Jesus Is What He Doesn’t Appear to Be: Our King!

Last Sunday of End Time, Christ the King, 11/24/13
Luke 23:35-43


Jesus Is What He Doesn’t Appear to Be: Our King!
I. By virtue of his substitutionary death
II. By virtue of his eternal divine glory


Have you seen episodes of the TV reality show “Undercover Boss”? If not, I’ll give you a quick description of it. The owner or CEO of a large company wants to find out what the work environment is like in his business. So he disguises himself as a common worker and spends the day shadowing his employees. And he usually discovers several things. He has employees who are very dedicated and do a great job, but could do an even better job if the company supplied them with more of what they need to do their job. He also discovers employees who aren’t doing their job and are detrimental to the workplace morale. And along the way he always gets to know his employees’ personal struggles outside the workplace. At the end of the episode he reveals who he is and rewards his employees as appropriate.

I no longer watch this show because it’s a little too predictable. But I mention it this morning as an example of the fact that looks can be deceiving. Underneath the disguise still lies the owner or CEO of the company. That hasn’t changed.

When our Savior, Jesus Christ, came into our environment to experience where we live, the Bible declares that he humbled himself. In other words, he didn’t look like the eternal, almighty Son of God. He looked just like any other Jewish male at the time. But that wasn’t what so many of his fellow Jews were looking for in the promised Savior. And it wasn’t long before the who’s-who among the Jews despised Jesus and even hated him. It got to the point that they determined they needed to get rid of him.

And we see the results of that sinful determination described for us in the words of our text this morning. A pitiful and despised Jesus—stripped, beaten, bruised, bleeding, and dying. On each side of him are two other despicable characters facing the same punishment. It’s an ugly scene. Jesus appears to be nothing but a loser.

But looks can be deceiving. For, even though he had allowed his enemies to crucify him, he was still in complete control of the entire situation. In fact, he was carrying out his Father’s plan for the salvation of every sinner. It didn’t appear that way to the crowd that witnessed his crucifixion and to countless others living today. But Looks can be deceiving. Jesus is what he doesn’t appear to be: our King. In fact, this is exactly the King we need. May our God fill our hearts with comfort and confidence as we see Jesus for who he really is.

Part I.

The use of irony is a common literary feature. The character is certain things are progressing one way, when, in fact, it’s actually the exact opposite. The results are sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic.

We have some saving irony occurring in Jesus’ crucifixion. A few weeks prior, the high priest himself, who was convinced Jesus was a threat to the Jewish way of life, declared that it was better for one man to perish than for the whole nation to die. Thus they stopped at nothing to get Jesus nailed to a cross.

To do so, they charged Jesus with claiming to be a king, which would be an act of treason against the Roman government. So the Roman governor, Pilate, gave in to their demands and tried Jesus. He repeatedly came to the conclusion that Jesus was innocent. But the Jewish leaders wouldn’t back down, so he handed Jesus over to them and washed his hands of the case.

But Pilate wasn’t finished with them. He had a sign made which declared, “This is the King of the Jews.” Pilate didn’t believe those words and more than the high priest did. So why did he place that sign there? As a way of insulting the Jews. In effect he was saying, “Really? This man claimed to be your king? Look what a pitiful creature he is! He doesn’t have a single person willing to stand up for him and fight for him.”

And Pilate wasn’t the only one who concluded that Jesus was the farthest thing from being a king. Mocking this pitiful character named Jesus was the popular thing to do. Our text informs us, “The rulers…sneered at him, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’” They weren’t satisfied when Pilate handed him over to them to crucify him. They had to add their blasphemous taunts.

In this regard the Jewish leaders found unlikely companions in the Roman soldiers. First they offered Jesus some of their awful sour wine to drink and followed that with, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” They couldn’t simply do their duties in silence. They felt compelled to mock this pitiful character.

Finally, the mocking came from the most unlikely source—one of the criminals being crucified with him. “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Every one of these taunts was an attack on who Jesus really was.

But one of the criminals came to understand the truth. He rebuked the other criminal, “Don’t you fear God since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” He followed that rebuke with this well-known plea, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Another gospel writer tells us that this criminal had originally joined in mocking Jesus. What had changed his mind? Was it hearing Jesus pray out load from the cross for his Father to forgive those who crucified him? Did he notice how Jesus remained so silent, like a lamb before the slaughter just as Isaiah had foretold he would? We don’t know. But by the grace of God he came to know Jesus as his Savior and his King. He came to believe that Jesus was dying for his sins. And Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” The mockery that day did nothing deny the truth which was that Jesus was indeed a King who was suffering and dying in the place of every sinner so that sinners could have life with him in his kingdom.

Jesus is what he doesn’t appear to be: our King. He’s our King by virtue of his substitutionary death.

Did this criminal doubt Jesus’ words to him in the waning moments of his life? We don’t know. But we do know this: he didn’t face what we face. What do I mean? Day after day he didn’t have the guilt of a sin committed years ago come back to haunt him, making him wonder if he was actually forgiven. That’s what happens to us. Day after day he didn’t get his shortcomings and failures as a son or a parent thrown back in his face, making him wonder if he measured up to God’s standard as a child of God. His outward circumstances may only have made him wonder for a few hours if God truly loved him, not day after day like we experience. So where do we find our assurance of our forgiveness and our acceptance before our God? In the same place this criminal did. In Jesus Christ as his Savior and King. Jesus was unlike any other King in that he took the sins of the world on himself and suffered the punishment for them. The King died for his subjects! What grace! What mercy! Indeed Jesus is what he doesn’t appear to be: our King!

Part II.

Have you ever watched a father wrestle on the living room floor with his young son? If so, you no doubt smiled. You were amused as the father allowed his little son to overcome him and even pin him to the carpet. He didn’t make full use of his strength because of his love and concern for his son.

Jesus, too, didn’t make full use of his divine glory when he came to this earth. His mother had to feed him. Even as an adult he got tired and hungry. Just prior to his crucifixion he placed himself into the hands of his enemies. The King of kings and Lord of lords stretches out his hands so that rogue Roman soldiers can tack his body to wooden beams.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t fully God. He still possessed his divine glory. That glory would be on full display after his resurrection from the dead three days later. But we still see a glimpse of it as his life gets squeezed out of him at his crucifixion. He tells the repentant criminal dying next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” No mere mortal can speak those words with any certainty. We don’t possess complete control over our own lives, let alone another person’s life. But Jesus does even as he was dying on the cross. As only he can as both God and man, he assures this man that he will join him at his Father’s side before the day ends. Think about it. Jesus and this man were in the worst imaginable situation of their lives and yet Jesus calmly assures him of joining him in paradise. Who else could do such a thing?

Looks can be deceiving. Jesus isn’t who he appears to be: our King. He’s our King by virtue of his eternal divine glory.

The King who was suspended between heaven and earth once said in the Psalms, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Even when it appeared to everyone else that Jesus had been completely defeated, he was still in complete control, so much so that he announced his and the repentant criminal’s eternal destination.

He has done the same thing for you and me. He has told us that heaven is ours by faith in him. Our eternal destiny is set! So let’s be still. Let go of the sinful stress and worry. Put your full confidence in your King. What issue in your life are you fretting over? Give it to your King. I realize that at times it appears that Jesus isn’t taking care of everything for you. But looks can be deceiving. Jesus is what he doesn’t appear to be. He’s our eternal, victorious King That’s always true. That’s eternally true for you. Amen.