gain.
Jesus didn’t come to help us build our little empires of comfort and self-exaltation. He came to tear down our glory-stealing ways and turn our devotion back to Heaven. When the eternal Son of God took on flesh and walked among us, He devoted His influence to the glory of His Father, exhibiting the character of God in His selfless love for us all. The King of kings came into the world in order to give Himself away and show us what true greatness is made of.
Christ dignified prostitutes and tax collectors with His friendship, even when it caused Him to lose the respect of upstanding citizens. And in the most selfless use of His infinite authority, the incarnate Son of God traded His righteousness for our sin, receiving God’s just wrath in our place so that we may enjoy God’s eternal acceptance through Him. With His broken body, He repaired our shattered mirrors and enabled us to reflect God’s glory once again. He crucified our self-centered desires in order to make us the people we were born to be: heirs and ambassadors of the living God. Jesus relentlessly taught about God’s mercy and grace, even when it cost Him popularity among the people in power. He served the hungry, healed the broken, and touched the unclean, even when it put Him at odds with the religious elite.
A CALL TO EVERLASTING GREATNESS
How, then, do we live as ambassadors in Christ’s Kingdom today? By turning the values of this world upside down and pursuing true greatness. By using our influence to honor God and love others, even at great cost to ourselves.
This means repenting of our sin and bringing our addictions to light, even if our reputation is obliterated. It means carrying our integrity into work and sacrificing our own agenda, even our own advancement, for the betterment of others. It means seeing chores like folding the laundry, changing diapers, and scrubbing the toilet as the good works God has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:9), even if we’re never acknowledged. It means having a burden and an urgency to tell others about the redemption that can be found in Jesus alone, even if it costs us friendships and networking opportunities and political clout. It means giving up our selfish pursuits and embracing the dream of making Him known, building up others in their own pursuit of His glory, and reaching people from every culture, language, ethnicity, and background, even if it costs us our lives.
Jesus commands us to make His Kingdom and His righteousness the highest priorities of our lives (Matthew 6:33). He promises that we will face opposition in this task (John 16:33). But the King who bought our lives with His blood has ensured our success with every promise in His Word.
So let us give His calling everything we’ve got, living as Christ’s ambassadors in a world turned upside down, certain that every loss we incur is a greater gain for God’s glory (Philippians 3:8). Let us go forth boldly as ambassadors of the Kingdom, driven by the dream of its fulfillment, as people from every culture, language, and background gather around the throne of Christ, lifting up their medley of mirrors to reflect His infinite greatness (Philippians 2:10).
In that day, all the sacrifices of this life will be seen as royal diadems to anoint the Savior’s crown. Every knee will bow in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as all of God’s people, ransomed by God from every place, thrive forever under God’s glorious, eternal reign.