Jeremiah foretells of a righteous branch that will come from the house of David. He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land, and he will be called “The Lord is our righteousness.” This is a vision of a Davidic Messiah who reigns temporally - a political king. This is the hope of the exiled children of Judah. Move ahead in history 400 years or so and we have Paul writing to the congregation of Colossae and we have a new vision of this kingdom and its king. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Quite a different vision of the heavenly king. Jesus is the divine king, not only Son of God, but God dwells in Him. Through Him, God grants us pardon and release from our sins. We are granted peace through the blood of His cross.
We have the temporal hope of redemption the prophet Jeremiah proclaims, and we have Paul’s prophetic proclamation of a divine King. These are both a hoped for future. Judah never realizes its hope of an independent Jewish state until 1948. Even today, as we are witness to the state of Israel, does righteousness and justice exist in the land? Paul realizes this temporal world is beyond human redemption. Only the Son of God, Jesus Christ can offer us the promise of salvation in a heavenly kingdom, where Jesus reigns. We work for the kingdom, we pray the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Until that day arrives we have the promise of the heavenly kingdom offered to us upon our leaving this temporal world.
Yet it is the cross upon which Jesus dies as “King of the Jews” that is the divine scepter extended to us, for our pardon, our release, our redemption. What kind of king is this? The power Jesus gives is not of this world, it is divine power and authority given to Him by God. Jesus is righteous, for he learns to use this power to glorify God, and resists the temptation to use it for his own self aggrandizement. Jesus completely submits to and obeys the will of God. We are called to follow Jesus, even if it leads to the cross.
Are we any better than the thieves who are crucified with Jesus. We may not be thieves, but we succumb to sin in the same manner they did and we sin. Who knows what cross we bear on which we will suffer upon? Could it be illness, financial ruin, heartache from the loss of relationship, chronic pain, that is the cross we suffer upon? One thief rebukes Jesus, taunting Jesus, as if in a spate of anger, Jesus would preform a miracle and free himself and the thieves from this anguish. The other thief confesses his sin, asks for pardon: “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He asks this with the hope and promise that Jesus can grant him divine pardon and redemption. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Christ our King makes this promise to us. No earthly king can do this, no earthly king lives as righteously and extends justice and mercy as can Jesus Christ. If I want to trust in a King, I will trust and have faith in the promises Jesus extends to me and to the thief with him on the cross. Today you will be with me in Paradise. Amen.
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