A King Unlike Any Other

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, November 23, 2008.

Today’s Scripture comes to us from the book of Ezekiel.  Ezekiel comes right after Jeremiah and Lamentations in the Old Testament.  He was a contemporary of Jeremiah.  While most of Jeremiah’s ministry took place in Jerusalem, the majority of Ezekiel’s ministry took place among the exiled people in Babylon.  Ezekiel’s message is one filled with both judgment and hope, condemnation and comfort.  Today’s Scripture reflects that dicotomy.  It comes to us from Ezekiel 34.

According to the Christian calendar, today is Christ the King Sunday.  Technically speaking, this marks the end of the Christian year, with Advent, which starts next Sunday, marking the beginning of it.  It is on Christ the King Sunday that we remember that Jesus is the king of heaven and earth for all time.  It is a time when we truly embrace the fact that that Jesus Christ is Lord of all and over all.  But what does it mean when we say that Jesus Christ is King?  

America’s government is based on democracy; we don’t know what it means to have a king.  In the history of our country, our direct experience with kingship led to a revolution which gave birth to the United States of America.  The problem is that our understanding of kingship and the example of kingship given by Christ are totally different.  In the same way, the kingship of Jesus was not what was expected by the Israelites, who were awaiting their Messiah.

Messiah is a Hebrew word, which literally means “anointed one.”  It is most often used in reference to the Davidic king who will rule the united tribes of Israel.  Throughout the prophets, reference is made to one from the line of David who will be the Messiah.  In the first century, there was a hightened sense of expectation when it came to the coming of the Messiah.  In this time, it was expected that the Messiah would be a great military ruler, who would unite all of Israel, force out the oppressive Romans and restore Israel as a nation to its rightful place.  We can see this in parts of the gospel message.  In John 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and the people want to make him king.  Also, do you remember Pilate’s question to Jesus?  He said, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Apart from Jesus, there were others who claimed to be the Messiah during this time.  In fact, there was a handful other people who claimed to be the messiah and led revolts against the government in Jesus’ day.  In each case, the person was killed and the rebellion died with them.  The expectation was that the Messiah would be a mighty ruler in a military and political sense.  Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but not the Messiah that was expected.  He was indeed a king unlike any other.

In today’s passage, we are given a different look at who the Messiah would be.  In Ezekiel 34, the Messiah, who is referred to as “my servant David” in verse 23, is viewed as a shepherd.  In fact, this whole section is filled with language that points to sheep and shepherds.  Shepherding language puts an emphasis on the caring duties of the Messiah.  But what we find out is that the leadership of Israel, those who were set as shepherds over the flock, abused their power.  In fact in verses 1-10, the leadership of Israel is accused of all sorts of mistreatment – they have failed to take care of the weak, the sick, the injured, and those who have strayed; they have focused more on feeding themselves than they have focused on feeding the sheep.

Going through this passage this week has caused me to reflect on our society, and how it is structured in such a way that the same type of things are happening now.  We all hear it – the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  And it’s not just American society, it is the global community in which we find ourselves – the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  And it all happens in the name of progress.  People get left behind, trampled on and forgotten because of the progress that we make as a global community. 

Some look at this as a form of social Darwinism – the strongest societies survive and the weaker ones die off.  But is this really the case?  Is this the type of world we want to be a part of – one in which those who can’t take care of themselves are left behind.  Of course not!  Several quotes comes to mind on this issue.  How about the words of Uncle Ben in the Spiderman movies?  “With great power comes great responsibility.”    Or perhaps, the words of Franklin Roosevelt?  “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”  How about some other words along the same lines?  “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” – Luke 12:48. 

As Christians, we are given the responsibility of the shepherd, to take care of those who are left behind, trampled on and forgotten.  Perhaps it would be a good idea for us to mark this chapter in our Bibles and use it as an honest evaluation from time to time.  Are living up to the expectations of the shepherds?  Are we caring for those who are hurting?  In Ezekiel 34, the leaders of Israel failed to live up to these expectations.  The question then becomes: how will God move to redeem this situation?  What will God do to ensure that His flock is taken care of?

What I find most fascinating about this particular passage is that in vv.11-16 it is clear that God himself is the shepherd.  God is the one who will search for his sheep, who will gather and care for the flock.  But in verse 23, God will set a shepherd over them, who will be “my servant David.”  The Christian understanding of Jesus is that he was fully God and fully man at the same time.  In Jesus, we have one who is a part of the line of David.  In fact the geneaologies of Matthew and Luke point to both Mary and Joseph as part of the line of David.  In Mary, Jesus is born into the line of David; in Joseph, he is adopted in – just as we are adopted as the children of God.  At the same time Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and eternally co-exists with the Father and the Spirit  as the Son in the Trinity – fully human and fully divine.  To ensure that that flock is taken care of, God “sets over them one shepherd” and that shepherd is Jesus Christ.

In John 10, Jesus speaks at length about his role as the Good Shepherd.  He is the one who lays down his life for the sake of his flock.  He is the one who ensures that the flock will be kept safe from harm.  He knows his sheep and his flock knows his voice.  We must be able to hear and recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, and this does not come automatically.  It comes through listening to his voice over and over again.  The best way that we can hear the voice of our shepherd is if we silence ourselves long enough to listen.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again, we must carve out some of our day in order to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd.  It is only through being intentional about it that we can begin to hear the voice of God.  Only on a very rare occasion will God smack us upside the head to get our attention.  Most of the time we hear His voice because we are listening for it.  Consequently, often we don’t hear His voice because we don’t recognize it or we aren’t listening for it.

In reading through Ezekiel 34, we get the picture of a God who cares deeply for those who are hurting.  We get the picture of a God who takes care of the needs of His people.  If we begin to understand Christ’s kingship in shepherding terms, we begin to see a different type of king than the ones who rule out of a position of power and might.  This isn’t to say that Jesus doesn’t rule with power and might - in Matthew 28, he says that all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him.  But we begin to understand that power and might are balanced with the care and concern of a shepherd.  We serve an Almighty God who reigns on high, but we are also called to follow the Good Shepherd.  These are not opposing viewpoints.  These are complimentary understandings of a God who is so big that not one single metaphor can encompass His nature. 

Sometimes, when we think about kingship, we forget about the God who meets us where we are.  We forget about the shepherd who leaves the 99 behind to seek out the one that is lost, and rejoices when he finds that one.  In verse 22, God says that He will rescue His flock and that they will not longer be prey.  When a sheep is separated from the flock, it is in serious danger and the threat of death loomed close.  Likewise, those who are separated from Jesus’ flock are also in serious danger, and Jesus concern is to seek and save those who are lost.  So, if we are to be imitators of Christ, then we should share a similar concern for those who are lost because, much like a sheep that has strayed from the flock, they are also in serious danger.

So, as we remember today that Jesus is King and as we prepare to enter into the season of Advent next Sunday, we rejoice at the fact that Jesus  is king.  But we also have to lay aside all our assumptions about what that means.  One thing that Jesus does consistently throughout the gospels is challenge the status quo.  He constantly calls us to new places and to do new things for the sake of his kingdom, and often this call requires a new understanding of who He is.  We will never be able to know everything about the full nature of God, but what we do know is what has been revealed to us.  Jesus Christ is king, and he is a king unlike any other.