“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2).

And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” (Matthew 27:37)

The book of Matthew presents Jesus as the long-awaited King, the coming Messiah. Yet a conundrum faces us: If Jesus was the King of the Jews, why did He not go down as the great national leader like King David, the illustrious and revered king who led Israel to be the dominant super-power of the ancient world? Or why does He not hold the same status as David Ben-gurion, the primary founder of the present-day Israeli state and first prime minister?

To say He was king does not mean the nation accepted Him as king. In fact, the charge against Him was nailed to the cross above His head, as was typical to name the crime in that time period. He was being killed because He was the King of the Jews. Although the politico-religious leaders wanted Pilate to change that (John 19:21), the verdict stood, and is recorded for us in all four gospel accounts. The Jews may have provoked this death penalty because of jealousy, charges of blasphemy or breaking Sabbath (a plethora of offenses against the status-quo and rabbinical authorities), but God’s assessment was that Jesus came to be the King of Israel but was rejected as the King of Israel.

When He rode on the donkey into Jerusalem on what we call His triumphal entry (also called Palm Sunday in the liturgical calendar), He was clearly signaling His arrival to take up His position as King. But a few days later the religious leaders, speaking as the leaders of the people, wanted His death even though Pilate gave them a chance to change their minds.

So [the Jews] cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

But the rejected King of Israel will return, the great hope of all believers. He will come as the “King of the nations” (Rev 15:3). He will engage in the war to end all wars and will prevail (Rev 17:14). His robe will be emblazoned with this title: “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:16). There will be no rejecting of His reign, for it will be firmly established. The angels say it well: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15).

Lord Jesus, You are still King of the Jews and You are the King of my life.