The King Has Come

The King has come! We celebrated the birth narrative of Jesus today, aptly, one week before Christmas, with much adoration for the one true King who has come for all peoples and nations. As Yi Khen, one of our covenant partners at GCC preached through Mat 1:18-2:12, we saw how Matthew imbues the story of Jesus’ birth with so much anticipation, that when Jesus finally arrives, we are confronted with the question — how do we respond?

Indeed, power demands a response, and this is not just any power, but power the way God sees it. Jesus is firstly, an unexpected king — although the Israelites anticipated a Messiah, the fact that Jesus is infinite God confined in the form of man on earth, is surprising. Matthew took great care to write that Jesus’ birth took place “in this way”, drawing our attention to the “how” of His birth and its extraordinary circumstances.

How Mary and Joseph respond also shows us that allegiance to Jesus involves hardship and suffering. Following Jesus has a cost. Yet, He promises so much more. We must treasure Jesus personally, not just from afar; to see His Grace not just as true, but as beautiful. Jesus is the true King, whose power diminishes all others relative to His. Yet, He did not ascend first to a position of honour, but humbled Himself on the cross, paying the price for our sin. Indeed, it is never due to the extent of our obedience that we receive the honour of being children of the King. Instead, we are indebted. Let us repent, receive, and rejoice at the glory of our King!