The Whole Picture of King Jesus
God is the final and righteous Judge of all.
There's an assumption that God is only interested in making peace for us. He's the problem solver that we turn to when we are in a mess. Or He's the answer-giver when we do not know what to do. But that is not the whole picture scriptures presents of the Lord. He is for peace. He is our peace. He has the answer. He is the answer.
But He is the God of judgment against sin. We see this most clearly at the end of Judah's kingdom as they are judged for years of sin and rebellion against the Lord.
2 Kings 24:2–4 (ESV) And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon.
Please notice how these verses illustrate the judgment of the Lord against Judah. He SENT bands from the nations against Judah to destroy it. It was not without warning. For those who like to cherry-pick the judgments of God and render Him unfair and unkind, we do well to pay attention to the whole counsel of scripture that illustrates incredible patience for rebellious children.
The end of Judah is a warning for us. There will be a swift and final judgment for sinners who refuse to repent. Jesus is often thought of as only a peace-making, kind-hearted, compassionate fella from the neighborhood. But He is our righteous judge and the final judge to whom we must give account.
And Jesus taught much about the fear of the Lord and the coming judgment.
Luke 12:4–5 (ESV) “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
He says in stark terms later that same chapter:
Luke 12:49 (ESV) “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
Think of that. The Lord was longing for the fire of judgment to begin. Why? Because the Lord knows the power of sin and the destructive nature of sin upon creation - most notably you and I. So we do well to pay attention to Judah for it will save our souls. We look to the final chapters of the King's narrative for a very clear picture of the high cost of sin:
2 Kings 24:10–13 (ESV) At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold.
In the ancient world, once a king was captured, the nation was done for. Once Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian warriors capture King Jehoiachin, Israel lost everything of value - their treasure, their temple, their and the best of the young men (See Daniel 1).
Yet even in this dark passage, there is a glimmer of the Gospel's hope. For in Christ we have a King who will never be conquered. We have a King who was handed over for our sins. We have a King who keeps us safe from the just judgment of God by bearing it for us on the cross. We have a King who obeys God perfectly and leads us in His path of righteousness for His Name's sake.
Turn to Jesus as King and your sins will be washed away. God will call you His child and all fear will be absolved by perfect love.
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