“Another King”
Acts 17
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
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The Benson Commentary conveyed a great insight by stating that Jesus was:
“Not only a king of the Jews, as Christ was Himself charged by Pilate with saying; but a universal Monarch, a Lord of all, as Peter called him in the first sermon he preached to the Gentiles.”
And that same truth is exactly what Paul reiterated to Timothy as he encouraged him (and us) to stand strong in the service of the Lord ——
I Timothy 6
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
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In the drama unfolding before us in Acts 17, Paul and Silas were viewed as a threat not only because they preached the resurrection of Christ fearlessly but because, by doing so, they were declaring all powers impotent and under the judgement of God.
And as we, in our own time, endeavor to live out the truths of God’s Word that have been passed down to us, there is a core principal that will encourage us to be the bold witnesses for Christ we all desire to be:
People that don’t fear death frighten people to death.
And … that people should be us.
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The ultimate power is power over life and death. And when someone, or some body of people, can’t be bound and controlled by the fear of death … they render their opponents powerless. Sadly, Christians squander their most powerful weapon when they willingly surrender THEIR WILL and CONSCIENCE over to any authority other than Christ Himself.
We need to get it through our heads and into our hearts that people aren’t worried about us just because we can amass a huge body of people for a cause. People only come to change through repentance when they test the faith of God’s people and find out in the process that they will not bend, fold, spindle or be mutilated under any power, even unto death. Anything short of that level of faith is considered an anemic faith not worth spitting on.
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People feared (and revered) Jesus not because He was a Martial Arts expert. Not because he had a bunker full of guns and ammunition. Not because He had a personal militia that threatened the power structure of local authorities. Not because He was a Republican. Not because He was viewed as the next Trump to be elected.
They feared Jesus because He was FEARLESS, as was so eloquently on display in John 18 ——
33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. ——
In that moment of crisis, Christ demonstrated what Pilate and all other rulers know intuitively when they arrive at a position of absolute power and someone dares to demonstrate AN ABSOLUTE FEARLESNESS:
They then know in that split moment of time that there is in fact …
A GOD THEY WILL FACE IN JUDGEMENT IF THEY REMAIN UNREPENTANT.
That’s what Pilate knew right then even as he stood face-to-face with Jesus holding the power of life and death in his hands.
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We Christians have been tasked with the responsibility of declaring boldly and unashamedly that we, in fact, do serve
“ANOTHER KING.”
And as such …
WE WILL NOT allow ourselves to be forced into silence AND we will not willingly silence ourselves no matter the consequences — be they:
*Loss of jobs
*Loss of influence and authority
*Loss of family ties
*Loss of freedoms
*Loss of financial independence and stability
*Loss of … —— you fill in the blank.
You know as well as I that we will not have the impact we should until we lay it all on the line for Christ. And if we’re willing to do that with all our heart and soul, then the world will know first hand that we are the real deal. That’s what lost people are yearning to encounter … just like I did, and just like you did.
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Allow me to suggest what we need to do:
We need to be brutally honest with ourselves about who and what we are AND who and what we are not in the eyes of God Almighty. What, and whom, do you see when your face stares back at you in the mirror? We really do need to honestly answer that … daily.
I’ll close by laying before us an encouraging proposition and challenge from God Himself. It’s found in:
II Chronicles 7:13-14.
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 IF MY PEOPLE, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Could it be that, at times, pestilence/pandemics walk in our midst on account of US?
If we dare to trow so,
perhaps we’re the ones that are,
to our own determent,
in all actuality,
serving
“Another King” …
and that King is none other than
WE OURSELVES.
Something to think about, no?