"Make Us A King To Judge Us": "They Have Rejected Me!"

Hello To All:

"Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar." (John 19:15).


As our journey continues, we should be asking ourselves these questions: To whom or what do we bow the knee?  To whom or what do we give our allegiance?  To whom or what do we submit the control of our lives?  Whom or what has the ultimate say regarding our eternal destination?

As we look to our opening text, it would seem that the chief priests had decided that the answer to all of these questions was: "Caesar." At the time that the King of Israel was crucified, Caesar ruled all of the Roman empire.  It is an easy thing for us, in this day, to give lip service to the truth that Jesus of Nazareth is King and Lord. But the chief priests, along with many others, would not even give lip service to this truth; even when Pilate proclaimed to them: "Behold, your King!" (John 19:14).

When Pilate asked them: "Shall I crucify your King?" - "The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar." How would we answer if we had been there? Would we have bowed the knee to Caesar, or would we have rightly proclaimed the truth, that Jesus Christ is King? We need to give careful consideration to our answer; for you see, my beloved brethren, if we proclaim the truth that Jesus of Nazareth is King - then, we must ask ourselves if our lives can be offered up as evidence of our proclaimed allegiance to Jesus?

Let us turn to the King's Book to see what the King has to say, regarding this evidence:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And  be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2).

The apostle Paul, as one of the King's messengers, had a very clear understanding of our relationship to God and our relationship to the world! His body and his life had been presented to God as a "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." He resisted, at every step, any efforts made to cause him to be "conformed to this world." May it be, my beloved, that we will have that same understanding; and may it be that our lives will be evidenced by the same testimony, in word and deed, that is exampled by Paul. Thank your Jesus.

"And be not conformed to this world." That is a declarative statement! It is a command! How well are we obeying? When ancient Israel said to Samuel: "Make us a king to judge us," they were making a very emphatic statement regarding their desire to be conformed to the world. They had lost sight of their destiny. Their allegiance to God had become corrupted and they wanted change. They chose the world instead of turning back to God. Lest we be too quick to pass judgment on God's chosen people, we need to look to our own lives, and ask what choices have we made?

Through the centuries, God's chosen people have suffered because of their choice. The King's Book bears ample testimony of this suffering. But, the King's Book also bears ample testimony regarding the ultimate restoration of the people of Israel. Thank you Jesus!"

One of the reasons that the people of Israel have suffered is because they rejected God and chose to be governed by the systems of the world, as they proclaimed: "Make Us A King To Judge Us." This is not my observation, rather it is God's statement to Samuel, as recorded at 1 Samuel 8:10-18:

10. "And Samuel  told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king."
11. "And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots."
12. "And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots."
13. "And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers,"
14. "And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants."
15. "And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants."
16. "And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work."
17. "He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants."
18. "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day."

As we look at this text; as we read this text; as we study this text; as we meditate upon this text; as we pray for understanding, regarding this text: one of the first reactions we should have is one of fear! Let me restate this conclusion in a slightly different, but more emphatic manner: If we rightly understand this text, our first reaction should be one of fear! It is written in one place (Hebrews 10:31): "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

In our day we have lost an understanding of what it truly means to fear God. Our text gives us some insight into why we should fear God and why a right understanding of the text should cause us to fear. My beloved, look to the last verse: "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you." The people have chosen this king, they have submitted to this king and then they cry out to God because of this king. And what is God's answer to the plight of His people: "And the Lord will not hear you in that day." One of the reasons that we should fear God is because He can and will allow us to suffer the consequences of our self centered choices! When we choose to be conformed to the world, God will allow us to not only suffer the consequences of this choice, but, just as He said He would do with Israel, when we cry out for deliverance, it may be that "the Lord will not hear" us in that day."

Lest we think that this could only happen under the law and with the people of Israel, let us return to the text from Hebrews and look to the context. At verse 30 we find written: "For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people." My beloved brethren, we must understand that in this life, we are not free from judgement. Yes, it is true, that for the brethren, this is a temporal judgement; a judgement that effects us in this life only. But, it is judgement. The reality that God can and will judge us, by allowing us to suffer the consequences of our self-centered perspectives and decisions should cause us to fear. If it doesn't, then we have a problem. Sadly and tragically, much of the western church has this problem.

This would be a good place to pause, as we continue in our quest for "Victorious Discipleship In Jesus Christ." As we pause, let us ask ourselves this question: To whom or what have we bowed the knee?

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus














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