The Lord of All

Messianic promises from the Psalms are applied to the present reign of Jesus, and he now possesses all authority in Heaven and on Earth.

Jesus has reigned as Sovereign over the Cosmos since his death and resurrection. He is seated on the messianic throne, and because of Christ's obedience even unto death, he has become the Sovereign of the kings of the Earth. God has bestowed on him all authority in Heaven and on Earth. His sovereignty is without limits. It is a present reality.

Not only is the Nazarene now the King of kings, as the Book of Revelation declares, but every man, woman and child redeemed by his sacrificial death becomes a member of his priestly kingdom and participates in his reign:

• “Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the Dead, and the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth. Unto him who loves us and loosed us from our sins through his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father”  - (Revelation 1:5-6. Compare Exodus 19:5-6, Psalm 89:27, 89:37 in the Septuagint version or LXX).

• “He that overcomes, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, even as I overcame and sat with my Father on his throne”  - (Revelation 3:21).

• “The Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful”  - (Revelation 17:14. Compare Deuteronomy 10:17, Daniel 2:47).

[Photo by Samuel Ferrara (Switzerland) on Unsplash]

In Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” Peter declared, “You are the Messiah!” However, Peter’s brief insight vanished once Jesus explained what the Messianic calling meant - (Mark 8:27):

• “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spoke the saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him” – (Mark 8:31-32).

• “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. And they will condemn him to death, and they will deliver him to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit upon him, and they will whip him and kill him. And after three days, he will rise again” – (Mark 10:33-34. Note the allusion to Isaiah 53:12 and Daniel 7:13-21).

The Messiah must be betrayed, tried, and executed in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, God would raise him from the dead. Before Jesus could be seated on the messianic throne, he must become the Servant of the Lord and suffer at the hands of unrighteous men for the sake of his people. He would ransom many through his death, and this was according to Scripture:

• “But his form was ignoble and inferior to that of the children of men. He was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us. He was dishonoured and not esteemed. He bears our sins, and is pained for us; yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction. But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we were healed” - (Isaiah 53:3-5. From the Septuagint version).

• “For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” - (Mark 10:45. Compare Isaiah 53:12).

Jesus was enthroned only after his death and resurrection. Because he submitted to death by crucifixion, his God and Father exalted him to the highest position imaginable:

• “But he poured himself out, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in form as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death; indeed, death of the cross. Wherefore also, God highly exalted him, and gave him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth,  and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” - (Philippians 2:7-11. Note the verbal allusions to Isaiah 45:23).

• “Therefore, he will inherit many, and he will divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death, and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities” - (Isaiah 53:12, LXX).

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus promised that some disciples would not die until they saw him coming in his Kingdom. His words alluded to a vision from the Book of Daniel that portrayed the receipt of the kingdom by the figure known as the Son of Man:

• “I beheld in the night vision, and, lo, one coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man. And he came on to the Ancient of Days, and was brought near to him. And to him was given the dominion, and the honour, and the kingdom. And all nations, tribes, and languages will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed” – (Daniel 7:13-14, quoted from the Septuagint).

Again, Jesus of Nazareth only received the kingdom and his sovereignty after suffering for his people and being resurrected by God. And so, before his ascension and enthronement, Jesus declared:

• “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” – (Matthew 28:18-20).

• “The Lord said to me: You are my son. This day, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. You will shepherd them with a rod of iron. You will shatter them as a potter's vessel” - (Psalm 2:7-9, LXX).

ALL MEN MUST CHOOSE

Because he now possesses absolute authority, Jesus sends his disciples as his envoys to proclaim his Gospel and Lordship to the nations. This is how we participate in his reign. We proclaim the salvation of God to all men, summoning them to submit to his sovereignty and receive the forgiveness of sins. Every man and woman who does so becomes a member of his priestly kingdom, the Church of Jesus Christ.

The man of Nazareth has become the one true King and Sovereign over Heaven and Earth. Not even the realm of Death is beyond his authority, and Christ, the Lamb of God, determines whose name will be found written in his book of life on the Last Day, depending on how we respond to his Gospel and Lordship here and now:

• “Fear not! I am the first and the last, and the Living one. And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Therefore, write the things that you saw, and the things that are, and the things that will come to pass after these” - (Revelation 1:17-19).

• “Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every created thing that is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, I heard saying, Unto him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever” - (Revelation 5:12-13).

• “He who overcomes will thus be arrayed in white garments. And I will certainly not blot his name out of the book of life. And I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” - (Revelation 5:12-13).

Any man who rejects his salvation defies the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. He may discover one day, to his horror, that his name has been excluded or erased from the Book of Life of the Lamb.

[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in small capital letters represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• Starting from the Cross - (Jesus is the Messiah whose reign began on the Cross, and who fulfilled his mission as the Servant of the LORD)

• His Priestly  Kingdom - (Disciples reign with Jesus by fulfilling their role as priestly kings who mediate His light to the world)

• To the Ends of the Earth - (The Gospel of the Kingdom of God announced by Jesus is a message of life for men and women of every nation and people)

• The Exalted King - (The reign of Jesus Christ from the Messianic Throne began following his Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation – Psalm 110:1)