Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”
Mark 15:2
The Old Testament prophesied repeatedly that the Messiah would come to sit on the throne of Israel as a descendant of King David. For this reason, early Jewish scholars used “Son of David” as a Messianic title. The New Testament declares and affirms 17 times that Jesus was, in fact, the King of the Jews.
The wise men from the East sought the newborn King of the Jews and even had a supernatural appearance of a star to confirm their faith assumptions, but they never actually saw the fulfillment of the title (Matthew 2:2).
Roman soldiers mocked the Savior and bowed the knee feigning honor and respect to the King of the Jews. However, their insincerity and unbelief didn’t annul that the title was correctly given (Matthew 27:29).
At His first coming, the chief priests and Jewish leaders rejected Him as their leader and delivered Him up to Roman authorities to be crucified. They protested when Pilate wrote on the sign posted at the cross that He was King of the Jews (John 19:21). They resembled the crowd in Jesus’ parable of the minas who said, “We will not have this man to reign over us”(Luke 19:14).
They were wrong. He was their king and will one day reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem and fulfill all the promises of God made to the Jewish people.
Most Christians are also wrong. It’s not all about us. The promises of an earthly kingdom centered in Jerusalem is for the Jewish people. True, there will be other kingdoms during the millennium, all subject to the King of kings, but first and foremost, Jesus is the King of the Jews.
January 22
