Who's Your King?
Who is Your King?
Read the text: John 12:12-19
Hundreds and hundreds of years before The Triumphal Entry, the people of God gathered around a priest named Samuel, and this is what they said:
“You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
---1 Samuel 8:5
The kings of Israel—from the initial trio of Saul, David, and Solomon, through the kings of the southern and northern kingdoms always left the people longing for better. The people of Samuel’s day were rejecting God as king and instead desired a king that looked like those of other nations.
Let's establish the why: they wanted the peace that comes with the warring success and intimidating presence of a strongman king. So, God warns them of all the negative consequences of having human kings in charge of nations.
Read the text: 1 Samuel 8:7-18
What we find in the history of Israel is that any peace and prosperity came only in stretches. The fact is that each king that came along failed the people of Israel.
The same is true for us when we begin clamoring for strong men. Even today we seek (and place far too much hope in) figures of authority to bring us peace and prosperity via aggression, suppression, and protection. And as for the spiritual, even today we seek (and place far too much hope in) figures of authority to bring us salvation – even religious leaders, with their disciplines, teaching, and programming.
Have you noticed that every king that comes along has always left you longing?
Just as the bread of this world leaves our souls roaring, the kings of this world leave us longing. We need to recognize human kings and the disappointment each king has brought our way. Every king that comes along had always left us longing –except one... King Jesus! The people written about by John would have been looking for a conquering King of which we now know Jesus was not going to become.
For our purposes this week, we need to see that King Jesus causes all other kings to pale in comparison. Jesus is the only king who thinks beyond fleeting forms of peace and prosperity. He has the means to address the deepest needs of the world and meet our needs as well, bringing the deep flourishing that all other kings have failed to bring about.
Jesus, in laying down his life, shatters the cycle of military aggression, suppression, and protections, instead showing a way forward to peace. When all is said and done, perhaps the greatest and most impactful way to hold allegiance to Jesus as the king is to create space for deep worship of him as king. It’s difficult to long for other kings when we’ve busied ourselves with elevating and praising the one who truly is king.
So.... who is your king?
Read the text: John 12:12-19
Hundreds and hundreds of years before The Triumphal Entry, the people of God gathered around a priest named Samuel, and this is what they said:
“You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
---1 Samuel 8:5
The kings of Israel—from the initial trio of Saul, David, and Solomon, through the kings of the southern and northern kingdoms always left the people longing for better. The people of Samuel’s day were rejecting God as king and instead desired a king that looked like those of other nations.
Let's establish the why: they wanted the peace that comes with the warring success and intimidating presence of a strongman king. So, God warns them of all the negative consequences of having human kings in charge of nations.
Read the text: 1 Samuel 8:7-18
What we find in the history of Israel is that any peace and prosperity came only in stretches. The fact is that each king that came along failed the people of Israel.
The same is true for us when we begin clamoring for strong men. Even today we seek (and place far too much hope in) figures of authority to bring us peace and prosperity via aggression, suppression, and protection. And as for the spiritual, even today we seek (and place far too much hope in) figures of authority to bring us salvation – even religious leaders, with their disciplines, teaching, and programming.
Have you noticed that every king that comes along has always left you longing?
Just as the bread of this world leaves our souls roaring, the kings of this world leave us longing. We need to recognize human kings and the disappointment each king has brought our way. Every king that comes along had always left us longing –except one... King Jesus! The people written about by John would have been looking for a conquering King of which we now know Jesus was not going to become.
For our purposes this week, we need to see that King Jesus causes all other kings to pale in comparison. Jesus is the only king who thinks beyond fleeting forms of peace and prosperity. He has the means to address the deepest needs of the world and meet our needs as well, bringing the deep flourishing that all other kings have failed to bring about.
Jesus, in laying down his life, shatters the cycle of military aggression, suppression, and protections, instead showing a way forward to peace. When all is said and done, perhaps the greatest and most impactful way to hold allegiance to Jesus as the king is to create space for deep worship of him as king. It’s difficult to long for other kings when we’ve busied ourselves with elevating and praising the one who truly is king.
So.... who is your king?
Posted in Holy Week 2026: The Road to Resurrection
No Comments