We are becoming accustomed to hearing the word “King” a lot more after the passing of Queen Elizabeth, we hear it in other contexts too, “the King of the Jungle”, “the King of Swing”, “the King of the silver screen”. (Benny Goodman & Clark Gable— kids ask your Grandparents!), but what do we mean when we speak of Christ as the Kking? The Gospel tells us that when he dies, there was an inscription above Jesus’ head that read “ This is the King of the Jews”. To the Roman Soldiers, this was just a cruel joke , perpetuated by placing a crown of thorns on his head. But there was someone there who took seriously the inscription; the dying thief said to Jesus” Remember me when you enter upon your reign.” On this day around the world, we now proclaim Christ as our King.
Christ is the supreme person, the one who stands head and shoulders above all the rest. He is everything that we are not, but know that we ought to be, and wish that we were. Think of any character trait, any life quality that you admire & you will find it supremely evident in Christ the King.
The dying thief must have been impressed with the quiet courage of the man hanging beside him. Fear controlled the field that day in Jerusalem, it was everywhere; the Jewish Priests feared their authority, Pilate feared for his position, the followers of Jesus feared for their safety and fled for their lives. Fear gripped nearby everyone, except the man on the cross. There was a steadiness in him that called out the admiration of a dying their. He watched as Jesus suffered without one hint of bitterness, he heard Jesus as he prayed for the forgiveness of his tormentors and saw him as he cared for the welfare of his mother. No wonder that he would say “Remember me when you enter upon your reign”. He could not have understood the full implication of his request but he knew that here was a supreme person who would surely, somehow, somewhere, some day, wear a crown.
This is why we call him our King—It is in recognition of the supreme quality of his life.