We all desire to live in a righteous kingdom. Humanity may not always agree on how to define what makes a kingdom righteous, but the longing is universal. Every kingdom needs a king. So much of history and politics is driven by this desire for a perfect kingdom. Thus, powerful figures arise promising a chance at that kingdom—whether it be the Pax Romana or Marx’s promises of the worker’s utopia. Of course, all worldly attempts at such a kingdom have led more often to hell on Earth than any restoration of paradise.
At the heart of the gospel message, and the message of Christmas, is the kingdom of God and the kingship of Christ. Again, every kingdom needs a king. Christ is the anointed king of God’s kingdom. Sections 18–21 of Handel’s Messiah capture the glory of Christ’s coming and show the character of his kingdom. Christmas is a time when we mark his first advent and long for his return. A weary world aches for its king, and Christmas reminds us that as surely as he came the first time, he will return to fully establish his kingdom.
The King Comes
Section 18 of Handel’s Messiah opens with a command to “rejoice!” This joy springs forth from the coming of the King, a savior. The term messiah means “anointed one” and is tied to promises of David’s offspring who will sit on his father’s kingly throne forever (2 Sam. 7:1–17). [KM1] The title of Christ is royal. Every time we say, “Jesus Christ,” we are declaring that Jesus is king.
Recently, I preached through the Gospel of John. The more I teach Scripture the more convinced I am of the centrality of Christ’s kingship to the gospel message. In John, Jesus is crowned and coronated through his death on the cross (John 19). His humiliation and the cross are the very door to his throne. After the resurrection, Christ ascends to his Father to rule until his enemies are made his footstool. In short, any declaration of the gospel that ignores or contradicts his title as king is incomplete, at best. Jesus is the King of kings, and he demands that all bend the knee to him. There is no future hope without Christ’s kingship; without his universal reign. It is profoundly good news that Jesus is the King. All other political leaders will let us down, but Christ’s perfect kingdom will never end.
Handel recognizes this glorious truth by citing Zechariah 9:9–10. This is a royal pronouncement of the long-awaited king. At last, the prophesied one has come. He provides salvation for his people and he “speak[s] peace unto the heathen.” That central longing for a kingdom of peace, for deliverance from the wickedness of this age, comes to us through Christ. Therefore, we are to shout out praises, to rejoice greatly!
The King’s Kingdom
In section 19, Handel gives us a glimpse of the nature of Christ’s kingdom by pointing to Isaiah 35:5–6. What makes Christ’s kingdom so great? The curse and all its entailments are being undone. Wrong is being set to right. We hear how the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the mute will speak, and the lame will jump like an adult deer. To live in this fallen world is to be familiar with its brokenness. It is to be familiar with the hurt of life under the curse of sin. While some figures promise to overcome the evils of this world through might, wealth redistribution, or personal liberation, all such attempts fall woefully short. They are mere Band-Aids placed on gaping wounds. The heart of the problem is sin, and thus our king must also be a savior.
In his earthly ministry, Christ heals the blind, mute, deaf, and lame. These miracles are signs of two greater realities. First, they point to Christ’s true identity. The prophets spoke of what the Messiah would do, and so as Christ heals it is proof that he is the promised one (Matt. 11:4–5). Second, these miracles are signs of what the kingdom will be like. The Kingdom of Christ is one of life, not death; healing, not cursing; renewal, not decay; health, not illness. Christ alone can bring these realities, and we see glimpses of that final healing with his first advent.
At Christmas, we are reminded that the incarnation is but the beginning. Though our bodies waste away, though the world still lay under the shadows of sin and death, Christ has come and he will return. His kingdom is destroying everything that robs the sweetness and goodness of God’s creation. This age is and all rebellious kingdoms are merely sinking ships because Christ’s kingdom extends as far as the curse is found.
The Character of the King
Finally, in sections 20–21 Handel gives us a glimpse into the character of our king, drawing from Isaiah 40:11 and Matthew 11:28–30. Many a strong man seeks to gain power and position for his own gain. By brute force, strong men advance their own agendas and for their own glory. Christ instructs his followers to not be like the world, we must never use authority to lord it over others. This command stems from Christ’s own example. He comes as a shepherd, and he gathers his own and cares for them, just as Isaiah 40:11 prefigures. He leads them “gently” and offers a lasting rest (Matt. 11:28–29).
In John 10:14, Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd. In contrast to the wicked leaders of Israel (see Ezek. 34:1–10), Jesus seeks the good of his people. This is chiefly demonstrated in laying down his life for his sheep. Leadership is to be other-directed. One’s position of authority as a father, boss, pastor, or elected official does not exist for one’s own sake, but for the good of those under one’s authority. Christ came and sought his own at great personal cost.
Through Christ’s work, he offers rest and an easy burden (Matt. 11:30). He does the heavy lifting, and we benefit from his work. Throughout history, kings ruled over their subjects. These subjects existed for the good of the king and his kingdom. Jesus’s turns this thinking on its head, as his kingdom exists, to an extent, for the benefit of his people. Thus, he invites us to come to him and rest. To cease the vain search for peace and the good life through worldly means and fake kings. Instead, we come to Christ to find rest and to taste his goodness.
Conclusion
Christmas is the most wonderful time of year because it points us to the first and second advents of the King. It reminds us that peace on earth is not an empty slogan, but a purchased reality brought by the Shepherd King. We sing and rejoice because Christ came, he died, he rose again, he ascended to the Father, he reigns on high, and he is coming back. Everything must be seen in light of this reality—the King has come and he is coming back.
The promise of Christmas is the promise of King Jesus and his eternal kingdom. All those longings for a home, for paradise, for peace, and for wholeness come through Christ. Advent declares his conquest has already been set in motion, and that this world is being redeemed by him. Therefore, we have a sure hope in the face of all trials. David Wells captures this wondrous reality:
Christian hope is not about wishing that things will get better, that somehow emptiness will go away, meaning will return, and life will be stripped of its uncertainties, its psychological aches and anxieties. Nor does it have anything to do with techniques for improving fallen human life, be those therapeutic or even religious. Hope, instead, has to do, biblically speaking, with the knowledge that “the age to come” is already penetrating “this age,” that the sin, death, and meaninglessness of the one is being transformed by the righteousness, life, and meaning of the other, that what has been emptied out of life, what has scarred and blackened it, is being displaced by what is rejuvenating and transforming it. More than that, hope is hope because it knows it has become a part of a realm, a kingdom, which endures, where evil is doomed and will be banished, that it has left behind it the ship of “this age” which is sinking.[1]
1. David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 206.
Christ is the king! Therefore, rejoice!
