Children Celebrate Christ the King.
… and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” … “Do you hear what these children are saying?” … “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’. (Matthew 21:15)
Christ the King Sunday is a good opportunity to re-read the Triumphal Entry story that comes just before Easter. However, this local story has far reaching meaning, because the entire gospel is the story of Jesus Christ the King – even his passion, death and resurrection are intimately connected with the coronation of Jesus. A V-shaped story unfolds as initially Jesus pre-existed as Son of God, which seems to presuppose an exalted state, yet he moved downward, taking on human flesh and then reaching the very bottom – the abode of the dead. But once he reached bottom, the ascent began – he was raised from the dead and then installed in the heavenly sphere as Son-of-God-in-Power. This is the analysis of Matthew Bates in his book, Salvation by Allegiance Alone.
Bates goes ahead to push for the more demanding full allegiance alone as the rightful response to the gospel, as opposed to a simplistic bar-code Christianity that is mongered by many leaders today. The scanner at the supermarket will only scan the bar-code, oblivious of where it is attached and what is in the packaging or container; the bar-code will still be scanned successfully even if it is fixed on the wrong item. Some Christians claim that a mental faith in Jesus Christ is all it takes for salvation – that’s all God’s scanner will check, no matter what goes on inside their lives; this cannot be taken as full allegiance. The gospel is all about Jesus becoming king, and, as we learn from earthly kings, King Jesus demands and deserves full allegiance. “The gospel is the power-releasing story of Jesus’s life, death for sins, resurrection, and installation as king”.
At the Triumphal Entry, Jesus is called the Son of David in the song sung by the receiving crowds as well as by the children in the temple courts. This signified that He was viewed as the Messiah – the long-awaited King that would exceed their best ever King David. At the time the children sang to him, he had just cleansed the temple and reminded his hearers of Isaiah 56:7 (‘for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’) We are reminded to reach out with the gospel and remove every barrier that would deter anyone – ‘all nations’ implies everyone indeed. Children are the special people we should think about today. Just as Jesus received their praises, let us encourage them to worship and praise the Lord, read and learn His Word.
Remember, when the King comes there is rejoicing: ‘Joy to the world…’ Those who reject this king will suffer eternally. Salvation is by allegiance alone. God bless you all.