What does it take for a leader to be rejected? What kind of leader will religious people follow and what kind will be despised? Jesus was the kind of leader religious conservatives hated.

What kind of king is Jesus? He's the kind of king who would do things we can't imagine to reach people we don't love!

Christians today often fantasize about what it might be like to have a king like David again. We know the stories of his victories, and we imagine what it would be like to have a king like that fighting our battles for us. However, the opening to the book of Matthew shows us that Jesus is so much better than David!

We now turn our attention in this podcast to the question about the kingdom of our king. What kind of king is he and what kind of kingdom does he have? To get us started, Jeff takes us through a passage that's on his heart to address the question What kind of God is God?

In his final words to his followers, Jesus told them to make disciples, but he also left out a bunch of things we think are important. Sadly, we often leave out some of the things he said.

Did you ever realize that the core message of the gospel is a political statement? At least it was in the first century. The idea that Jesus is king is what got him crucified, and it's the reason the first Christians were martyred, not because people found the beliefs or behaviors offensive but because they weren't loyal to the political power structures of the day. The government wanted them to say, Caesar is lord, but they kept putting the wrong name into that sentence. They kept saying Jesus is Lord, and that got them into a lot of trouble.

For some people, saying Jesus is King means that he is a King in opposition to the other powers and the other kings in this world. They see the Kingdom of Jesus as a kingdom under threat, a kingdom that needs warriors. The problem is that they have severely overestimated their own responsibility and they have severely underestimated our King's authority.

This is our last episode working through Colossians 1:15-20, and in it, we cover the fact that Jesus is already, right now, actually in charge of the universe, but also that Jesus is the solution for my deepest need.

The supremacy of Jesus starts with the recognition that he's more than merely a man. He is God in the flesh. Saying that Jesus is God isn't just a theological statement. It's a statement about what it means to be a person of faith and what it means to be a person who follows God.

This year, with a looming presidential election and the continuing concerns of global warfare, tragedy, and political divisions, I think it’s important once again to remember this essential truth.

Jesus is King.

And that means a lot.